Official Sony Vaio CW Core 2 Duo Series Owner's Thread

Last week I got a new sony vaio VPCCW custom build laptop. In the pictures folder, there is another folder called Sony Vaio pictures and has 341 photos of some one's marriage, their kids, outings etc. These photos names are one that camera puts out like E114322. Not any meaning full names. Also the laptop has 71 (30 sec to 1 min) videos of some family outing in beach, Zoo. When I called the customer service, on the go he made up and said those photos and videos were put by Sony. Anyone else has seen things like this? Please let me know.

When I asked the customer service guy about 341 pictures, that idiot said "Sony put so many pictures to show how big load the computer can take"

 

scottybgood: Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I took a look at a CW in my local sony centre. It also had the photo's on the drive. I dont know whose idea it was but it seems wrong to me.

 

Welcome, glad to help

 

Hehe - good damage control!


I'd delete them, test it thoroughly and be done with it.

One of two things happened ...
- someone in the build department (or a tester) put some images on it and left them as a gag, or forgot to delete them
- someone bought and returned this laptop, and it was resold to you without being cleaned (and possibly tested?)

 

agree with scottybgood completely, CW does come with an ethernet port but for the fact that you have limited space to move it would be a better choice to go for wireless , i mean a small example is that say if you had a tv, you COULD have a wired remote but that means you will have to sit near the tv, and if you have a wireless remote for the tv you can sit anywhere in the room and control the tv . Most probably you have a modem then an ethernet cable, all you need to buy is a wireless router as scottybgood mentioned, and it would make your life a whole lot easier. you can get coverage anywhere in the house as opposed to sitting by the modem or one place in the whole house. plus if you have extra computers you can connect several laptops, and a router comes with atleast 4 ethernet ports so you can attach desktop computers. Plus with wireless you can connect (if you have any) gaming systems like Ps3, Xbox 360, Wii, or even PS2 if you want. it makes everything a whole lot easier

 

The windows folder says it was created on 2008. My laptop has Windows 7, came in 2009. Does it mean the hard disk was a used one?
When I buy a new laptop, how can compromise on a used one if so!!! Why should I delete and go with it if it was put by mistake? Even if a single day passes after the warranty period, the companies just deny any service. why should we live with it? I didn't order for a refurbished one.

 

Those pictures are on every VAIO CW. I just got home from Fry's and Micro Center after checking out the CW series and every one of them had it. It's just more bloatware Sony installs on these machines. If you don't like it, delete it.

 

I got my laptop last week, in Canada, and they have these pictures in the Public Pictures folder. I kept the scenic pics, but also check out the video folder as well.

Does anyone know if Sony would be willing to send a cd copy of Windows 7 that would work on my laptop. I don't like recovery discs, but some of the sony software is pretty good though, so i'm not sure yet about a clean install.

 

If you want to do a clean install of Windows 7 can you find the serial in the my computer thingy (Start > Computer > (right click) Properties)?

Basically I don't want any of the bloatware Sony stick on there. Especially not that McAfee Anti-Performance they preinstall that's hard as hell to completely remove.

 

If you do a clean install will the trackpad still be able to function correctly (as in making use of the zooming and scrolling on the side).

 

Here is a free "Product Key Finder"...it finds my Windows XP Product Key, but not sure if it will work on Windows 7:

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/ (small file, only 330kb)

 

Guys, how long does it take for the online status of the Customisable order to change from 'Pending credit card authorization' on sonystyle? Just wondering how long i should wait before i start phoning up the credit card company

 

Dunno but I had to wait 2 days from ordering to get it to start production, but that's prob because the guy in that department was away. BTW if they want more authorization, they'll prob email you to fax them a bank statement too.

 

has anyone found a good/cheap laptop sleeve?

 

FYI, here is a site that lists the Black Friday sales all in one place and you can sign up to be notified as ads get added:

http://www.blackfriday.info

 

Hi,

I am considering the CW T8700, 4GB RAM and the GT230M graphics card.

Probably a stupid question, but anyone think this may "support" AVCHD editing with Sony Vegas 9 or Adobe 8? I have a Panasonic SD100 camcorder.

If not, then I will buy one with a cheaper processor (T6600 probably -$100) and just use for surfing/photo stuff.

Thanks in advance

 

I don't like the current Win7 Home as it has so many bloatware, now I want to reinstall Win7 Home. How can I do that? Help me plz, guys.

 

yes, those featueres are available in the driver, when you reinstall you are able to use the mouse as is becuase its a basic driver with no features if you want the features that are available on your mouse then you will need to install the driver for the touchpad to get it to work

Isnt the Win7 Product key already written on the sticker under the laptop? as i think thats all you need anyways.

 

I'm guessing your right about the sticker, I'm still CWless...soon I'll have one!!!

 

Going to pickup my CW in the morning

 

Any reviews on this notebook yet?

 

I'll try to throw one together this weekend.

A little update, I popped in a new hard drive, did a clean install, updated all the drivers and everything is running perfectly. With the exception of my little USB issue, this notebook has been great so far. Very impressed with the cooling...the GPU idles at 30-38C! I'm not used to temps like that as my previous notebook had a 9600M GT that idled at 57C AT BEST.

 

A quick update here, as well.

I brought my laptop to the school, and it seems that it can run on battery for about 4 hours (or bit less) max when I use it for typing, PDF viewing and WWW. Not bad for relatively powerful laptop with 6 cell. As others have noted, Windows consistently underestimates the remaining battery life.

It was on following settings
Brightness 40%, 20% when inactive.
i400 and memory stick disabled
Wifi on, with moderate powersaving setting

BTW, if you are annoyed by the sound it makes when you use volume-change shortcut, you can rename pi.wav found in /Program Files (x86)/Sony/Vaio Event Service.

 

Gee... thats great!! Never knew I could do that. In that case I can buy the CW and even upgrade to Ultimate with all features.

However, on the flip side that would also mean that the recovery partition would always have Home Premium and not Ultimate/Pro... so whenever I'd want to re-format using the recovery partition, I'd have to upgrade again from Home Premium. Have I understood this correctly??

 

Thanks for the update...when you work on your review this weekend, can I ask you to also write up a short "how to" on the steps you used for doing the clean install? I'd like to know for myself and I know it has been a repeated question on this forum. And there doesn't seem to be anything specific about it out on the web. Like did you do a Windows 7 Only installation pulled from the Recovery Partition? How did you initiate that installation, from what directory or .exe file? Did it ask for the Windows 7 Product Key? If so which key did you use, the one from the sticker on the bottom of the laptop? Was your system configured with or without the Fresh Start? Did you follow some of the steps in this Sony article? Thanks in advance.

How to perform a system recovery using Recovery Discs.
http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/m...00 144630322

 

Thanks!! That's encouraging that it can get that good of battery life!! And thanks for the tip, I'll take note of it to use when I get my CW...waiting for a decent discount to come along!

 

I think you are correct, to "Upgrade" to Windows Pro/Ultimate, you must first have Windows Premium in installed, therefore if you want to reinstall Pro/Ultimate at a latter date via the "Anytime Upgrade", you would likely first need to reinstall Home Premium again.

 

I've also ordered a CW and very interested in a clean install.

Does that mean, having the serial is all that is needed to re-install W7 ?

I suppose that I'll have to download the W7 somewhere if not in the recovery partition. Right ?
Is W7 available for download on MS site?

thanks
nalooti

 

To Mister President,
I confirm what scottybgood said i.e. very very interested in a clean install.

However, IMO the clean install guide should be separated from the review as it is a very different issue than deciding (or not) to buy the CW. The clean install guide needs to have details. May I also ask you to tell us where did you get the drivers (sony site ? url?) and also to list us the exact order of installation.

many thanks in advance
nalooti

 

So I actually bit the bullet and put in my order for a CW . Now playing the 4-5 week waiting game . Talk about buzz kill.

 

Yep I have also ordered one, I am so sick of the heat from my studio xps 16 and from all reports this runs nice and cool.

Still waiting for my payment to be authorised, how long can that take!!!

 

+1 I concur, the only thing that is stopping my CTO is the wait for the discount....

 

Just curious, does your Dell Studio 1555 also produce quite a bit of heat as well?

 

AWESOME!! So what was your configuration and color choice?

 

CPU: P8700 (2.53GHz)
GPU: GT230M
MEM: 4GB
HD: 320GB
Win: Home Premium
Color: Fiery Red
Optic: Bluray

Problem is I have alot of time to still talk myself out of it. I am really hoping I forget about it till I receive it at my door. Then it will be like Xmas came early.

 

When did you order? Mine hasn't authorized yet either

 

Okay, so a while back i said ill help others with the process of getting their FN keys to work in Win7.Note i have installed Win7 Beta, RC, and RTM versions on more than 10+ family sony laptops and this worked to this should work for official Win7. This will help those who want to do a Clean Install.
NOTE: PLEASE MAKE SURE TO GET EVERYTHING WORKING PROPERLY PLEASE REBOOT AFTER EACH DRIVER INSTALL.

How to get FN keys working in Win7

Install SFEP
Sony Firmware Extention Parser
then
1. VAIO Event Service (From Utilities Folder)
2. Reboot
3. SONY DLL Utils (From Utilities Folder)
4. Reboot
5. SONY Shared Library (From Utilities Folder)
6. Reboot
7. Sony Power Management (From Utilities Folder)
8. Reboot (last one!)
------------------------------
This should get your FN keys to work , then obviously you have
Chipset Driver
Graphics
Audio
touchpad
and any other driver thats left.
--------------------------------------------
Most people were confused as to what you needed to install Win7 again, if You download Win7 only then it will ask you for your key which is available on the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop, if you buy a new Win7 you are actually a key to put in simple words. and if you use anytime upgrade to upgrade to Win7 Ultimate then you will need to upgrade again everytime you use recovery partition. Hopefully someone will find a way to remake the recovery parition the same way Sony has done in the near future so it will be easier to integrate upgraded Win7 Oses then what was originally provided to us with the laptops. I hope this helps you guys out a bit.

 

Received my CW (H)

 

Sorry I should have been more clear. I suppose my clean install wasn't exactly all that clean but it was the closest you could come to clean without putting in too much time. I used the Sony Recovery discs but I didn't install any recovery data onto the hard drive. It was strictly Windows 7 + drivers + 2-3 Sony programs. My CW initially came with a fresh start option as well, which included just a few Sony programs. As soon as the installation finished, I deleted the Sony programs and it was basically clean after that.

If you guys really want a clean install, try the following link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228. This is from the HP forum and it's based on Vista but I've used it on a couple different laptops already with excellent results. No experience with Windows 7 though. I didn't want to mess around with it this time because it's just too much of a hassle and too much time just to get rid of a few Sony programs...I'd rather just uninstall them.

 

rehangohar77, this might be dumb questions
what's FN? and where is the utility folder? is it from the recovery cd? or after you install the windows?
sorry this is my first laptop, so have no idea.
Thanks^^

EDIT s, where can i find Sony Firmware Extention Parser for cw?

 

It did, and suffered from gpu downclocking. Dell always put form over function. Both laptops needed to have AS5 applied, undervolted and the 1555 also needed a copper mod to get it working correctly.

I got so annoyed with the 1555 I sold it (I should really update my sig).

I have also had sxps 1340 and that also gets scorchio. I have now had it with dell. I love the look, backlit keyboards and screen but the heat issues plague nearly every dell model

 

Went into the Sony shop in town today and had a look at them for the first time (yeah, I bought one without even seeing it in the flesh!) and I was quite pleased with what I saw.

Looking at the white, red and blue I think I made the right decision in going for Black. The white one's plastic looked slightly worse for being white and I didn't like the coloured palm rests either.

 

Ha I did it the other way. I was set to get the white in store (as I thought it would be easier to see keys in low light) but seeing it in the flesh at the sony shop I didnt like it. The red was alright but ended up coming home and ordering black.
Wasnt too impressed with the screen but I think I may be spoilt by my sxps 16.

God waiting is painful.

 

EDIT: Mr President, so was there a choice in the Recovery Installation Program's Options allowing for Windows 7 ONLY installation? Here are some other thoughts, in case there isn't that option...

About 1 month ago on friends HP Pavilion Desktop computer I successfully ran the Windows (XP in this case) installation from his Recovery Partition, installing ONLY Windows XP, without the HP Bloatware and it worked. The drive was not encrypted. To get into the contents of the drive though, I had to right click on the drive in My Computer and click Explore. Double clicking on the Drive wouldn't allow it to open.

Can anyone (being that I don't have my CW yet) see if they can right click on the recovery drive and click Explore and see if you can get to the folders on that drive. If so, we may be able to find the Windows 7 Installation files in there, thus allowing for the reinstallation of just Windows 7 by itself.

Either way when I get my CW I will see if I can figure it out

 

FN are function keys, since this laptop doesnt have physical Volume +/- and Brightness +/- and other things, like LCD/Display switch and in the CW the pge up/down home/end on the arrow keys, using FN you can access these without having an overcrowded keyboard, its located on the bottom left of your keyboard right next to your Ctrl key. When doing a clean install, often this is the hardest part on Sony laptops that is really difficult to get to work, and because of it they can use the FN shortcuts to access Vol +/- or brightness and its a real nuisance to go in to Control panel or to taskbar to manually get that done every time.

Sony Utilities is located on the driver site when you go for support for your laptop model online, i just randomly searched a CW model and it clearly shown below. when Using recovery Discs its not really a clean install, you can extract the Win7(I THINK) from it but when using recovery discs it returns your laptop to the state when u 1st received it.
here is a print screen of what came up and i highlighted the ones that i meant. I hope everything is now more easier for you to understand

 

I don't remember the exact wording of the options when you use the recovery discs but I do remember that there were 2 distinct options of Windows 7 + drivers or Windows 7 and an added recovery partition on your hard drive and possibly a few extra programs. I picked the first option of Windows 7 + drivers but I still got about 3 Sony programs that installed themselves. The good news is that it was just these Sony programs, that I easily uninstalled and there was no additional bloatware.

 

If anyone noticed the pictured i posted, it further reveals that the CW has a fingerprint reader in one of its models or is going to, because both the user manual and the support sites shows that there is fingerprint support.....wonder where the fingerprint model is available...hmmmm
EDIT: yesssssssssss i finally found it!!! im so happy, why didnt i realize it before? the Cw is also available to business users. and here is the site to the CW on the Sony Business Site
http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/subcategory/notebooks/performance/cw-series

 

Were these the options you saw...I got this from the Sony article:

In the VAIO Recovery Center window, under Choose a program , click to select the desired option:
VAIO Hardware Diagnostics
Restore C: Drive
Restore Complete System
Rescue Data
Wipe and Erase Data

How to perform a system recovery using Recovery Discs.

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/..._1_1&dialogID=144626465&stateId=0 0 144630322

 

Hey scottybgood, according to the VAIO recovery center user guide, that is in the help and support section of Windows 7 on my CW (start -> help and support. It says there should be another option called "Restore Windows and Drivers" and states further that:
"The Restore Windows and Drivers program restores the
Windows® operating system and necessary software (including
drivers for the hardware to function) on the C: drive. This program
deletes all files on the C: drive. This program is similar to the
Restore C: Drive program but is a minimal Windows installation
that does not include all of the factory-installed software.
After this program has finished, you may want to install additional VAIO software.
WARNING - The Restore Windows and Drivers program reformats
the C: drive. All files on the C: drive are deleted as part of this
process, including all personal files and settings. Most of the
factory-installed software is not reinstalled as part of this process"

So maybe this is the next best thing to a clean install. Also, when you double click on My Computer, you can't see the recovery partition, only the C: drive and the blu-ray/dvd drive is shown.

Hope this helps..