Official VAIO FW Series Owners Thread

Post links to the ones you were looking at, or wondered about, then we can help.

 

That's the point, I don't have/use them. Hence why it would be best if you posted the ones you liked so we could look at them.

 

hi dude..just specify the ones u use.....hav sent u a PM check the links there

 

i feel hard to get the best as i get carried away one after the other.each one excels in one thing..only the persons who have used the cases and coolers can share so.anyone elsee..specify the cooler and case that u use for ur fw.....

 

Post them publicly.

Which coolers were you looking at? Which ones did you like?

 

i think u dont get me..we cant deside on coolers just by looking at them we hav to ask one who have used them..coz only they know the cons and pros of that coolers.so the ones who use coolers specify ur model

 

The build quality on the FW is awful, Made from high grade materials my buttocks

 

you will see more of the installed RAM with a 64-bit OS but you won't necessarily be able to use all 4GB for end-user applications. it's simply not enough just to have a 64-bit OS; there are hardware considerations as well. with memory relatively inexpensive these days, go with 4GB RAM anyway.

HDCP is required if you want to play content from a Blu-ray disc; not too sure about other contexts. perhaps someone else will provide you with an answer (or at least point you in the right direction).

 

Its an observation. Nothing more. I dont understand why people get so touchy over this. If I saw one person actually satisfied with overseas call centres id apologize.

However I am sorry that your use to rubbish service and you think its the norm. Because ill tell you it is not. If I want to change a single item on my order that shouldnt be a big issue.

 

Hey everyone,

I've not really been participating in this forum until now, but have read an incredible amount of posts relating to the FW. Anyway, I struggled at first to get all the drivers working with XP, but in the end have figured it all out. Decided it might be beneficial for anyone who wants to upload a backup of my drivers (using driver magician). Here's the link:

http://rapidshare.com/files/224980859/Sony_FW_Driver_Backup.rar

Contained within the .rar file are a set of folders relating to all the hardware found within my sony FW (specifically VGN-FW3). The drivers in the folders are for:

-Ati Radeon 3650 graphics card (512mb)
-Bluetooth (this was the main reason for posting this file - it was a total pain to get it working)
-Alps Touchpad
-ATI HDMI Audio
-HD Audio Data Fax Modem
-Intel Chipset
-Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet Controller
-Realtek High Definition Audio
-Ricoh Mem Stick Controller
-Ricoh SD Bus Host Adapter
-All other associated devices

The only minor things which arent FULLY functional are the 1.3mp webcam (only VGA at present), and for some reason, the scroll function on my trackpad is not working? Not sure why that is....i'm sure it'll become clear with time. Let me know if the pack works (this is a backup of the drivers I'm currently using - so as such I have not tested these completely), and if you have any problems I'll give all the help I can.

 

does fw eco screen look horrible as sme have said in this forum?????

 

Compared to most laptop screens, I would say it's above average. Compared to other Sony laptop screens, it is sub par but not horrible.

 

an observation? you could have said you were unhappy with the service.....any reference to their race could have been left out. But instead you had to bring up 'stupid' indians.......but hey, i'm indian so i'm probably stupid as well so my comments aren't really valid are they?

You don't understand why people are 'touchy' over racist comments? Well, we're not living in the 1900's anymore.....

 

Hi guys..

i'm just realising how anaemic my hd 3470 card really is.....is the hd 3650 card much better? do you think its feasible to change cards on my machine?

 

Is Fw Eco Screen Better Than That Of Hdx 16's..plz Telll.

 

Okey, I ring up 3 times, I get 3 different Indians each time, and each time they are unable to help me because they have no understanding of what I'm asking them each time.

Hence "stupid" Indians (more then one).

I'm sorry if you took it as a generalization.

 

you could have left out the 'indians' bit....

besides, it seems like your unhappy with call overseas call centre.....instead of placing your anger with the staff, who mostly are poverty stricken people (in india) you should place your anger with the companies that choose to have overseas call centres...

 

hoping this topic won't continue anymore I'll leave my small input by partially agreeing with both of you guys I have to say that I would stand on zKelevra's side in this dispute-overseas callcentres' quality is sub-par with european/american ones-and snu_d I really don't get what poverty has to do with this? When I call a helpline I expect a professional with fluent language to answer my call and assist with my query-otherwise(just like xkelevra) I may end up dealing with different company.

 

Actually they are not "Poverty stricken" at all.
Your determination of poverty is based upon your assesment of such from a USA standpoint, not the Indian. In fact they are well piad in these call centres compared to the general population.
they can speak more than one language and are as or more intelligent than the hicks ringing them up
Poverty exisits in a great many places in your own country, even under "Messiah" Obamah!

 

Hey everyone, i am new to the forums here. Ive been reading this thread as I am ordering a FW from sony in the next few days before the free blue ray upgrade ends. For options im getting a 2.93 processor, 4GB RAM, fullHD screen, blue ray read/write drive and 320GB 7200rpm hard drive.
Now I have a few questions. Im going of to college in the fall, should i purchase the extended battery with the fullHD screen as im going to be carrying this laptop around to all my classes but I also don't want the extended battery to be awkwardly sticking out the bottom when carrying it or transporting it in my bag. Also is there a reason sony is having a special deal for free blue ray upgrade. I mean sony could just be trying to get rid of there stock for when they come up with something new?
Any replies would be greatly appreciated...

 

I love my FW! Best laptop I've ever had, and I've had about 8!

 

Welcome to the forum. Definitely get the fullHD screen - colors, viewing angles etc are much nicer. Plus the screen real estate is very useful. Some have mentioned the font is small, but that is personal preference. I like the size and utility of the screen space. I don't have the extended battery, but with full brightness & high performance power plan I get about 2-2.5 hours depending on what I'm doing. Blu-ray is nice for movies etc, if free upgrade - why not. I bought it with the burner, but i archive large amounts of files and that part if very convenient for me.

 

Concur, I'm on my 6th (between home & office) best I've had for screen display and keyboard.

 

Hi, I bought an FW 373 full HD 2 days ago and now i notice screen flicker when i put it on the lowest brightness usually when its connecter to a power source any one else notice this?

 

Sweet deal from Clearance Club...

Loving my wife's new refurb FW290JRB. Just bought it from Clearance Club this week for $994. 2.4ghz, 4GB ram, 500 GB hdd, Blu Ray burner, full HD (1920 x 1080). I also picked up a refurb large capacity battery for $100. The screen is just a amazing! I'm also loving the fact I can stream full HD content off my DirecTv HD DVR via their DirecTv2pc application, now I also have a mobile HD DirecTv! I just finished watching F1 qualifying off the DirecTV DVR out on my patio. Loving it and I still can't get over the Clearance Club deal:

http://www.clearanceclub.com/products/9970-VAIO-VGN-FW290JRB

Only catch I've found is that the HDD is only 4200 rpm, I figure I can swap it later if it's really a problem but so far it's not that bad.

 

Just got a good deal on an FW378J/B from retail sonystyle store! I used a school discount and got it for $1396 after tax!!! This laptop is awesome I love the HDMI out and bluetooth so many features!!

 

Does anyone happen to know what size of screw drivers I'll need in order to open swap out the RAM and hard drive? I want to grab them while I'm at home. I thought they'd be the kind used to repair glasses, but I thought I'd check first.

 

So i ordered my FW today same configuration as my posting above with a standard battery and 2.93 processor =] estimated arrival date 5/5...
Should I invest in a 4GB SD for ready boost for me to just leave in my computer... Will this help my performance, battery life ect. I have 4GB of RAM installed.

 

I wouldn't bother. The charts I've seen only show performance boosts if you're running 1 or 2 GB of RAM. At 4GB of RAM, I doubt you'd notice much improvement. Unless you have another use for the SD card (camera, transferring files between computers), I would pass on it. They do come in handy, though. If you could use it for something else, you might as well grab one and try it out. I just wouldn't be expecting anything too impressive.


I just went to Walmart and grabbed some precision screwdrivers. I'm hoping that these will be the right size to get me into the RAM and HDD slots. I have all of my parts, I just need the computer. It was delivered to my dorm this afternoon, so I can grab it tomorrow.

 

hey thanks for the reply so fast. I have one more question. The sound driver provided in the first of the thread, what does that do, does it just make it louder or???

 

I would imagine the driver updates would just make it work better than older versions. The link seems to be dead, though. I don't know if there is something special about that driver. I wouldn't worry about it; just search online for the sound card that you have and find the newest one. It shouldn't make it louder (though I can't say that it absolutely won't), but it could have fixes, improvements, or compatibility updates.

I'm sure someone else could provide more insight. I am new to the Sony scene.

 

Not sure what model number you have - go to this link and simply change the model # in the upper right - will have all the correct & updated drivers for your new FW.
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNFW285JH&LOC=3

 

here's an interesting thing I came across when searching e-bay, remarkably similar to the logitech nano dongle onlky that it has 4 and 8 GB
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-EagleTec-4GB-Nano-Disk-Super-Mini-USB-Flash-Drive_W0QQitemZ280336620751QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_FlashDrives_SM?hash=item280336620751&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A4|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318#ebayphotohosting

 

You can get one from B&H for $1375, no sales tax, free shipping.

 

I use a #1 Phillips head screwdriver.

 

Excellent! Thanks a lot. I'm going to check my set to make sure I've got that size.

-

I've got it. Now I can upgrade my HDD and RAM without sweating over the tools. Thanks again, FW3.

 

Hey guys! i just bought sony vaio FW-31J laptop but i have a problem with the webcam on it. i can't use it on msn, skype etc. I searched on the net and figured out that the problem is sony vaio camera capture utility which my laptop doesnt have! and i still havent found the sony vaio camera capture utility file for my Fw 31 J...could you guys help me out on this? or is there any way to use webcam on messenger programs?

edit: i solved the problem. by changing the msn messenger version and closing the webcam programs so that msn use the webcam. if you dont close the webcam program, it is said that webcam is being used by another program.

 

How do I turn off the beep that sounds when I press the volume buttons without turning off all sounds completely?

 

Hi! Does anyone have Large Capacity Battery for FW390? How long it can work from battery?

 

I've got one on a fw290 and it say's about 4 hours when it's fully charged from the battery icon. it's got 50% more watt hours so you can roughly say you'll get 50% more time than what you get with the standard battery. It sitcks out of the bottom but it actually doesn't bother me. I got a refurb one from clearance club for $114:

http://www.clearanceclub.com/products/9997-VGP-BPL13-Large-Capacity-Battery

 

Thank you! But... But when I configure FW390 on SonyStyle web-site the battery costs $100?

 

That's on-top of the price of the standard battery. On the Canadian site, the large capacity battery sells for 300 bucks, while the standard one for 250.

 

Thank you!

 

hi everybody,

i have the european model fw21e and it has vista 32 bit home premium. But i want to wipe it and install windows 7 64 bit to take full advantage of my 4 gigs installed ram. But on sony's site the originally installed drivers for my model i'd imagine are 32 bit and not 64 bit. So how do i install them? Or is there somewhere i can get 64 bit drivers?

Please somebody reply, this is the only thing keeping me back...

here's the page with the drivers (32 bit i assume):

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/down...d.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&c=0&s=VGN-FW&m=3824

 

Hi DaRonRon,

You need to download the 64bit drivers from the esonysupport website, here's the link;

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNFW170J

Once you've downloaded the 64bit drivers, you need to extract the installations from these using the Universal Extractor application. The rest should be easy...

 

thanks wesmo,

but thats the american website and mine is the european model. If u check the european website it doesnt give the option for 64 bit drivers...

 

DaRonRon,

Yes....you're right....it is for an American Model...but the parts inside the American and European models are the same (Trust me...i have a European model - and have installed 64bit drivers successfully).

So you need to download the 64bit drivers from the link provided earlier, and then extract the files from the 64bit driver .exes (using universal extractor). Once the files are extracted from the original 64bit driver packages, you can install them on your European model without any problems.

PS: Let me know if you have any problems, I ran into a couple of problems, but its not too difficult to figure out, and if necessary I can extract my 64bit drivers which I'm currently using and send them to you.

 

Hello all. I am a laptop newbie and chose the Sony Vaio FW390CTO as my first laptop. I was shopping for a laptop which would give me the ability to edit HD home videos from a JVC HD Camcorder, watch the videos through a HDMI cable to my Toshiba 720p DLP TV, and archive the home videos to a Blu-Ray disc. The FW seemed to fit the bill so I placed my order prior to reading this forum thread. After reading this thread I realize that I made one big mistake...paying for extra memory and HDD and accepting the default T6400 processor. I chalk this up to a newbie error and have begrudgingly accepted my mistake...until today.

I have not even taken delivery of my FW yet (it should be here today) and I received an offer from a retailer for the following:

Sony Vaio AW125J/H

Processor and Memory:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor P8400
4GB PC2-6400 (2GBx2)

Hard Drive and Multimedia Drives:
320GB Serial ATA 7200rpm
Blu-Ray Writer

Audio, Video and Graphics:
Intel® High Definition Audio with Dolby® Digital Live
Speakers (Total): Built-in stereo speakers + 2W subwoofer
Processor: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT GPU with Total Available Graphics

Screen Size: 18.4"
XBRITE-FullHD™

Battery Type: Standard Capacity Lithium-ion Battery (VGP-BPS13/B)
Estimated Standard Battery Life: 1.0 to 2.5 hours

Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit



A bigger display, slightly better processor, larger & faster hard drive, but terrible battery life. Would it be worth the hassle to return the FW for the AW?

 

Tdan,

It really depends on you to be honest. In my opinion the sony FW is a beautiful machine, and the perfect balance between a desktop replacement and a portable laptop. The AW however, with its 18" screen is definitely a pure desktop replacement, and you will struggle to carry it around for extended periods of time. Obviously the AW has better specs (and a much better graphics card), it all depends on the use of the system. Both systems will do what you want them to - one will do it slightly better than the other.

Personally, I would keep the FW - but then again, this IS a sony FW forum...and I love my sony FW. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the reply Wesmo. I'm on the fence. I plan on giving the FW a shot before I change my mind. For what I am planning on doing, should I notice much of a difference between the 2.0 vs the 2.26 processor or the 5400 vs. the 7200rpm hdd? Or would the difference be so minimal that I wouldn't even notice? The video software which came bundled with my camera lists the specs at 1ghz minimum and the file sizes can be HUGE.