Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Was this your guide?
Where exactly do you go to install drivers for each steps: 3,5,6,8,9, 11??, 12
Are these drivers coming from Step 1?

 

Sure are! They should all be on the website. When you follow the guide and install in that order, it should work fine.

 

I was trying to register my Z with the Vaio Startup Assistance, but I couldn't find my contract number for the 3 year extended service plan that I got.

Does anyone where to find that? It should be a 9-digit number starts with 100.

Thanks!

 

Oh, I'm gonna take the bundles and the students saving like you so can you tell me when you received it how you were discounted, the different performance of the 5400rpm hdd and the replaced one; also what is the shipping time ? Thanks a lot

 

Whew...I was 100 pages behind but finally caught up. The lack of alternatives out there has rekindled my interest in the Z. I thought there would be something comparable and cheaper by now. Anyway...

How can you overcharge the battery? Doesn't the charging circuitry prevent this?

To address the heat issue, I try to avoid charging and using my notebook (when the battery is drained) at the same time.

 

I doubt one could overcharge a battery. Maybe he was referring to how only charging to 70% i believe, seems to maintain the battery much better.

The heat issue is due to Windows more than anything. It seems that the power settings for "plugged in" don't allow the cpu to throttle down and thus reduce heat. That's an easy change however by going to advanced power options and changing the minimum cpu state to 5 or 10%.

 

I missed the 3 deliveries from FedEx so I went to the facility to go pick up the package because the online tracking said it was there and they SENT IT BACK TO SONY! What the $#@^! They are supposed to hold it in their facility for 7 days but there was some stipulation by SONY that if it couldnt be delivered to my address it was to be shipped directly back to them. WHAT CRAP! I called Sony and they said that it will basically work like a return and I will get all of my funds credited back to my card once the computer arrives back to Sony. If I want the computer, I will have to order it again! WHAT A PAIN IN THE @#$! FedEx is crap. I work from 7am to 6pm every day so how the crap am i supposed to get home to make their random unscheduled deliveries. A bunch of poo.

 

Sorry to hear that. Maybe take a day off work when you know its coming in or put a note up on the door asking to deliver to your neighbor?

 

That's why you should call Fedex and place a hold-at-facility on the package, smartypants.

You complain about Fedex now but if it was UPS, you wouldn't even be able to go pick up your package on Saturday, they are closed. Fedex has decent pick-up hours too, until 7:30pm in my location.

 

I am a smartypants. I called fedex and placed TWO holds on the package for the faciity on two separate days, but they continued to attempt delivery of the package. Their phone representatives cant undo the incompetence of their ground support. FedEx is crap. Plain and simple.

 

That sucks to hear man. Unfortunately though, no shipping company is really any better. For my business, we use only use Fedex due to UPS's ty insurance claim procedures in which it seems that they are never liable, and because they don't have the appropriate pick-up options.

 

integra891
You could have made arrangements by calling the number on that slip they left at your door; the slip that indicated they had a delivery for you. From there, you should have been able to inform them that you will be picking it up at their facility or make some other arrangements like a neighbors. But it seems like you had done that from your other post. That sucks.
Couldn't you have instructed FedEx to track the package via tracking no# and have them reroute back to their facility even with the max. 3x's delivery limitation on Sony's part?

 

The people at the facility said that there was some "yellow label" from sony that states "Do not hold. Do not change shipping address. Ship immediately back to Sony if unable to deliver." So they did that. I called sony, they didnt specifically say they have that sort of policy, but who knows what. All I know is I dont have a computer and as of this second, my credit card has the charges on it. Hopefully, at minimum, the computer goes back to sony and they refund me. I would prefer to have the ocmputer, but I just want all of the finance straightened out before I go through the process of ordering the DERN thing again. I am a resident so I dont govern my own work hours like other people might be able to. THey tell me to work and I work. I got this Saturday off but theres no guarantee on which days I get off in the future. I was banking on this hold I placed on the package but this "yellow label" stopped that. I guess I could go to the sonystyle store and order from them, at least I could ahve it delivered there and they would hold it for me.

 

I recently purchased a Vaio Z and had the same experience. There is a huge yellow sticker that says exactly what the ground person told you. I got lucky that I was able to get the package literally an hour before it was about to be sent back to Sony.

Sorry that you ran into such problems. FWIW it is a great system and I'd suggest having them send it back out if at all possible.

 

At least someone else can verify that. I thought they were giving me a bunch of baloney and didnt want to look for the package. At least now I know they were telling the truth. Alas, it was on its way back to Sony before I got there and they dont reroute their drivers as I called FedEx and asked. Oh well. I will have to complain to sony and see if I can get upgraded shipping, then at least I will know when it is supposed to arrive and can try to make sure I am available at that time.

 

So now after calming down, maybe this was a sign. I will have another 2-3 weeks probably before all of this creditcard stuff will probably be cleared up and I order another computer. Now that I have the time, I will look into other computer makes and models. I currently have a sony sz and love it. Its been reliable hardware wise, its light and plenty powerful when i got it (now not soo much, hence the upgrade). Thats why I went with the Z originally, its the evolutionary step forward of the SZ. Does anyone know of any other models that are comparable to the Z size and powerwise? The only thing I see out there is the Macbook Pro 15 inch which I am somewhat hesitant about buying just because I would end up switching OS's and that might be painful. Any other computers worth considering, or is the Z it?

 

The following is the label those guys are talking about:

 

There were a bunch of new laptops announced this week, take a look at Engadget. Sucks about not getting your Z. I just got my Z690 today and I'm in the process of making recovery disks, then will wipe it clean and install Win7 beta.

I was waiting and waiting for the Z690, when they finally were released I didn't see any major changes from the Z5XX series and the $300 bundle offer was gone (at that time) so I went with a 13" Macbook. Comparable hardware and price (counting $300 bundle) to the Z690. After about a month I decided to let my girlfriend buy the Macbook off me and I ordered the Z690.

If you don't need Windows then I highly recommend the Macbook. You can definitely notice a major difference in weight between the two though and you'll need to get adapters to use an external monitor or projector.

I'm planning to write a more in depth comparison of the Macbook and Z690 now that I have both. I hope it will be useful to people like me that couldn't make up their minds between the two.

 

Sony notebooks? I don't see any announcement...

 

Ah, the mythical yellow label exists. Well I just talked to the sonystyle customer support representative and he conference called me with FedEx who now say they are going to attempt to deliver the package today to me and if it does not get to me today, they will hold it in the facility for pick up on Tuesday. So now I have been pulled in two different directions by multiple people:

- 8:00 AM - At FedEx Facility when went to pick up - "its going back to sony because of the yellow label"

- 8:45 AM - Called FedEx - "they are going to try to deliver it to you today"

- 11:30 AM - Called FedEx couple hours later - "its on its way back to sony"

- 01:00 PM - Called Sonystyle conference call with FedEx - "its on its way back to sony, once we get it we will refund your money and if you want, you can order again"

- 03:15 PM - Called Sonystyle again (to ask more details about return process) - conference called with FedEx again - "its out for delivery, you should get it today, if not, it will be held for you for pickup on Tuesday at the facility"

WHO DO I BELIEVE!?!?!?!?!? Quite ridiculous isnt it? All the while the FedEx website reports that the package is in the Facility. I bet some guy is having a blast with my laptop right now.

 

Called FedEx again right now 4:25 PM - it is being returned back to shipper. you can use the original tracking number to follow it back to the shipper. What a waste of a day.

 

The tracking no# as far as where the item is at is very accurate. They scan that tracking no# every time the item is handed over to the next person or depot. For it to be shipped back to the shipper clearly means someone at FedEx is not reading the instructions given for that Z to be either be delivered to you or be placed on hold for customer pick up. I think this time around its FedEx's fault. Sucks BIG TIME!!!!

A friend decided to get the Z610 at Best Buys. He tried to negotiate a $250 discount off of the $1899 price tag and would be willing to purchase a 2yr. extended warranty and they did not budge. So for those that got discounts at Best Buys, you got the right person at the right time. My friend is going to just wait it out until they have one of those $200 instant discount.

 

I agree that something fishy is going on. I even made that argument with the FedEx guy over the phone, that if they say that the package is in the facility that I should be able to pick it up. However, they said the package is not in the facility (and on its way to Sony), and I just said why isnt the information updated online then? They didnt have a good response. I dont know what is going to happen with this now, but I never took possession of the computer so I should be protected against any financial liability I assume.

 

Wow - impressive times! Is that with just the clean OS, or with all apps, av, etc installed?

S

 

What OS are you using? And have you noticed any improvement?

S

 

All the apps, full install.

 

has anyone successfully installed Windows 7 x64 on the Z690? The furthest I got was the OOBE where you enter username, machinename, etc. then it dies with a BSOD right around where you select your network settings. Other times it wasn't even finishing the first phase of the install. This is crazy. I've never seen such problems installing ANY OS. Even on the Macbook, I installed Win7 x64 in minutes. I wonder if it's this new BIOS they're using?

 

You're having the exact same problem that I was having when trying to install Win7 x64 on the Z690, which I described HERE. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, as apparently others have installed Win7 with no problem.

 

Right now I'm creating a sysprepped image I made in VirtualBox with the latest updates. Then I'm going to apply it to the Z to see if I can bybass whatever is causing the BSOD during install. My Z already had the latest BIOS. Maybe something they changed recently is what's causing us Z690 owners so many problems? To think I'm moving away from the Macbook just for these types of hardware incompatibility issues!!

 

You're using BETA software; you shouldn't be so upset about incompatibility issues and errors.

 

I'm not upset about the beta. I've used the beta on multiple systems, with varying hardware and I'm quite happy with it. Hence why I'd like to install it on the Z. What concerns me is why the Z690 in particular is having such problems with it. Particularly since others have successfully installed it on Z5XX's and I've even installed it on a Macbook.

 

Which win7 revision are you trying to install? Try to get your hands on the 7048 x64, if you must have 64bit. Personally, I use 7022 x86, and it's rock solid.

Also, make sure you actually delete the partitions and format your drive during the windows setup.

 

I've been using 7000. I'll go look for 7022 if I still don't get anywhere. Thanks for the heads up.

Are you using 7022 x86 on your Z690?

 

7022 and 7048 are a pretty big improvement from 7000, and i don't suggest wasting your time on that revision.

 

thanks, i'll consider it. hopefully the RC will be out soon.

On a better note: I was able to install the BETA build (7000) using a WinPE USB boot disk. I booted the Z using the WinPE disk. Then I manually created and partitioned my C drive. Then I applied the install.wim, Windows Ultimate image (index 4) to the C: drive and copied bootmgr from the DVD to my C drive.

This finally worked and I booted up successfully!

So one thing that's confusing to me is that Windows 7 install had created a GPT disk, which I thought was not supported. Instead, I created a normal disk.

*EDIT*: So this Insyde H2BIOS is a UEFI/EFI BIOS apparently. So I'm guessing that upon boot up Windows 7 install identified it as EFI and created a GPT disk, but something must be causing some incompatabilities while Windows is running, causing all the BSODS.

 

Hey guys, its been a while since ive been on here... I recently installed Win7 7048 x64 but i cant seem to get the drivers working properly. I also notice that the computer runs alot hotter. My stamina speed switch doesnt work, and brightness keys do not work. I was wondering if anyone had a list, or somewhere where i can get all the drivers. Ive tried searching, didnt get anything. Also, model number is VGN-Z590.

Thanks

 

There are some threads about Windows 7 on a Sony Z. If some of you have not checked them out you might find these posts helpful and worth a look at.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=337179
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=342562

 

You should have no problems. You didn't sign for the delivery. That's why it wasn't place on your doorstep. Sony just wants to make sure they have it in their hands before issuing you a credit. Good luck!

 

I actually haven't yet opened up the Vaio Z to see. I've just seen the pictures from someone who did it in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=345941

I'm leaning towards not doing it -- probably too difficult and not worth the risk of messing something up (and voiding the warranty) for a simple 2 degree drop.

I'm still going to switch out the HDD to my 320gb 7200rpm one... probably going to do it later tonight.

 

You mean the one which is actually "on the CPU"? You should not get it off then, because it's heatspreader. Just look at the instructions at AS5 page...

 

Hmmm. Impressive!

S

 

anyone has a blue ray z, can you tell me about its blue ray performance ?

 

I might want to update if I need better performance. Right now it seems like the P8600 is good enough but at least I have the option to do so. But you're right...it is kind of scary to do that!

Oh no, I meant the cooling silver thing attached to the fan on top of it. What I thought was the CPU ended up being the graphics card and now I realize that the silver cooling thing is taken away when you unscrew the fan.

 

Upon opening my Z last night to change the hard drive, I quickly decided that I did not want to deal with the risk involved with putting AS5 on the CPU and GPU heatsinks. I just can't justify the time or risk involved -- I'm surely an enthusiast, to the point where I lapped my desktop's C2Q Q6600 (which means I shaved off the top of the internal heatsink on the chip with sandpaper so that the copper part makes a clean/flat connection with the outer heatsink on my CPU cooler) so that I could overclock it more, but there's just not enough documentation about how to properly take the Z apart and put it back together again. I think I would just end up damaging something or putting too much AS5 on and making my temps worse.

 

I haven't really used it for anything other than watching movies but for that it works fine and looks incredible.

 

Anyone on this forum have a good experience with refurbished products from the Sonystyle Outlet?

 

Yes, I ordered my Z590 refurb from their outlet in late Feb when they had the 15% off deal and received it last week.q

I did an upgrade to 4GB of RAM and a 320gb 7200rpm HDD myself in order to save even more. The refurb I received from Sony is in perfect condition -- scratch-free and without a cosmetic blemish. The 1600x900 screen looks excellent... with great uniformity and no readily apparent blacklight bleed. It absolutely destroys the screens on other modern laptops that I've seen in person recently. When I opened up my Z to make the HDD swap, I had expected to see some dust or other signs that it had been used previously -- but no dust, clean inside.

I'm not sure about battery life yet. I need to get my re-installation of Vista stable, get all of the drivers and utilities installed, and then run some power tweaks and see how it performs. I can't be certain yet how new the battery is -- it looked like I was maybe only getting a little over 3 hours on normal use with medium backlight level.

Still though, a great deal considering how much cheaper the outlet refurbs run. Sadly, it doesn't come with a box, but that's not a big deal. It also has a small sticker on the bottom next to the Vista OEM product key label that says "REFURBISHED." If not for that (and no one will see it), it passes for new.

Your results may vary -- I don't know why the one I received was refurbished in the first place. But all the hardware is working properly. And I don't think Sony sells scratch & dent refurbs on their website at all, so you're probably pretty safe.

 

Hello, does anybody know what size are the SSD drives that are provided in the RAID0 configuration? 1.8'' or 2.5''? Are they SATA? Thank you in advance!

 

im using my Z every day, charging it at least once a day, and charging it to full every night.

I know that killing a li-ion battery is a bad idea. I treat 20%ish as time to charge. But I am wondering: What is better, charging it to 100% every night, or using battery care and charging it to a max of 80%? What will put less strain on the battery?

 

I was asking the same question a couple pages back, but seems like people couldn't come to a general agreement on that. But then what's the point of having battery care function if it's better to fully charge it?

I really don't know... Hope someone can fully explain this to us.

btw, i noticed that my battery discharges 2% in 24 hours when left alone (detached from the laptop). I don't really care, but i'm throwing this out there.