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

Dang...that thing isn't cheap. Negative on the eSATA.

 

Hey guys. I think I have a problem.

I bought my laptop, Sony Vaio F11LFX(i7 CPU, Nvidia 310GM video card), on april.

Now I have a temp problem. When I turn on my my temps aer ~50 degrees for all cores.
Now, if I watch a 720p movie, for like 2-3 mins, temps are rising to 60-64 degrees for each core, and will reach ~70 degrees if I play more.
If I try playing a game, let's say WoW, with all details set to low, in like 10 minutes my temps are over 90 degrees, all cores and GPU. Last night after like 30 minutes of WoW I got one BSOD, core temps reached 100 degrees.

In first two months I had no problem with temps, when I played WoW I had ~70 degrees and after a long time ~80. The room temperature can influence my laptop that bad? I mean, it's kinda hot in here but still, the difference is kinda big. I don't know what to do.

And what's up with Thermal Control Strategy from VAIO CC ? What is best, Balanced Mode or Performance Mode?

 

First, and only, question...

Do you, at any point in time, hear your fan while this is going on?

If not, contact Sony.
If yes, contact Sony.

My uneducated guesses are these:

If you hear the fan getting really worked up, then you might have a thermal paste issue at the CPU, or something like that.

If you hear no fan at all... well that's definitely a problem.

Regardless, get on the phone with Sony. They've got 24/7 support if you're in the US.

 

I'm having the exact same problem but a little more extreme. My VPCF115FM idles at between 86-90 degrees with nothing open at all! When i open a couple of web pages it rises just above 90.

If i dare play a 720p or 1080p video,play a game on its lowest setting ie, halo trial, starcraft or anything else, it rises to 99-100 degrees which causes it to
1. Shutdown
2. Throttle itself since it reached the T Junction temerature meaning i can't do anything

This never used to be a problem, it used to idle at around 45-50 and i could open 10 1080p videos without a hiccup!!!!!!!!!!! but now, even 480p videos are getting hard. The heating also caused the glue to melt of the powercord and the powerjack plastic pin thing fell off to!
Sent it to a sony repaire centre last week. Got it back a few hours ago and all they did was repair the power jack


I really don't have time to be waiting for my laptop to be fixed again. I downloaded the bios update to fix it but nothing. My laptops been fine all year up to about a month or two ago. Should i try and get them to get me a new one cause i'm sick and tired of this...

 

Thanks for answer.

My fan is speedy gonzales, very loud too, especially when I'm in a game. I'm not from US, but the laptop it's from there.

Now after 2 hours uptime, and just browsing temps are 63-64 degrees for each core.

I got used with fan noise, but I hate these high temps

 

The VAIO F has remarkable cooling abilities with its single fan.

During benchmarking, I couldn't get mine to jump beyond 66c.

If you're having heat issues like this, it needs to get repaired before other things break down due to the heat. The constanst expansion/contraction can cause traces to crack and hardware to fail, over time.

 

I know it's not good but I don't know what could have happened.

I posted this few months ago.


.. and now it's like the sun is here in my room heating my laptop

 

The balanced power-plan is also keeping my temps for the HDD in the safe range while I can keep the thermal strategy (Vaio Control Center) in Balanced Mode.
That helps with reducing the fan noise.

When I choose the performance power-plan I must change the thermal control strategy also to performance otherwise my HDD gets above 46 degrees celcius.

 

The balanced mode keeps your F relatively quiet, less fan rpm, but more heat.
So if you have a problem with temperature you must select the performance mode (more fan rpm, less heat).

And like others said contact Sony and backup your data.

 

Trancedellic and makmegs, if you know your fan is spinning, the very first thing you should check is that your vent isn't clogged up with dust. You would be amazed how much dirt can accumulate over time. If this is the case, try to blow it out (blow from inside the chassis and outward) and report back here.

 

What great advice!!!

 

Hi everybody, I'm new here and was wondering if you could answer some questions for me. Well I was tired of all the bloat ware running on my vpcf13pfxb so I called up my "Computer Wiz" friend and asked him what I could do. Well he came over and did a clean install of windows 7, installed a few drivers, then left. Well now most of my stuff doesn't work, like the fn key and every time I plug in my battery it says it wants to hibernate so I can remove it.... I read some guides on how to restore my system but my friend deleted that partition stating "Oh it's useless, you won't need that". So I want to go back to factory settings I don't care about bloatware anymore. But I don't have the software to do so. I know I can buy the restore discs for like 60 bucks but I would like to avoid that. What are my options?

 

If he wiped the restore partition and you did not make a backup system restore CD you're out of luck- sorry to say. However, I do not think you need to go back to a factory restore. All the drivers and apps will be on your esupport site and in Vaio Care. If something is still missing, other posters will help you here. Do not despair, but do not take any more advise from your 'computer wiz'. Should have made backups first and you gain so little in hard drive space with eliminating the partition. Just plain bad advise.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/470057-f-x64-vista-win7-drivers-utilities.html#post6052701

 

@ terlane17,

Hey no big problem there. As Fishon suggested, all the drivers you need are available through the vaio support site:

Sony eSupport - VPCF13PFX/B - Software Updates & Drivers

Most important are the device drivers. Check your device manager for signs of missing or non functioning devices. Usually illustrated by an ? or a !.

The sony applications are not so terribly important as windows 7 covers most of the necessary functions of your computer.
Get everything else first.

Look at this as an opportunity to learn something about your computer.

rek

 

Thanks to both of you for of all your help/links. I'm definitely not ever relying on that "wiz" for computer help again. But now I feel better my situation. Like rekless said, an opportunity to learn about my laptop.

Also, I travel somewhat often. Does anyone know of a really tough carrying case for this computer?

 

I had a similar issue just recently. Have either of you updated your video drivers? For whatever reason, after my fresh install, my video card with the 258.96 drivers would run constantly at 3d clocks, which gave me vga idle temps in the 60s. It doesn't really sound like your issues are being caused by this, but it's worth a shot. Download gpu-z too see what your current clocks are (click on the "sensors" tab to see the realtime clocks) (My bet is that Sony_used the same cheap thermal paste they used on their PS3's and it's drying up much too quickly )

 

If tough means hard, I don't think the anyone has posted about one within all five threads. But they're out there.

Vanguard Athens 85 - 17" Laptop Computer Hard Case in Black. Made with HDPE and Polyester. Business Series - Meritline.com

T.Z. Case Aluminum Men's Briefcase, Attache Case, 17" Hard-Sided Laptop Case

 

Help! Just got off the phone with a senior Sony rep. Turns out my original order was for a VPCF1190X and I received a VPCF119GX. Because of this I have no PMB Picture Motion Browser they are saying I did not get what I paid for. Tier service level 3 recommends a new laptop. Since my laptop is 11 months old it's going into review and I will be informed on Monday if they will offer a replacement. Whoa. Now this sure does sound tempting. An F13 to replace my F11 with almost a year of ware. Ethically, not sure about this- what would you guys do? Is there anything different between the two models besides this one issue? If not, I think they are going to decline anyway. And one never knows about a new laptop and the potential problems it may bring as well. I have had zero issues with this one. No dead pixels, no fan issues, no excessive light bleed, just a squeaky space bar for one week. Some have posted the F13 screen is not as good as the F11 as well. The biggest reason I would like to do this is my SSD through time will experience degradation. This sure is interesting though. Again, ethically and practically what would you guys do?

 

Ethically no problem then, I could sleep at nite
It's not uncommon for dell to do this where the original model is out of stock they upgrade to the lastest , with the customer recieving a higher spec'ed model

 

Picture Motion Browser? They are willing to upgrade you because that was excluded from the unit you originally received? Perhaps there is more to PMB than I realize. I was under the impression that it was a media browser. Like windows live photo gallery.

In any event if Sony wants to give you a new laptop.... Merry Christmas!

rek

 

Well, if they offer you a new one, I don't think there is any ethic issue at all on your part. I would be surprised if they did offer but if they did I would take it. You'd get an upgraded graphics card, USB 3.0, and a newer computer. I think it would be more likely they would do something like provide DVDs to you of all the software that was supposed to come on your computer and maybe give you a coupon or something to use towards an accessory or other Sony product. I'm assuming the only differrence between the computer you got and the one you ordered is software, right?

 

Ethically, I've got no problem with that. If support says that you didn't get what you paid for, then you are due what you paid for. It's a loophole that may be getting offered, so you could definitely take advantage of it.

Practically, I also worry about if the replacement might have problems and if that's the beginning of a potential nightmare. I've offered to hunt down my PMB installer and send it to you. Let me know if that's more appealing.

Good luck!

 

Nice!! Personally, I would send back an empty box and keep both laptops

But in all seriousness are the noise/screen problems still an issue on the F13's? I would try to get an upgrade if Sony_offers it to you - it was their mistake after all (one laptop out of hundreds of thousands) is almost nothing to Sony_anyway - it's the thought that counts.

 

Hi Everyone,

Just got my F13 today from the Sony Style store. I was going to get the one with the full HD panel but decided not to after playing around with both screens. Although it was very nice, I felt that the full HD was not worth the difference in cost. Besides, by going with the Vaio over the other manufacturers, I'm already over my original budget. My laptop model is the VPCF13BFX/B.


So far, I love the laptop. The 1600x900 screen is much better than the other 15+" laptops I had considered and the keyboard layout is exactly how I like it. At this point, I've already created the recovery discs and removed most of the software that I don't think I'll need.

As for the fan noise, I think it's perfectly fine. My 1st generation Macbook Pro is much louder than this F13's fan. But, I'll reserve further comment until I've had this laptop for awhile and then report back my observations. Until then, Happy Holidays!

-BigWil

 

Now I'm home, where is somewhat colder than my school place.

And when I turned off my laptop, the temps are lower 39-42 for all cores and 39 for gpu. I will try some game now -_-

 

It is always nice to get a newer laptop with better specs.
It was their mistake, so don't worry about that.
The F13 is the 3rd revision of the F-series so I assume they fixed all possible issues with this laptop.
Be sure to ask if you can refuse/return the replacement if there are issues like bad pixels with it, because yours if (like mine) without any issues.
If so I would go for it!

 

Good to hear, did you change the thermal setting in Vaio Control Center?

 

I changed the thermal setting, but I changed the ambience too.( the room now is colder). I played WoW for like 40-50 minutes and the temp for all cores was between 63-66 and gpu 57. Much better. Two days ago after 20 mins of WoW laptop restarted. I think for now I have to blame my hot room. So I need to find a colder place to keep my laptop for the night. Very strange.

Now after I exited WoW, ~45 for all cores and 46 for Gpu. Much much better.

 

Do yourself (and your laptop) a favor and check the vent for dust buildup.

 

I used a vacuum cleaner to suck the dust and a hair dryer to blow air inside ), without open up the laptop.

I could try to open it up, it's hard to reach to cpu&gpu fan?

Anyway, now after 6 hours uptime, temps are very good...44-46 for cores and 45 for GPU.

 

The reason that electronics has been operated at low temperatures is improved performance of the cooled electronics itself. Improvement upon cooling results from a combination of effects: in general, transistors (field-effect types) exhibit increased gain and speed and lower leakage; also parasitic resistances and capacitance in interconnections decrease, heat transfer improves, and many devices exhibit lower noise.

Ref: Extreme-Temperature Electronics (Home).

Added: Guide on how to clean the fan.

http://tinyurl.com/3xuf23c

 

Congratulations on your new laptop. I will go out on a limb and say that I think you will like it even more after you've had a chance to play with it some. I have a similar model as you (except mine is an F12) and chose the same display for the same reasons you did after looking at both of them side by side. The 1600x900 is perfectly fine for my purposes and I have no regrets about the display or the laptop after over four months of use and I have no fan noise issues either. Enjoy!

 

Hi everyone i'm using a vaio F12M1E which has i5 processor.
I want from my computer to delete everything and refresh the windows 7 , but while my computer is opening i never see the black screen like bios etc. when i open my laptop i just see vaio logo and my wallpaper, what im asking is how can i turn my vaio's windows like when i first bought it

 

If you want to customize it like I did use: Tweaks.com Logon Changer for Microsoft Windows 7 Use 'revert back to default logon screen'. And there are other ways.

Added: Big selection of Sony Vaio wallpaper here:

http://mrbsdomain.com/vaio_wallpapers.php

 

i couldn't explain my bad
i want to format my laptop without DVD, how we were doing it , during black screen pushing f5 or f11 ???

 

BIOS is F2. Black screen is F8- safe mode etc. To reformat from recovery partition Vaio Care>Recovery>Recover Computer. I'm still probably not answering your question.

 

I posted about lack of AHCI a few pages back, where the registry entry was '3' indicating IDE mode. In theory, if you set it to zero and AHCI isn't enabled in the BIOS Win7 should fail to load. Never-the-less I changed it, and all was well - presumably the HDD image was simply incorrect. I tried to confirm this with sony support, who, quite frankly, where as useful as a paper spanner!

But I have a question... I'm currently downloading a Home Premium iso. Can I use the product key on the laptop to activate it?

I'm trying to get the best installed image possible before I replace the HDD with an SSD. Which leads me onto the second question. Which HDD caddy is best to replace the Blu-ray? Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

This has been asked i am sure, but I really don't know how to get there. Is it possible to install and SSD in the Vaio F series, I have a VPC F11 5FM, and still keep the the original harddrive and the blue ray?

 

How to Replace or Upgrade the Hard Drive HDD or SSD - VAIO VPCF Series Laptop

Secondary Drive in the Optical Drive Bay of a VAIO VPCF Series

Caddy info here too.

 

Hi guys,

What do you think of this problem? I've had to replace my original user account already on account of it having been corrupted. Now my new account is starting to stutter as well: it loaded a temporary profile on start up, but it returned to my profile when I rebooted. This is just what happened prior to my previous profile becoming unusable.

Do you think there is a problem with my hard drive?

 

Fix a corrupted user profile

Fix Corrupt Windows User Profile : How to

Not a hard drive issue.

 

I cleaned the fan, but now it's too quiet ) I barely hear him. Temps are now in WoW, 50-52 for cores and 52 for GPU.

I say it's pretty good. Thanks for help

 

I think that's right in the temperature range that everyone else is getting so I think you've found your problem! I think I'll check mine to even though I really don't hear the fan much. Glad you're A-okay.

 

I'm also not sure exactly what you're asking, but if Fishon's reply didn't answer your question, maybe you're looking for F10? F10 during bootup will bring up Vaio Recovery. You can also press the Assist key when your computer is off to bring this up if you're having trouble pressing F10 at the right time.

 

Yeah this is no problem, it's what I did. I also had to activate Windows by phone, Im assuming it'll be the same for you.

 

Thanks. I'm in the process of installing drivers/updates as we speak! I'll activate it shortly.

Incidently, it already feels a bit more responsive, and several pointless services have disappeared, like two instances of conhost exe.

 

I've already done this once, that's what I mean. It seems the same problems are starting with the new profile. Apparently there is something inherently unstable about my profiles.

 

hi guys i wrote about my fan issue many times...but i hope some one is familiar with this issue i have now!!.....the fan is working fine all the time...when im playing its fast and keep the laptop cool all the time...but there r only 1 problem.....when i start up..it dosent work!!!!..then it work for sec...then it stop working...it do this many times.. i feel like something wrong in it!,,,after i open the msn,mozilla and some programs it start working normal!!!!..(this issue started just 2 weeks ago)!!....i reseted the BIOS before this issue for another reason and nothing happen,,should i reset it again? or i shouldnt reset the BIOS many times????,,should i reinstall the utilities?????..wat should i do...please help me coz no option for me to fix it im nt living in USA and no national warranty in my country!!!!!!(((this issue happen only when startup the laptop the fan work then stop working every 3 or 4 secondes.. and when i open any application it work normally)))

i really appreciate any help u could give me!!!!

 

And you tried the ReProfiler software recommended in the second link as well?

Reprofiler - A tool for repairing broken userprofile-associations.
ReProfiler Review and Download,System Maintenance,Windows Utilities Software

Seems like you are carrying over some parts of the corrupted file to your new user accounts. I'm not saying this will work, never had the problem, but I certainly would try this program and make an attempt. I have not 'dug deep' into this issue, only trying to help and learn myself.

 

What is conhost.exe and Why Is It Running? - How-To Geek

One should be there and it seems two instances are not uncommon.

Tidbit: The software Nero is named that way because you use it to burn rom(e).