Official Sony VAIO TT Series Owners Thread

I recall seeing the RAID option when I clean installed my TT using the recovery discs (but, not a 100% sure). Just hit cancel when it tells you it is going to install the sony programs. But, do install the recovery center into C drive. Once it is done, you will have a vanilla vista. Then run the recovery center and install whatever sony programs and drivers you need. It is quite simple and painless.

 

Thanks.

I was actually thinking of installing from scratch not from the recovery discs, but from other media. I got the machine with Vista Home Premium and wanted to install Vista Ultimate from MSDN discs.

Any thoughts? Perhaps I need to install the recovery discs, and then do an in-Windows upgrade...
Would be nice with an option to install to the RAID directly though.

/Soren

 

Check here: http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=...0.html&usg=ALkJrhjVyt60gILL_KSzB_C5odSUz68nAQ

and part2: http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=...-10-07&usg=ALkJrhiuOTv419fCl-gJ1Fgtw4sD6D-SBQ

Those are google translation from japanese but you should be able to get most of what is described, click on the pictures for bigger size

BTW 1-seg tuner is right here: http://kunkoku.com/new/bimages2/tt247.jpg

 

Thanks, Philfree
That's a great information.
Do you know the part number of dual(actually triple) SATA connector (FPCB) between mainboard and SSD ?
Actually, I'm tring to use TWO intel x18 for my TT.

 

No sorry, will this thread help ht*p://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=315001

 

Hello there,

Have you try to install windows XP from the DVD provided by Sony in the TT box ?

If yes, does all TT components work fine (WWAN module(UMTS...) , screen light sensor, functions key (S1, Vol+, eject,...), Webcam, WLAN, Bluetooth, touchpad, Fn keys,...) ? Or does TT work in a kind of minimal mode without all its features ?

I hope Sony puts all drivers in the XP DVD, but I dont know if all TT drivers exist for XP (for example the screen light sensor)

Thank you

 

Most of the major stuff works with downgrades to XP on the TT. A few things don't:

- Quick Charge
- Noise Cancelling
- Auto Dimmer
- Full HDMI Audio (Blame Hollywood and not Sony on this one... Wait... Sony Pictures... Nevermind, blame Sony)
- G-Sensor Shock Protection

Everything else should work just fine - Fn keys, WWAN module, webcam, WLAN and all the rest.

 

Thank you for your reply.

What a bad news. I was thinking Sony provide a fully functional XP package for TT. Some features are very important for me, especially HDD Shock protection and Auto-dimmer.

Do you think Sony will release the missing drivers later ?

About Shock protection: I don’t understand why it doesn’t work under XP because my 2 years old Vaio SZ3 (that comes with XP from Sony) has the shock protection drivers (for XP).

 

Could be different hardware...

However. They should still provide it, as it makes the downgrade in a way senseless.

 

There are some HDD Protection drivers XP for Vaio TZ available at Sony.com (USA).

The driver version is 1.1.7.05090. Its the same version number XP and Vista and for Vaio SZ and Vaio TZ.

Do you think TZ aand TT hve the same hardware for HDD protection ?

Or may be Vista driver for TT works with XP...

Thank you,

 

IMPORTANT: when installing either of theWindows XP versions, users may no longer have access to some preinstalled software or will not be able to use some of preinstalled functions. Below are the functions that are confirmed to be unusable once users downgrade to Windows XP on VGN-TT1 Series:

1. Silent Stream (0 stream) function does not work for HDMI output.
2. Switching the Audio output between HDMI and built-in SPK/HP should be manually operated.
3. The audio format which can be output is PCM only. (AC3 and DTS, used for DVD, are converted into PCM 48kHz 2ch and output.)
4. When using Fn+F7 to switch the display from internal LCD display to HDMI output display, system will recognize HDMI device as one DVI device sometimes.
5. After changing brightness via Fn+F5/F6 key, the brightness does not be saved after restart the unit.
6. Plug and Display function does not work.
7. LCD brightness auto-adjustment function by illuminant censor does not work.
8. Fn+F9/F10 (Zoom in/Zoom out) function key can not be worked.
9. Sounds is not outputted when playback DVD title which is used Dolby Digital Sounds by Windows Media Player.
10. Notice Canceling Headphone is unsupported.
11. Rapid Electric Charge function does not work.
12. Hard disk Drive protection function can not be used.
13. Do not support Blu-ray drive function.
14. SSD RAID function is unsupported.
15. Sometimes the error message "System file cannot be updated" appears when installing TPM Professional Package.
16. Some contents in Bluetooth Utility help file are not correct.
17. There is no manual of how to use XP.

 

Thank you for the information.

Does this information come from Sony or from your personal tests on the TT ?

Have you tried to install XP HDD protection drivers for TZ on a TT ?

Thank you

 

I've tried with TZ driver. That is not working in my computer (TT16LN)

Actually, I've tried to us XP

but, I've return to VISTA Business by the unsupported function such as HDD protection & Auto Dim.

 

Info come from Sony and I unfortunately verified it!!!
No need for HDD shock protection here, SSD inside...

About previous question on XP disk provided, it's a bare XP business SP3 with no updated drivers, nor Sony utilities. What you need to do is to install that disk and then download setup_tt_v1.3.exe from:

f*p://f*p.vaio-link.com/PUB/VAIO/XPDOWNGRADE/SETUP_TT_V1.3.EXE

You launch it, select "build an install CD" and it will download and build an install CD which will then install everything you need, drivers and utilities in the right order. No bloatware, just required utilities. Everything worked on first attempt and in case you're wondering it's multilingual and will recognize your french OS and adapt to it

 

@philfree

Oops… My English is so bad that you know I’m French . You’re right.

About the setup_tt_v1.3.exe file. I hope Sony will include HDD Protection and Auto-dimmer drivers in a next release (v 1.4) I cross my fingers.

I’m really disappointed because I bought the TT11LN for the XP disk. If I had known that XP is not fully functional before, I would have bought Vaio TT11M instead. It is 200 € (almost $290) less expensive, does’nt provides WWAN module (which I don’t use) and XP disk.

I will try to optimize my Vista Business. It is so long to boot....

By the Way : I love my TT.

Thanks to everybody for your support on this topic

 

Clean install of Vista business + following Vista tweaks and tricks thread completely the bootup times become much more comparable. On my Z, it was almost 1.30 min b4 clean install+ tweaks I reduced it to 38 seconds! with 60 processes startup..

 

I clean installed my TT and used some of those tricks. But I needed to load some of my programs, so I ended up with about 72 processes, but still takes about 1 min to boot up, and there another 30 sec to run my start up programs. Connecting to my home network after bootup takes ups some time. Once a day is not that onerous a task. So, I try to keep my TT on all day, and just close the lid when I am not using it. I use 50% battery care function, and have AC connected.

 

I have a sony TT vaio is gold
The letters on the keys are hard to see
Boot up takes forever with vista
As already said leave it on all day and turn off at night
The weight of the TT its so light to transport around
I have a bluray drive with ultra power dvd 8 and win dvd bluray and hope one of these will play the movie

 

Your english is not bad at all, it's just that I'm french myself and it just happens that I've seen your ID appearing in several french forums that's all

 

Has anyone had any trouble with the webcam. Mine works fine when I use the software that cam pre-installed, but when I try to use it to video chat through gmail it causes an error and shuts down my browser. I've tried reinstalling the webcam, and both IE and Firefox. Any ideas, or has anyone else had a similar problem?

 

Hi there,

For those who have some crack noises that sometime come from the speakers, Sony and Realtek have released new audio driver.

They are available at Sony Asia. Search "audio drivers 6.0.1.5730" in Google and click on the first link (sony-asia). I'm sorry I'm not allowed to post links yet on the forum (minimum 15 posts). This driver is not available at Sony USA yet, and its link is broken at Sony Europe. It provides noise cancelling.

I had crack noise one time. So I have installed this new driver on my TT11LN (Vista Business). It works fine.

 

Hello,

I have "unboxed" my TT11LN with my Digital Still Camera in the hands. There are a lot of pictures available here :

• Unboxing my VGN-TT11LN

Samples :

 

Folks

Am I being overtly snobbish or churlish in saying (or has it been said before, problem of a long thread with broken search ) that the chromed plastic accent doesn't even belong on a netbook, let alone on a flagship notebook in 2008?

The TT is becoming pretty much my daily. Now I've almost completed my notebook refresh I'm out with a TT probably 6 times out of ten, a Z being pretty much all the rest and everything else making up a comparatively miniscule percentage of actually mobile use. And the more I use it, the more this bothers me.

I know carbon-reinforced plastic is a really durable way to build laptops and the machine is actually screwed together and engineered better than anything Apple can churn out, but I'm kind of tiring of the plastic feel in comparison to the tactile experience of the Macbook Air for example.

The chicklet keyboard still has a better feel than the Air despite the smaller pitch, it's functionality makes the Air something of a technical joke, it's actually snappier in Office despite the .4 ~ .6 deficit in Ghz, and I prefer Vista over OS X (and that's precisely because I have a brain)... but the Air manages to look several hundred times cooler from any angle.



It's not just the thinness of the machine - the Air would still look several times cooler than the TT even if they were exactly the same size. Call me shallow, but I care about these things. The only thing is, in daily use I'm not willing to trade it for something that actually works well - which is of course the reason why I use Sony's.

While I'm all for the classic Japanese proverb of 'The capable hawk sheathes his claws until the last moment', the TT is looking permanently sheathed as it were. While I am in the process of replacing all my TZ's with TT's for the CPU and/or SSD bump, stylewise I wish they'd stuck to the dull but IMO classier TZ.

When will they hire designers who realise that painting half a laptop a nice colour is not a shortcut to style?

 

On an unrelated topic, what are your thoughts about the TT vs the Z, since you have both? How much slower does it (or doesn't it) feel for day to day use?

 

Hello,

Do you know if Vaio TT has enough graphic power to run Half-Life (the first version, released in 1998) and Half-Life Blue Shift (released in 2001) with high graphics details (or medium details) ?

Thank you.

 

I'd imagine so - I believe it uses an integrated Intel Chipset - but I could be wrong.

 

Hi DetlevCM.

Vaio TT uses Intel GMA 4500MHD. I don't know if it has enough power for Half-Life.

 

Ah, good to hear, I thought so (only other alternative would be an X3100)

I think if that game was released in 1998 it should run fine.
I mean, Empire Earth 2 and Age of Empires 3 will run on the Intel quite decently - I played EE2 on an Intel GMA 950 (I think or older) and Age of Empires 3 on an X3100.

 

I think those games will run fine on the X4500 graphics.

 

Well, I really want to talk about the related topic but apparently noone has any comments.

My key factors for a genuine 'daily' notebook is portability, 'good enough' performance, and runtime. The TT is at levels beyond I'd consider 'good enough' performance, so both the Z and TT meet my baseline levels for that. Add to that on the ekeing modes that I leave most of my actually portable machines at in order to achieve maximum runtime, power even on the Z becomes less significant in actually portable use. So in terms of how I use these machines - solely for portable use, and solely for general office automation uses for the most part and tuning for highest runtime - there's very little difference in everyday use in terms of performance.

Of course, it's not always like that - which is why I have different machines. The Z / SZ is a more balanced machine than the TT and provides capabilities that I occasionally need.

If either machine was to be your only laptop - or, god forbid, your only machine - then the circumstances of selection are completely altered, and I'll say that the Z is pretty much the champion choice in that regard. For only a <200g penalty (or <400g if you plug in an extended battery to achieve standard TT-level runtimes) you get a far more versatile machine. In my situation however, the Z is an occasionally important part in my portable usage, but not as much as the TT is / the TZ has been.

But my situation is probably quite different from most: I use the highest-performance 'pro' desktop workstations from Dell and Apple everywhere I work and at home (the only difference between the two is that the Dell is actually 'pro' in all respects), separate gaming machines, etc - and in fact I have different machines for every single major discrete purpose in my computing. In terms of laptops, you can look at my signature and see that I adopt a similar approach with portable computing as well.

Regarding the older machines, I plan to replace all of my TZ's with a mix of 11LN's and 11WN's as the TTs do provide a genuinely beneficial performance boost overall for the way I use them, sufficient for me to overlook the TT's visual / tactile inferiority (IMO) to the TZ. I have however decided to hang onto the 2.5Ghz SZ's I have, stick extended warranties on them and stop buying more Z's to replace them.

 

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you generally prefer to carry the TT around on a day-to-day basis -- & as I spend 98% of my time in Firefox or MS Office it sounds like I wouldn't see much of a practical performance difference between the TT and Z. Just to clarify, under what types of situations is the Z "occasionally important" for you?

 

I chose the TT over the Z and couldn't be happier - for travel, the tiny form factor and better build quality and battery life of the TT are really nice. At home, the size differences are irrelevant if you use an external monitor. The TT does everything I need it to do (MS Office, Firefox, Itunes) really quickly and without a hitch, so I have no need for additional power. I'm not sure what a user without any CPU-intensive professional needs would use the TT for that it couldn't handle, other than 3d gaming.

They both have the flaw of occasionally typing two keys upon a single keystroke: I had thought this was limited to the Z before purchasing the TT, but it shows up on the TT as well. I find the keyboard and trackpad on the TT much more responsive than the Z.

 

I ended up going for the TT over the Z for just about all the reason's already posted here so no need to elaborate much. (never mind I saw one and I just had to have it...lol)

I have grown up (if you like) and decided that those things known as 'netbooks' were nothing more than 'toys' and subsequently have rid myself of them - fun to tinker with for a spell but not really useful at the end of the day. (I had owned an Asus EeePC 900 and an Asus EeePC 1000H)

This is where the TT rose above all else for me - highly portable 'netbook' style form factor (lets face it it does look like a well built netbook - and I have been reading other's posts about it's lack of style!) with the performance and features of any other notebook without compromising on things like an optical drive, decent memory and a decently powered CPU - Atom is ok for the cheap netbook prices...nothing that wonderful performance wise though.

Performance wise on the TT though I am yet to find out - Christmas is a lousy time to expect deliveries here where I live so I am waiting until the new year for mine to arrive, although I have had a play around in-store with one that was actually lined up in the 'netbook' section of the store

As for its intended usage, I will be using it for my Uni studies - it will handle notetaking with Office and a bit of HTML via Notepad no worries, I also plan to have it at work every day for study and goofing off at lunch with my HSDPA modem ( we have a very restricted network where I work). Its also better for traveling with when I am required to for work.

I already have a gratis HP 15.4" notebook from my employer for all my day to day work needs as well as my Vostro notebook hooked up to a 22" screen at home that I game on and use for posting things in here (and not to mention a couple of desktops...lol) So I guess for me personally the TT purchase was a minor necessity fueled by a need for all things new and shiny, so time will tell if it suits my needs as I plan but I suspect it will - now I just need to learn some patience...c'mon next year!

 

Yes - Apple's strength is in engineering where people who don't know anything about engineering notice. An attention to detail in look & feel that makes many people excuse the oversight of 'the big picture' - such as even an acceptably basic level of reliability for the likes of me (none of my current and departed Air's have been in the repair shop less than twice, and as I may have said before it remains only one of two notebook types I've owned that I have to occasionally bend back into shape - the other being the 'unibody' Macbook Pro).

Sony's strength is in engineering where people don't notice in order to achieve superior packaging while retaining reliability and general engineering integrity - but the attention to detail, especially in the tactile, user-noticeable aspects of a notebook just isn't there.

The most telling example of the above: The HDMI socket cover on the TT vs the USB/display port cover on the Air. The TT's cover is a plastic pull-out job that is secured by a flexy piece of plastic, so that the cover dangles in place when it's extracted. To replace, a degree of fumbling is required.


The Air's cover - machined aluminium which conforms to the machine's lines when closed, snaps open / closed with a satisfyingly mechanical thunk.


The Sony's cover - allows all cables to be plugged in fine, doesn't get in the way at all. The Air's cover - regularly gets in the way due to it's placement because of styling requirements.

It's clearly a different way of thinking. But you know, anyone with an iota of industrial design sense should have sat down at the TT and thought "You know, it does feel cheap" - and not just against it's competiton. The TT/Z are both a step down from their predecessors in terms of look & feel IMO - the SZ is a classy beast and the Z is a less coherent step back, and while the TZ was certainly more boring looking it wasn't as bulbous as the TT.

The TT may be a considerable step away from a netbook in terms of function, and it may even readily betray the fact that it is considerably better put together... but the truth is, I don't think it looks or the materials feel much different, right down to the rougher, more 'plasticky' carbon-reinforced plastic employed in comparison to the SZ/TZ as well as the aforementioned chromed plastic. I do hope in the next iteration, if they stick to resins they adopt 'real' carbon fiber - i.e. thermoset - instead of 'regular plastic with carbon fibers mixed inside'. People would respond well to that, and it will also be even stronger.

 

That door on the MBA probably cost more than the ports underneath it. It's deeply flawed, but admirable that they tried. The TT's flap on the other hand, is the simplest and cheapest method...but don't expect Sony to give any of that cost savings back to you.

The TZ had a very nice understated beauty compared to the TT. I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe it's the straight lines or the slimmer profile...but it's difficult to convey. You actually have to hold the machine in your hands in order to understand why it's the nicer design...otherwise, it looks like just another computer. This great design, was just a "happy accident" IMO.

If you look at the complete Sony line, it isn't apparent that they employ any real stylists. Everything looks like it was styled by engineers, that seemingly still haven't discovered freeform curves. They think a different color lid is a styling advancement. They design the machines to be cheap, but look expensive.

Apple, on the other hand...designs their machines to BE expensive. They're much more willing to try things, like backlit keyboards, magnetic latches and power connectors. The styling is integrated, clean, sculpted and beautiful.

As it stands, I think Apple has a much better chance to design the "ultimate" machine. They even managed to steal Sony's "chiclet" keyboard and make it an Apple trademark...Sony will never get it.

 

Hi I just got TT 190 1.4 Mhz/64x2 Raid/3 Ram

This computer has Intel wifi 5100 and the connection is between 5 Mbps to 15 Mbps 15 feet from my router (Belkin N1 Vision). If I put the computer just 2 feet from the router the speed increase to 90 Mbps to 140 Mbps. I also have a TZ 180 NR and reach 144 Mbps all around my home. I called sony support and I went 2 hours trough 3 levels of technicians, they said is kind of normal but I don't think so I had had 5 vaio computers and this is the slowest connection I seen. No new drivers from intel and if you try to re-install the drivers trough partition is not working ether.
Any suggestions?? shall I returned???
One more question is true as the technitian that the Mbps connection is not related with the Internet speed........

 

It is because the TZ has the 4965 card with 3 antenna and the TT has a 5100 card which only has 2 antenna. Get a 5300 card or a third antenna for better performance.

See here for a comparison:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3356&p=6
http://support.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/wireless/adapters/5000/index.htm

 

I got the TT190 as well and see similar behaviour.
I have multiple Airport Extremes in my house, and with my Macs I can reach about 90-200Mbit connection speeds. With the TT, I have never gotten it above 65Mbit.
This is a problem for streaming Media Center files for instance. At any distance to my routers, the TT simply cannot reach a speed sufficient to stream a DVR-MS file.

I installed the newest drivers directly off Intels site, but that did not make any difference. Also tried upgrading Vista to SP2 beta as this should have a new wireless manager, but same results.
I think it is a hardware issue with the TT. Add ths to the buttons below the trackpad that feels like a something out of ToysRus and the cover for the HDMI and this machine is starting to feel a lot less like a $4,000 machine than it should...

/Soren

 

Hi there,

I'm also disappointed about TT wifi. I own a Linksys WRT300N routeur (300 Mbit/s Pre-N). The TT is always connected at 54 Mbit/s (which is 802.11g) whereas my Asus eeePC 901 connects at 135 Mbit/s. The 901 comes with an Azurewave RT2700E (AW-NE766) 802.11 b/g/n Wifi card.

I don't know how to increase TT speed (with software methods). Connection is strong (and reliable) but slow

By the way : why has Sony replaced 4965 wifi card (TZ) with a 5100 card (TT) ? Less expensive ? Less power consumption ?

Thank you.

 

Do you think the 5300 card will fit in the space of 5100? I checked intel web and it looks double of the size.
I've been Sony costumer for years but how you mess up a computer 3K with a weak wifi card only to save $10
Wifi 5100 $19
Wifi 5300 $29
I star thinking about to returned and get another brand.

 

From ebay

intel 5300 wifi wireless mini PCI-E card 802.11N 450Mbp This seller accepts PayPal Buy It Now $26.99 Free shipping

 

Sony Wi-Fi utility - I think its called "Smart Wi-Fi" - go into the options and check the frequecies.

54MBit/s is on 2,4GHz (b / g)
300MBit/s (max depending on hardware) is on 5GHz I believe (n / draft-n)

 

I am looking at purchasing this computer (over $4K!!!! Argh!) but it looks really good. I need something light to lug around, and I like the idea of SSD. Does it really boot faster? Can I really never lose my data on this type of hard drive (unless it burns in a fire, or some other such tragedy, of course.)

But most important, I am thinking of going back to school, and must be able to participate in Second Life. The school recommends nVidia GeForce 2, 4 mx or better or ATI Radeon 8500, 9250 or better. Will this laptop's graphics card be enough? (On the web site it states that it comes with Graphics Chipset : Mobile Intel® GS45 Express Chipset; Interface : HDMI™ and VGA out with Smart Display Sensor; and Processor : Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with Intel® Clear Video Technology Total Available Graphics Memory: 1300MB (max.)

(The school is strictly an on-line program too, but it is accredited for what I need.)

Thanks and I look forward to learning more!

 

I wouldn't say never, SSD's are generally an unknown quantity at this moment in time as to their lifecycle. There is a lot of conjecture about how many read/writes you can get out of them before they die, although I would also think the SSD used in the Sony will possibly have an expected life cycle as well before they are going to fail...so it still means you need to backup your data!

Hmm...given that the CPU on the TT is not exactly built for performance you might find that this is where you will get a bottleneck when it comes to 3D gaming - I don't think the TT was designed for gaming, and the 4500 Intergrated card whilst being a bit more of an improvement on older intergrated solutions, was designed more for Blu Ray decoding than 3D gaming. I don't play Secondlife but I think if you want to run a 3D application for schooling you are going to be a lot better off with a dedicated graphics solution rather than struggle on intergrated graphics. The max memory detailed on the 4500MHD is just shared system memory and will be dependant on what is available at the time - ie what other processes and services will be using system memory, dedicated cards do not suffer from this the same.

You would be better off getting a Vaio Z for this purpose, only slightly larger physically but a dedicated GPU that would be able to handle Second Life no worries, and a faster CPU.

 

Thanks for your reply

I've tried to set Wifi to 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz in Sony Wifi Utility but it still connects at 54 Mps. I have tried to force the driver to use 5 GHz bandiwdth only (in Intel driver panel), but it fails to connect to the router (?!? Asus eeePC 901 success ! ) I have also upgraded to the latest drivers ( 12.1.2.1), but it still connects at 54 Mbps (and also failed to connect at 5 GHz : Unknown reason).
The chipset inside my router (Linksys WRT300N v2.0) is an Atheros. It may be not compatible at all with Intel Draft-N ?

 

Maybe....

I know my mother's Medion laptop had (has?) plenty of problems on a Realtek adapter with "g" - and that was out for a few years by then...

(New drivers did improve it a bit)

 

Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly.

I am not a gamer, and have never played Second Life, so I don't know what to look for, other than the school's computing requirements list. (Not that I've even been accepted yet...)

I am definitely going to look at the "Z" series.

Thanks again.

 

Anyone looked into swapping out the EVDO WWAN for GSM?
I've been searching for either a US service manual or a "cracking open" website that clearly identifies a WWAN module but to no avail.

 

These graphics cards are very old. In my opinion TT graphics card is more powerful.