Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge

Wow, two years was insanely generous. A little too long too, 30 or 90 days sounds right in terms that a person can open something than decide whether or not they like their product and return it.

I hate stuff like restocking fees, to me they do not make sense but I understand retailers trying to protect themselves from selfish idiots. I wouldn't advocate playing games.

 

Black out your serial number & Service Tag!!!

That's bad starting time average & it's because you have a lot of cr@p loading.

7200 HDD, not SSD, Home Premium, same BB F as you:



Man, I would like to run Autoruns on your lappy, would be merciless.

 

System Information
Model: VPCF119GX
Serial Number:
Service Tag:
Report Date: Friday, February 26, 2010 8:08:04 PM

Windows Startup Time

First Boot Time = 0 minutes 50 seconds
Average Month Boot Time = 0 minutes 54 seconds

Total Startup Applications = 7
More Info

 

GRID played and recorded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWrSlrhSNMs

 

Good! Which OS, stock or clean install, HDD?

 

Mine took 3 minutes and 15 seconds for the first boot. I wonder why. Average for the first month is 1 minute and 11 seconds, which isn't too bad.

 

I'll update you when I have run it

 

This is my first post...Great forum...little long though...
I was wondering if anyone had this issue...with the new F.
I ordered a brand new F CTO from SonyStyles. Got it 4 days ago.
Unstalled some junk programs...mostly 30 days trials.
Installed all of my office and abobe products.
Was loving it....then I shut the lid on my laptop...went to bed...
Next morning it would not boot. Green light came on...but nothing else for about 30 seconds...then fan turns on...then nothing...no screen...no noise from HDD (no spin). Power was attached of course...even took out the battery and drained the system before trying again.
Sony tech told me it is called no post fail...duh...
The long waited laptop died in less than 2 full days. I've sent it back...and waiting to hear back about replacement...
Wish me luck!

 

"3 minutes and 15 seconds for the first boot" - it's broken! I knew you would end up finding some problems.

Maybe you did not crank it enough before starting it?



Just kidding, did you have factory install stuff like Photoshop, etc?

 

Yes, a couple of posters early in this thread had their F11 fail in the same way, again after just a couple of days. It IS a power supply failure (in the laptop.)

(edit) http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5823777&postcount=2584

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5806863&postcount=2204

 

@kihokang, sorry to hear about that. From what Melody said it is an early adoptor model.

Hopefully the next one they send you won't fail.

 

My SSD boot times are as follows:

First Boot time: 3 minutes 42 Secs
Average Boot time: 0 minute, 40 secs
Total startup applications: 8

Don't know if the time I spend in putting in my windows password is counted towards those 40 secs of bootup time.

 

On the bright side, it's better to fail in two days than in 6 months with a lot of personal stuff inside or even worst, one week after the end of the warranty.

 

Thanks guys! I also hope that next one doesn't fail, either.
Sony offer to repair the machine...but I've told them no way.
Requested a replacement not a refund...but their research team has to determine whether to give me a credit or replacement...their deadline of 48 hours to determine that is tomorrow morning. So I hope to find out soon.
I can't believe this is happening...

 

No additional programs. Windows 7 Home Premium, no "Fresh Start". So only Norton and Office 2007 trials and whatever other Sony programs.

On a side note how did you post the large images such as the Autoruns, VAIO Care, basically the ones from your computer? Are you using an image host? I use the manage attachments feature, but the image is tiny until clicked.

 

Just got my F11 (CTO) today! Here are a couple of preliminary observations/comments:

1. Box has a yellow round sticker, whatever that may mean

2. The laptop is *fairly* quiet - meaning it's no louder/quieter than my previous Dell/Lenovo laptops

3. The screen looks really nice, especially after I turned off the automatic brightness control. It's night time now so the glossy screen hasn't affected me much yet. No dead pixel - thank God! I think I see what people mean by the limited vertical viewing angle. It doesn't bother me too much - once again somewhat comparable to my previous laptops, and it's something I've come to expect (and perhaps have gotten used to) from a laptop screen

4. I don't like the fact that I can't manually choose to have the backlit keyboard on at all time - but I'm not desperate enough to put a piece of ugly tape over it. Not sure if I've wasted $25 for this option if it's going to be off most of the time.

 

Volume: Fn + F3/F4
Brightness: Fn + F5/F6

For backlighting, if you tap any key, it will come on.

 

Brightness and volume should be controllable from one of the function keys, as long as you hold the blue FN button.

 

Kind of wished I didn't get the backlit keyboard myself. It keeps turning on and off.

Volume: Up - Fn + 4; Down - Fn + F3
Alternatively you can press the speaker icon on the right side of the taskbar and use up/down arrrows or mouse scroll wheel.

Brightness: Up - Fn +F6 ; Down Fn +F5

 

Blue Fn key next to Start with F3, F4, F5 & F6.

Edit: wow, 4 quick fire replies about the keys, that's service!

"Kind of wished I didn't get the backlit keyboard myself. It keeps turning on and off." put tape on sensor (small dot just above F9) to have always on or hit key S1 (top right) > Vaio Control Center > Keyboard > Backlit KB "Do Not Turn OFF when dark & no tape. Can also be turned off there.

"On a side note how did you post the large images such as the Autoruns, VAIO Care, basically the ones from your computer? Are you using an image host?" yes, many here use Flickr or other free image hosting sites. Looks prettier than an attachment. You load to image site, right click image to copy image location & insert image button when posting here.

 

I don't know if you know...just mentioning because you've probably ordered your computer same time I did...
When I ordered mine...they were charging $90 for Blu-Ray ROM...just few days ago...they started to offer the free upgrade to BD-ROM...and $90 discount for BD-Burner...
So I called Sony and they refund me $90 + Tax. Just in case you bought one...

 

You're lucky, I recall someone else couldn't get their money back fro the Blu-Ray upgrade because Sony's price assurance doesn't include CTOs.

 

Haha thanks guys. I just saw the volume/brightness symbols on the keys. They were kinda hard to see at first.

Actually my backlighting doesn't come on when I type, it would only come on if I cover the light sensor.

 

Thanks for the tip, and yes I *just* missed that deal as well! But I read from a couple earlier posts that people tried and couldn't get a refund. I guess I'll give it a shot.

 

You are right. I just checked.

 

If possible it would be nice if sony offers a "fix" for the backlit keyboard at some point, one that allows it to be turned on and off easily as well as offers an adjustment for light intensity levels. Either that or some hack or third party software.

 

I guess you miss my edit:

"Kind of wished I didn't get the backlit keyboard myself. It keeps turning on and off." put tape on sensor (small dot just above F9) to have always on or hit key S1 (top right) > Vaio Control Center > Keyboard > Backlit KB "Do Not Turn OFF when dark & no tape. Can also be turned off there.

"On a side note how did you post the large images such as the Autoruns, VAIO Care, basically the ones from your computer? Are you using an image host?" yes, many here use Flickr or other free image hosting sites. Looks prettier than an attachment. You load to image site, right click image to copy image location & insert image button when posting here.

 

Windows 7 Professional, Fresh Start, 7200 500GB HDD

 

Yeah I'm aware of this, but l would like to adjust the brightness. Need to find some very small gray or black adhesive dots (or opaque tape in dot shape) that don't leave a residue or maybe that slick plastic that adheres to glass, etc and can be taken on and off easily. Don't know if it would adhere to the surface of the notebook.

Thanks. Thought it was an image host. I've used Image Shack in the past but didn't really like the user interface and features.

 

What, no comments about the amazing Autoruns?

It's only 581kb & no install needed: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5947114&posted=1#post5947114

 

I use the famous BD sticker.

 

Went ahead and purchased the Vaio NB Exp Ship Extended Service with Accidental Damage from Handling 3-Year from Provantage. I only wanted to spend $200 max for a warranty and wanted 3 years and ADH. Could have bought 3 Year Express Ship from sony style for $179.99, but no ADH. Hopefully I never have to use it.

 

thanks a lot for that! Seems like we're in the same boat. I'm guessing it has to do with the chipset drivers. I still don't what safe mode is not loading that makes it faster.

 

Joe, very cool find - thanks much. Maybe I'm lame, but I don't see the startup tab?

 

From our sponsor: When posting: Go Advanced > use relevant keywords in your message subject line.

Back to our regular program: Check Logon tab.

Make sure to Save & create as many snapshots as you want, you can go back anytime & even compare settings between different backups.

Do not disable ISBMgr.exe, it's for your F battery management.



Check this quick guide from the Autoruns Forum. A good read: Who’s That Hiding in my Windows?

 

Hello t everyone, I have a question to all international buyers especially those who are from Italy. I want to by F model from US because in Italy is expensive. I'm from Europ and dont have a SonyStyle shop , but my friend is in Italy and told to by it from US because is cheaper. But he don't know about taxes which is payed in Italy.
My question is how much will be taxes of buying VAIO F from US and shipping to Italy??

Or where in Italy may I get an discoun( of this model, some help
I read almost all post about this car and is famous,...
Those who are from Italy or Europe please reply to this message
P.S. if u have some info paste a link <>

P.S. sorry for my bad english!!!

 

Hi,
Not trying to intentionally find faults with this system, it might just be my machine, but did anyone else notice how loud the blu-ray drive is when playing normal DVDs? I've not tried a blu-ray DVD yet, but when playing DVDs you can hear the DVD spinning and its louder than sound coming from the speakers.

 

It varies according to country, so you'll need someone from Italy to tell you. in the UK if I imported from the US it would cost 17.5% ontop of the purchase and shipping costs or whatever the seller declared the value of the goods to be. If you find someone on ebay, they usually are willing to declare the value to be lower than it actually is (e.g. they might say 500 USD instead of 1200 USD) so you pay a lower amount.

So let's say VAIO website says 1200 USD you would pay (in the UK):

(VAIO price 1200 USD + Sales Tax USA + Shipping Costs) x 1.175

You won't actually save THAT much. I'd pay the premium for the better screen (there is no RGB matte option in the U.S). You do lose the backlit keyboard though.

I don't think you'll be able to buy from Sony Style US, they won't be willing to ship to you in the EU, you'll have to find a seller that will.

 

Not the case on mine. I have a Mata (Panasonic) BD-ROM drive.

 

Hi all, I've ordered a F11 (not yet received it) and gather that the built-in speakers are OK but nothing more.

So if I wanted to buy an external set of speakers for the F11 does anyone have a recommended buy in the low (or no more than medium) price range?

This would be for music primarily, but if the same speakers could be used (could they?) when using the F11's Blu-ray player with an HD TV - so as to get good effect with the cinema surround sound capabillity of the F11 - then so much the better.

 

just a quick question would it be possible to update the GPU or speakers later on for the f11. For movies the speakers seems brilliant but just above average for music

 

No. Only external speakers if you consider them an upgrade.

 

Can't go wrong with a set of Altec Lansing or Logitech external speakers. They can be found quite cheap and provide good sound. eBay has some good deals, take a peek on your local site.

 

but someone in this thread the f11 can be upgraded, so are ALL the parts solded in like the GPU

 

You can upgrade:

The hard-drive
The RAM memory

That's the case on almost any laptop in existence.

EDIT: Forgot, you can also swap out the optical drive.

 

A little more research into the fan issue I'm having: It's not the OS, as the fan will spin up to 100% and stay pinned there even if I'm just in the BIOS. It's repeatable on every boot, and the 100% fan speed kicks in about 30 secnods after boot.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, I'm not sure what's happened here.

 

Question: Has anyone thought about creating a post at the beginning of the thread (can a mod do this?) that basically has all the info that we have accumulated about the Vaio F? The difference between the US and Europe/Asia screens, noise issues, user reviews, etc?

Back when I was looking at buying an HP Envy 15 one of the more active HP 15 Envy forum users gathered info from all the pages (at the time, there was CONSIDERABLY less than this thread though) and posted it as the first thing you see when you come to look at the thread.

Is it possible to do something like that here?

 

I've used a one centimeter sized square piece of electrical tape to cover the sensor. Use a razor blade and it looks clean and neat. Backlight always on for me.

 

Am I reading correctly here, there is no way to keep the backlight always on without the tape? Also, I agree that autoruns along with process explorer (both Microsoft created utilities) are essential. I also like a fairly obscure utility called Anvir task manager.

 

@Fishon

You will only need the tape on the sensor if you want that 'Bling factor' and have the keyboard backlight on in good room lighting (as a matter of fact, indefinitely it seems as long as the unit is powered on)

You can adjust the timer settings on how the backlight behaves when it is on in a dark room from the VAIO control center. I've set mine for the backlight never to turn off once activated in a dark room. However, once the sensor deems there is enough room light, it will turn the backlight off.