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

Is there anyone who has any of the above mentioned BIOS updates (R0170Y9 or R0180Y9 or R0190Y9) ?

I don’t know the file name for the first two, but for the last it should be: “EP0000241404.exe”.

What does this mean ? Are there two different BIOSes with the same version R0180Y9 ? Or the Sony support telling people to use features not available in the mentioned BIOS version (in non existing BIOS updates) ?

 

Anyone looking for an BIOS update for the F13?

This is BIOS R0190Y9 and it installed on my VPCF13M1E/H perfectly.
http://customersupport-download.sony.com.cn/VAIO/EP0000241404.exe

Unfortunately my fan is still spinning at approx. 2800 rpm in idle mode. Does anyone here know the "fan hack" (put a finger on the touchpad and press a single key on the keyboard and wait for the fan to throttle)? If it's possible to throttle the fan this way, I believe there must be a way to control it by software...

Does anyone know if something like this is existing?

(Disclaimer: I'm a brand new owner and I have to admit, that I have neither yet read the complete thread nor have tried the search function... )

 

That bios update is from vaio china
SONY China Service-BIOS????_??R0190Y9
translation as follow:

BIOS update program version R0190Y9
This program update bios to versionR0190Y9，as well as correcting the following issues
1. optimize cpu fan control，bios settings added c3/c6 options

 

Sure, go to the Sony website and download each driver and utility individually. Of course, this only works on a wired connection because you will have no wireless driver until you install one.

Again, recovery media is the way to go. I am not going to tell you that it's the only way to do this...it is not. However, it is the easiest, and if you choose not to create recovery disks, I sure hope I don't see you posting here two months from now asking for help because something caused an OS system on your machine and now you have no way of recovering. Of course, you will...you will just need to perform the clean install exactly the same way as you are now, with a W7 disk and then hunting for drivers over the internet on a wired connenction.

Truthfully, I make two sets of recovery disks for each computer. I make the ORIGINAL recovery disks for the system, right out of the box. After finishing the clean install, I then make a set of CLEAN INSTALL recovery disks. This way, if something were to happen (has not happened yet on any of nearly a dozen computers) I could quickly get the machine back to where I want it. I keep the ORIGINAL set for the time in the future when we replace the machine and commission it to a lesser station, such as for kids' use in our school. Simply inserting the ORIGINAL disks and running the complete recovery option will remove all of our office security, networking and software and bring the computer back to a state that is useful in a more relaxed environment.

 

About the cpu upgrade
someone previously posted this link
VPCF13 ??? i7-940XM - Mobile01

basically, this guy ordered VPCF1390X from US and bought a i7-940XM separately, then failed to install it. The cpu fits, but he fails to start up the machine. He also says that the power light lights up, but the screen couldn't start. Once he swap back to 740qm, everything was back to normal

Interestingly....i searched this in google where a firm in australia managed to upgrade to 920xm and I suppose it's stable since they are selling it with warranty??
https://www.electronicbazaar.com.au...yid=39&subcategoryid=298&pid=3984&pstatus=new

Would that mean 920xm is fine but 940xm is not compatible? anyone any thoughts?

 

I think you can buy an extended warranty, but still, I agree with jpride that this is not a notebook for professional work environment. Not to mention that if there is a display problem, they will replace it with one available in US (not the EU matte). I read this some time ago in a Sony international warranty document (I don’t have the link). It was about servicing times, where they stated that X day if parts are available, much more if the part need to be ordered, with the star (*) that some parts specific to some geographical areas, might not be available in others, in which case they will replace it with a compatible part.

Also note that the battery times are not so great, so if that is important in the service department, this might not be the right choice.

Concerning the EU matte screen, it is not a ‘real’ matte screen and it is not advertised as such (it has an anti-reflective coating : see my European VAIO Display Premium screen post). So in this sense, as I already posted, the display can’t match my Dell Precision D820’s display (see my previous post), and I find reading text much more tiring compared to the D820's screen (see my previous post concerning this, where I have stated the viewing conditions). Still the screen is a very good one (assuming you get one without faults, see link from my signature) and there is a huge difference versus the glossy displays.

 

I'd like to add that I found a dual-lamp, FHD LCD for sale with part no. LQ164M1LA4A (no B at the end) that is a matte: Sharp LQ164M1LA4A Replacement Laptop Screen Display

I'm so sick of searching for matte FHD screens, I think I will pull the trigger on this one (and update you accordignly)

 

I recommend reading the following posts/threads:

Unification post S o n y V A I O F 11 Series - Issues, Fixes, Tweaks, Reviews
“Sony F13 cons?” thread
Summary of F1x notebook noises (fan, ...)
EU Premium Display Problem: “Grey bar/line on the bottom of the display”

Thanks Rottweiler (+Rep from me)!

So it is still officially present on the Chinese Sony site! (+Rep to you too)

Beside the fact that they took it off from the Sony Japanese and European site, I also find strange that the details for the same BIOS version on different sites differ (Japanese site versus Chinese site).

On the link you posted there are many conflicting information, so watch out !

LQ164M1LA4A vs. LQ164M1LD4CV
1920 x 1200 vs. 1920 x 1080

So which is it ?

Many people tried already (search this thread), but found no solution. It seems that the fan is almost entirely controlled by the EC (Embedded Controller) on the motherboard, and the only change possible is by the Vaio Control Center’s Power Management->Power Options (Balanced Mode vs. Performance Mode vs. Silent Mode).

Of course the other way would be to hack the EC’s firmware.

I had a post about this ( here). If the thermal unit and motherboard power sourcing is up for the i7-920XM, I don’t see any reason for not being able to work with the i7-940XM. But as you could read in my post, the third limitation can be the BIOS, which can enforce which CPU models are supported (also mentioned by someone on the forum link you posted).

On the Australian link, the notebook display was also upgraded?? to:

 

Make sure to check the resolution before you buy a replacement screen because 1920x1200 is a 16:10 screen and wouldnt fit in the F series. Make sure what your getting is only compatible screens I.e. 1920x1080, 1600x900

 

Thanks Rottwieler. What country is your laptop from and is the BIOS language Chinese?

Edit: @Zperf concerning your question about R0180Y9 - I'm pretty sure it means that Sony Support is clueless and wrong and is telling people to upgrade to a version that does not contain the option.

 

my f13x cto came with this bios 30 days ago. I hqve the c3/c6 option in bios but it doesn't help against the #1 noise from the list. Fan spins very irregularly too, doen'tstay constqnt for 2 secs.

 

Sony added the 3D F series to sonystyle for pre order today!

 

Just a reminder that the mods want discussion of the F2 3D contained to this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...5653-sony-vaio-f-3d-series-owners-lounge.html

That wasn't particularly directed at you LSUtigers - I think it's fine to mention it - we were just warned before not to discuss it here.

For anyone who still wants an F1 version, Sony USA has extended their sale prices that were supposed to end yesterday until the 26. No telling if the 26th will be the end of sale or if the F1 line will continue.

 

Glad I got mine before they discontinue it. The 3d version is way out of my price range. I understand this is not the forum for the 3d f just thought I would mention.

 

@LSUtigers - what kind of screen protector did you get (in your signature)?

 

Official Site of ViewGuard® Products including Privacy Filters & Screen Protectors for Laptop, Notebook & Desktop Computers; LCD Screens; Mobile Phones; PDAs and More

 

Looks familiar.

 

I cant comment on how good it is because I haven't received my F13 yet from Sony yet to install it

 

haha found the link in the forums. Must have been your post

 

Certainly it seems so!

jpride, are you going to upgrade to BIOS version R0190Y9 ?

 

I'm hoping to hear back from Rottweiler. I'm a bit concerned about flashing a BIOS that may be different from the BIOS on the US computers. Normally I wouldn't be but since Sony puts such tight control on the BIOS, you never know if they've set something that will make a US computer inoperable with the Chinese BIOS. I'll probably end up doing it honestly but I'd like to hear from someone who has done it first. I don't think Rottweiler has a US computer - I'm expecting a European country or one that has the same components as the European Fs, which is similar to the Asian Fs. Ah, decisions decisions decisions to make.

Edit: I see Rottweiler is from Germany so that answers part of the question.

 

Well spotted

It's gotta be the LQ164M1LA4A which is a dual lamp lcd. LQ164M1LD4CV is a single-lamp and is also sold on the site (separate entry).

I will, nevertheless, email them and ask.

Edit: They answered: "When you buy the LQ164M1LA4A we send you the we always send the LQ164M1LD4CV with an additional lamp and instructions and it works perfectly."

Hm...

 

No, everything is German... the notebook as well as the BIOS as well as the dialogues (!) of the update program.

Okay, to be 100% honest, I'm not absolutely sure at the moment, if my BIOS is really german, but if not, it's at least English. Anyway, it's no "exotic" language...

I would not have dared to run this .exe if it has not been an official site, I have downloaded it from.

Did I mention, that my F13 appears to be at least a bit more silent now?

 

Thanks for answering. I'm going to try this then, if not today, then tomorrow. I have to back up my files first and I'm not home right now, so I'll see if I have time tonight.

 

I just restarted and the BIOS is English. The dialogues of the update program are German, at least the first one is (where it tells me, that there is no need to update)

 

anyone having the problem where the rubber handrest is getting loose?
It does on my VPCF11Z1E that is now 13 months old.
looking for a quick fix for this, maybe glue?

 

Well, it started raining here right after my last post, so I ran home and just finished my backup. Going to flash the BIOS now with the Sony China file. Will let you know how it goes.

Update #1: Flashed BIOS with no problem. It must be a universal file because everything was in English for me. Fan RPM at idle seems same. I haven't opened programs yet. I'm actually going to reboot first and disable the C3/C6 option and see if I notice a difference. I don't plan on leaving it that way, but want to experiment.

Update #2: Before I rebooted I did open up my 200+ tab Firefox, which always gets the CPU, fan, noise going and also opened Chrome and a PDF file and some other programs at the same time. It was comparatively quieter than the old BIOS. Still noisy but definitely less noise than before under the same circumstances.

Update #3: After disabling the C3/C6 option in the BIOS, it was even quieter than above. Opening all the same programs, the fan noise was less (probably more than most people want still but again noticeable less). I was running Everest before and after and with the option disabled, the two noticeable differences are that the fan RPM stays much more steady, whether at idle or in use, and the CPU clock also stays steadier. The RPM min and max were within 200 RPM of each other but for most of the time it stayed right at the exact same RPM in the middle of that range. With the C3/C6 enabled, the fan RPM varies widely, under the same circumstances, by over 1000 RPM and jumps around constantly, never staying at any RPM for more than a few seconds. The CPU clock also varies a great deal and jumps around every few seconds. I notice no difference in performance or speed with the steadier CPU clock so far.

Last Update: I'm really liking this steadier, lower fan with C3/C6 disabled, so I guess I'll have to decide what to do. I wasn't planning on keeping it this way, since it limits Turbo Boost (my 1.73 GHz processor doesn't go above 1.86GHz in this state) but for what I've been using it for so far at least, it doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference in actual use. So, now I'm thinking of keeping it disabled, unless I run into some programs that seem to be affected by the capped CPU clock. (I still have that high pitched noise, just overall the fan noise is quieter and steadier.)

 

First Post : Yay. I always love joining a new community.

But , anyway.
I've been waiting for a stupid long time for Sony to update their F-Series Non-3D laptops with Sandy Bridge processors. Unfortunately, before just a couple of days ago I never really knew of this site . Today , the new 3-D ones came out but still no update. What I need to know is if they will ever actually update the non-3D laptops with Sandy Bridge processors. And if not, should I just go ahead and take up on the sale and get the ones now?

~Thanks in advance.

EDIT : Actually, should this question be in a new thread ?

 

Also Willscary and myself find the F13 quieter. So for sure they changed something !

 

@ZPerf

Mercii for the reply.

 

Thanks for keeping us updated (+Rep from me)!

You can leave C3/C6 disabled if that suits you, but don’t forget to enable it when you are running on battery. It should make a difference (unless you stress all cores on battery).

 

Welcome Pochi!


Moderator or Administrator HELP!!! What is going on?? I referred to my old posts and most of the links are not working! Example this link (and many others). When I was searching for it, I saw the post merged with other posts! This breaks all the readability and theme/discussion based grouping! It makes harder for people to find information and to know where the information intended for a topic/answer ends. Help!

EDIT: This is the link to the merged post I mentioned. Everything became an endless mixture/amalgam. It is hard to make sense of it and I quote most of the time the post I’m replying to. I just imagine what merged posts will turn into when there are no quotes of the referred/answered posts.

 

Just to clarify, I am using a German edition VPCF13Z1EB, and I still use the original BIOS that shipped with it. These original menus are English, too. So no change in language after updating the BIOS.

So do you think it is safe to install the BIOS update on my model? Again, it is an F13Z1EB. Thanks a lot!

 

Based on who reported that they have the same BIOS version, this version is on several different pre-configured and CTO models, both from EU and US, also this BIOS version was posted on the EU and Japanese site (same file name) and currently downloadable from the Chinese site, so I would say that it is safe to install on any F13.

 

I visited the Sony store in Orange County CA yesterday and they did not have a 3D F model. Edit: Oh, you guys know this. Sony’s 3D laptop may not be available until mid-April

Sony?s 3D laptop may not be available until mid-April - Los Angeles Gadgets | Examiner.com

Listened carefully to a F13 and could not hear any whine/whistle. Also, looked at a Z for $4400 dlls.! Awesome matte screen on that baby.

 

That doesn't exactly answer my question
But, let me try again

Will Sony update the F(xx) series ( Non-3D ) with Sandy Bridge processors?

 

Eventually they will. If you have a look at sony japan, they explained that the F14 models still has the old chipset is due to technical problems with the intelR6 from intel. But that has recently been fixed and intel has begun shipping the new boards to manufectures, so you'd expect sony will install the sany bridge cpu onto the the boards once they have them. That will likely be on the delayed F14 and/or F15. I assume they are going to keep the 3D models exclusively on F2 and non-3D models on F1. So that's why the F14 exists on sony japan.

 

I went to a Chinese colleague today and let her translate the link, I have previously posted. I am glad, I did not do that before I flashed my BIOS...

There is also a list of models on this page this BIOS update is/ was intended for... and the VPC13M1E is not on it. According to the page it is only meant for VPCF138FC and VPCF138FC/BI.

But maybe these are just other names for "our" European models?

 

Hello everyone!
I just received my Vaio VPCF1390X today and changed the original HDD with my brand new OZC Vertex 2 SSD. I started my laptop now, in bios i can see HDD(it shows 115gb available) but when i'm trying to install OS, Windows 7 can't find any driver available for installing OS on it. Where is the problem? Please help me to get windows 7 ultimate installed on my Vaio VPCF1390X with a new OZC Vertex 2 SSD onboard. thanks!

I don't have the option for Sata settings in bios!
i have just the option to change bood order and nothing more options on my bios!

My laptop is Sony Vaio VPCF13 and Bios Version is R0180Y9

any other soluion?

 

Have you tried installing the OS with the recovery disk?

I just ordered the same laptop and plan to install an SSD with recovery disk when it gets here. I dont want to run into the same problem.

 

@tolick
boot with your old HD and create a recovery disk (can be DVDs ou pedrive)
replace it back with your ssd and boot with the recovery disk/pendrive
should work and you will have all drivers and windows activated

 

So, if i want to have a fresh windows installed on SSD it's not possible? I can just restore backup with a previous installed windows tu run OS from SSD? I don't like this solution because i have windows home premium but want to install windows 7 ultimate directly to my SSD. i think there should be any way to do it. please help me

 

YES! Thank you for the answer. Now, to keep on playing the waiting game.

 

http://www..org/images/Sony_Vaio_F11/Vaio_F_Series_Clean_Install_Guide.htm

 

thanks for reply but website is not working, can you check again. thanks!

 

This is the page they were trying to link to. It's not exactly what you were looking for but you could do that and then do an upgrade to Ultimate. My question is what do you have set as your boot order in the BIOS? It should be first the CD, second SSD. Also, disconnect any external drives. Sony Vaio-F Series Windows 7 64-bit Clean Install Using OEM Recovery Discs

 

This one works
http://vaiofseries.com/Vaio_F_Clean_Install_Guide.htm

 

but there is no available solution to get windows installed directly to ssd without usimg a recovery image?

 

Well, if you're not going to answer questions/provide information, it's going to make it much more difficult for anyone to help you.

 

In bios my boot order is:

1 optical drive
2 internal hard disk
3 external drive