Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

I completely ignored the XPS because if I had ordered one in February, I'd still be waiting for it.

 

Yeah and that's another thing. I had originally ordered a Dell late Dec 09 and they gave me three reasons for a big delay: custom color, blue-ray, and i7. Dell kept adding time to the delivery date and Sony came in before stated delivery. Sony subsequently came out with the F and the rest is history.

 

I really liked the white one, but my mom hated the way the XPS looked open (those hinges lol). I guess the shiny finish was a little on the gaudy side.

I'm still not entirely sold on the F but it's working ok for now lol.

 

Ergonomics has always been a top issue with Sony appliances. I don't think they'd mess it up with Sony VAIO

 

I think they did some completely bone-headed with the F series design.

For example, since the keyboard is so far over to the left, when you have it on your lap you'll probably have it off to the right a little bit, which... means the airflow coming out of the LEFT side of the machine will end up getting partially blocked. That, or you could lift your right leg up higher or something lol.

You know what I mean?

I'd be willing to pay for an F series keyboard that didn't have the numpad. Oh, and the bright LEDs that are located between you and the screen. >> Idiots!

Still don't like how the keyboard backlight almost never comes on.

 

I used electrical tape, an exacto knife, and tweezers to cover the little monitor and this keeps it lighted all the time. It's a clean looking tiny little square of electrical tape. When I am watching a movie I use S1 to shut it off. Works for me.

 

This is crucial: In these lines (i.e., the non-business models), Dell uses whatever is its latest deal for screens, etc. Dell offers and builds changed model profiles every couple of weeks, reflecting that fact.

So, I would NEVER judge one Dell screen by another in the same series if it wasn't _at least_ at the same resolution (which would increase the likelihood it was the same screen).

No discussion here of whether the XPS screen is matte, BTW. For many, that makes a difference, one way or the other.

I am NOT impressed simply by the appearance of the letters LED unless they have RGB in front of them. About a year and a half ago the Studio line of Dells had WLEDs and they were horrible. Photo professionals would go to the Dell pages and give product reviews indicating that they had tried every color adjusting software package on the planet and could not even get a true white -- indeed, everything was affected by a light blue haze.

So, with Sony this is only the second time (first was with the later Ecos in the FW series and now with the F series' North American models) that a laptop screen was not way ahead of most of its competition. And I'm betting that whatever is wrong with the F's rendition of the same part which in the FW5 was excellent will be ironed out in the June refresh.

I have posted elsewhere in the NBR forums concerning my multiple problems with Dell products and customer relations over several years and several models. Hands down -- choose a Sony.

 

Those temps should be fine. What is the ambient air temperature where you are? It actually does have an effect on the running temp of the computer (humidity does also).

 

My F11 CTO (U.S. edition) loses connection with Bluetooth mouse once a day. It just freezes without any warnings. Anybody knows what's going on and how to fix it? I've tried two different mouses: one Logitech and another my gf's apple mouse.

THX

 

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. I'm not gonna run out and buy right away (very fast computer already). But it is good to know what I need. (Well, not what I'll need...but what I'll want...)
Gary

 

There are a few posts about that problem on this page: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5985848#post5985848

I'm not sure if it's the same problem that you're experiencing (or if there was a fix). I think there was a fix, but I'm having trouble finding it. If you want to take a stab, just search for sony vaio F bluetooth in the searchbar up top.

Cheers!

 

@Const451

Try checking under Device Manager - Bluetooth Radios - Foxconn... Right click to get to Properties and in the Power Management tab, See if the computer is allowed to turn this device off to save energy. Unchecking that solved my issue with my Vaio bluetooth mouse shutting off every other hour.

 

lol...I've never tried working on this computer on my lap. I dread the hot air coming out of that vent burning me
EDIT: Also shifting the F11's position to the right like you mentioned will put the top of your left thigh in direct contact with the hot air

I've noticed that in games where the brunt of the key controls happen at the left of keyboard that I have a tendency to hang one or two of my fingers off the edge and in direct contact with the hot air.

I personally prefer the numpad as my productivity rate with Autocad sucks without it. This was one of the main reasons why I switched from the FW590. More so than for the i7 actually.
I got the keyboard backlight because it was a $25 option rather than needing it...

 

I think that was it - thanks a lot! Once I cleared the power saving check box my mouse started working after it was frozen.

 

Great! hope it stays that way...

 

I agree - the numpad is really surprisingly useful. Great for hotkeys and for entering numerals.

TBH I don't get why people complain about the aesthetics of an offset keyboard/trackpad (not directed at you OOT or anyone in particular). Desktop keyboards all have numpads and they've been around for ages. And the trackpad should be centered to the spacebar, not to the chassis of the machine (this is why on all laptops, the trackpad is always a little off-center, usually towards the left side). Imagine if the trackpad were right in the center of the palm rest (its center aligned with the webcam's position). You'd constantly be pressing it with your palms whenever you put your hands on the keyboard.

 

Thanks To No End, I will try that Foxconn setting as my Bluetooth mouse does freeze from time to time. Running the CMD "powercfg /requests" shows no problem with your Foxconn setting fix suggestion.

Note that the Bluetooth mouse setting is a different story as it may prevent proper auto sleep or Hibernate. If "Allow this device to wake computer" is checked then it may wake up the F while it's unattended or in your notebook case. See this post: VAIO_F_Sleep & Hibernation Wake Up Problems Fix

*****

Thank you To No End for replying to my VAIO_F_Series Weird Webcam Viewing Angle? question. Anybody else that could take a few minutes to check their F webcam angle?

 

This is the current EPEAT site for all Sony 16.4" screen models. You will note that all of the FW models there have mercury in the light source and therefore cannot be LED screens.

http://www.epeat.net/SearchResults....ProductType=3&monitorsize=48&manufacturer=35&


On the screen part numbers:

A1772658A is the part number for the VPCF119FJ (presumably a Full HD screen because the screen for the model VPCF118FJ is different by the last numerical digit only and over $100 cheaper) at $668.05 which costs far less than the Full HD screen for an FW490 (A1707449C at $1138.50). At the parts sites linked in Joe Bleau's earlier posting, the FW5 series just doesn't appear.

I can't find that F model at the EPEAT site and when Googled only gives a Japanese model with an additional -BI suffix that has the RGB FullHD.

Is someone sure that the screen in the F is the same model screen that was in the FW590? (I believe someone posted that in the earlier thread somewhere.) A friend is trying to choose between the two models screen-wise so the information would be useful.

Thanks for any information.

 

At my screen's sweet spot, my chin is a few inches from the bottom of the screen (I'm sitting a good 1.5-2ft away from my screen).

 

From jacksjw's post (see Unification Post #2 > Pictures of internals):



Note that the actual brand & LCD model number in any given F notebook may vary depending on_Sony's stock & part availability. It's the Just in Time & low part stock inventory consequence thing. Nobody else to my knowledge took a photo of the part # of their LCD's. If only a EU 1080p Premium owner could do the same, it would be much appreciated.

Again: F11_USA Sony_OEM Parts Prices List

Could be interesting to some, just go to Sony_parts US > Advanced Search > type: VPCF_in the "Model Prefix Starts with" box > hit Search: et voilà! 4 pages of part results.

The fan is $112 & the touchpad unit is $63 for example.

*****

102 votes @ the present in the Sony_F_Series Owners Display Poll.

 

Hmmm. The part number from that photo is very close to that of the Eco screen part number of the FW490:

A1617803A
LCD UNIT(LQ164M1LA4A)(F)(S)

I'm guessing that the letters in the second set of parentheses are the vendor options, with S being Sharp?

Wish I could find an FW5 at either of the two parts sites. No VGNFW5 series show up at all.

Someone earlier posted that they checked the part numbers and the FW5-something had the same part number -- but I can't find the posting with the search engine to check the part number!

 

All, I finally got my F and there was a yellow sticker on the box. Screen seems great, no issues with morse code sound. So far loving it!

I have created Recovery Discs off the bat and checked my Powercfg and only have the expected 9 errors.

Although the really HOT air from the vent is a little unexpected! fan seems to be softly running constantly but not at full steam. Is this normal or do I have the fan issue?

 

"Although the really HOT air from the vent is a little unexpected!" - Well you got a powerful engine under the hood so some heat is to be expected. It's a muscle car, not a Smart Car

"fan seems to be softly running constantly..." - Would you rather have all that heat to stay inside & cook your CPU & GPU instead?

Try ASSIST > Vaio_Care > Troubleshooting > Diagnostics > Hardware & Software tests > Hardware, just for fun.



Get the free & portable SIW 2010 to examine the bowels of your new Vaio_F11 with sensors reports, battery state, etc, etc.

Just play with your new Vaio_F11 a couple of hours.

BTW, what is your webcam viewing angle?

 

I have it on very good authority that Sony and other manufacturers WILL be updating their laptops in June, for back to school.

 

What's up for the holidays?

BTW, I just zapped your animated gif with AdBlock, what a cool add-on.

 

The refresh for all vendors will be based on the release-for-sale date of the next round of Intel CPUs. which is June 26th.

 

Is your webcam broken?

Too bad, had more stuff about the headphones.

 

The first number is the model-specific stock number, which includes the screen and connecting cable and anything else for quick and correct mounting in the F11. It will probably differ from the FW because the cable may be a different length, mounting is different, whatever. The second number is the actual display panel itself, and as I understand it many of the panels used in the F are the same as used in the later FW-series. Pricing is based on the stock number, and can vary widely between SKUs even if the panel is identical. This is true of all repair parts for all equipment. When replacing a display one hopes to be able to work with the panel number, and obtain it from an OEM supplier, but it may be necessary to modify the attachment in some way, probably using parts from the old panel.

That's why we REALLY need some brave European F-user to get the number from his Matte panel.

 

I got my F back from repair for the second time and nothing’s been repaired. The technician wrote “there is nothing wrong with LCD – every LCD will have this effect”. I called customer service and they say that the only thing I can do now is use their “Trade-In Program” I figured I might give this a try and called up Sony Style. The guy basically told me that I would get a couple hundred dollars for it and Ebay would be a better option. Having finally given up, I took the laptop out a few minutes ago and pressed the power button. Nothing but a short green blink on the power button. Looks like another lemon that died after a few months. Woo Hoo! I might have a chance for an exchange now.

 

If anyone has instructions to dismantle their screen, I think it would help us all.

 

Yep, I got that too. I am going for one last attempt to get this resolved. I am going to take it to the local Sony service center with my other Vaio and demonstrate to the tech there the problem. I figure if i could demo it face to face with the tech then i might get somwhere.

 

That would be great.

Meanwhile, check this How to replace your damaged notebook or laptop lcd screen video.

I will remove the LCD's bezel in a few minutes to try to fix the bad viewing angle of the webcam and may also remove the LCD while @ it. Will report back with some photos.

Basically you have to unplug, remove battery, remove speakers cover as shown here: How-To Remove Speakers Cover & the bezel screws are under the rubbers.

***
Edit: Well, it turns out that removing the Vaio_VPCF's LCD is a little bit more work than shown in the video I linked to or the description above. See below.

 

EDIT: NEVER MIND - Sorry Joe didn't read your post thoroughly

I used to take apart laptops (not as new as the F11), but generally, you have to remove the speaker cover. Then, usually underneath the round rubber "feet" on the screen bezel, there are usually some screws (which you need to unscrew). From there, you just need to separate the inner bezel from the outer shell of the screen. I'm guessing the inverter for the F11's screen is going to be at the top (?) maybe the bottom. Don't know. You should be careful, as there are wires connecting the screen and the inverter to the mobo. All I remember about Sony's are that they were ridiculously tricky to take apart (alot like old, old compaq pc's).

 

https://www.screentekinc.com/Sony_V...ch--1920x1080-full-hd-laptop-lcd-screen.shtml

Aside from that they say it's a glossy LCD.. thought it was interesting

 

Nice to see that they talk about polarizers, which I think is the misaligned part in the defective 11 screens.

 

That's just a generic doorway page to attract traffic (spamdexing). There's no price nor LCD model number nor do they say if they have it in stock or not. By us linking to it: mission accomplished.

 

Well, it turns out that removing the Vaio_VPCF's LCD is a little bit more work than shown in the How-to LCD Removal video I linked to.

The main differerence is that the Vaio_VPCF has these awesome hinges that pushes back & lowers the display when the lid is opened. There are only 4 screws fastening the display's front bezel but the lower ones are a PITA to remove & the bottom part of the bezel is not easy to unsnap & pull out because of the narrow wiggle room.



It took me about 30 minutes to remove the display being extra careful. Just reverse the steps to put back in place the LCD & everything else.

Tools: magnetized small Phillips screwdriver (crosshead). Magnetized because it's much easier to extract from deep holes & reset the small screws w/o dropping them. Also two small jeweler's flat screwdrivers or two long safety pins or similar and optional small tweasers.

Warnings:
- Never touch a circuit or electrical contacts with the magnetized screwdriver's point.
- Do not apply any strong localized pressure nor hit the exposed surface of the display.
- There are many tabs & hooks on both the speakers cover & display bezel. When unsnapping them if you use force instead of patience & break some of these tabs, the parts may not fit flush or secured after re-assembly.
- The exposed speakers are very easy to nick or destroy. I suggest covering them with a piece of cardboard or small plastic lid covers.
- Sort removed screws by steps as they have different lenght, use paper note if you have a short span memory.
- As they say in USA: this coffee is hot and the floor is slippery and don't sue us if you try this DIY & mess up something in your notebook as you were warned: use this how-to guide @ your own risk.
- Don't work over a shaggy rug as you may have to search for that tiny screw you dropped.
- Get your curious pets out of the room.

1- Clean working surface covered with a towel or clean rag to avoid scratching the Precious and help catching the dropped screws.

2- Unplug F, remove battery.

3- Remove speakers cover to gain access to the bottom bezel screws hidden under the small square rubber covers.







4- Remove the 2 screws hidden under the extreme left & right top round rubbers on the front LCD bezel & insert fingers with the nails facing the screen to snap off the top of bezel & about half way down on the sides. The rubbers are held in place by a thin two sided adhesive, not by a notch so careful not to touch the underside so not to loose stickiness. Don't launch them into space like in the video @ 1:46!



You can use a piece of carton as a snowshoe under your nails to spread the pressure on the display's surface or a microfiber cloth (as used w/ eyeglasses or lenses) to prevent scratches or fingerprints. Check video @ 2:17 for unsnapping bezel technique but do only half way down on the sides. He is pretty careless with the LCD's surface as it's probably not his. If removing a broken LCD then who cares.

The PITA steps:

5- I used the small & alcool cleaned jeweler's screwdrivers to partially remove the square rubbers & catch them with the point on the adhesive part. Even with the speakers cover removed and the lid tipped towards me, there was no working space for the screwdriver on the left screw so I had to remove the ground wire & shield witch did not want to come out. After wiggling it with gradual application of force & exasperation, it finally came loose (swearing helped I guess). I discovered once out that there was a notch securing it in place. So push it toward the LCD to clear the notch.





6- Complete the unsnapping of the bezel. It will be necessary to tip the lid towards you alot to wiggle clear & pull out the bezel, especially for the left bottom corner. Be patient & don't break those tabs nor scratch the LCD. It would take too many words (many of them mature & in several languages) to try to describe all the pushing & shoving needed to take out that @#$%&!!! bezel. Watch out for those speakers, are they covered?



7- Finally the bezel is off. To remove the LCD, there is no screws on the top as the bezel screws doubled as screen fasteners. There are only 4 screws in the bottom, 2 on each side, easy to remove. Then put a rag or something on the keyboard and lower the LCD on it to expose the back & video cable. Unplug carefully the LCD's video cable as shown in the how-to video & remove the outer metal frame if you must use it on your LCD replacement. Note the inverter model & shape of the video cable, make sure they fit on your replacement LCD if it's not an identical model # & brand.









The model number behind my F screen:



Reassembly is easy, just reverse steps. Bezel is much easier to snap back than to remove. It took me much more time to write this post than to do the thing. Next time, if there is one, I'll make a video instead.

Hope this helps somebody. Fell free to give me some rep by clicking on the weird looking icon on the left of this post.

Price search for aftermaket US 1080p: SHARP LQ164M1LD4C.

This works for US 1080p (confirmed by their sales dep.): http://www.blisscomputers.net/sharp-lq164m1ld4c-laptop-lcd-screen-16-4-wuxga.aspx There is a mistake on that page, the LCD is 1920 x 1080 & not 1920 x 1200 as it says @ the present. This was confirmed by an email exchange with them quoted in this post.

Sony_parts US > Advanced Search > type: VPCF_in the "Model Prefix Starts with" box > hit Search: et voilà! 4 pages of part results.

I did not search this Sony_parts site, could be useful: https://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ecom/accessories/web/index.jsp

>>> If somebody finds the brand & model number for the Vaio_VPCF EU Premium 1080p LCD, I will update this post! Same for the 900p displays. <<<

@ EU F owners: ignore our previous requests for a photo of the back of your Premium LCD's. Eventually the model # will be published or found & it's too much work unless you have an other reason the remove the display.

*****

Webcam Viewing Angle Correction

It's not necessary to remove entirely the front bezel & the LCD to correct the viewing angle of the webcam. Just remove the 2 screws hidden under the extreme left & right top round rubbers & insert fingers with the nails facing the screen to snap off the top of bezel & about half way down on the sides. The rubbers are held in place by a thin two sided adhesive, not by a notch so careful not to touch the underside so not to loose stickiness.



The webcam's circuit is long & thin with only 2 screws. I just removed the right screw & inserted an aluminium foil folded on itself about 8 times from the top of the fastener.





It's now like To No End's description of his webcam: "My sweetspot allows me to have the bottom of the frame cutting slightly above my chin...", much better than before.

I may do it again, this time removing the board & twisting the U shape screw hole end on the right side w/o breaking it to correct the webcam's shooting angle further more so to remove all the empty space above my head shown if looking @ the display at it's best viewing angle.

@ To No End & mangosango: PM if you have LCD removal questions.

 

They have changed the thermal module, but they now also plan to change the motherboard, which came in today. I should have more info tomorrow.

Has anyone else actually had their motherboard replaced in the course of a whine repair ? I know they proposed to do this for Poohkie's but he (she ! ) elected for a refund.

 

Told 'ya screen removal on the Vaios was not for the faint of heart ;-).

I still have no concrete evidence that the screens in the FWs have something in common with the screens in the Fs other than the fact that the EPEAT listings show less mercury in the earlier FW lighting sources than the later FW or F lighting sources.

Someone posted the part number for the F screen and stated that it was the same part number for the FW5 -- but I can't find the posting through the NBR search engine without knowing the part number, apparently!

Darn....

 

@Derrida,

Jacksjw I believe was the first to post the model No. for the screen at page 146. The discussion is on-off to page 153-ish where MelodyMaster mentions it is the same part number for some FW's but implies that there is something else that's causing a difference between the quality of the FW and the F11 screen. (post #1525)

Hope that helps.

Edit: The same model No. in Joe Bleau's webcam fix/screen removal.

 

Yesterday, unbenownst to me, there was a pen lying on my keyboard (near the right speaker, beside the "VAIO" and "Page Down" button), when I tried to close my laptop. Obviously the laptop would not close, since the pen was in the way. But seemingly, during the attempt to close the lid, the pen squeezed the (bottom-right) corner of the screen, and damaged the screen.....a fairly large black patch has appeared at the bottom-right corner of my screen and that corner is just un-readable.....which means the screen itself may have to be replaced.

Is there a way to purchase the EU Full-HD matte screen separately ? And if so, is there a way of knowing how much it costs ? If the screen is to be replaced, I might as well try to replace it with a good one than get it replaced with the same glossy US-Full-HD screen.

Also, is replacing the screen a DIY effort or is it best left to a technician ?

 

@Joe Bleau

Thanks for the clarification about the screw next to the camera.

 

Ouch!

Since you don't have not much to loose, you could try massaging delicately the black area using a microfiber cloth. You can also try this while turning the screen on/off using the Display Off button. If it's physically leaking on the side, it will get worst.

"Is there a way to purchase the EU Full-HD matte screen separately" - Probably, why not contact Sony_EU to get the LCD's model #?

@ To No End: you are welcome.

 

i'm half tempted to buy another "F" when I get to Korea next week....I'm gonna look at them and see how much better the screens are...

 

Yes, thank you, To no End!

It was Melody Master's posting.

Perhaps s/he can confirm which FWs?

Thanks!

 

Hey guys! so I have been trying to find a good deal on an f11, without going over $1,300 and having what I need on it. I found one this one for $1,199 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127055

It has a 330M,500gb 7200rpm, 4GB, backlit keyboard. If I configure this at sony's store it would be around roughly over $1300... what do you guys think? is this a good deal? Cant wait to join the vaio F club!

 

Hey!! I'm going from a little itty bitty Dell D620 to this monster! Don't get a lot of hot air unless I'm doing something really intensive so better to ask questions and make sure I don't have any of the known issues before my 30 days goes away!

Camera view seems fine.. Since I don't really use it at all it was last of my priorities!

I'll run the checks later
Thanks

 

If you don't have ADH and you will have to pay for the screen yourself (Ouch, as Joe Bleau so aptly put it), then I would suggest the following:

Try to get the EXACT model number of the F11 in Europe that has the matte RGB screen from some of the European Sony sites. THEN try the after-market online screen dealers in Europe to find the part number. THEN cross-check on an American screen dealer site (or the official Sony sites) to see if that part number is the same part number for your current North American model. If it is, then "Houston, we have a problem." It should be different and if it's not, then Sony is keeping the mattes for its own use only.

Remember that in Europe there are three screens for the F: a 1600x900, and two FullHDs, only one of which is the RGB one. So if you don't see three possibilities for an F screen, suspect that a single European HD screen option is NOT the matte one.

From the prices on the Joe Bleau-provided official Sony parts sites which I posted earlier on this thread, the FullHD screen on a North American FW490 runs over a thousand dollars while the current two available North American F screens listed there are under $700. Either way, that's at least half the price of a new Vaio.

My "pen" is a one-hundred pound German shepherd who I constantly fear will knock over the laptop in a boisterous bounce -- thus I got the ADH. Now that I have the ADH protection, he'll be a good boy, I'm sure! Kind of like carrying an umbrella when it's raining out....

BTW If you purchased your laptop with AmEx or a platinum MasterCard, you have an automatic 90-day accidental damage warranty.

 

Yeah, I already tried massaging it but it has actually spread like a crack and covers the entire right-bottom corner of the screen now, with colored lines radiating vertically all the way to the top of the screen. The massaging just exposed the crack underneath. And since there is a black patch, I am guessing it is leaking already. Clearly the screen is shot.

Is there a way of contacting Sony_EU and also, any guess on what the cost of the screen would be, if sourced directly from Sony ? Rough ballpark ?

 

No ADH !

Ouch ! $700 for a new screen ? I will need to look at cheaper options then.

Love German Shepherds. Used to have a couple in the past.

Yeah, I got ADH on my Sony A900 camera ($3000 at the time of purchase) when I bought it. But decided to not get one, on my laptop, since I had plans to upgrade components on it, before the ADH period was up. But $700 for the screen is not something I would be willing to fork out.