Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Bill, that's really weird as I installed 197.44 on my clean install from OEM recovery discs & have zero keyboard problem. I followed the instructions & download link posted here. Device Manager > keyboard > Microsoft driver 2006-06-21 so I really don't see why on earth a video driver update would affect your keyboard.

Did you try a memory test as Melody suggested? You can do it either via:

- ASSIST > Vaio_Care > Troubleshooting > Diagnostics > Hardware Test > Memory.

- Or reboot > press F10 > Hardware Test.

- Or reboot > press F8 > Repair Your Computer > System Recovery Option >Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. If you don't have a recovery partition then you need either the System Repair disc or a Windows 7 DVD.

I will post some video benchmarks in a few minutes before & after the Nvidia driver update. OpenGL is better & software like Photoshop CS5 use this for example, not only games.

Just curious, if you connect an external kb after installing Nvidia 197.44 do you have the same problem as with the onboard kb?

 

1.) Hulu is i my real world usage. In face, anything with black bars, movie wise, is real world usage for me. I always have a pic as wallpaper, not a black screen.

2.) Resale value? I wasn't aware used laptops had much of that. After a few years no one would want to buy a 3-4 year old technology. I work in retail and see them get recycled all the time. People just junk them out. It's not a car, it's a computer.

PS I liked the avatar with the rhino beetle better.

 

I guess you don't live in a poor country where we have a pass along or re-use mentality instead of throwaway. Bring one for a school or an NGO next time you travel instead of junking it.

*****

Avatar

The beetle was much easier to shoot than the jumping tarantula. FYI all those creatures just walked or crawled into my house. I keep handy an empty container & a thin carton to catch them, keep them a few days for show & tell for my 8 years old daughter then they pose for some photos & are released as a reward.

Not so far.

Thanks for commenting guys.

 

i don't think joe quite addressed the problem. I have not heard of the 900p screen having lower quality than the 1080p. i know i've seen a complaint or 2 about the 900p but theres been atleast 10x as many of the 1080p. considering the ratio of 900p to 1080p owners, i would suspect that the screens are the same quality at the least.

Sure, the 330M is faster but then again, what will you be using it for? and sure, then 500 GB is nice, but what will you be using it for?

I opted for the 1080p with 330M because i like have more screen real estate and the 330M will be useful for the CAD programs i will be running (and games). i opted for the SSD cuz i heard they're amazing (and wasn't let down). otherwise, i would have gotten the 500gb since i usually fill up my HDD's pretty fast.

and from another angle, you might be wondering if you would regret not getting those options later. it would definitely be cheaper to get the options than to do a manual upgrade later. if you feel you may want those options in the future, just get them now and you'll save yourself a pretty penny and some hassle.

just food for thought.

 

No problems with Windows Memory Diagnostics. No memory leaks. No memory problems of any kind that I can see.

Machine is working perfectly after reinstalling Sony updated original driver.

Bill

 

Here are some benchmarks made with the free & portable (no install needed) Cinebench 64-bit & Furmark utilities after updating the Nvidia video driver from OEM to the 197.44 on my F clean install done with OEM recovery discs. I followed the 197.44 instructions that MidtownHD posted here but would add:

1- Start > search: create restore point & create one for safety.

- After uninstalling the old Nvidia video driver via Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features & rebooting: right click the desktop and change the display's resolution to 1280 x 720 before installing the new one because at the default 800 x 600 you will not be able to see & click the "yes I accept..." thing to proceed to install. I just stood there stupid for 15 seconds wondering why the heck the install was not proceeding.

- Reinstall or recreate your custom monitor profile after updating.

Interesting videos: NVIDIA graphics with Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe TV: Photoshop CS4 OpenGL Optimization and Photoshop CS5 OpenGL.

Adobe support: GPU and OpenGL Support in Photoshop CS5 and CS4.

So updating the video driver may have some benefit even if you do not play games as several programs in my CS5 Suite are faster & more fluid with the update. For Willscary: Adobe Elements 8 Help > About Transitions and OpenGL.

I don't know if it was either this video update or the Realtek HD Audio Driver R248 Update but my NVIDIA HDMI Audio Driver went from 1.0.0.59 to 1.0.9.1.

 

Interesting happenings, your part of the world. Though I suppose it's different everywhere. I got no qualms with the reuse mentality, just not many who share it.

 

If the drivers come from the recovery disc then that should be ok.

Try Memtest 86 as I suggested. Memtest86 - Download Page Sony diagnostic only runs a couple of brief cycles, Memtest can run as long as you like and tries every type of buss addressing. I have had problems such as you describe and Memtest errors out only after some 20 minutes of running. Changing the memory did then solve the glitch.

Also try running Prime 95. Prime95 (64bit) - 25.11 Download - EXTREME Overclocking

And did you try Furmark with bot the 188 and 197 drivers?

finally, is there any chance your install files are corrupted?

Outside of corrupted software I'd be convinced you have a hardware problem.. OR if the keyboard is being lost during regular use, that is a symptom of a resource conflict, two devices trying to access the same memory range and interrupt, one being the GPU.

 

That's interesting troubleshooting tips Melody. I think that Willscary should dig the problem & not just be satisfied with rolling back the video driver.

BTW Willscary, did you check in your Event Viewer > Administrative? That would be my first troubleshooting step or @ least way up there.

 

I have the same problem! It occured when i use my F11M1 for the first time. Booting win7 stopped due some errors, so i did sys restore. When i start OS, my keyboard work in bios, but when "Starting windows" appears, ligths on keyboard switch off and keyboard and touchpad are both dead. I also tried fresh copy of WIN 7, but keyboard and touchpad "died" before i entered regional settings. USB mouse works fine.

Thats all i got from new Sony Vaio

I also have F11Z1 (EURO version too) and had no problems at all...except some crashes in Adobe After Effects...

 

I guess I'm not the only one with a broken keyboard and trackpad in windows. What's weird in my case is the keyboard will work in Ubuntu but only after the login screen... Could it have to do with the morse code high pitch squeek?

 

No. The Morse Code noise is only a problem with early F11s, all units manufactured from the beginning of February have been revised to eliminate that, plus remaining early stock has been retrofixed. If your "new" F11 has the Morse Code problem then it is obsolete stock. Take it back for repair, or get a refund and wait for the refresh next month. On the other hand there have been scattered problems with the keyboard across all revisions of the F11.

 

When I first purchased my F I would find my battery at an approx 80% charge at restart. I gave Sony a call and they told me I could 'fix' this by disabling the battery care function. But reading a VAIO developer and what he has to say about the Battery Care Function I will go back to enabling and only disable when I know I will need max life. I just wanted to share with the thread.

The Battery Care Function helps conserve battery life to assure extended use. Normally, a battery is recharged 100%. However, this function extends battery life by resetting full recharge capacity between 50% (super-caring recharge mode) and 80% (caring recharge mode). It is well known that repeated "additional recharge" of nickel-cadmium or nickel hydride batteries affects the battery (lazy battery effect) to gradually reduce the battery recharge capacity and ultimately shorten battery life. However, the lithium-iron batteries of the VAIO G have different properties. Additional battery recharging does not have the same effect on the memory of this type of battery but it is still beneficial to keep battery recharge capacity at less than 100%. While overall benefits depend on how the VAIO G is used, research shows that there is virtually no decrease in capacity when recharge capacity is controlled at 50%.

Another useful function is the Battery Care Function individual setting, which allows the user to make individual settings for different batteries. This is helpful for the VAIO G, which uses several batteries, since the user can create settings such as "100% for this battery" and "50% for that battery". For example, the individual setting for business trips could be 100% recharge capacity to enable extended use over many hours while the individual setting for the office could be 50% to assure long battery life over the long-term through frequent recharging at 50% capacity. The mechanism behind this innovation allows setting information to be recorded into each battery via a microcomputer so that the battery itself controls the setting. Once this setting is recorded, each battery is automatically recognised when it is switched. This function is very convenient.

Interview with VAIO G developers

Also, when I start my F with the battery, I am getting a 85 or84% charge read. I still have not had the time to do a full drain from 100% and 85% to find out if this is only calibration or a real 15% less battery life. If anyone has info on this subject it would be appreciated.

 

I've a VPCF11S1E model and sometimes after watching a divx video, with vga video-out in my tv, for about an hour my screen turns black and an horrible loud sound starts buzzing of the speakers. I've got to power off and restart it. It happened one time watching a youtube movie too.
After reading some posts I think that I'm not the only one with this kind of issue.
Can you help me?
Thanks!

 

Yah, it's a problem with Youtube. Update Flash to the newest build, otherwise there's nothing you can do. Also lockup can occur using MediaPlayer Classic in Win7. Use VLC or GOM player. DivX's own player tends to misbehave in Win7 with an Nvidia GPU.

 

Thanks for your reply.
I'll try the flash update. I was using GOM, but I started to use VLC yesterday. Let's see...

 

I must say that the Vaio F11Z1E is a fantastic bit of kit - just started to use my new one today. What an improvement on the FW series I would recommend it to
anyone looking for I7 power in a slick package. The screen is great but it is much better when you install Matt880's fantastic config for the screen on this forum.

I looked at the E series but it was just so nasty to touch, my hand slid off the palm rest, what is going on with that, the palm rest on this is soft and comfortable and makes all those hours at a laptop more bearable.

Sony seems to have had a bust up with Adobe as to my great surprise there is no Adobe Premier Elements on the F series even the top of the line so I had to invest in 9 Pro as well, bear that in mind when you buy the F series.

I;m very happy not to be at the repair shop all the time with broken DC jacks as I was using the FW, it happened 4 times in all.

If you want a great Vaio go for it.

 

You should state what country you're in. I got Premiere Pro CS4 bundled WITH my F11. And it's still being offered. In some cases Premiere CS4 may have been dropped because CS5 is going to be offered with the F-series' new models at the end of June. I wish I'd waited a month to buy the F, (in March) then I could have had a free upgrade to CS5. Premiere Elements by the way is offered as a bundle in the VAIO CW series.

I prefer everything about the FW 390 to 590s including looks, screen, its use of an ATI GPU, and layout; only in performance does the F11 come out ahead, and that's what I needed. And the F11 is one of the BEST-performing i7 laptops. Yes the FW had a problem with that flimsy DC socket mount, (compromised due to the styling of the hinge) which was only addressed late in the final run of 490s and 590s. I'm actually looking to get a used late-run FW to use as a diagnostic Beater system for PC field-service calls and location office work, replacing the IBM T23 I currently carry in my workcase. My F11 is developing a "patina" from its heavy use at home, I've already disassembled it to clean out the dust from six cats, imagine if I started lugging it everywhere

 

Sony vaio with atheros wlan ar9287 enabled with i-link external audio sound card= FAIL.
I am a muscian who bought this notebook for the raw hp for making and encoding music with faster speeds and more creativity without dealing with latency of older cpus and set ups.

Anyways I have an M- audio 4/10 ive been using for 4 years now. no probs until vista drivers were finally released and then all was good. now I have a situation. Since i set my laptop up i couldnt use my audio device for more than 20 sec then i get the freeze up of the device. i tested the card back on my dell 1720 without any problems so I was confuseed. I thought maybe a conflict with other audio devices or a poor i link card which is the richoh which I also have in my dell.

http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/qu...ont-back-9a1c45ab5082e885d6be51a594bf771d.jpg

After all this i did a clean install and 2 restorations with no luck.

M-audio forums suggest using a legacy driver for the 1394 firewire i link connection which didnt work and also to use dpc latency checker to remove hardware that might cause latency by monotoring you computer.

DPC Latency Checker

Come to find out i was receiving latency of 8000Us in three large spikes every 20 seconds. I then disabled the atheros wlan and the latency was gone my vaio vpcf1 was now streaming audio in the good range less then 500us which is very good for real time audio or video streaming audio.

I had already called sony tech and they had givien me a case # suggesting i should buy new cables purchase some new i-link hardware from them too test (yeah right). anyways I got to the top level of support before engineering on 5-14-2010. This tech support individual was on the phone with me for over an hour trying to help me and he also ran the same tests i did but he also used another wlan card from intel and the latency was gone he said.
This tech support who I appluad was able to reproduce and find a flaw in the vaio f that i did and said he would pass it to engineering.
I suppose this problem isnt wide spread cause not many use had audio streaming threw the i-link as I do. @ this time there is no fix unless you connect a usb wlan card interface or buy a an internal 1/2 sized mobile card your self.

If anyone else uses the i-link and your having trouble and have been told by some manufactuers tech support that you probably didnt configuire your software or hardware properly you can tell them this is the problem.
the tech support told me the only way sony can fix this is with an updated driver or software patch. I dont think by me alone calling will get it done so if more folks here have this problem please call sony support with this issue and temporary fix.
regards mike

 

This is a well-known issue, the F uses a Ricoh firewire chip, which is not compatible with legacy devices requiring the regular Texas Instruments standard. How to Buy a Laptop Computer for Audio Recording - wikiHow Nearly all current laptops use non-TI firewire chips. ONLY HP and Apple contine to make laptops using the Texas Instruments chips.

For the F there is no fix, since even using a TI express card Firewire card does not work to the TI standard due to the supporting chipset for the port. The VAIO F11 will not work with legacy DAW - End Of Story. And there is no emulation driver. NEW audio and video devices DO work with non-TI 1394.

Myself, I was aware of this issue, so continue to use my old Shuttle system for TripleDat and the M-Audio interface. Even using my Canon camera on the F11's firewire port is proving problematic.

 

My m-audio card works fine with the atheros card turned off. I connected a usb dlink draft n-card and im able to browse the internet and use my firewire audio interface at the same time(no crashing).

Im just going to buy an internal intel mobile wireless card and and get rid of atheros. my problem is not the ricoh its the atheros wlan and im not using the legacy 1394 compliant it was just for a test.

If the atheros is enabled it causes latency spikes confirmed by sony tech yesterday.

If it wasnt for the atheros being halved sized i would swap my card from my dell 1720.
Sony tech said i can also open the notebook without voiding the warranty but still hesitant since its so delicate and new. I would hate to screw it up.

Btw thanks for the info and reply

 

i had the same issue, it was not the flash in my case, the video drivers were on the old version! go to the Nvidia control panel and System Info. Make sure you have the188.67 version. My F had the older version. Go to esupport.sony.com and find the drivers for your model and install. This should fix the issue.

 

It's easy to open the laptop, you have to wobble a bit to clear the VGA and HDMI ports. And don't lose any screws! The Unification page links to changing the wireless card. 2455 onwards http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/464372-official-sony-vaio-f-series-owners-lounge-part-2-a-246.html

I didn't know about the Atheros card incompatability, just the Ricoh issue. And it's easy enough to turn off Bluetooth and WiFi while working on audio.

Good luck!

 

Hey guys,

I'm new here and also new to the Sony notebooks. I'm using brand new Sony VPCF11M1E and I've got a problem with it. Yesterday I've tried to burn a DVD, both DVD+R (Philips) and DVD-RW (Sony) were used. Unfortunately, not even Nero nor Windows Burning app were able to do it. It starts with formatting the disc and then a message occurs - couldn't use Disc-At-Once. If I switch to Track-At-Once the program can't format the disc.

I've got a Matsua BluRay disc drive. Any ideas? Tried to flash with a newer firmware, but the flash program doesn't recognize the hardware.

 

If your F is "brand new" then did you try the included Roxio or is this an other "clean install"?

If Nero was installed on top of Roxio then...

 

It's a clean installation. I need to use Roxio intead of Nero? Why?

 

Is it a UJ141AS? If so others are having problems with the same model..

See 4155 and responses. http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/464372-official-sony-vaio-f-series-owners-lounge-part-2-a-416.html#post6223240

 

No, the point is some users mess up their system, do a clean install & then report a problem w/o mentioning this "detail" that it's not an OEM OS.

Before wiping out your HDD you should have burned some recovery discs so then in factory state you would have known if you had a hardware problem or not. Now all bets are off.

That's the first step ALL owners should do before messing up their system. Check clean install in the Unification Post linked in my sig below.

 

Nero is better than Roxio. I use Nero everywhere else (on win 7 systems) but for now use the OEM-supplied Roxio on the F11. If you have Win 7 and Nero 7.1.1.0 or later that should work. It's pretty hard to destroy DVDr capability unless a legacy image-creating program such as Montage is installed.

I assume that before wiping the OEM install off the drive you DID burn the recovery discs? So it worked then. If you didn't think to burn the recovery discs then you've irrevocably screwed up.

However I'm seeing hints here and in forums for other systems that the UJ141 is buggy. If you have the UJ240 BD-writer then those DON'T seem to have issues other than the excessive noise.

 

taiji99, how can you say that you have the same problem? You said you had the problem on the very first boot out of the box in OEM state OS while olssy modified his F & the kb works in Linux proving that it's not a hardware problem.

If restoring to factory state using F10 when booting does not fix the problem then you should contact Sony_support to exchange or repair the unit. All things made by humans have a percentage of failiures, yours is maybe one of them, that's why there is a warranty & return policy.

 

The keyboard and trackpad are PS/2 devices that should be recognized practically anywhere.

 

I'm advanced user and not new to laptops/PCs. I haven't made Recovery CDs because I'm not using them, doesn't matter if it's Recovery Partition or CDs - I'm using different language in Windows, because my girlfriend is not familiar with English

Anyway, using the newest Nero 10 hasn't resolved the problem. Will read what you guys have written here. Was also wondering why the firmware posted by Sony at their own website won't flash, had same problem with their graphics drivers - AFAIK they didn't agree to use Verde programme via NVIDIA.

 

By using term "the same" i meant "the problem with keyboard and touchpad" as i didnt find similar problem on whole board or anywhere else. Behavior of my unit is so similar to olssy`s - keyboard work just fine (bios..) until "Starting Windows" appears... Never saw something like this.

I just wanted to know if this happened to anybody else (there are known failiures for some units etc..), before i return my unit.

I also thought that brands with such name test their units before selling them, but when i fliped them over (F11Z1E too), i saw shiny "Made in China" sticker...huh

Thanks anyway

 

I don't want to be mean but writing "I'm advanced user..." opens the door to sarcastic comments.

1- You can't afford $2 & 20 minutes to burn 2 DVD recovery discs and don't see any value in them as a troubleshooting tool as it contains all original F OEM drivers & software beside the OS & can be useful to return the machine to factory state & overwrite the HDD with zeros to erase all personal data before selling or passing along the F.

2- "I'm using different language in Windows..." - Me too. I just entered an Ultimate key in my OEM Windows 7 Home OS via Anytime Upgrade in the Start Menu & it took only 5 minutes offline to complete & a few minutes on the web to download 4 language packs. While I can choose between 34 Windows 7 OS representation languages packs @ the present, I only use English, French, German & Spanish. I really don't see what this has to do with the recovery discs.

3- "...wondering why the firmware posted by Sony_at their own website won't flash" - What firmware? For which hardware device exactly? Do you have an exact name or link? The only one I see for my F @ the present is the Broadcom Bluetooth Firmware Update which flashed perfectly well.

4- "...why the firmware posted by Sony_at their own website won't flash, had same problem with their graphics drivers - AFAIK they didn't agree to use Verde programme via NVIDIA" - Search this Thread (an advanced board user tool ) with: Nvidia Verde. Sony is not part of that program @ the present so it will not automatically download video drivers for the F. That's not a problem, you can do it manually with a modification made by a F owner in this thread, see this post posted just a few pages ago: VAIO_F Series Nvidia Driver 197.44 Update vs OEM Benchmarks. There is no firmware for video @ the present & that Verde program is not on a Sony_site.

Even if you are an advanced user, you could have found a link to that video driver in the Unification Post (link can be found on page 1, post #1 of this thread) where you may also find some other useful links about the F.

5- About your Optical drive troubleshooting: I presume you did not install that as you are an advanced user but: ASSIST > Vaio_Care > Troubleshooting > Diagnostics > Hardware Test > DVD Drive.

From How to use the VAIO_Hardware Diagnostics utility to diagnose hardware issues using the VAIO_Care software:







Some call this "bloatware" which it is until you need it.

The point here is not to scold you but I think it's bad advice to other F owners to delete the recovery partition AND ALSO not to create recovery discs.

This said, I'm sure you can find on the web a ODD testing utility for advanced users.

*****

Re: Keyboard and Touchpad Not Working

@taiji99: Why are you all shocked by a defective device? Made in China is not a criteria of good or bad workmanship, it depends on the brand, production run, etc. Defects on mass produced devices happens to all brands and Sony_does not have a bad track record as you can see below. Everything is relative.

 

I've been using the 188.67 version, just reinstalled yesterday once again. The problem persists using VLC Player.
I'm not sure if the problem occur when the laptop is not connect with the tv using vga out...
Thanks for your help.

 

Hello I would like to know if anybody has the same problem

It is the classic problem that has been reported many times with other vaios or lcds.
When you down one level to other than maximum brightness with fn , you can hear a electric buzzing sound.

I thought that this question was solved,my vaio fz had this problem but this is here again.Inverter?

You should hear this sound in a quiet room and in a moment that the fan is slow.

 

Check here maybe? Vaio_FZ LCD Buzz thread.

 

When I have my F, I didnt notice there such problems..maybe the buzz come from the microphone (the morse code issue)?, did you tried that fix and see if that would fix it?

 

Sorry mate, I don't need Recovery partitions or DVDs, full of stuff and if I need to RMA my laptop I just order the DVDs from them. Making a copy of the Recovery partition doesn't take long, but is useless for me.

Anyway, this is the first time I experience such stupid problems with a laptop. I'm from Europe mate and we got MUCH different service, I'm using the Dutch site of Sony and it redirects me to the English one. The site is much different from the one you have just posted.

Also, Sony doesn't participate in the Verde programme, so they're making their own drivers. I know there is a modification, but for God's sake if I want to use clean installation I should be also to download drivers in a minute and install all the stuff in the same period of time. I had HP, Samsung, Toshiba, Dell... just a few drivers and way to go!

I don't care about some Sony stuff, If I bought something I can install even Linux on my laptop and the BluRay drive should work! Or maybe I'm living in the Gates world? Pay here, pay there...

 

I'm sorry, but for whatever reason you do want to be able to go back to the system as delivered. Maybe you decide you don't like it and want to resell..maybe there IS a hardware problem and the only way Sony is going to help you is if you are working with the OEM software... If you don't have the OEM stuff you first of all don't have what you PAID for, including Windows, and secondly you lose the reference point for troublehooting and warranty service, PRECISELY as has happened to you. Right now you and I have NO idea if the DVD writer problem is the device itself, or the non-OEM software you decided to use to replace the Sony stuff. This situation is your fault, you eliminated both the easy way to troubleshoot the issue, and Warranty support.

Not saving Factory config is utterly pointless, it takes SO little effort to do so.. And,.. this is so obvious, .. make SURE everything is friggin' WORKING properly before mucking with the system!

And the reference to the "Gates World" is stupid, If you've been reading this thread you KNOW the F has had hardware problem; like any system there is a percentage with issues, mostly resolvable under warranty. Sure, this laptop will definitely work well under Linux and Hackintosh - once it's established that it is functioning properly as shipped.

 

Anyone who's saying that using OEM software is a must is retarted or something. I choose what I want to use, OK with the OEM Windows installation, every company does that, but CD/DVD Recording app? I can see the US and Canada got different law there, but this is just madness.

 

First, I think you have a bad DVD writer, there is no "madness" there, why are you trying to overanalyze and get political?

I'm not saying you must use OEM software, long-time computer hobbyist that I am I'd say anything but that. .. I'm saying you have to establish that everything works on the computer, in the case of the F it's guaranted to be delivered functional, BEFORE voiding the warranty and/or trying to use it for other purposes. If everything functions under factory-supplied conditions, only then can you do your own thing. By screwing with it before even TRYING it as shipped, you've lost the Control, the reference point as to how this system should be.

My method: order the cheapest bundled hard drive. Do the final setup, run backups, register the computer with the distributor, make sure everything works.. ...Then take OUT that hard drive, store it safely, and put in your OWN drive then start playing. If the system develops a hardware problem, put back in the OEM drive, and you have warranty and troubleshooting. Simple, eh?

(edit) Anyway I got my F with Win 7 Pro and Fresh Start, relatively bloat-free, and there is simply nothing WRONG with the "OEM software," and in fact VAIO care has saved my rear end on three occasions when drivers became corrupted (for various reasons that no longer apply) Otherwise it would have been a tedious troubleshooting process.

 

I've noticed that a lot of people have problems writing anything on the bluray burners (there's a particular panasonic/matsua unit).

With that said I'd forego the option. My unit has a sony bluray *reader* and that works wonderfully.

On clean install vs factory install, I think that's an option up to you. I've done both, and am happy with clean installs myself. I don't think it's necessary to have to keep the OEM configuration or to factory restore a machine before sending it in. After all, the warranty is primarily there for hardware failure, and in most situations it's pretty easy to diagnose hardware failure.

 

Does the Sony warranty cover software related issues?

If it gets sent in for repair with a clean install and the issue found was software and not hardware related, what's to stop the repair center from saying "because you were not operating under OEM conditions and the resulting problem lay in an improper installation of the OS and that the clean-installation excluded specific Sony software necessary (that may not be on the support site) that the service will be charged a fee."?

I would keep recovery discs in hand just so that we can rule this out in the first place. no?

 

The problems with Wintereq's system concern a UJ141, which is a DVDwriter, but only READS Bluray. I haven't actually seen anyone in this thread having problems with the UJ240, which writes Bluray. And mine writes CDs, DVDs, and BDs perfectly.

No you don't have to keep the OEM configuration, but you certainly want to TEST the system with its factory setup before committing to changes....

 

"...you certainly want to TEST the system with its factory setup before committing to changes" - That's so obvious to me that I forgot to include it in my reply above.

The next thing is that you have to be a real cheapo to refuse to spend $2 on 2 recovery DVD's. In fact where I live they are about $0.80 (EURO 0.56) each including the jewel case.

 

After owning my VPCF111FD for 3 months I finally made the 2 Recovery DVD's this week. Took about an hour total. Very happy to have them done, though. It was laziness more than anything. I love this computer, though. Sure it has some minor issues, like a noisy fan and a squeaky spacebar, which I also have a can of air that I plan on using to remedy that soon, but regardless, it's a very nice system. I have one of the most basic setups as well, with the 1600x900 screen..and as mentioned before, I can not find anything wrong with this display. Granted I've never owned a high end LCD or a 1080p TV, and don't have a point of comparison..but I downloaded a BluRay rip of Avatar recently and OMG it was absolutly beautiful on this Sony laptop. I couldn't believe how incredible it looked.. Now I want to try out a real BluRay disc to see how it looks on here. Very happy with this laptop.

 

Nice one! I have Avatar on blu Ray (looks great on my HDTV) so Ill have a go with it tonight see how it looks.

I took delivery of my new F11 2 days a go, very pleased with it so far. I dont seem to have any of the fan issues others have reported.

I tested it with 3DMark06 out of the box and got scores of 6423 and 6444, which I am pleased with. Thats with the i5-520M processor and 330M video card, default Sony video drivers, no bloatware removed (98 processes out of the box), and no overclocking.

Any other i5 owners out there with stats to compare? Gandalf the grey perhaps?

 

I guess I'll make sure to make some recovery DVD's if I decide to get an F during the upcoming refresh. I never knew it was so important, but then again, the 2 Dell laptops I have could restore everything back to factory settings just by choosing the 'Repair Your Computer' option...

 

That is kind of strange you cannot do that with this laptop.