Official VAIO SR Series Owners Thread

Has anyone installed a SSD in their SR?

 

Not yet, but I'm thinking about it! I've replaced the CPU and put 6GB of ram in my SR290, so an SSD is the last frontier...

 

I thought the SR only supported 4gb ram

 

That's Sony's official position, but 6gb works in my SR290 and a friend's SR240

Most annoyingly, I can even get it to work with 8gb in Ubuntu 64bit, but Windows 7 won't install with 8gb, and if I install Win 7 with 6gb or less, then install a total of 8gb, Win 7 won't boot up. Grrrr...

And to be honest, even the 6 gigs is a waste of money for what I do with the notebook. I mean, just how much ram is websurfing and email going to use anyway?

 

Is there an easy way to install a SSD in the DVD tray and keep the HDD in its place ?

 

Does anyone know why they discontinued this laptop in many countries without succeeding it?

SR was the closest thing to Vaio Z as a power ultraportable.

S and Y series seem really poor in comparison. SR, when it came out had a great GPU for its size and good performance in a sexy package. It was just not crazy priced, but an affordable power ultraportable.


Could it be that SR cannibalised the sales of Z? I wonder if Sony is more interested in selling fewer expenssive laptops like the Z, as opposed to being the marked leader by selling lots of laptops.

I just think its too bad, as this Laptop looked really really good. It never came out where I lived

 

Agreed. I bought a clearance SR a couple of months ago from their outlet because what they were currently selling didn't fit the bill. Mostly there isn't a 13" with a Blu-ray drive anymore other than the Z and the S series is only available at Best Buy in two pre-configured models in the US.

 

There is a successor to the SR. It is the S model and it is only available at Best Buy store if you live in Home of the Brave - USA.

 

I cant get my screen to have lower brightness now. I did the combo Fn-F5 and Fn-F6 and it doest seems to work.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

I have an SR29 - thinking of putting an SSD in too. I think (?) the onboard controller is SATA-1, in which case I assume I have to get a SATA-1 compatible SSD. Will I see any appreciable benefit of the SSD over a mechanical drive, in spite of not having a more recent SATA-2 or SATA-3 controller?

 

Hi
I have a Vaio VGN-SR420D/H. I don't have the recovery partition, neither recovery disks for Windows Vista Business x64, can someone help me with the recovery disks?
Thanks!

 

Your drivers are not installed in the right order. None of your FN buttons work (maybe except mute button).

 

My mute and volume up and down combo work. My brightness up and down does not work anymore. It use to. I dont knwo what happened.

 

iLoveVaio I noticed that you have a a Vaio VGN-SR490. I lost my Vista Business x64 recovery partition. Can you help me with the recovery disks? I have a VGN-SR420, but the recovery disks are the same for all VGN-SR4** series.
I only need recovery to Vista, because I can't get drivers to work after clean install.
Thanks!

 

I ended up getting something like this:



13-14 Custom Shop Laptop Screen Protector [SPCustom14] - $15.95 : ShaggyMac, Laptop Screen Protector & Keyboard Cover, Laptop Cleaner & Accessories

 

I had that issue a couple times, but rebooting fixed it for me. perhaps reinstall the core sony drivers?

did you install them in the correct order?

 

Sure, I'm using Windows 7, I tried all the solutions to make all the features work, but I still have a few which don't work. The only solution that could work is recovery to Vista and then uprgrade to Windows 7.

 

Really? I did a clean install to Windows 7 (I had to be cause it was to 64bit from Vista 32bit) and I managed to get all the features working, you really have to follow the guides and install each driver in the proper order. It's crazy you need to but it does work.

 

Are your mode switch buttons working? Mode switch is the only feature I can't make it work. I managed once on Windows 7 Ultimate but it was release candidate and expired, after I purchased Windows 7 Professional I never managed to make it work.

 

Yep they work fine. I remember after my clean install some stuff wasn't working because I didn't follow the order. So I uninstalled/reinstalled stuff in the right order and got everything working. I use the quick launch buttons a lot (as well as the volume/brightness fn keys), I would be annoyed if they weren't working.

 

My FN buttons work, but I just can't make switch buttons to work, what order did you use?

 

Anyway, is there someone who can upload an ISO image for a recovery disk Vista Business x64 - Vaio VGN-SR4** series?

 

If I remember correctly is was this order:
1. Audio Driver
2. Modem Driver
3. Bluetooth Driver
4. Graphics Driver
5. Touchpad Driver
6. WLAN Driver
7. LAN Driver
8. Camera Driver
9. SATA Registry Patch
10. HDD Shock Protection
11. Memory Card Readers
12. Sony Shared Libraries
13. Sony Notebook Utilities.

 

this is the install order which has been posted a few times in this thread. I've done a couple installs in this order with no problems:

utilities, utilities update, shared library, firmware extension parson, hdd protection, both memory card drivers, bluetooth, fingerprint scanner driver, audio driver, video driver

so if everything else is working for you, try reinstalling these in this order:

utilities, utilities update, shared library, firmware extension

 

Does anybody know where I can get a set of replacement rubber feet for my SR 420J? I have searched and can't seem to find any online. I also emailed Sony, and they were no help.

Thanks

 

I spilled coffee all over my SR290. I opened it up and dried everything out, but it still won't power on. I suspect the motherboard is shorted out. Does anyone know if this is fixable? If no does anyone know where I could find a replacement motherboard?

 

At this point you might as well get a new laptop. Doesn't sound like that is going to be a cheap or easy fix. Or maybe buy a used laptop if you're strapped for cash.

 

Hi
As far as I know it's fixable. You just need to find the wright guy to do it.
It's hard to find another motherboard and to buy it form sony service it's to expensive.

 

I got the comment below from post #3727:

==========================
1. A clean installation of Windows 7.
2. Install latest Intel chipset drivers (9.1.1.1019 or later).
3. Run Windows Update (this will install a more recent version of Sony's Firmware Extension Parser software and the fingerprint reader driver).
4. The latest Memory Card drivers from Sony (2 files)
5. Touchpad driver from Sony (or the newer version from Synaptic, your choice).
6. Sony Shared Library (under System Components)
7. Setting Utility Series (under Notebook Control and Utilities)
8. Event Service (under Sony Applications)
9. VAIO Control Center Software (under Notebook Control and Utilities)
10. VAIO Original Function Settings Software (under Sony Applications)

After installing these in the above order I have all the functionality of the VAIO Control Center and working Fn keys. I didn't install the Mode Switch drivers because I don't use them, or any of the other Sony drivers because Windows 7 seems to take care of the rest of the hardware by itself. Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, sound and video work great with Windows-supplied drivers.

==========================

Is this about right?

 

Hi
I made another clean install of Windows 7 Professional and everthing works fine, except Mode Switch. Does someone has an idea how to make it work? I tried all the solutions on this forum.

 

I think I know where the problem is. On sony support site there is no driver for utilities or utilities update. Each component of utilities has a separate driver, I tried an utilities driver from another SR but it won't install. Does someone has an utilities driver that works on SR420D/H?
Thanks!

 

Hi, guys. Does anyone tried to install the Core2 Quad Q9000 or Q9100 on the VGN-SR290 or other similar machine? There are a GM45 chipset, and ai theoretically supports quad-core CPUs, but the fact that BIOS date is older then theese CPUs release date is slightly confusing :S

 

Interesting, I would like to know if they would work also. I figured the best cpu so far would be the P9700 or the T9900.

 

I had a scare with my SR the other day. I turned it on and after the "vaio" boot splash screen it stopped and did nothing. I rebooted and it wouldn't even show the vaio splash screen, it didn't boot or do anything. the hdd was spinning and I think the cpu fan was running (quietly as normal) but nothing happened after that. I was going to send it in under warranty but decided to do some googling for a solution. I reseated the ram and then tried a fix someone posted online. I unplugged the ac power and removed the battery then held the power button down for 15 sec. put the battery back in and it booted right up and everything is working again.

 

Oh God, I hope not. Cuz' I'm an idiot and would quickly spend another $300.00 on my SR290. It works just fine with the T9600 in it now and I should just leave it alone !

 

Today i tried and got following results: the quad-core CPUs can't be installed without modification of heatsink because they have 2 crystals on PCB and heatsink doesn't fit. Also i tried to install the X9100 Core2Duo extreme, and got strange results: the core temperature on stand-by is about 50C but on full load it raises momentarily to 90C (for example difference between stand-by and full load on T5870 is about 20C) and then slowly stabilizes on 100C. After 3-5 minutes of full load test the overheat protection turns off PC. Don't know what causes that things (CPU sample or TDP difference (44W on x9100 vs 35 on T5870)). Cause of this i must to agree with S.Prime that the best cpu for this series is T9900/P9700.

PS sorry 4 poor english

 

Have u tried undervolting your new CPU? right now, my t9400 idles at 36 degrees Celsius. May be it would help some, but it is still pretty hot at 80s on load.

 

not sure if anyone still needs this information but to restore FN function keys, just re-install the Sony Firmware Extension Parser.

 

I now have the new Sony Vaio YB 11.6" laptop. I just try my bluetooth mouse and bluetooth headphone and there is no lag in my mouse and no static on my headphone.

Now, I get lag and static noise when I did this on my Sony Vaio SR.

WHY?

Selling my SR soon.

 

hm, it could be a driver issue or faulty bluetooth module.

 

Hi guys, my pride and joy SR220-J laptop has a MAJOR hardware issue... the computer was pushed off of a table by my lil son and it dropped onto a hard surface. There is no sign of cracks/breaks etc externally but half of the LCD doesn't light up and actually flickers throughout, so it is wrecked.

Other than that, the computer performs like usual so I think with a new LCD I can salvage it. I bought this model as a demo from when circuit city was closing its B&M stores so I got like a 50% off on it. I foolishly didn't get any warranty right away and waited past the 180days aloud.

I have been searching for a good price on an LCD screen for this laptop but found it to be $300 the cheapest. One site had it for $180 but was out of stock and no notice of when they would have it in.

Do you guys have any suggestions on finding a better price/deal for an LCD (i even checked e-bay)??? I really would like to get it up and running soon.

 

I've had a custom built VGN-SR for a year and a half. I'm running Windows 7 and a few weeks ago the laptop started hanging on shut down (the blue 'shutting down' screen' just sits there indefinitely). Similar problems have happened with hibernating (it freezes on hibernation and goes to a black screen without actually hibernating). Any thoughts on what might be wrong?

 

I just wanted to let everyone know that my little old 129 still runs like a champ.

It hasn't really decreased in speed despite the age and only still having 2 Gigs of Ram.

I still play video games with it. I tried Rift, but it runs on their low graphics engine. I also played Forsaken World and Grand Fantasia also, and they run at decent settings.

Oh, I also play Minecraft and it runs pretty alright, but after a while (2-3 hours) you have to restart the laptop because of how Java is and stuff. (I've heard of it lagging up more powerful quad core gaming PCs after a while also, feel free to correct me, but I've heard people complain about the nature of Java. =P)

 

If anyone is interested in linux, I dual boot with Linux Mint Debian Edition (x64 / gnome).
Its one of the distros I've found that supports the sony hot keys (Fn sound / brightness) out of the box with no config tweaking.

 

I run Linux using Vmware. Or use Virtualbox. Too scared to run it like that.

 

My wife bumped my SR220J/H to the ground(carpet) the plug jack is now wiggling. All the online stores charge around $50.00 for a replacement. Will the cheep ones on eBay for other SR's work or does anyone know of a better price?

 

hey guys, how do i upgrade to the latest ati drivers for the 4570 card?
i have the sr430 but when i try off ati.com it says latest driver is up to date which its not (7/30/10)
i know i used mobility modder in the past, but im trying that now and its not modifiing the drivers?
anyone have any info?

 

When I used Mobility Modder, it did not install the newest version. I think it just kept saying the same thing for me that my current drivers were up to date

 

Back in 2009, Sony VAIO SR had promotion.
Business owners could get free mouse + back bag + travel adapter along with the laptop. But to receive the promotion items, buyers had to fill out a form.

Does anyone else remember this offer? I need to find out the website address or exactly the promotion items.

Nevermind; https://www.rebate-zone.com/SonyB2B/pdf/DEP.pdf

 

hey at least we got some activity here in the SR section.