Official VAIO SR Series Owners Thread

Vista isnt so bad. If I were you I would save the money and go for the Windows 7 Upgrade when it comes out.

 

yea vista really grows on you. at first i didnt like it all, but then i started to love it more and more. And vista looks nice in my opinion

 

i noticed that the asian support site released a new bios update with R0300y1 (SR1x). has anyone installed that yet? i saw that in the newer vaio sr models, they have a R1120y1 (SR2x) bios update as well. im not sure which laptop corresponds to which in the US. i would assume 1x for the 190s and 2x for the 290s. why would the bios be so different tho? that i dont understand.

 

the new bios work for all Sr1 models but us site always very slow !! u can fin the bios R0300Y1 in the Europe site too !! i installed it on my us ( Sr129 ) model and it works fine with me

 

I just opened my SR390..it is really cool one..So far i am njoying it..update you soon..

 

Glad you like it so far, i remember when i first saw my SR. I was so excited

 

Kudos on the purchase, and welcome to the "club".

 

Discrete graphics take a toll on battery life, unlike integrated graphics. But if you're not into gaming and video editing, the new integrated graphics are ok, I am told.

 

I would justl ike to reverse my previous review of having no problems. My SR has now caught the "battery drain" bug and it's driving me nuts.

- doesn't happen all the time. i had it for one week, then it stopped, and now it's back last night.
- symptoms include: battery drain completely when in sleep mode; battery light always blinking (did the first time at least); vista would say battery at 99%, never 100

 

Thanks for your suggestions . I tried with the Vaio Restore and didn't help. So in the end I downgraded to XP and now the thing runs much smoother and is able to shut down all by itself.

 

I really need a new laptop, and was wondering if I should get this sony sr:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-SR140...N=B001BMTZAW

I will be using it mostly for school, streaming videos, DL music, excessive use of the internet, some games...
I don't want to spend more than $1200...and want something that is light weight and reliable...I have heard good things about sony...I was contemplating the Dell studio XPS, but I have seen too many complaints with them...
let me know what you think...thanks!

 

Hi,

Could any one advise me how to switch to graphics mode on SR390?

Thanks

Sue

 

graphics mode? do you mean hybrid graphics? If that is what you mean, that feature is only available on the Z not the SR sadly.

 

The link you posted is for the SR140.. which is the oldest series of the SR..

take a look at this one
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665507477

it should do all the things you listed just fine

 

I believe that SR390 has the hybrid capabilities and it has dedicated ATI graphics card as well...please correct me if i am wrong..

 

Hello,
I want to buy VGN-SR39VN/S
Do you recomend this laptop?
Is there any chronical problem on SR Series?
Thanks for your answers

VGN-SR39VN/S specs summary:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600
4 GB RAM
ATI Mobility™ Radeon® HD 3470 256 MB VRAM
HDMI out
400 GB HDD

 

Hmm i dont think so, the switch mode mode you are think of it the 3 different modes, it switches your wallpaper and that little tool bar thing on the bottom of your screen depending on which mode you are on. The 3 modes are home, office, and on the go.

 

I owned an SR290 (I think it was a 290, well there was a 90 in there somewhere) and there is definitely no hybrid graphics. They removed this from the SZ series to lighten the cost.

Does anyone know what the casing of the SR is made of? I read it was magnesium alloy (or something with a neat name -- sorry it's been a while) in the included manual but to me it just feels like plastic.

 

Hi all,

I'm going to buy a SR 190 PQB tomorrow. 2.53G,T9400,1096, 2G of RAM, intel GMA 4500 VGA.

is there any specific problem with this notebook?

performance ability ( i need a light and portable laptop with high performance for numerical analysis ) ?

and Gaming ability?

Thanks a lot,

 

Sorry, I was confused between dedicated graphics and hybrid graphics..Mine is dedicate graphics.. So i beleive SR390 doesnt have hybrid graphics...

But this laptop is really good...Good Sound quality...Nice Screen..

Thanks

Sue

 

yep plastic it is. I guess the internal frame was based on metal. The tradeoff is that it would have been heavier if it was not plastic.

 

I'm about to order an SR 290 and I remembered that someone posted on this thread a link for a couple free accessories with the purchase of an SR series laptop. I can't seem to find it anymore, can some one shed some light?

There were 3 free accessories I think. One was the "stick" charger, a sleeve, and maybe a battery.

 

this forum will help you
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=319474
the link to the site is
http://www.rebate-zone.com/CurrentRebates.asp
and look for the promotion name,080434B - VAIO End User Mobility or Productivity Bundle Program

i think externally, its magnesium, like the lid and the base, but inside there the keyboard is, the palm rest, its plastic

 

I am waiting for your answers
Is there any chronical problem on SR Series?

 

^ Thanks Garmin!

 

if that link doesnt work, try this one:

http://www.sony.com/vaioSMB

 

Probably the only problem is with the battery drain issue during hibernation. see this thread. I believe this also affects the "Z" series. the SR390's are new so no one knows if they are affected. The only dislike I have, is the speakers which have poor volume/quality. Other than that, It's a nice laptop.

 

Anybody know how to fix the Intel 5100 wifi card? On my brothers SR, it never connects. Using ethernet works, but it will never connect on wifi. This is a horrible card, is there any way to fix this, or should Sony be contacted?

 

the 5100 is a really good card in my opinion and I have never had problems with it.
The reception and speed is a lot better than my macbook pros, and my desktop.
Have you tried reinstalling the driver?
Another thing you can try is turn off the "B" mode on the wifi card, that fixes the problem sometimes..
Can it connect to any router at all?? or just one?

 

The router gets connected too, but the wifi symbol on the taskbar has the orange triangle. I will try turning off B mode.

 

btw SR190 users
there is a new BIOS update for the SR190 series

It fixes these issues
" Issues resolved that may occur when using Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system:

* Yellow exclamation point error Device Manager Exclaimation Point Error that may appear in Device Manager next to "Docking Station" after restarting the computer when it is connected to the docking station
* No display on the LCD screen when the computer is disconnected from the docking station while the display is set to CRT only mode
* The LCD brightness setting may not be retained after restarting the computer

Issues resolved that may occur when using either Windows XP or Windows Vista® operating system:

* Battery status may be incorrectly reported which may cause the computer to shut down unexpectedly
* The warning dialog box does not appear when the input password is blank or invalid when setting Hard Disk password
* Unable to clear the Master/User password before setting the Hard Disk password security mode to disabled"

Link: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNSR190&upd_id=4450&os_id=29

There is also a USB Registry Patch

it fixes
" This utility installs the USB Registry Patch to resolve an issue where the USB ports, Bluetooth®, or Finger Print devices may not work when resuming from hibernation, standby, or sleep modes."

Link: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNSR190&upd_id=4395&os_id=29

There is also an update for the Sony media softwares... But I don't think anybody would care about that one

 

I used the Intel Manual Diagnostic test, after reinstalling the drivers, and the Ping Test failed. How can I fix this? His computer is the only one in the house that has connection problems.

 

is the laptop using the sony's wireless network software or the vista one? if it's using the sony one.. try disabling that one and use vista's

Do you have DHCP turned on on the router?
go to a command prompt and enter: ipconfig /all

if the IP address for you wireless adaptor starts with 169 you are not being allocated an IP address.

This may be due to DHCP not running on the router - check that it is.

Temporarily turn off any protective measures - on the router turn off any WEP/WPA etc, turn off any MAC address filtering; on the pc turn off any firewall. Then try again.


Have you recently installed any new security software recently that might be blocking it?

Can you try to connect it to another router? (like one of your neighbors unsecured netowrks)
If your PC won't connect to other wireless networks either that seems to indicate some type of issue with the wireless adapter itself or its drivers.
one thing I can think of is to completely uninstall the device in Device Manager then restart your computer. When your PC starts back up it should automatically install the wireless adapter again
If that doesn't work check your TCP/IP settings by going to Network and Sharing Center and clicking Manage Network Connections on the left side. Right-click your wireless network and click Properties. Click TCP/IPv4 and click Properties and make sure it is set to obtain an IP automatically and obtain DNS server addresses automatically. My last suggestion is to do a complete system restore of Vista and see if that fixes it.

 

I fixed it. I spent a few minutes on google, then went into services and turned on the Distribution Transaction Coordinator (which I probably turned off when I set up his computer). That fixed it. Thanks for trying to help!

 

no problem
i'm glad you got it to work!

 

Hi guys, just wondering if the sd slot in the SR can read MicroSDHC format cards. I am planning on buying a 4gb MicroSDHC card for my cell phone but if the computer cannot read the card then there is no real point.

Unless I send the files via USB cord or Bluetooth..

 

Thank your very mouch..
The second alternative is this:
http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/product/Portege-A600-122/1058996/toshibaShop/true/

Which do you prefer?

 

a 16GB class 6 SDHC works just fine on my SR..
so i would assume a 4gb microsdhc would work just fine as well

 

the lid is made of magnesium alloy, and so is the chassis. the palmrest, however, and the material of the keyboard is plastic.

 

my laptop has been getting this problem where when i am on battery power, the brightness/sound/fan performance bar all tends to be blocked out and unreadable. does anyone know how to fix that?

btw, i have the new bios now but my battery charge is still acting weird; after i get a 80% charge on battery care function on, i cant get a full charge when i decide to switch it off... last 2 times i got 95% and 87%. i have to unplug the charger and then replug it for it to recognize the charging, otherwise i would be stuck at those numbers and the laptop would have the charge light on forever.... i think its hurting my battery capacity for continuously charging with the "wrong" predictions

 

Hello,
I want to buy Vaio SR39.
What does battery draining problem mean? (Exemple: battery must go on 5 hours, but it goes 3 hours, is it like that?)
OR (battey level ise %70, after restart, is it %60 like that? in hibarnation, or in sleep mode?)
How many hour does battery last in normal use?
Is this problem very important?
is it fixed?
I see this pages and i am afraid.
Do you recomend this laptop?
Pls help me...

 

haha wow 16gb? how much did that cost you? must have been quite a bit

thx for the answer btw

 

It's like the second situation you described
The battery would keep draining after you put it in hibernate or shut it off.
Sleep is SUPPOSE to drain power
But the problem is very minimal though i would say
I have the first gen SR with the HD3470 graphics card, and I get at least 3.5 hours per charge.. (which is pretty close to the 4 hours sony estimated)

Yeah I had to buy it for my camera
it was on sale, it was around $140.

You're welcome!

 

Hi all,

I bought a Vaio SR 190 PQB two days ago. i want to make recovery disks from XP (default OS on it). i can't find "VAIO Recovery System" on it, how can i make recovery disks?

should i first partition it and then make recovery disk or not?

Thanks a lot,

 

First clip on start, then go to programs, next look for the folder, Vaio Recovery center. Click on the the program inside. Lastly you will see a tab that says create recovery disc

 

Thanks Garmin, but there is no folder by this name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey Tony, wanna ask if you have updated your display driver and Catalyst software into 9.2 version?

 

Is anyone else having problems with their spacebar?

Mine doesn't seem to response most of the time now unless I press it from the side and it's getting quite annoying!

Would the sony centre be able to repair this?

I have a SR19XN, have only had it for 2-3 months

 

Thank you for your answer. It is not a big problem so. Isn't it?
And you recommend this laptop?

 

Hi, I've done a clean install on my SR but I still have an unknown device in my device manager (ICH9 LPC interface controller - 2919). Does anybody know how to resolve this and what driver I need? I also want to use my mode buttons but I can't get them to work. I installed shared libraries, SUS, Event service, control center and Mode Switch but when I boot my SR I'll get a warning that Mode Switch isn't properly installed and I need to reinstall it, but that doens't work for me. Any solution? Thanks