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

Pfff ok nbr. 1 in the resume describes my problem. So there's no solution, form of fan blades cause the noise?
Only problem is the fan cannot be easily removed to experiment with cause of the thermal bonding to cpu & gpu

Tx for help anyway.

 

I have #1 as well. Nothing known that can be done about it.

 

Well I described problem to Sony techservices Belgium here, and they said they were working on a Bios update for the F13. Maybe to naive to believe they will have determined problematic fan-rpm's and let the fan Bios-wise speedup very quickly thru those rpm's?
On the other hand some F's don't have the #1 at all, so why couldn't Sony support just select the non-noisy thermal cooling units, just by testing off-case, and switch them for the faulty ones?

 

Speaking of BIOS update, does anyone have the latest BIOS (R0190Y9) update for the F13 ?
It seems that it disappeared from the Sony update site. I found some links to the update (EP0000241404.exe) on the Sony Japanese site, but none of them are working .

 

The question is: on which noise from my list they are working on ?

It is very probable that these tests should be done in the same aerodynamic and acoustic conditions, which means that the tested cooling systems need to be mounted in the notebooks as they will be used in normal condition. Manufactured units can change from one batch to next, even units in the same batch can vary slightly, so this would mean to test each and every unit. This kind of testing would involve lot of resources, which costs way too much and would not be covered by the profit made by specific consumer notebook series.

 

quick question, can i download video drivers from nvidia's site or do i have to wait for sony to release them?

 

yes you can. If you have 425m then you should download only latest version

 

^thanks, that shouldn't effect me since i have 310m

 

In the US, there hasn't been a BIOS update for the F13 yet, unless it was only up for a few hours, because I check the website everyday since VAIO update has never worked for me. Maybe they were rolling it out first in Europe and Asia and encountered some problems and pulled it. No one on here has mentioned seeing it before so it's possible no one who posts here had a chance to download it. When were you seeing it and did you look at the notes to see what it was supposed to fix/change?

 

I was searching for something else (namely my webcam on USB 3.0 problem) when I spotted some times ago. I didn’t read the details, so I quickly searched up on the Japanese site, where the details are still present.

From the S_o_n_y Japanese site, translated with Google translate:

 

Hmm, that's interesting that it was out for months and no one said anything. We didn't get that update here. Well, maybe one of the other Euro/Asian users will have downloaded it then and just didn't see your post yet. I saw something else interesting on the Japanese site - they are selling F14s! I haven't even heard of such a thing.

Edit: I'm going to bed, so in case anyone was trying to find the Japanese F14 info, there are 7 models that were out in January. I'm assuming a customizable one too but I don't have time to look around the site and see if all the specs can be translated. I think this link will take you to a translated version of the main F14 page. I don't see anything new off hand in the standard specs but didn't look at the options. (Oh, it does appear to have built-in TV tuners?). I'm thinking this may be a Japan only thing anyway but I knew some people would be curious: http://translate.googleusercontent....&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhiCDkbeGaZBjrtLttJx2vF8rcm-gg

 

Good question. I described #1 to the technician and he seemed to recognize the case.

I understand. But according to the poster here http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...s-owners-lounge-part-2-a-164.html#post6053160
the #1 noise, referred to in the post as "constant pitch intermittent tone" I guess, was noticeable while the fan was powered even out of the thermal module. Or maybe I understood wrong.

Anyway got a call from Belgian custservice this morning and they propose to just send the vaio back for refund, or order same model again and see if it has the same noise or not. Seems that they cannot or don't want to solve this problem...
I'm a bit afraid to reorder cause the new one then might come with even more points on the list, or dead pixels etc...

Am I correct in stating that in order to experiment with the fan I only need two new thermal pads for the cpu & gpu?

 

Did they fix it for you mate?

 

I had the same with any video i watched, i thought it's a display problem at first as when i make screenshot there is nothing showing on it, but after reinstalling driver problem fixed..

 

Dear

Thank you for contacting us.

I really do apologize for any inconvenience this issue might have caused.

Please follow the instructions in the article below to resolve your issue.

VAIO Support Europe

Should you have any further questions or queries, please feel free to reply to this email or contact us at the below numbers:

VAIO in warranty: In warranty number 08702402408

VAIO out of warranty: Out of warranty number 09050310006 (35p/min plus network charges)

We also have a chat feature available between the hours of 9am and 5pm GMT. To access please go to the Get In Touch section on the VAIO website, www.vaio-link.com

(For English speaking customers only)

Ahmed Karama
Sony VAIO Mentor


This is how email from sony looks like, stupid idiots they are! May be 10 times i've told them this does not help! Also it reduces your cpu perfomance a bit, i asked 20 times to pass my email with mp3 file to the proper technician, not idiots who are just sitting on the phone and copy and past email senders, they don't even speak english properly them people who working there, and they keep copy&past style replying to me, what a ****. This is my 2nd sony vaio laptop, and i got a tinnitus about 3 years back, i got used to it now, but i'm thinking, could it be my first laptop as direct cause with loud fan which damaged my ears?

 

Yeah, they just copy and paste. Even vegetables could make the same if they got salary. Their best answer is "go back to factory settings, this laptop is not made for Windows 7 Ultimate"

 

Tinnitus is almost always a condition that's neurological in nature and rarely originates from the ears. Meaning: the sound is in the brain.

 

Agree and disagree at the same time. Simple example you go to the trance night club, where proper JBL system is, after you back 6 a.m. in yr ears will be massive whistle, because of consistant loud music that did damage to the ears, same here, same type of noise everytime smashing the ears can develope tinnitus as well.

 

Very good post this is from user jacksjw:

Welcome to the F Owners Lounge

First, we highly recommend to bring yourself up to speed with the Unification Post #2 ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/show...&postcount=554).

I have the old thermal module as the tech that performed the in-home service was not required to return the old part. See these posts for pictures

1. Fan Pictures http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/show...postcount=1366

2. Bottom cover removed. http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/show...postcount=1358

I have removed the fan from the thermal module and connected a variable voltage DC power supply and have observed the following:

* The variable pitch "whine noise" is not present as I change the speed of the fan.
* The constant pitch intermittent tone (I will try to analyze the frequency later) that others have recorded is coming from the fan motor. It's generation is NOT speed dependent. See this post http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/show...&postcount=702 and listen to the audio clip in the zip file.

I reattached the fan to the thermal module and experimented again with different speeds. There was very little variable pitch noise but an increase in air rushing white noise which I would expect as the air is forced through the copper colling fins.

Then something interesting happend. I inadvertantly placed a CD jewel case near the fan intake port when the fan was in slow speed operation and immediately heard the variable pitch whine!

There are two are intakes on the fan on either side of the squirrel cage. The Sony (or Foxconn) design extracts heated air from either side of the mobo and then out through the cooling fins that exhausts the heat from the GPU and CPU chips. The size of the air plenum above each side of the mobo is very tight. I think the whine we are hearing is a direct result of the close tolerances of the bottom case to fan intake and the bottom of the keyboard shield to the upper air intake. Now we are getting into acoustics.

I plan to do some more tests with the F itself with and without covers and keyboard in place. I will post the results later.

 

Please take care to note that I did not state that ALL causes of tinnitus were neurlogical. Regardless, we do not hear with our ears, we hear with our brians. The ears just funnel and capture the sounds so the brain can translate it.

 

This reminds me of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Great design, except for that darned air moving over it.
YouTube - Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge - Galloping Gertie

 

Tech Insight Magazine: Quickly Lock Your Computer by Creating a Shortcut in Windows 7 or Windows Vista

 

Yeah now called back today and techserv now told me if I send it in for repair, it will be sent to Prague where European repair is done, and there they will evaluate if the noise is within tolerance. If it is, it will just be sent back and I will be charged transport costs. Hmmm this smells bad to me. Maybe better send it back for refund. But then I lose my vaio

 

I read jacksjw’s post a long time ago. I did not recall his experiment, but I definitely remember his images . Thank you for the link!
You should read his next post about the noise here and his conclusions here. He promised that he will do more tests, but unfortunately he stopped posting on 27th of March, 2010.

If I would like to match his classification with the list I posted, the “constant pitch intermittent tone” should be #1, and the “variable pitch whine noise” should be/or included in the #2. Unfortunately his description is in contrast with what others described that they are experiencing. He mentions that the “constant pitch intermittent tone” is not speed (RPM) dependent, while others experience it at certain rpm range, but not at every speed. Because he didn’t post any audio sample for the two cases he described, it is hard to tell for example how exactly the “variable pitch whine noise” sounds like.

 

Download details: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932)

Nice not having to go through all the updates doing a clean install.

 

Updated my Summary of F1x notebook noises (fan, ...) post (added also links to the jacksjw’s posts).

 

Is there any other fan for vaio f except original panasonic one?

 

1. Fan whistle/whine at certain speeds (different people experiences this at different fan RPMs!)
Cause: Very likely produced by the fan blades as they cut through the air.
Samples: by Poohkie, by thausif, by sheebp, by meloover, by mmm123.
Solution: None from what I remember. Try different fans/notebooks, the small manufacturing difference it might just ‘solve’ this for you (reduce it till an acceptable level), or you can get used to it.

I don't believe there is no fix for it, there is always a fix for anything with the pc's, even motherboards get fixed, what we have here is a fan whistle, or if it is a design issue, still there should be a fix, otherwise should replace laptop with another new one, they can't say it's a normal noise, common we all know it is not normal, so why sony ignore us then? Should we take legal action under consumer rights or something?

 

Hey everybody, I own a F series and today completely out of the blue, my left click button and clicking with my touchpad just stopped working. I can still use the touchpad to move the cursor around but it won't click. I didn't mess with the options at all and I haven't installed any updates or anything lately. Just stopped working. Has anyone had any similar experiences? I'd really appreciate some help.

 

First, I would go into the mouse properties, on the buttons tab, and change options around, including the fast and slow speed, and see if anything works in the double click test area. If nothing works with your left button, I would go to Programs and uninstall Alps, then go to Device Mgr and uninstall the mouse. Then open Vaio Care, go to Recovery - Reinstall drivers and install Pointing Device.

 

Thank you for trying to help. I tried everything you suggested and it unfortunately didn't work.

 

There are two are intakes on the fan on either side of the squirrel cage. The Sony (or Foxconn) design extracts heated air from either side of the mobo and then out through the cooling fins that exhausts the heat from the GPU and CPU chips. The size of the air plenum above each side of the mobo is very tight. I think the whine we are hearing is a direct result of the close tolerances of the bottom case to fan intake and the bottom of the keyboard shield to the upper air intake. Now we are getting into acoustics.


If it's like this guy said above, so every f owner would have whistle/whine as mentioned noise number 1. But it looks like not everybody got it right, so then it is not design problem, it's a hardware problem than, whatever problem it is, is a problem and there should be a solution..

 

Do you have any canned air you can blow in the crevices around the buttons? Could be some dust getting n the way. Not sure the air would be able to get to the right places but it wouldn't hurt. Also, have you tried in Safe Mode?

Edit: In Vaio Care under Troubleshooting there is a brief Mouse test (under Input). All it does is ask you to click in two different places on the screen with each button and doesn't really provide any help, but try it just to see if you can click by any chance since it's possible they set it up to disable all but the click function (no way to know though).

 

Referencing my video of the Narrows Bridge, it may not be a design problem until certain cumulative factors are considered. There are many of us who never have fan noises. I've already mentioned in a previous post that the recording provided sounds more like a resonance than anything else I can wrap my mind around. Replacing individual, potentially faulty, components may have no effect unless the whole setup is changed. Perhaps something needs to be glued down better?

 

Ahaha lol

 

There might be a fix for it, but so far nobody found it. I will be more than happy to update my post with a solution if you found one!

 

jacksjw described that for the variable pitch speed dependent drone, which is not the noise #1 in my list.
Read Joe Bleau’s reply for dampening proposal.

 

Oh my! It seems I might be JB after all!

I just jokingly reached the same conclusion he did in the post that you linked, but without ever having been a part of that discussion.

LMAO

 

Ok, sony just send me email that on monday they are going to pick up my laptop for repair, i will defenetly reply here soon as i get it back, fingers crossed

 

Yes true, that's what I understood too, the small air spaces above & under the fan probably cause the drone which is #2. Probably sth Bernouilli-like.
#1, still according to jacksjw appeared to be coming straight from the fan(motor, blades, bearing?).
I wonder wheather #1 and #2 are not interrelated, in the way that a fast airstream above the fan could Bernouilliwise create underpressure and kind of suck the fan with its axis intermittantly out of its bearing, generating #1 while doing that. #2 might be generated by same underpressure getting the cover into vibration. Not sure though cause jacksjw tested the fan out of its unit.

If only someone could tell me if a thermal unit replacement/manipulation has a chance to fix #1. Is there a service manual available explaining the procedure to disassemble/assemble the thermal cooling unit? Are the replacement thermal pads for cpu, gpu available? Lots of questions.

 

For #1, most people from this forum think that it is produced by the blades and the small distance from them to the squirrel cage.

I don’t think that it will fix noise #1. But feel free to give a try .
No service manual available for the F series (at least not publicly), but you should check out Joe Bleau’s tutorials, from which you can learn enough to safely take apart your notebook . If you are new to fan replacement on notebooks, check out several youtube videos for other Sony or even other manufacturer’s notebooks, just to get the feel about it. For the thermal pads try to search eBay …

Just some links to other jacksjw’s post, post2 about the fan replacement.

 

not that I know off. Have googled my off to find a replacement for Panasonic udqfrrh01df0, with no results.
But what is stange is that you can find them in lots on ebay and such:
Sony VAIO VPC-F11 CPU HeatSink Fan 300-0001-1262 NEW - eBay (item 310296226634 end time Mar-16-11 15:30:50 PDT)

"a new unused item with no signs of wear..." Why the hell did they dismount it then from the laptop???

 

ok, I hope they don't just return it like that cause they find it's "within tolerance". Where can we read about Sony's noise tolerances anyway?

 

Thank you again. I just turned on my computer this morning and it started working again. Crazy machine. I appreciate the help though.

 

Macbooks with i7 have been reported to get above 100C and in the 90's in a HP Envy. If you laptop had these temps with no fan issues would you be happy? Would you take legal action concerning temps?

 

Not a good sign when this happens...

 

looks like it is very bad sign.

 

Well I'm just thankful you were wearing clothes at the time!

 

Maybe your laptop is illegal? Maybe Mexican one?

 

Intel Light Peak revealed tomorrow and is expected to be significantly faster than a USB 3.0, carrying, and able to carry data at a rate of 10 gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously. The Light Peak may also be able to scale up to a rate of 100 gigabits per second, according to Intel.

Intel Research :: Light Peak

and also 'Man dies after three days of online gaming'- careful out there.

Man dies after three days of online gaming - Digital Life - Digital Life | siliconrepublic.com - Ireland's Technology News Service