Official Sony VAIO F Series i5/i7 owners thread *Part 5*

I've talked to several Sonyy Phone Support people, and 2 service repair techs from the closest Sonyy Style store, and all of them claim that there is no such issue with the F_series fan. They will just tell you to have it serviced (which is free) but some people on this forum said they had theirs serviced 2 or 3 times and the problem was still there, which is why I'm hesitant to have them service mine, and i've been looking for ways to fix it myself. I'm currently in the middle of disassembling my F12 to see if greasing the fan bearing will help. Will post back when i'm done.

 

decided not to clean install for the time being because it's too much hassle acquiring licenses from my uni to reinstall 3rd party software.
I'm basically going on a bloatware uninstall frenzy. Can anyone tell me what I should definitely keep and what can go? (I remade my recovery discs btw)

 

No, and no. You can't play online with a torrented game unless someone is hosting cracked servers, as nice as that would be

 

I would keep the VAIO care utility and the intel power management stuff. I ditched the VAIO media center/PMB and messenger as well as some of the other VAIO media-related things. I also uninstalled the norton antivirus trial they provide you and installed Avast! instead.

If you don't want to uninstall a program, but at the same time don't want it taking up resources or slowing down your boot time, you can change which of these programs run at startup by hitting winkey+r to open the run dialog and typing msconfig.

Here were my configuration settings before my hard drive died and I had to reinstall using a fresh copy of windows. This will be different for every computer, but hopefully they will give you a rough idea of what to keep on or off in case you decide to go this route.

Startup:



As well as my disabled services:

 

What program are you guys using who can see your fan speed? I've downloaded a few utilities but the fan shows up blank in all of them. I wanted to monitor it when I watch my video and run programs later to see if I get the fan noise. So far no fan problem that I've noticed but I didn't do much yet after making recovery disks because I got very ill and have been lying down.

I don't think I'm going to run furmark because of the potential problems it could cause. I'm going to download firefox with all my extensions and tabs and watch online video and also use my dvd player - no bluray for me - and install some programs and see how the fan (and everything else) sounds.

 

No!! That really sucks. I'm really really sorry to hear about that. It's completely unacceptable that you should have to contact them to find out about that. Best of luck to ya - alienware has gotten much better since it was picked up by dell. idk if it's available near you, but I know that Asus makes some nice laptops at a decent price.

Anyway, really sorry to hear about that and I hope you have better luck with your next laptop.

 

Download Everest Ultimate Edition Downloads | Lavalys.com it's free and will allow you to monitor the fan rpm as well as temps etc and has a stress test utility that is useful for seeing how hot your components get. Tools -> System Stability Test. It also tells you all kinds of information/specs of the pc.

 

ok thanks. I'll try that. will report back later.

 

Have you considered to use the Firefox extension "FEBE" to export your entire profile (includes all addons!) into a file with a click, and then transport it to your F? I did this twice now, and it makes the new notebook feel like home immediately. It makes an exact copy of the environment, except Google toolbar buttons have to be copied manually, as they aren't stored in FF folders.
By the way, 100 tabs is remarkable for the current Firefox 3.6 to work with. My experience is that above 25 tabs, the programm will slow down on its own more and more, even with masses of RAM and CPU power left. FF4 improves on this, reportedly.

 

Yep. Thanks. I installed that extension on my old PC this morning in anticipation of getting my F. If I had to manually install everything it would take a whole day so I'm hoping it works well. Last time I did the copying of my profile manually according to Mozilla directions but encountered a lot of problems so looking forward to this easier way.

 

Sorry you won't be such a regular and about the way it played out. All the best.

 

Well, I've watched videos, loaded hundreds of webpages simultaneously, and ran the Everest System Stability Test individually and with all options checked so that the temperature and fan were on high. Basically, the fan doesn't bother me. My Inspiron is louder and has driven me crazy for 5 years so in comparison the F13 is just fine.

I do, if I listen in a quiet environment, hear what I'm assuming is the high pitched noise some people refer to, but I think it must either be louder for other people or it just isn't an issue for me since I'm used to a really loud fan and this is a low level noise. Hopefully, it stays that way and I don't come on here in a week saying how loud it's gotten. :-o

 

It'll be a great idea to provide screenshots of your "Add or Remove programs" panel so we can see an entire list of the programs you have installed.

It's an even better idea for you to mark out the programs that you insist upon keeping, leaving just those that you don't know about.

This will work much better than people providing blind recommendations.

 

Wow, what a crap experience! So sorry that happened to you. Will miss you around here, too.

 

Yep! It is unacceptable to have to contact them and bash it out of them to find out but that's how certain companies get when they're big, customer service goes to the dogs. From what I've read so far the Alienware's should be pretty good problem is I can't stretch the budget to make the laptop what it should be :/ seems like 1200p, ATI 5870 (may get CF on offer as it seems they're getting ready for a model refresh) and an i7-740, can't stretch much past that and will use a momentus xt 500GB as it's cheaper to buy one than to config a standard 500GB HDD... So I'd get a free 160GB and a momentus for cheaper than one standard 500GB HDD that's funny . Would have tried the ASUS route if I could but in the UK they don't sell their own laptops it's just resellers. I gotta take what I can, and Dell are the only people who can make financing work, unfortunately lol. Thanks for the luck and yea hopefully better luck indeed! Getting a cheaper price on the last of this bunch before the refresh if it's coming would be great!

Thanks for the above and I'll still check in, it's truly a great owners lounge and can't let all this info in my head go to waste!

You summed it up well it's a shame Sony_don't offer any form of financing but I guess if you want it you gotta pay for it! Ironic I can "afford" an Alienware lol but that's income for you.

Good luck to all of you here and I'll carry on touting the F_series for the great laptop that it is. If anyone new reads this listen to the regulars they know their stuff and it'll be obvious who they are .

 

What configuration of the F12 did you want and what country are you in? I'm thinking of selling mine (bought Sept 1st and in pristine condition).

VPCF12C5E (custom UK model)

i7 740QM
6gb RAM
320gb 5400rpm hdd
Blu Ray writer (free upgrade!)
Matte premium 1080p screen
Windows 7 pro 64-bit

I still have all the wrapping, manuals and the box. The reason I'm thinking about selling is that I recently bought my mum a second hand Sony VAIO SR and its just dinky. I just loved the A4 size, the weight and being able to roam around outside my house without even bringing the power brick with me. So you can see where this is going. I've been eying up a deal on the VGN-Z series or maybe an old Z11 or Z12. I could maybe afford the economy Z13 w/o dvd drive or ssd but ehhh.

I upgraded the hdd in the F12 to an OCZ Vertex 2E 120gb and was gonna list the whole thing FS locally close to the price I bought it for (original invoice included too) so the Vertex 2 and a Notepal U3 are in there for free. Everything comes with its original box, packaging and manuals and extra bits (including the Vertex 2 and Notepal U3).

Anyway if you lived close by its an option if you still want an F12 but (ironically enough) Sony won't sell it to you.

 

Did you noticed any of the top surfaces heating up during heavy use?

 

its a shame Sony cant do anything with the noise, i also dont want to take my laptop apart. Im not bothered about the sound that much at the moment.

Guys in regards to the boot time, when i did a fresh install i had to change my boot drives, thing is there 3 of them and do i need to put them in any order to make the boot time faster, as i followed what joe said about changing it.

 

Boot from your OS drive. If you have multiple OS drives boot from the fastest one.

For example, I had an ssd in the 2.5" drive bay and a hdd hooked up via eSATA, both with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit on them. You can boot from the External Drive (hdd) but its quicker from the ssd. Windows hits the login screen in like 19 seconds on the ssd. Probably a bit less if you do no gui boot.

 

i dont understand, do i have to set boot 1 on optical drive.

 

Nah, you only need to boot from the optical drive if you have a recovery disc in it. That way, instead of loading windows it loads recovery media. Theres no harm in leaving optical drive as boot 1 since if theres no dvd in the drive then nothing happens and it skips to boot 2. If you have a windows install disk or recovery disk in the drive it will load that instead of loading windows though. If theres no OS on your external drive then it'll skip to the next drive that does have an OS or a recovery partition.

My boot order =

1. Internal Drive (Vertex 2 ssd)
2. External Drive (WD Scorpio Black hdd via eSATA)
3. Optical Drive

If I need to fresh install from recovery media then I can always restart, hit F2 to go into the BIOS and change the boot order so Optical Drive is first. Otherwise, boot from the internal drive which should be your fastest drive.

 

I don't think VAIO Hardware Diagnostics and VAIO Peripherals Metadata exist anymore. I have an F115FM and it doesn't have them. I think the hardware diagnostics is included in VAIO Care now. The peripherals metadata is supposedly to make sure external devices appear correctly under Devices and Printers, but Windows should take care of that. It's possible that a Windows update made it unnecessary.

I do have VAIO Help and Support in my programs list. But on my F, Help and Support is accessed through VAIO Care 5.1, so it's possible that it's just part of VAIO Care 6 in your F and not a separate package.

Magic-i Visual Effects is also in my programs list, but I haven't installed it. It's possible that it may have been renamed or bundled with other ArcSoft or webcam-related packages. Or Sony might have dropped it.

 

ok may have to check the programs out, so shall i make boot 1 to internal HD, to make my boot time quicker then.

 

No, if the optical drive is set as first boot device, the system will check the drive at every boot before skipping to Windows. The search for media and if inserted, bootable content, always takes a little time even when there isn't a disc inserted. I've set HDD as first boot device. When I have to boot from a CD once, I'll change it for then.

 

Does anyone know a good black colored skin for the lid of the VAIO F?
I noticed mine gets scratched quite easily and the metallic powerish thingy rubs off too :/ Very annoying to look at.

 

The top was fine. I felt around to see where it was hottest and on top it was near the left palmrest. But it never got hot enough that I felt I had to move my hand. On the bottom, it was hottest in back left. With jeans on, I could keep it on my lap, but it was noticeably hot and you wouldn't want it against your skin of course and would be uncomfortable with very thin pants/shorts.

But that was only at the highest temps/heaviest load. Normal use, the only heat I feel is if I put my hand over the fan exhaust on the side. During heavy use, it never felt as hot as my Dell does, either on top or underneath, even though it was running at higher temps. My Inspiron can burn me just browsing the web.

 

i have watched a blu ray movie, awesome on the laptop btw, but when i rewind or go forward the sound drops for some seconds and comes back on, why is that, bit annoying.

 

Download a different program and see if the problem occurs there too.

Pick any program with a 30day trial that allows bluray playback.

 

im using a program called vlc, it happens with dvds as well, dont know why the sound goes off.

 

I can't use VLC for blu ray discs, only can use it when I've ripped the movie from the disc. Regardless, I do not have the sound issue that you mentioned when playing bluray rips via VLC or bluray discs in Corel WinDVD.

That's a tough one.

 

ye same with blu ray rips, when i forward it or rewind it too much, i lose sound for 3-5 seconds. Does anyone have the same problem.

 

How about when you just click a different part of the movie along the progress bar.

When you mean FF/RW too much, at what speed and for how long? Have to try and duplicate it.

 

@ omaroo

Using PowerDVD 9 and fast forward I hear no sound at all

When I stop and play , yes it takes a few seconds for sound

When I skip to a different part of the blu-ray I hear sound right away

I hope that clears up this issue

Btw my favorite way of watching movies is from the start to the end
Uninterrupted



Alex

 

tom cat its similar but on vlc progress bar when click to go back or forward there is no sound for few seconds, is it my laptop, or just how the video player works.

 

@ omaroo

These issues are usually software related

I don't have a Sony F
The reason that I made the comment is that this is normal software quirks and nothing to worry about



Alex

 

ok, hope its just the software, but will try other players. Anyone know if i need to install the latest nvidea driver as stated in joes guide.

 

Well I took my entire F12 apart to see if greasing up the shaft on the fan unit will fix the annoying whistling noises. Didn't help at all. Going to call monday and see if I can just send it back for a refund, even though it's been past 30 days Hopefully they will allow it, otherwise i'm going to send it in for "repair" and see if it can truly be fixed. I find it very odd that out of the 6 Sonyy support & repair specialists i've talked to, none of them have heard of this issue before, when a lot of people on this forum have had it.

 

Seems that it's always the i7 740QM in combination with Full HD display causing those massive, ergonomy-killing whining irritations.

 

I use a program called MPCSTAR.Try that one out, it plays about everything.

 

How about the i7 840QM with the Full HD?

 

i'll let you know in few days. getting mine on tuesday ( 840QM, full HD, BD-R, fresh start)

 

YouTube: F12Z1E whining

A nice find for clarification purpose: at positions 0:11 and 0:23, you can hear the specific drone noise many F12Z1 make at certain idle states. (I heard the invertor whine of other notebooks, also live, and they sounded very different and more electric.)

 

Just a random update -

Been playing games for 8+ hours now with the U2 notebook cooler and I'm showing 72C on GPU-Z. Laptop feels a little warm on th left side but nothing much. Very good

 

Just in case anyone was wondering about the USB 3.0 ports. I just did my own little comparison test between the 2.0 and 3.0 ports on my F13. The 3.0 was about 3 times faster than the 2.0. This is an unscientific test of course but real world tests matter more to me.

I needed a bigger backup drive than I had so I bought a Western Digital My Book Essential with USB 3.0. All I did to test was transfer about 10GB of files from the backup drive to the F13. I did the same files to the same location on my computer, under the same conditions, for each port, and I did each port twice to confirm the results. So, anyway, the 2.0 took three times longer than the 3.0.

 

Does the f series model has mute button?

 

That was a very unwise thing to do, since the bearing is greaseless teflon-on-brass or titanium. The whining is caused by air disturbance of the fan blades past the nearest flat body, and the motor drive itself.

With the grease they won't honour a warranty, let alone accept a return.

 

While there is not a button labeled Mute, you have a few options.

-You can re-map the S1 key to perform as a mute button.
-You can order your F with Fresh start, in which case the Vaio button will perform as a mute button.
-You can do a clean install, in which case the Vaio button will perform as a mute button.
-Otherwise you have to use two keys - Fn+F2

 

Don't forget to take potty and meal breaks! LOL

Wow, that's really great with the U2. Glad you're happy with it.

 

Can someone post a deassemby guide? I sort of hit my VAIO F11 on the part where the Wifi switch is,and it won't turn on the wi-fi now, I need to open up to see whats wrong with the wireless switch, as it is loose and it wont have that "click" when u turn it on

Sony says the only way is to get it replaced which is pretty expensive, so I was thinking about opening it up and see if anything is broken, or maybe it's just something out of place which I can snap back

Plz, I can't access the internet without it as I dont currently have a LAN cable

 

do i need to download any latest nvidea drivers. Btw for people who have silent whistling noises, for me it happens sometimes, it isnt that bad for me personally, but the sound is there though, i might have to ask sony if anything can be done about it, at the moment its not bothering me.