Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Right, the Win7 taskbar = Superbar. On my old XP machine, I had a shell replacement called Litestep installed (used to do a bit of coding for it), and most of the themes that I used didn't have a taskbar, so I'm just more used to navigating through Windows with alt+tab, and thus don't use the thumbnail previews much.

Like I said, I will try the registry fix (just not at this moment... )

BTW for people who are used to expose (window tiling) on Macs, and want the same functionality in Windows 7, you can get a program called switcher (the site says you need Vista, but really it works with Win7 too). Not exactly my cup of tea, but it's there if you want.

 

Do you use the: Windows logo key +Tab > Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D?

The advantage of the taskbar previews is that you don't have to go through everything, just the program's windows you are interested in. All 3 methods are useful, depending on what your doing & how much stuff you have simultaneously opened which the F handles with ease BTW.

Windows 7 Keyboard shortcuts
***

 

I tried flip 3d, but meh, my muscle memory defaults to alt-tab (although I was playing with it in class and someone was like "woah! that's really cool". It's because it is )

 

Please provide a link to the source of your information about the polarizing filters, etc. on the 1600x900 Eco single-lamp screen.

The review I linked to of its FW4 incarnation said its contrast was one of the worst screens in all of the multimedia laptops they tested while its illumination values were mid-range. From notebookjournal (which tests almost everything made by everybody) that is hardly a compliment.

I saw the screen at Best Buy last fall and it was so dark I could hardly find a sweet spot. The review linked above also said that the viewing angles were such that only one person could use it at a time. I believe it. I could barely see the screen since Best Buy locks them down and I could not get a comfortable angle.

But I suppose you've seen it under better circumstances and would know better ;-).

 

I know I am late to respond, but Thank you Joe and Melody Master on codec pack recommends, GOM player works fine.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_display

Note that items 1 and 3 and 4 and 5 have to line up perfectly, otherwise you get a change in polarization, or viewing angle for a reference grey, as you go from left to right and top to bottom of the display, as in fact happens in the bad Sharp screens in the F11. Since different resolutions use different filters, that's why I say I strongly doubt that both the 1920 and 1600 displays are having the same amount of problems, they would have to be different screwups for the same result.

Since no online source has yet troubleshot the problem I can't provide a link, just an educated guess, as above.

 

Sorry to disrupt the flow of the F series topic guys..

I don't have permission to do private messaging, so I can't message you directly, I suppose if there's an "E-mail" icon beside the quote icons, that's one way or else just contribute something to the F Vaio series discussion here and talk about the FW this way. I'm going to have a looksee at the local Sony stores this weekend and see if they have that clearance model VGNFW490C5 on sonystyle.ca for the same price of 849, if not I want to get it on the sony website pretty soon.

 

@MelodyMaster
Your explanation makes sense. I'm sure the contrast isn't exceptional, but the problem is more of a strange glare / tunnel effect where the ideal viewing angle has a bright gradient going up a third of the bottom of the screen and the top is darkened and even inverted with darker colors. For example, when I set the background to 75% dark gray, the screen has a continuous gradient from light gray at the bottom to black at the top. Kinda funny how the salesman paused, then with a straight face said that effect is from Sony's special XBRIGHT technology. Ya, I guess the bottom's Xtra bright

 

Thought you guys would like to know this, buddy got a Z series and it has "lid action" options, so when you open the lid the machine wakes up.

Nice job Sony lol

 

Hello mangosango,

Sorry for my belated reply to your response (pg.308) as I had no access to a computer to respond. What I hear is a faint whistle sound if that helps. I am a musician (play guitar) so I detected what pitch it was. It's a high F note say on the 25th fret of a high E string (if tuned standard).

Anyways, if there's any hardware that can be replaced / removed am all for it as I really like this laptop.

Thanks again,
E

 

No probs - it sounds like the noise is coming from the fan, and not the microphone (which would be fix-able with the "mute" fix).

It's been stated on these forums that the whine is caused by the CPU fan changing speeds, or possibly an issue with the fan design itself. As of now, I don't believe there has been a fix - several users have sent their units in for repair, but have reported that the problem has not been fixed by repair technicians replacing the fan. I believe sony has recommended to some people that they have their motherboard replaced? So basically, the whine isn't something that can be immediately fixed

For the first few days, I thought I heard a whine. I don't hear it anymore (whether or not it's there is another story). On some units, it may be as simple as letting the fan settle in, but on others it may not (just speculation).

 

Haha...yes...volunteer the most NON-techie person in this thread...

I don't think so my dear.

I vote for mangosango!

I vote for Joe Bleau also, but on one condition. The word you are trying to use is "another" not "an other".

P.S. to mangosango its "a lot" not "alot".

* Runs away and hides before somebody throws a shoe at her... *

Isn't it ironic? That the tone of the whistle that a musician hears is the F note? So that's why it's called the F11!!!! I was wondering what that F stood for.

Yup, first repair was the thermal pad, second repair was the keyboard and the fan, and the third time was sent back for full refund. They wanted to repair the motherboard the third time around, but I gave up by then.

As for keeping track of everyone in the thread that has reported the "whistle" nobody has yet gotten their motherboard replaced, although it has been suggested as the next step for a couple different users in here. So far nobody has taken the plunge.

I keep track of names and what repairs have been done, cause I really want to know if the motherboard is what will fix it...tausif...waiting for your results, take the plunge!!!!

 

I tried the "mute" fix here but no go.
(I guess I cannot post links)

There are You Tube vids but I cannot post links to them as well. One of the vids I saw had a real high pitched shriek. Mines much more faint.

 

Hey Poohkie,

I guess I may take the motherboard plunge. Will I have it take it to Sony or do you think the guys at Best Buy can fix under my extended warranty I purchased through them?

 

Thanks joe, I will pm him.

On a side note is it truly the case that whistling fans have only been the CTOs ? Mine is. Any non-CTO owners care to comment on that ?

 

Guys, I have a problem with my trackpad and a question, it's very frustrating. When playing games, after lots of trackpad use does yours start to spaz out? It just starts getting finicky and acts as if there's a finger on there when there isn't. VERY frustrating. lol.

Also, Joe if you think I complain too much...

http://boards.4chan.org/g/res/9802698

 

Mine's CTO aswell. This would be interesting if non-CTOs were free from the whistle.

Tausif I've activated my 'email from members' for you.

 

Not had that myself, I just get wound up when I'm typing and my palms touch the pad, I end up typing in the middle of a sentence I've already typed.

 

Adjust your settings in mouse properties or via S1.

 

how do I do that Joe? I use a bluetooth mouse and so have turned the touchpad off in the past, but I've found that I sometimes need to use it when I'm on the move so I leave it on now.

Are there any other settings I'm overlooking? Maybe a setting for disabling the tap to click?

 

Seriously, are you a paid shill? Is this laptop the only thing that gives you joy in the world, and you feel you need to defend it without restraint?

The behavior that my laptop was experiencing was abnormal and triggered by a specific event, resulting in a symptom that was not present when I first purchased the unit. The issue has also been reported by at least one other poster here.

Let me repeat: the change in behavior was that the fan would spin to 100% a few seconds after boot, and was completely independent of temperature or operating environment.

We had the same discussion when I initially reported the problem, Joe. Your failure to acknowledge that the fan issue I was experiencing was a hardware fault is, at this point, absurd, and points to your inability to participate in a balanced discussion. If you insist on irrationally arguing with each of my posts, kindly put me on ignore.

 

Failure to acknowledge what?

 

Just for reference, on my F11, for which I have NO complaints concerning fan operation, when going into BIOS the fan is initially quiet, but after eight seconds the fan ramps up to full speed and stays there.

 

When you are using your mouse, you don't need the touchpad & it takes only 3 seconds to disable. Just reverse when on the road & need the touchpad: S1 > Keyboard & Mouse > Pointing Device > disable.

When using the touchpad: > Mouse properties > Tapping tab > tweak the Tap off when Typing slider:



No mouse & touchpad is disabled? Hit S1 > use arrow down to navigate to: Keyboard & Mouse > use arrow right to expand > use arrow down to navigate to: Pointing Device > use Tab to highlight Default > hit Enter. Et voilà! The touchpad is enabled.

 

Mine does this sometimes. It's usually when your hands become too dry or if they are too cold, since the touchpad is an electrostatic touchpad.

See if this helps - breathe warm air on your fingers or rub them together to make them warmer and build up some moisture. That might help.

 

This again? Really?

Joe, in your reply, you once again started to argue with me about fan speed in the BIOS. We've gone over this before. I suggest that instead of looking for a way to argue with each post I make, you either put me on ignore or constructively respond to the content.

The mods and admins have seen fit to allow to be the arbiter of discussion in this thread, which indicates to me that they're content with the level of discourse here.

 

This was not the case with my laptop prior to the issue. The circuitry/CMOS/hardware sensor was correctly varying fan speed based on operating temperature, even when in the BIOS. I can verify this because my replacement model does not exhibit this behavior.

 

Yes, and my limited experience with the viewing angles of the lower res single-lamp screen and the opinion of notebookjournal.de don't seem to be enough to second the opinion of someone on this forum who posted s/he HAS this screen on the F and it's terrible.

Go figure.... Now we spend our time attacking the opinion of someone who has posted that the lower res screen that s/he HAS is as bad as the bad higher res screen.

Wow. That defense of the lower res screen would appear to be a stretch when notebookjournal.de is in the corner of the F owner with the lower res screen...;-).

 

Guys,
I have a weird problem that has occurred twice so far. I have not read of anyone else with this problem.

So about 15 min ago I was watching a video on a website like Youtube and my display was set to an external monitor. (other time was laptop display)when I hit the full screen option suddenly my screen went black and the fan starting going 100%. The HDD light was not blinking and neither was the battery charge light on anymore. Just the green light for power was on and the fan going crazy and in my ear phones a loud bhrrrrrrrrrr noise!! I unplugged the external monitor and tried to see if anything on my screen and there was nothing

I had to hold the power button in to shut down completely

I ran video diagnostics after reboot and nothing was found.. Anyone seen this before? Any suggestions as to what it might be

 

You seem to be hard to sway once you've made up your mind..

The problem, I say again, is NOT the "limited viewing angle." On the bad screen there is NO viewing angle, a bar of the proper grey levels travels up and down the screen as you tilt the lid, and the bottom is washed out and the top too dark. If you had the bad screen you wouldn't even be TALKING about "viewing angles.."

Imagine if you COMBINE the normal (for this display) narrow viewing angle with misaligned polarizing filters, THEN you have a disaster in the making, otherwise known as "F11s with a bad screen."

I have had two F11s, both had the bad screens.. the first one was unusable, the second one is ok if I pretend to accept it. Then there's Mangosango and Joe Bleau with F11s that have NO dark shading at all... So there is VARIATION among screens ranging from perfectly fine, with its normal narrow viewing angle and some bleed at the bottom, all the way to really terrible and unusable with a pronounced "flashlight" effect.

I have read of no users experiencing the Flashlight effect on the 1600 X 900 screen. (ALTHOUGH.. what was the fellow in Turkey using..?)

It's the old game "Mine is ok so yours must be too..." or vice versa.. but the screens are NOT all the same in quality..

 

There have been a lot of complaints of Youtube crashing and freezing, search this forum and in Google. That was probably just a crash with the GPU running full tilt in a loop calculating garbage.

 

Most computers expose fan adjustments in the BIOS, the F11 does not. However the Vaio power management software does somehow access BIOS heat control through a non-standard address, so that thermal settings can be adjusted. My guess is that settings made in software during a prior operating session are retained and still active during the next boot. My settings were for best thermal management, the "Power" setting, thus the fan will run fast.

If software settings are screwed up, such as due to a crash, then those screwed-up settings are still there during next BIOS boot. This can even cause a failure to boot until a warm reset is done, as below...

The way to reset BIOS settings to default, including those not accessible during the boot screens, and to repair a corrupt BIOS (in ANY modern PC),

Remove battery and power, (we cant do anything about the memory battery) let sit a minute or two, reconnect power.

Turn on the system and immediately press and hold the (top) "Insert" key until the system stops booting and shows system menu, then press F2 for BIOS;

Go into BIOS, just "OK" settings, exit, and reboot.

This will clear any corrupt BIOS settings, allow the system to boot normally, and reset the fan.

IMPORTANT EDIT! The F11 is a bit different, press and hold the insert key, then while holding Insert blip F2, that will give you BIOS with default settings. I did this and the fan no longer races during BIOS on my system.

(edit) and now, in-Windows power settings are back to "balanced."

 

:yes:
The Fix I posted earlier worked again with some variation. Thanks to ursuthebestdriver for his comment about waiting to restart when the power LED blinks from green to orange. (this is important)

Mind you, I don't really think this is a FIX. Something is buggy with hibernation on a critical battery state and Sony needs to come up with an official patch for this.

Here are the conditions that allowed me to resume to a normal fan state.

Power Management-Battery -- Battery Care enabled @ default 80%
Power Management-Power Options-Low Battery Action -- set to Default which means that Automatic hibernation is set to activate when battery enters critical state.
Power Management-Power Options-Thermal Control Strategy --set to balanced mode.
Advanced Power Options - Default settings for Balanced Mode.

Now, once laptop goes into hibernation when battery is critically low the screen will turn off and the green power LED will blink until the notebook shuts down.
Leave it alone for a couple of hours.
Now press the power button again. None of this should be done with the AC plugged in by the way.
This time, the power LED will slowly blink green but will only do so every 4 seconds. As ursuthebestdriver mentioned in his post, this slow blinking action will continue for a while but the green will shift to orange.
Once it slowly blinks orange (also every 4 seconds or so), press and hold the power button for a good long minute. The battery does not need to be taken out.

After pressing and holding the power button mentioned above, plug it into the AC and power on.

In this instance, Windows Resumed and not Restarted or displayed the "Windows did not shutdown properly message."

Fan is now quiet!!!!!

Silence is Golden

EDIT: Clock will still revert back to January 1, 2009 - 12:00am
I have tried Shutdown, Sleep, and Restart and all three instances powered the unit on with the fan running normally.
Sorry, but i'm not willing to put this notebook in hibernate ever again so I will not test that out.
Also i'm a bit worried about retracing the steps to get the fan running at 100% and then applying this method to be certain that this will fix this issue. If there is someone who has this issue and is willing to try, let us know.

Twice this happened to me and twice I got it to revert back to normal....ALRIGHT!!!!!!:wink:

 

ahhh I don't know how I missed them but I hadn't installed the Alps driver . I've just installed them and I see that tap while typing option now.

cheers

 

Hello!!!!!!!!!

The same once, 2days after came into my hands

without noize.Then......no problem!!!Dont worry.




Note for new buyers:THE MASHINE IS FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUY IT NOW!




AND JOE...................................

You're a goldmine to a forum,and guru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Help us anytime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eυχαριστω πολυ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Sweet! Sounds like it resets the BIOS settings and, as MelodyMaster said, gets rid of any corrupt data regarding the fan states.

This should be added to the unification post (whoever is doing that).

 

I believe it was the 1600x900 screen - that one was really, really bad. Half the screen was inverted when looking at the screen dead-on.

 

Yeah, business is back to normal.

I would like to have tried MelodyMaster's Insert/F2 method. I wonder if that would have reset everything instead of how I did mine. Would be great if that will be the case.

 

Well, actually, my point was that I myself couldn't find a usable viewing angle on the 1600x900 that I saw at Best Buy -- so I'm not sure if it did or didn't have the same problem as the current F "bad" screens.

In any event, neither of the two non-dual-lamp screens on the F are "good" screens even if those of one resolution are less "bad" than the other.

Okay? ;-)

 

Yah, there's "Bad" - which is the norm, then "Badder" (sic) which is what I have, then "Baddest" (sic) which was the state of my grey F11 and the fellow in Turkey (on 1600 X 900? Hmm...)

 

@roweraay

How is the installation of the new screen going?

 

Anyone find a fix for it? or it's just something to live with?

 

Have you been able to reproduce the problem? My read is that it's a problem with flash. If you havent already, try updating to the flash 10.1 RC

 

Sony tech chat's response to that issue was to reinstall the Nvidia Drivers.
It worked for me and never had the issue again even after installing the 197.16 drivers.

However, I firmly believe that the solution Sony tech chat gave was a generic response from their book and I doubt the people on that end know what to do other than to redirect the chat for an RMA for repair.

Scenario 1

Me: Help...my screen went blank and is emitting a loud and constant buzzing noise from the screen. what to I do?
Sony: I'm sorry you are experienceing problems with your video. Please reinstall the the video driver from the Sony link that i'll be sending you shortly.

Scenario 2

Me: Help...my screen has sprouted eyes, and is playing my music backwards sending weird messages..I think it's possessed!
Sony: I'm sorry you are experienceing problems with your video and audio. Please reinstall the video and audio drivers from the Sony link that i'll be sending you shortly.

 

LOL yeah they probably are just reading the script... so I realized I have the 8.16.11.8783 version of Nvidia drivers not the updated 8867.. i'm going to update to that and I have also installed Flash 10 per mangosango's advice. let's see if these 2 things help....

Ofcourse now I have a squeaky spacebar key!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hi all. This may well have been dealt with already, but I can't find it...

My F11 (after being repaired!) came back and worked great. I took it on holiday with me and twice when connecting to two different networks, firefox, chrome and IE all report back no connection. But skype works.

This was connecting to a BT Homehub and a Belkin Wireless G router, both of which allowed the connection to the router fine, but no luck with Firefox/Chrome/IE.

I ran the windows network diagnostics and it came up with a DNS error. It works fine if it's plugged in via an ethernet cable (as it is now). I have reset all the wifi settings to default and rolled back the system to when I know that the wifi was working.

Any ideas?

 

Thanks very much for this post. I'm going to do some testing this weekend to see if I can replicate my fan issue.

 

Hi yowl,

did you ever actually try that 90w adapter that Sony sent you In error? Did it work ok?

If so, how much smaller was it compared to the 120watt one ? I was considering getting A 90W one for travelling.

T.
---End Quote---
Yes I have it and it works fine, VGP-AC19V36. I would say its about half the volumetric size dimensions are 120x48x29mm. In my tests, I struggled to get the consumption up to 90W so for travelling I think it would be fine. Heavy gaming might be another storey.

 

The 1600x900 F series screen isn't so hot, used a few before. I had to use the 1920x1080 to actually be sold on it lol.

 

Sony has two levels of techs and I don't know if you can reach the second level by chat. I doubt it.

But when you call tech support by phone and don't feel confident about what you've heard, simply ask the person to escalate you to a level 2 tech for a second opinion. Don't be nasty or insulting (the tech may actually be correct in the advice given) -- just say you'd like to take advantage of the fact that you got through the waiting queue and talk to a level 2 before you hang up.

Then there's the fact that there's level 2 and "level 2 San Diego" for the US techs -- the San Diegans are the highest level Sony techs. They authorize the most complicated return to San Diego repairs....

Personally, unless you have developed a relationship with one of the San Diegans and can email them, I suggest calling when the San Diegans have gone home -- you'll get the Philippines or Costa Rica if you're calling from North America. And they are sooo helpful and have a concept of service that very few American geeks are endowed with.

Good luck!