Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Based on my experience with Outlook, the problem may be one of your add-ins misbehaving. To view the add-ins installed, select Tools\Trust Center. Then select the "Add-ins" item on the left panel. The ones that are running are listed unter the "Active Application Add-ins" list.

I'd suggest disabling them one at a time to see if you can eliminate the problem with one of them. It is also possible that after disabling the offending add-in that you might be able to re-enable it later. I have had to do that before to resolve an anti-virus add-in issue; it was freezing Outlook, so I disabled it but a few days later I re-enabled it and it's been working fine since.

To disable add-ins, select an add-in type from the "Manage" drop-down at the very bottom of the Trust Center pop-up window and then select the "Go" button. Another pop-up will display. Un-check the item you want to disable.

 

Yes it was, at least on mine Z590. I think it was some Student and Educational version, don't recall exactly.

 

deleted for reason

 

I reinstalled Vista Ultimate 64-bit on my Vaio Z590 from the previous 32-bit Vista Home Premium. Recovery files were erased as well. However, everything works perfectly even if I used drivers which were not designed for the Z590. Did you make sure that you used drivers for your specific model so as not to go through the hassle of bypassing the Sony Hardware check?

 

Hi adv3rtis,

you will find all information about clean Vista installation here.

 

deleted for reason

 

Deleting Windows.old will do no harm. I did it as well. When installing the drivers for other devices marked with the yellow exclamation point, always choose the Have Disk... option and go direct it to the folder which contains the drivers. Some drivers require installation through this method.

 

Hey all,

Just got my Z690 in the mail, and as much as I love it, the 1600x900 screen makes text just a bit too small. I set the DPI to 115%, but does anyone have any other suggestions to "decrease" the resolution a bit?

 

I wouldn't advice decreasing the resolution. It wouldn't look as good as the native.

 

I´ve a question regarding windows 7; when it`s released in oktober, maybe it`s possible to upgrade the vista to windows 7? I`ve searched a lot for upgrading posibilities, but found nothing...maybe you can help?

 

We can't really tell as of the moment. We have to wait until Windows 7 is out in order to find out if it's possible.

 

I obviously don't want to decrease the resolution; I was wondering if there were other solutions similar to increasing the DPI that do not deteriorate the quality of what I'm seeing.

 

well you can keep resolution but change windows font size (default one is 9):
right click on Desktop>personalize>windows color and appearance>open classic... and then you can change font size.

I have also played around with DPI, but it didn't work for me, as besides native resolution (1600x900) and native DPI (96 I think), everything else looks kind of blurry and fatigue my eyes even more. In Firefox (if you use one) there is very good add-on called No Squint where you can change zoom according to your liking.

At the end I got used to "tiny" font with native resolution, but it took me good 3-4 weeks, so no problems now.

Let me know if this worked for you.

Cheers,
Miki

 

Thank you miki, this is exactly what I was looking for; I'll try it out when I get home and keep you updated

 

The native DPI of the high-res Z isn't 96, but 140.
If you set it to 140, enable XP font scaling (in the same screen), and then adjust the font sizes to your liking after this, nothing will be blurry.

 

But if you simply use the zoom feature in your software (lower right hand corner of your Explorer window, for example) and increase it to say, 125%, you'll solve your problem and keep the advantage of the greater real estate for navigating between windows, icons, etc.

The only time I have experienced blurring and tearing with this method is when I have downloads going on in the background. Otherwise, it has worked just fine....

 

I have 96 as default value (1600x900 Z590). look here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=370180
It looks a bit better with XP scaling however this doesn't change the fact that mostly EVERYTHING will look kind of blurry. This does not affect Microsoft software, IE with zooming options but with other app. you will definitely loose your sharpness as this is law: CRT can change resolution unaffected, but LCD screens are affected in any resolution but "native".

Just take a look of the icons in few non-MS applications you're using and you'll see the difference.

Derrida,
true, but only for app. that allow zooming. I believe iomr was talking about GENERAL zoom for all apps.

Now, don't get me wrong this is not about being right or wrong but rather about personal preferences. What might works for some, may not work for others.

ps. funny thing is how this exact question survived even after 7-8 months as I can recall this has been discussed since I got my Z590 in OCT 2008

Cheers,
Miki

 

Looks like Oct 22nd, 2009 is the official date for W7...

Try 140dpi for 1600x900. It works great!

 

Rumors, rumors.... Here is the supposed revamped look of the new upcoming Z model revision:

 

That pattern, as well as a couple of other new ones, can be seen on the Sonystyle China website for the "Z4". My bro who works in the PRC called them for me. They said the model isn't available for another few weeks.

Here are the 3 new patterns from there:


Not quite my taste, though.

 

Agree. The patterns may be liked by females but definitely not very masculine. I don't mind the first pattern - just the parallel lines.

 

The continuing backlight repair saga of my VGN-Z590U....

First we had 3 calls to Sony to get them to acknowledge that a flicker-out backlight is not a software issue, they sent an onsite tech last Tuesday who opened the machine at 2pm and had no clue how to get it back together. He returned with help at noon on Friday and they got it back together by the end of the day, everything seemed to work, until....

Last night my keyboard quit responding, after a full reboot it was still not responding, though the mouse and fingerprint reader were... I was going to bed anyway, so I just put it into sleep mode and brought it to work with me to call the problem in. After a (relatively smooth) ride to work the keyboard is back functional again this morning.

James Bond may carry one of these, but I bet Q branch supplies him with a new one every few days.... mine's only 3 months old.

 

Well I think from the Z service manual that the layout is similar to my TT, there is one unique flex cable from the keyboard to the motherboard, but it's a fairly large press-on connector and may be the tracks that would power the keyboard are on one half side, the tracks for the touchpad and fingerprint reader are on the other half side. It may well be that the tech did not seat it properly and just connected it at a slight angle which makes definite power to the touchpad and sensor and intermitent to the keyboard.

 

How many more of these scenarios do you want to go through? Can't you just exchange it for a new one?

 

oh my, bad experienced you had.
is your VAIO is CTO?

like Geee said, since its under warranty , get the replacement unit instead going hassle repair part by part..
thanks for sharing the experience.

 

Thanks, yeah, I think one more event from it and Sony is getting a "Lemon" call from me...

 

No, it was off the shelf from a Circuit City (long story, not my choice, but anyway, that's what it is.) Not a refurb or other special case, full retail unit new in box.

 

These will never comes to the US imo, the only new possible color is likely red
PS: I damn want a new graphic card!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey all,

Being a Hong Konger, I recently purchased a VAIO Z46GD/U and I'm absolutely loving it. The computer is snappy, has an awesome display and performs brilliantly with Windows 7 installed and two virtual machines using VirtualBox.

 

Dayum Now I am jealous!

What the faster processor, do you find it runs warm on your lap at all?

 

But you have to forgo both 64-bit guest OSes and multi-core guests.

I find it rather sad that my $900 work Dell quite seriously outperforms my $2500 Sony for virtualization.

 

Hi Stevod, yes, I have several HDMI cables. I have since heard from Sony but what they told me to do didn't work either. All it did achieve is that now the FN and F7 key combination no longer work!

Have I got a dud perhaps?

 

It's slightly warm, yes, but nowhere near hot. I spent an hour putting it on my lap yesterday and it was absolutely tolerable.

 

Thanks Bioran23,

Can't wait for the Z4 to arrive in New Zealand shores

 

Hey guys, i have the VGN-Z690J and i want to clean install win7rc on it. however, when i booted the win 7 rc cd, it says

"selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems. Window can only be installed to GPT disks."

anyone know what that means? i use a 126gb ssd, will that cause incompatibility with windows 7 rc? thanks

 

Did you try formatting the disk again?

 

not yet, but if the disk type is different, how do i change that?

 

I forgot the exact process. If you reformat it though, I believe it gives an option on how to that.

 

alrite i'll give it a shot, thanks

 

Hi,

I have a VGN-Z series laptop & been very happy with it

However, the STAMINA/SPEED switch as now not working to switch over when using the laptop.

If I use the switch while working nothing happens. Ie. say its in SPEED setting & I slide over to STAMINA (or vise verser) the led on SPEED remains on, despite switch being moved & nothing happen.

If I then Log Off or Laptop goes into standby, when it resumes, it then displays dialog and implements the change as per switch position.

Also, if I use use windows shortcut to lock laptop Ctrl # * & L - then log straight back on - it will change the state as per the switch.

The ONLY recent changes to my laptop are:
1/ from the Sony support site, Sony Utilities DLL Update
2/ Update to Vista SP2

I would welcome your advice to fixing this,

(PS. I thought it was the SOny DLL update & tried to remove it - if you are reading this then I dont recommed doing this - my machine went APE! all sorts of stnage behavour from constant instant hibentaion to saying battery fault - re-installing this DLL untility stabalsied things

Many Thanks,
Trevor.

Ps, just noticed the S1, S2 & Eject buttoms dont work :-(

Ive tried re-install of Vaio Control panel & share Library etc but no luck

I am running Vista 32bit Home Premium with SP2 - can anyone suggest what I need to fix this?

 

By the looks of it the new Z4's have a p9900 processor (3.06Ghz) offer up to 8gb of ddr3 ram, and all the goody SSD's and such but I haven't been able to find anything about a graphics upgrade which would definitely be totally super awesome!

Ohh nm by the looks of it, it has a 9300m with 256mb of dedicated memory. (Totally dont remember if thats an upgrade or not).

 

The video card is the same

 

does anyone know if i can set the fan speed at VAIO Control Center at Power Option according to the switch mode (e.g: Stamina running Balanced , while Speed using Performance)

thanks in advance

 

Just installed new Settings utility through Vaio Update and it seems I got some new features in Control Center...or just don't remember them? For instance quite cheesy setting called "Long Battery Life Wallpaper", which will set your wallpaper to white one (my eyes hurts till I did that)...

 

I always thought a black background would save more energy, but apparently it has something to do with refreshes/redraws such that a white screen is more efficient.

 

Dear all,

I was researching for my next laptop and came to this forum. It provides me lot of information and I am very happy.

I am thinking of getting a vaio Z from this website: VGN-Z92YS (VGN-Z92DS
or VGN-Z92JS)

http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Special/Computer/Vaio/Z/index.html?view=biz

My preferred configuration is: T9900, 256SSD, 8Gb RAM, no Blue-ray
However, they don't have English OS offered from that site. Do you think is there any problem install Windows vista or 7 on that machine and is there any better configuration I should consider.

English is not my first language so bear with me.
Please give me some advice, look like I am going to get it sometime by the end of this week.

Thanks in advance

 

I would prefer a P series CPU, because of battery life. I don't think that T9900 will give you such a dramatic boost over the fastest P. Unless you really do heavy stuff, or mostly run when connected to a power plug.

I have a Korean model (Z36) and have installed XP English on it without any problems. Well, I had to slipstream the SATA driver, but that's not the fault of the machine. Currently running Ubuntu, though.

 

If you'll choose VistaUltimate, changing language is no problem.

 

when will be available the new z in uk or us?

 

Could you please explain how you would change the language? Does Vista allow you to choose your language when you restore the computer back to factory condition?