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

What would either of you suggest would be better for my purposes? So far, the only thing I need it for is to use my tuner. I only have Windows 7 Home Premium, not Pro. My XP copy is on my Dell Recovery Disks. I'm not sure without trying if that will allow me to install XP on my Vaio or if it's bundled up with the Dell drivers/software and won't work on my Vaio, but I could try it if you think Virtual Box or VmWare Player would run better than XP mode.

Edit: Looking through my Dell disks, I have one that is labeled Operating System, so hopefully that is a separate copy of XP, without all the Dell junk.

 

Hello, I am a new f13 owner premium EU

You will see now black premium has the special rubber in black,but now the cover and the screen corners are not in dark black like f11 and f12 premium black.
Just curius,now it looks better,just marketing decisions.

 

Well, I'm making progress. I've tried both XP Mode and VmWare Player and was able to install the drivers and software for my TV tuner in XP. But the WinDVR software is not operating correctly on either one. I can set everything up correctly and it finds the channels but I can't actually view it. The display just comes up black where the show should be playing (no sound either) . Anyway, I'm hoping if I download a different software program, other than what came with it, maybe I can get it to work. So I'll keep trying. But at least I was able to install the tuner, so wanted to say thanks to anseio and regli - I gave you both reps. Btw, I tried Virtual Box but couldn't get it to install XP from my Dell disk so that's why I went with VmWare.

 

anyone know which is the latest nvidea driver, as i want to update it.

 

Could you post a picture of this new combination? So the screen back cover is grey?

 

This is the kind of question that upsets the other posters. We've been posting about this and you have been asking other questions in between these postings., You seem incapable or lazy to go back a few pages and retrieve the info. Here it is.

NVIDIA DRIVERS 260.89 WHQL

 

Greetings fellow Sony F users and Notebook Review members!

Thought I would come out of the lurking closet and introduce myself. Been lurking, reading the forums, while waiting for my Sony F13 to arrive.

I recently purchased:

VPCF1390X
* LED Backlit Keyboard
* No Fresh Start
* Adobe Bundle (Free - $448 value)
* Blu-ray Disc™ Read Only Drive
* Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.)
* Standard capacity battery
* NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 425M GPU (1GB VRAM)
* No Engraving
* Intel® Core™ Quad i7-740QM processor (1.73GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
* 16.4" VAIO Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080)
* 320GB Hard Disk Drive (7200rpm)
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
* Norton Internet Security™ 2010 (30 Day Trial

Am new to laptops, it is my 1st. Was about ready to buy a Dell, but Dell was changing their lineup, so I bought a Sony instead.

Barely had it a week, and am just about ready to do a clean install, but still getting used to the Sony. Sure is a lot of garbage Sony puts on their computers. Have pulled the certificate and key from the OS and have another disk to reinstall the OS.

Anywho, greetings to you all, and I hope to learn more and help others in this forum.

Ron

 

Greeting and a rep to you. Look forward to your postings.

 

@ omaroo

This is not Official Sony laptop tech support

No one here is being paid to assist you personally

Do yourself and the other's that contribute here a favor and look for the information yourself

Otherwise you run out of people that will respond to your questions

Trust me ,you will learn more that way

Most of your very basic questions are commented on in the five threads dedicated to the F series , and in other threads here on NBR




Alex

 

The link you give is for the US driver. omaroo will require the international one...

260.89 International WHQL

 

Hi -

Probably been asked, but can I safely assume that I can invest in a BT mouse for my F13? I am assuming so but wanted an exper opinion. My apologies for the redundancy.

-M

 

Glad you were able to try them all out. I forgot to mention that VM's can't do certain overlay virtualizations, such as playing games. I think I'd put my $ on the TV tuner being in the game category when it comes to video.

Here's how you find out, but only if you want to do some work. You can install XP on a different HDD (this requires a little bit of fancy work as you have to slipstream the SATA drivers into the install disc). Then, utilize the very same activation crack. Then install your tuner and see if it will work. It's a great way to waste a day of your life, but you'll then be absolutely sure of things. Oh, you'll also have to modify an NVIDIA driver in order to get something other than 800x600 res. I can do that for you easy.

Also, if you keep using any of the virtual machines, it'll be important to defrag the virtual drive from within XP on a regular basis. Win 7 will defrag the .vhd but not the files/OS contained within it. Those must be done from the inside.

That you can safely assume.

 

Your F13 comes with Bluetooth, so yes you can add a BT mouse. I also plan on buying one soon.

So used to using a wired mouse, that I'm having a learning curve using the touchpad!

So I installed my Logitech MX 518 instead....

 

Thanks - much appreciated!!

 

tomcat, why you being nasty to me mate, im sorry for being computer illeterate. I wanted to know if you can get 100% brightness, 70% is still really good.

 

@ omaroo

Here is your answer

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6797610-post530.html

You need to read, the information is on these pages

btw , I'm not nasty.....just frustrated at times



Alex

 

Omaroonie - Tomcat is not being nasty to you. He's doing his job as a moderator. Please be respectful of that.

I saw your post about the driver and was very prepared to answer it until I saw Fishon's reply. He's right. We had just finished a conversation about the newest NVIDIA driver 260.89. When you ask questions like that, it's frustrating because we just talked about that subject.

It's fair to the rest of us that you read the posts in between the posts you make. Your posts give the distinct impression that you've done no reading, but logged on and asked. The majority of members look to see what "news" they've missed before they post something. If you have a question, read a few pages back before asking it.

When your questions reflect that you've done at least a little research before asking, you'll notice that we will feel less impatient and more likely to offer help.

Your lucky that there are so many here who are generous with their time and help. It bears acknowledging and due respect.

I, like others, am most likely to be helpful when I feel it's not being taken for granted and taken advantage of.

 

i have read the post, but i stll dont understand how to get more than 70% brightness

 

Omaroo - When you mention 100% vs. 70% brightness are you really talking about RGB and getting the fullest color range? If so, drivers will not affect that. It's the hardware, the display itself that provides the color range. If you're display is 70% RGB, then you cannot change that unless you change displays. Otherwise, everyone would have 100% gamut.

 

Here is some more info I dug up

http://forum.notebookreview.com/5963113-post5505.html

In Vaio Control Center (S1) > Display > Automatic Brightness Settings > uncheck the box that says "Adjust brightness automatically" and hit Apply


Alex

 

Greetings and thank you Fishon for the rep.

Sure is a lot of information on this forum. I have some questions, but am still searching and finding my answers as most of the info is at the fingertips!

 

@ R-A

Another Rep to you



Alex

 

Ditto! Thanks for this post.

 

tomcat i have done that already mate. Anseio, i mean the display is 70%, cant i increase that. So has the Dell XPS RGB got 100% display then.

 

If the display is 70% RGB then you cannot change that.

Let me ask you this. You have a flair for asking about and wanting everything to be the best of the best of the best. Do you actually need 100% RGB?

Do you do high-end photo editing and or have fantastic vision? Are you making/editing movies. Are you doing anything with graphics that requires such a perfect representation of color? I bet the answer is No. It's ok that you're display is only 70%. Most of ours are. It's ok. Just embrace it and have fun.

 

@ Omaroo - off topic. I don't know if you give out reps (+1) to people, but you should be doing so on a regular basis. A lot of people share a lot of info here and with you. +1's are how you can show your appreciation for that. It's the icon between the online icon and the report post icon.

 

That's been my experience. I don't believe any program will work in a Virtual OS that requires direct access to the video card. Nor any software that requires overlay. In fact if you look at display properties you'll find it lists some generic driver, such as Crystal vision or ATI, regardless of your actual card. Tuners are cranky at displaying their wares at best, I doubt it could ever feed the display from within a virtual box. A tuner is something that requires direct drivers, that's why I recommended the Hauppauge, or an ATI or any good modern card.

 

i didnt say i needed 100&, just saying if you could do so. Is 70% RGB very good though.

 

Mr. Roo. You have a good laptop, one of the best. don't move on to talk about the Dell etc. There's a REASON you picked the F13..

 

It cannot be done.

70% is perfectly fine.

 

Yes. Microsoft mice seem to work more reliably than Logitechs with the F, as has been my experience as well as that of others who have posted here about Bluetooth connectivity.

 

ok, plus 100% might be too bright, soz melody i know the F12 and f series is one of the best, ALL laptops have flaws anyway. My bros XPS is no way near as brilliant as the performance and design of mine.

 

Thanks MelodyMaster. Was wondering about the Microsoft BT mouse.

The Microsoft BT mouse is one I have looked at too. Seems like a nice mouse.

I need a mouse that has left and right click, double-click scroll wheel, and a back button.

That is the minimum requirements for me.

 

@Tomcat57
@anseio

Thank you.

 

O - it's not brightness, it's color range and reproduction, contrast, and shading as well. When the brightness setting at your display is maxed out, it's the same brightness as someone with a 100% RGB display.

 

oh ok anseio, still think colour range and reproduction on screen on f series still very good.

Off topic but has anyone got the game rollacoaster tycoon 3.

 

hi guys this is awesome forum i've read a lot of page good for all F series users Thank u all

and i want to ask u all something my problem is a fan noise there is a alot of solution of it but i just want to use Bios upgrade one i wish it will work anyway problem is in that q i've load R1110Y6 and now i want to load R0280Y6 but it says it cant be how can i downgrade my bios this is my first question



2. is my f11 doesnt have backlight keyboard i want to buy and do it backlight how can i change it

Thank u for your patient and help Good Luck to all

 

Hi there,

I don't know about #1. I would guess that you cannot go back, but don't really know what I'm talking about in that regard.

#2 - check this page out. Good instructions for how to replace/clean the keyboard. Life gets better with a backlit keyboard.
Vaio_F Series - How To Replace the Keyboard & Clean the Fan

P.S. - I'm not able to send you a private message, because your account is too new. Would you mind resizing the photo you posted to around 800pixels wide, or smaller?
You could also just do a crop of the important part of the page. A full screen image requires everyone to scroll left/right just to read any of the other posts on this page. Much thanks!

 

Thanks to you both. That makes sense, particularly in light of what I found out below about recording working. I won't waste anymore time on it then since I already spent 12 hours overnight. I'll eventually get a new tuner. I did find out one thing I can do in the meantime. I am able to record and play it back. If I put it on the channel I want and hit record and then save it after I stop recording, I can open up the file in a video player and both the video and audio are there. And at least I got experience with the Virtual OS in case I ever need to use it for something else so it wasn't all wasted time.

 

I ended up with a Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000.
Seems very nice and responsive - once I figured out how to turn on Bluetooth on the 'F'...

 

I don't think this is the case anymore. VirtualBox has 2D and 3D hardware acceleration support starting with version 3.1. To wit:

Chapter4.Guest Additions

Hardware 2D video acceleration for Windows guests

Starting with version 3.1, the VirtualBox Guest Additions contain experimental hardware 2D video acceleration support for Windows guests.

With this feature, if an application (e.g. a video player) inside your Windows VM uses 2D video overlays to play a movie clip, then VirtualBox will attempt to use your host's video acceleration hardware instead of performing overlay stretching and color conversion in software (which would be slow). This currently works for Windows, Linux and Mac host platforms, provided that your host operating system can make use of 2D video acceleration in the first place.

The 2D video acceleration currently has the following preconditions:

It is only available for Windows guests (XP or later).

The Guest Additions must be installed.

Because 2D support is still experimental at this time, it is disabled by default and must be manually enabled in the VM settings (see the section called “General settings”.

Technically, VirtualBox implements this by exposing video overlay DirectDraw capabilities in the Guest Additions video driver. The driver sends all overlay commands to the host through a special communication tunnel implemented by VirtualBox. On the host side, OpenGL is then used to implement color space transformation and scaling

Here is a nice demonstration of its capabilities:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUSIflhZOwo

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...-lounge-part-2-a-post6095458.html#post6095458

 

Hi Guys,

I have an F11 and realized that its USB ports are very - very slow (3 out of the 3 ports). When I copy something over to a Pendrive it goes with max 5Bbyte/sec.

My old PC is far way much faster ... can anyone help, what can be the reason?

Thanks,
V

 

I have the same speeds.

 

That's strange, my USB ports are pretty fast..

 

Hi there
My first post here in the forum and perhaps somebody can point me into the right direction...
I have a F Series 11Z1E since March '10. Normally a good machine but there seems to be a problem with drivers or hardware as bluescreens appear from time to time. First question of course: Am I the only one with problems like that? And second does anybody know where to find solutions for problems like that? I already looked through the crash dump files and if needed can post them but perhaps there is a special section of this forum for problems like that.
Thanks for all your help.
Best,
Peter

 

Memory. A certain percentage of new computers have failures of ram chips or the sticks become dislodged. Run boottime memtest86+ .

http://www.memtest.org/download/4.10/memtest86+-4.10.iso.zip

Also try Vaiocare, though it won't always catch a problem.

 

guys i need some help, basically I downloaded football manager 2011 demo, and it was working fine until a couple of hours ago i click on the side of the game and it crashed and went to a black screen, so i had to click the power button. I tried to load the game again and same thing happened and crashed. Guys im reallly worried, whats causing this, anyone got this demo and have sam problems.

 

No worries mate. Just remove football manager 2011 demo from your system and all will be well (except not having football manager 2011 demo). I hope this helps.

 

Have not used any of these. Any recommendations or comments?

Windows Freeware for Recording Internet Radio