Official Sony VAIO TT Series Owners Thread

Great spec, congrads. Please let us see some pics when you do the SSD's.

 

1) stay away from the Patriot Warp. It is a piece of junk with this JMicron controller
2) go for RunCore or 256GB G-Monster SSD from Conics, since you are currently in Japan. Both of them have extreme read/write speeds and are less expesive $/GB than the WARP

 

My TT shipped yesterday, YAY! I should get it on Friday. Now I'm excited about it again. I already have the slip case and a small backpack waiting for it.

 

I've been thinking of getting a TT, & then thought I'd run PCMark05 on my 4-yr old Vaio S170 to see how it'd compare. It was a bit of a surprise.

The overall system score on my S170 (Pentium M 1.7ghz processor) was 2253, which is identical to the score the TT got according to a CNET review. A review on the Register has the TT at 2956. As far as CPU score, the S170 got about 2700, the TT (with a 1.2ghz processor) got 3064. The graphics scores were about identical.

So -- I realize that the TT is all about light weight & long battery life -- & on those aspects it certainly outperforms my S170, it's almost 1.5lbs lighter & has a battery that lasts maybe 2+ hrs longer -- those are huge differences for people who travel frequently, as I do. But still, on top of those benefits I was hoping for more of a performance bump over my current machine.

Oh well, maybe I'll wait until the next new Intel ULV chip comes out, and/or until SSDs get cheaper, I'm sure that an SSD would make a very noticeable performance difference.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. It's always a trade off of raw speed performance vs weight/battery life performance when dealing with ultraportables.

I'm going from a Dell 1330 so for me it will be a huge decrease in speed, but the weight and battery life is what I wanted more right now. I really hope it's not something I notice in day to day use though.

I will be running a ton of benchmarks after I get mine as I do that for every system I get. I like to use that for comparing future and past systems.

 

Me too Mine should be here in less than 24 hours now...finally *grumble grumble*

- Oh and I bought the Knomo Vichy bag to go with it

 

haha. excellent. *scuttles off to tell a birkin-using-friend she needs a TT* hahaha.

 

Something to point out here is that the TT is likely to be slightly (but noticeably) more responsive because it is a dual core.

In saying this I am assuming that PCMark05 is not multi-threaded (which would be expected given it's age) and because having a dual core (or even hyperthreading) helps with responsiveness (see for example reviews of the pentium 4's hyperthreading.

Given you requirements, you should probably wait. The point at which SSD's as fast as intels are standard is the point at which there will be a serious serious improvement.

I don't expect this until 2010.

(or you could buy an intel now and do the swop, but there are warranty issues etc.)

 

Good point -- PCMark05 apparently does have some type of multi-thread support, but I'm probably better off running benchmarks with Vantage & seeing if that leads to a bigger difference in relative performance.

Re SSDs, I don't have huge qualms about swapping drives, when SSDs get cheaper -- though if we're talking about the TT specifically, I imagine that a drive swap must be a nightmare (since everything is probably packed in really tight & you'd probably need to undo a crazy amount of screws, connectors etc)

 

Hi there,

For your information : a new BIOS is available for TT. Version is R0204M4

It fixes :

1. BIOS Password cannot be set using specific strings.
2. In RAID Mode, the computer can't be started from DVD-R/RW.
3. The system fails to start when using two different types of RAM.

You can download the BIOS at Sony USA or Asia support website

 

I downloaded it a couple days ago but have not convinced myself to install it yet as everything is working properly on mine and fixes listed are not needed on my sustem (there may be some unpublished improvement though...). Have you installed it, any problem or improvement to report?

 

Well my shiny new TT has just arrived via the courier

Initial reactions upon opening the box: Small, very light, awesome and just what I needed.

Seems HDMI is only available on the $4000AUD Blu Ray version I rang and checked and thats correct - we get stooged..meh it wasnt like I needed HDMI..lol

I bought the red one - yes I know some people dont like it but i do, its a nice metallic red and suits me just fine The whole of the TT suits me perfectly for what I want to use it for (travel, work and Uni)

I have booted it up and let it do its thing with Vista - after I make those recovery discs ( Sony why can't you just send the media like Dell or Asus do... ) going to install Windows 7 Beta 64bit onto it and see how that goes (it runs perfectly on my Vostro 1310 - shouldn't be too much to get it running nice on here)

I am probably also going to see what Ubuntu looks like on this for s#$%ts and giggles and then reinstall W7..hehe

(I took some pictures with my phone - *ahem* C905 another Sony device and will be able to get them posted when I get home - dam IT department here..hehe)

 

I just got my TT this morning and promptly opened it up. I suppose "promptly" wasn't the correct word since it took forever to find the million screws holding this thing together. There are three pieces of plastic covering screws that help hold the front part of the body together and these require, frankly, prying off. I managed to get two of them off with my fingernails, but the third required a blade to remove. I managed to do no damage (aside from a couple scratches underneath where the plastic piece covers the screw; this is not seen when it's put back together).

The excellent news that I was waiting to find out is that there are drive bays for TWO disks (since I ordered it directly from Sony with no optical drive, an option in Japan). It's already prewired (SATA) for a 1.8" drive and the 2.5" drive. I'm therefore planning on picking up a 1.8" SSD today and putting in my 500GB hard disk in the 2.5" slot for storing all my music (roughly 360GB). I'm completely happy it arrived to me like this.

 

Hi,

I've checked both my Welcome Centre and Device Manager and there are NO conflicts in the processors. Both shows me the same...

 

Hi Geekygurl,

I just got my TT 2 weeks ago.
Unfortunately I hate Vista and tried downgrading to XP, then the whole system crashed! !
Had to send back to Sony for a complete recovery.

I was thinkin of tryin out Windows 7 but afraid of the same re-occurance.
Pls do update if all goes well for you with Win7...

 

I suggest new TT owners do the clean vista install. The process is much easier than downgrade to xp and result is not bad (bare bone vista after install is 63, and after loading programs and drivers, I ended up with 73 processes). Here is the process that I used (and posted in other threads), and others have followed used it successfully:

1. Make recovery discs (turn off wireless, bluetooth, and any programs)
2. Put in disc1 and restart TT
3. Choose full recovery of Vista.
4. Let the program format c: (you can do a small partition for Vista and another partition for data) but keep the recovery center in the HDD
5. It will go on to format, and do recovery.

5a. It will ask if you want to install Sony SW, answer no. After it install vista, it will say it is going to install Sony value added software. At this point, just click the cancel button. It will restart and boot into windows.
6. After that, run the vaio recovery center again (from c:, choose to re-install programs and drivers, including drivers for BT and wifi). Choose whatever you want here, and you can do as many times as you want.

I did not like one big c: drive. So I asked it to partition a 40 GB C: and the rest is D: and the hidden vaio recovery partition.

 

I have tried this process. I works but unfortunately, there are still a lot of installed software / services which are not needed, for example :

• Microsoft SQL Server
• Google Toolbar
• Google Decktop
• Office Trial
• Office web assistant (or something like that)
• …

At the point I clicked the "Cancel" button, the only missing driver was the Wifi. I have downloaded the last version (12.2) at www.intel.com : It works fine.

Remember to install the last Audio drivers (available at eSupport @ Sony). It fixe som cracking noises.

 

Regarding taking the TT apart, I forgot to mention that you have to remove ONE of the rubber feet because (it took me awhile to realize this) has a screw underneath it. Also, I must urge you to use caution when opening the case as it's very sharp. I got a deep cut in my finger from it! Basically, you shouldn't attempt to open the TT unless you have lots of experience building and taking apart computers.

As a side note, I noticed that 1.8" SATA SSDs are few and far between, so I'm sticking with 1 2.5" 128GB SSD for now. I may wait for the 80GB Intel SSD to get released here.

 

Ok here the first pictures I took today of my newly arrived TT (sorry phone camera images for now ) (warning - large images)





I have a few more at Flickr (more low speed connection friendly)

 

Taken in bright daylight, thus pictures may not look as good. But its really great when seen up close. From afar, you wouldn't even notice the protector on the keyboard.

 

Here's the "deadly" dissected TT. Windows 7 Beta 1 is working perfectly on my self-installed SSD.

 

Hi all, can any of you help me with the product code for the TT. I'm attempting to get WinXP available updates from the sony site but I need product code for access and mine does not work... My product code (European CTO VGN-TT15X) is 54000476 but is not recognized. Can you guys give me the product code of your VAIO TT. Thanks, Phil

 

Sorry it did not work for you. There was one question it ask during the process if you want to install Sony software, and you should answer no. I think I left this step out. Any way, I had feed back from others that it did work, and I and others ended up with a bare bone Vista, and all the programs and drivers are in the Vaio Recovery Center, and I never had to go to internet for drivers.

 

Lovely red colour. Congrats. Just looked at your photo gallery. Nice. Did you built your own desktop? I am due to update my 2004 AMD built soon. Vow, you are really geeky, sky and sea diving, aircraft, games. How do you find all the time to do it?

 

Love the dissection, dimension6.

Is the access to the memory slots easy to find? It looks like one is right underneath the keyboard?

 

TZ300 -

I really appreciated you posting the information as this is the method I used on my new TT. I cannot recall the exact option text, but there is a section before it starts the new install if you want to reload the manufacturers software and I choose no. Then during the install I intended to hit cancel when the software post Vista begins to install. Everything went well until this point, the cancel button was there, BUT it was not selectable. So some software was still installed... Roxio, SQL, Office trial were the major offenders. But AOL's, etc.. were gone and it's much better than received.

 

Really odd. Maybe Sony changed the recovery software again. BTW, were you using the 96 dpi screen resolution?

 

it seems that the TT1 and Z5 series are in some sort of beta. Recovery revisions seems to be the smallest problem

I've seen 2 Z laptops with different insides

I've also see inconsistent software/hardware revisions & availability.

For example TT190UBX is premium carbon no WWAN, then TT198UB is silk black with WWAN,

Then TT190 CTO Storage has WWAN, while TT190 CTO Optical has not.

There is no logic behind it, although I think both T and Z are in some sort of beta and they are polishing stuff.

 

Ah thanks

Yeah I was buildng my own desktops there for a while, now going to just buy a SFF off the shelf ready to go - desktops are not hard to build (I used the theory if I can maintain a helicopter I can build a PC lol) just need a bit of care and attention to detail - always amazes me when I read about people having problems plugging a few things together...hehe

Aircraft = work, so I spend a lot of time on that
Skydiving = anti-work - not so much time for than at the moment though thanks to work
Gaming = time waster when not worried about the above..lol

As for my TT - gee Sony put the most amount of bloat I have seen on any notebook I have ever bought!...far out...lol Clean install of Vista went well though - no more Sony bloat..yay!

 

The Cancel button was not selectable in the Sony recovery software. I killed it as soon as possible with the Windows task manager (almost 5 seconds after it was lauched). It had no time to install something. In my opinion, Office, SQL Server, Google, etc have been installed at the same time that Vista core, before the first reboot.

I have installed it ! It is working properly

You can download the downgrade (and last drivers) here :

• ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/VAIO/XPDOWNGRADE

Unfortunately, Sony does not provide all drivers for XP (no HDD protection, no light sensor, … .

Please be carreful with keyboard protection : it minimises the cooling (via keyboard) and can damage the computer.

Wow ! I like the red finish. Do you have more pictures? Yes, we need more more more Pictures of the red lid, of the Ethernet port (without HDMI ), of your Shinza Zeroshock sleeve, …

Do you know if we can remove all stickers (centino 2, Vista, Energy star, ...) without dammage the TT case ? Thank you.

 

Thanks, I'll go for it then

• 
  
  I've been on XP since day one so my problem is not getting XP, I just want to be able to connect to vaio-support and get updates directly without having to research ftp list and verify what single update is now available compared to initial installation of XP. I don't need your serial number, just the product code (the first 8 digits), I don't know if mine is special due to my VAIO being configured-to-order but 54000476 is not recognized on the Sony site... Can you help?

 

The product code (TT11LN) is 28280360.

 

I've been using it all along for my notebook, and 1yr++ on my TZ. No issues at all. Since there are holes cut out for the speaker area as well, heat dissipation not really an issue. It helps to keep my keyboard look like new too~

 

Thanks Denomy it seems that VAIO TT seems to still cause pb on the site it might be too early, your code still can not get results on XP like mine... http://support.vaio.sony.fr/login/login.asp?site=voe_fr_FR_cons

 

I have followed your link. Try 28280360-5xxxxx It works for me (it is not my S/N)

Nom: VGN-TT11LN/B
Numéro de série: 28280360-5xxxxxx

Then this menu can be displayed :

Pilotes et utilitaires

• Mises à jour
• Installation d'origine
• Rétrogradation vers Windows XP

The last option is "Downgrade to Windows XP"

Then you have to enter your Name, email, blabla and the site give a link to "XP downgrade installer v1.3 - 655.56 kb - 02/12/2008" (this is the version we already know)

 

Thanks Denomy you were right it works now. Not much to update but it works at last thanks

 

Great ! I hope they will upgrade the installer soon, with new drivers. Please Sony.

But for now, I have optimized Vista on my TT and it works fine (it boots in less than 50 seconds, and uses +/-600 MB of RAM. HDD activity is low). So I don't really need XP at the moment. A friend has tested Windows Seven on his HP Tablet PC. It works great. Unfortunately, I have red that all Seven drivers are not available for TT

 

You're in luck. Apart from the battery, the memory slot is the only officially user-serviceable part on this computer. Just open one screw on the bottom of the machine and you're set. The battery choices Sony offers frankly blows away the MacBook Air.

If anyone has any questions about the dissection process, just ask. It really was a pain (both literally and physically)!

 

Thanks for the info, dimension6!

So the battery and memory are "officially" user servicable - how about the optical drive area? No way I want to pay full price for a BR drive, but someday could I but a slim BR drive in there for 1/4 the price? With HDMI, this would seem to become a reasonable home BR player, too.

 

Windows 7 uses the same drivers that Vista uses. I have Windows 7 working perfectly on my TT (however, it's a beta and is therefore somewhat unreliable; I'm debating whether to hold out until the next release or to go back to a clean Vista install).

 

If you order the Japanese model like I did, installing an optical drive isn't an option. If you order one with a DVD superdrive, you could probably upgrade to a blu-ray drive later if you could find one that is small enough. As far as I know, Panasonic makes the only drive that fits, and this is not available through retail channels. Your best bet is to just buy the blu-ray model at this time. I'd wait until the next version, where the blu-ray drive will likely not be $500 more expensive.

 

I have a question. Has anyone found of an adapter or something to get the noise-canceling headphones to fit in a normal jack? My guess is they would work just fine if the little metal piece on the plug didn't stick out!

 

Updated my TT to the new BIOS. Seems like an easy and smooth process.

 

Hi,

Do light sensor and HDD protection work with Windows Seven ?

Thank you.

 

I'm not sure about the HDD protection, since I use SSD, but the light sensor and noise reduction functions both work well. I don't see why the HDD shock protection wouldn't work.

 

How did you get these two features to work in Win7?
Which drivers have you installed to enable it?

I run Win7 as well and these are the exact two features (+ the quick charging) that I have yet to get working (actually also the fingerprint sensor even though Win7 sees it, I cannot use it).

Your help is greatly appreciated.

/Soren

 

Did you install all the original VAIO utility software? I think a number of original programs are required, such as the VAIO Control Center, Power Management (I can't remember the exact English name, since I use the OS in Japanese), and Shared Libraries. After I installed all the original drivers and utility programs (I didn't install any of the adware that originally came on the machine), the brightness and HDD protection just worked.

 

I forgot add that quick charging is also enabled in the VAIO Control Center.

 

Help !!!!

Why is the topic renamed "HP 30% Off Coupon Code for Laptops" ? Its name is : "Official Sony VAIO TT Series Owners Thread"

I am asking, because it doesn't work in Windows XP. Light sensor doesn't work in XP too

 

Phil has fixed the title. Thank you Phil !