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

Acronis True Image is the other software that I had used. It did not work well for me, although I liked it better than Norton Ghost.

I would like to see more input on this subject, but I am somewhat stunned that the replies like the VaioCare solution the least.

I am comfortable with the Vaio option, but it is time consuming and I have to load each driver, utility and software individually. This is a pain. I like the idea of W7's option, but I am simply unfamiliar with it. I have read articles, but you know how it is...I don't trust any software until I have used it successfully and understand its strengths and limitations.

I like what you are saying about the Backup software in W7!

 

I'm not sure that it's because we like VAIO Recovery the least, it's that using VCR results in a reinstalled OS, which requires starting over. Why start over when you can recover from a comprehensive, healthy image?

Here's what you should do:

1 - Take 2 HDD's: the one that has your system image on it for regular backups and the other that's either blank or can be make blank.

2 - While powered on, insert your Windows Repair Disc

3 - Power down

3 - Remove your SSD and replace it with the Blank HDD

4 - Connect the eSATAp HDD that contains the backup image

5 - Power on and let system boot from internal optical drive

6 - Windows repair will load

7 - Select language

8 - Select something like restoring from system image (can't recall exactly)

9 - The system will find the image on the external HDD and show it to you. Select it and accept the rest of the prompts.

10 - Wait. Depending on the size it could take 30 min to an hour or more.

11 - Remove the Windows Repair discs when prompted (if prompted)

12 - Allow reboot

13 - Working OS, exactly the same as your SSD, only slower (HDD)

 

Thanks guys... 81 degrees celcius now... and I´m just playing some realplayer file, which is taking up about 1 percent of my cpu.

 

Well, I'm glad you haven't had a problem so far Will, but as a former PC tech in ancient times (aka the 90s) I have to warn people never to use a vacuum cleaner to clean their computer. This can create a great amount of static electricity which can damage your computer. There are battery operated handheld vacuums that you can use for this purpose but never a regular vacuum, especially one with a power cord.

Compressed air (the kind that is sold in cans specifically for use with electronics) is the recommended way to blow dust/debris out (closely following directions or it can cause damage too). This is best done with the computer open. But neither compressed air nor a battery-operated handheld vacuum should be used from the outside without opening the computer unless you have a way to immobilize the fan while you use it. Otherwise, you will cause the fan to spin faster than it should, which even if it does not cause immediate damage (which it can), will shorten the life of the fan. Looking at my F13, I don't see anyway to immobilize the fan from the outside, so I would not recommend it.

I know it's worked for you so far and you may decide to continue doing it, but just wanted to let you know so you can make an informed decision.

 

Well what do you want from us? You said you gonna call to Sony for help or get new laptop etc because you don't want to clean it yourself.

I did it a week ago or lil bit more. cleaned the vent and it was not easy but possible.

 

He's not being sarcastic with us. I understand that he's thanking us for our input and also letting us know what's currently happening.

 

Is correct. I never thought it could have been taken as a slight, but just to be sure, I was sincerely thanking them.

 

Well sorry. perhaps it is a carpet of dust, hair and other crap on the inside side of grill (witch is nearby vent). When I bought my VAIO I ask couple questions about that. Result depends of the place laptop was situated.

I don't suggest you to work on computer with such troubles

 

You do realise that the speaker grill is fake and that the only holes are where the actual speakers are. Running a super sucking vaccume over them, may not be the wisest move!

 

I would really appreciate if someone could reply to my previous post. Also would any reccomend me installing google chrome.

 

Dan, it may be that none of us has information to help you out, or has the time, or has the interest. Everyone who contributes here does so because they like to learn and/or help (or some other reason), but may not be able to get involved with every question posted.

I, personally, know nothing about a line on the screen, but there was another user who mentioned a line at the bottom of his screen repeatedly, but refused to provide screen shots.

Can you provide a screenshot? This will be immensely helpful to anyone interested in trying to figure out your problem with you.

 

When did this start,does it look like a screen defect ?
Post a screen shot , that might get attention

I find that I have issues with some site log-ons with IE so I installed chrome
I use both google chrome and IE8
Having chrome installed causes no issues with IE8 so give it a try

 

Anyone have any ideas?

 

Thanks tomcat and anseio for your advice. It is not a defect it just seems part of the screen, I will try to post a screenshot when I have free time.

 

go to advanced power profile settings.
You can change there maximum CPU level (from 100% to 50% for example) and other things manually. Also be sure that U don't use Battery saver program from Sony Vaio Utilities where maximum charge limits to 50% or 80%.
You also can buy SSD instead HDD

Good Luck

 

ok, as far as the vaccum...I do use compressed air at times, but I vaccum a lot. IF there is going to be a problem due to static electricity, it will NOT be a direct result of the plastic wand coming in contact with the
composite F11 body. If anything, quick moving charged dust particles can impart some of their charge on metal objects that they come in contact with, causing the static charge.

While I know it is possible, I have been doing this for over a decade with no problems. Remember when you were not to carry a computer across a carpeted floor unless you were waring rubber shoes?

Yes, they still recommend anti-static wrist bands and anti-static work pads. there is always the chance. However, there is also always the chance of lighting, even without a storm. Where I live, stray voltage from overhead lines has killed cattle. heck, I live within a few hundred yards of a cell tower. THAT could be a problem.

I am not disagreeing. I am saying that while it can happen, it would be rare for my vaccum to create the kind of static that will destroy my computer.

 

But, since you live in such a charged area, and near a cell tower to boot, what you're saying is that it's possible for your lappy to develop a brain tumor? LMAO

j/k - I know the science behind cellphones and tumors. I'm not worried.

 

You'd be surprised how durable computer parts are :> One of my first computers was my bro's Vaio PCV-100 and although I tossed the case years ago, I had the motherboard + processor + ram + heatsink hanging on the wall in my garage for a year or so (with the other components laying around in my closet), and when I got around to putting it back together it worked just fine. Great machine. XD

To this day I've never used a wrist strap, and I've zaaped my computer cases/keyboards many, many times. I make it a point not to zaap the individual components though lol.

Worst component failures I've had were a cheap power supply (a capacitor literally exploded inside it), and a trident video card that caught on fire (inside that Vaio lol )

 

Most up to date Acronis True Image works very well. Im using Acronis for long time now and can confirm that couple of builds were broken with strange bugs but now its ok. Ive started years ago with Norton Ghost which was quite fantastic - simple and clean. Im using it today for desktop hdd but it lacks ssd support (proper partition alignment). Still its a good software if youre not looking for many options.


Windows Backup is quite good - it allows to create system image but requires a repair cd. I have ssd+hdd in optical drive bay and to use Windows Backup I must swap the hdd for optical driver - good ? Yeah but i just put out the hdd with windows image. Only option is to load it from the home network but without gigabit switch/router it takes hours to recover.

Acronis could be loaded from cd, or usb pendrive and it works with VAio excellent. No need to swap the drives at all. Just restore and your good to go.


Vaio recovery from disks has one major drawback - it always creates recvoery partition, even small one. For SSD users thats a waste of space. You cant create/recover only one partition, it always creates two even if you dont really want it.

 

Hi guys

Got a quick question - planning to buy f13z1e from here Sony VAIO VPCF13Z1E/B - Achat / Vente PC Portable sur LDLC.com SUISSE (sorry, it's in french but that's the closest i-shop I can buy from in Switzerland for reasonable price) but not quite sure about the display, on the site it states the display is glossy. Could it be the case that french model got glossy screen? I thought the f13z models come with VAIO premium (matte) only, but I could be wrong. Might have someone bought already the beast from this web-site and can confirm which screen it comes with.

Have a great day

 

All european S and Z models have matter 1920x1080 panels. Only M model with 1600x900 is glossy - its a proper Z model with matte full hd display.

 

You're correct on the S and Z but you're wrong on the M version. This also comes with a HD screen but it is glossy. Minor detail but it could cause "problems" with people like *mar**.
How is it going with him? Wasn't he going to post a screenshot?

 

Yes thats right, its also full hd (1920x1080). I was thinking about E series. M models are FullHD but glossy in Europe, S and Z are matte premium displays.

 

The F series in europe is Full HD matte premium displays. Well I think it is anyway.

 

He's no longer with us. He's still alive, just not on the forum.

I've got good news for you. I have the same setup as you (SSD+HDD and no ODD) and I, too, used to think that to restore from a Windows System Image that I had to use the Repair CD's, which required me to connect my ODD via external enclosure. After looking around, here are the step to recover from an image without using the CD's. You can have your image stored on the HDD, so long as the HDD was not part of your image.

1. Backup and Restore
2. Recover system settings or your computer
3. Advanced recovery methods
4. Use a system image you created earlier to recovery your computer
5. Backup now OR skip
6. Click Restart and your VAIO will boot into the Windows repair center to restore from the image.

I've done it a few times already and it works great.

p.s. - Enclosures for ODD's are really cheap. You should order one. I got my first for $8 on eeebay, but it was plastic and I broke it. I just spent $15 for an aluminum one. It has tolerancing issues (SATA bridge doesn't fully line up with enclosure) but it's very sturdy and nice.

 

7stacks is an easy to use, free app that lets Windows 7 (and Vista and XP) users have “stacks” of icons in their Taskbar (in 7) or QuickLaunch Toolbar (in Vista and XP). By using stacks, users can reduce icon clutter, and combine a group of related icons into a single icon. For instance, if you use application suites such as Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or Adobe CS4, you can have all the suite’s icons combined into one icon!

I like to hide my desktop icons, so I'm going to give this a try.

7stacks | Alastria Software

 

Perhaps it is a good program. Useful for someone.

I however because of this widescreen display use taskbar on right side (vertical) so I don't have problem connected to big icon's amount. I think that 16:9 is not good aspect ratio for laptop at all (only perhaps 17"+). I think 16:10 is much better

 

I agree the widescreen provides alot of space and I have a screen setup that way on another system, but with Win7 you cannot have two columns of icons like you could in Vista. I definitely need more than one row, yeah it's got the toggle thing, but have never found a tweak for this problem. Anyone have an idea?

 

guys, thank for answering the question about the display on ldlc, so still be considering it. Another question - can I put f12 keyboard on f13z1e model? Obviously the one on the laptop from ldlc will be french and I need english (ideally UK) - can I take the one e.g. being sold on ebay , like this one new SONY VAIO VPC-F12 Keyboard US Black Frame Backlit on eBay (end time 18-Jan-11 01:17:08 GMT) and put it on f12? Any probs and caveats here?

 

In the Dutch forum on tweakers.net a user put a F12 keyboard on a F13 without any troubles. The layout and colour seems to be the same for F11, F12 and F13.
A guide for changing the keyboard: Vaio_F Series - How To Replace the Keyboard & Clean the Fan

 

Thanx a lot Gandalf. Do you know whether the keyboard swap will void the warranty?

 

It's possible that it will, but.... if you ever have to send it back for warranty, then change the keyboard back to the original. What Sony doesn't know won't hurt them.

 

I'm with Anseio on that. I think it will, but...

 

This problem has been bothering me for some time. Basically when I play a game, especially Football Manager 2011, it goes slow when on battery but is smooth and fast when charging. Why does this happen, has anyone else experienced this.

 

because when charging turbo boost kick in
it work only when charging

 

I dont understand why doesnt turbo boost kick in when just on battery. Ive read the cpu is throttled when charging.

 

While on battery, all of the processor states are different and the GPU performs differently. While on battery, my GPU underclocks to .85v, down from 1.03v and frame rates drop significantly.

You should not game while on battery. You can do some registry tweaks to open up some processor options in power settings, but you'd probably drain your battery in 30-45 minutes. Twice, I was having issues and didn't realize that I was on battery until I got the lower power warning. That was about 40 minutes into being unplugged.

 

I dont know what to say, so everyone games with their laptop charging. I think that wastes electricity, and Im really angry Sony couldnt have done anything about this. I am really not happy.

 

GPU-z shows that mine GPU is under 0.96V max

 

Wastes electricity? Not sure what you're smoking but can I have some! Plus its nothing to do with sony. Its how intel designed the i7 to operate.

 

I've got the 310M, it's got different clocks, and maybe voltage, than the 330M or 425M.

Desktops don't game on battery, do they?

Like I said, you can try to change the power settings, but good luck gaming for more than 30-40 minutes.

We should ask Mangosango what he thinks/does. He's our resident gaming expert.

 

So are you saying that ALL laptops using i7 will struggle to play games on battery. If thats the case then its not good enough. I have played a few games on battery, some are slower than others.

 

What exactly about it is "not good enough"?

Is it not good enough that gaming slows down in general, or that Intel and Windows have the settings as such to prolong the life of the battery as much as possible while not plugged in? This requires throttling most things down. I bet it was intentional.

 

Anseio, I apoligise for being a bit over the top with my comments, but I am just a little frustrated. Reading your above post makes alot of sense now.

 

Intel to pay $1.5B to Nvidia in patent settlement - Yahoo! News

Also, recent backup info was good, just nothing to add. Made system repair discs, have my first image saved and kept on disc and backup drive, and do a fresh image on the backup drive every two or three weeks, replacing the previous one. System restore is enabled.

 

This was first thing that Ive done without success. Image was on hdd in ODD, and I was trying to restore ssd - ive got a warning that this disk cannot be restored because its a boot drive. I didnt fool around much longer, just Installed Acronis, made a usb boot drive and copied entire disk. Also done it with Hirens Boot CD on the usb pendrive and done it again with DriveImage XML.

 

I think if you call Intel they will unlock youre Core i7 processor managment on battery and you will be happy and experience a massive load of fun by playing games on full speed Corei 7 on battery for about 12 minutes. Throttled Core i7 in Vaio F drains entire battery under stress in about 1 hour and 30 minutes so I think youll be satisfied with 12 minutes of gaming with untrotthled machine running only on bat. Again, you should contact Intel, then Sony.

 

In a perfect world they would give the end user the option, but obviously the real problem is the limitations portable electronics have running on battery. Just another decision made in the name of battery life.

 

Yeah but it makes sense. Whats the point of making hardware lasting no longer than 15 minutes ? I would understand complaining if only Sony was blocking full speed of Core i7 on battery, but thats among other manufacturers too. CPU is so much powerfull that it need so much electric power that any of today notebooks batteries cannot deliver. If you want battery life, go for crappy netbook on Atom with 1Gb of ramy and Win7 which lags as hell or try Apple notebooks.

 

jacol not sure if you are being sarcastic or not. Didnt know intel would do what you said. Anyway I got no choice but to be satisfied with the throttling.