Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Unfortunately, I think that the discs could be faulty. You're not alone with this issue. I believe I've read quite a few people in this forum having this problem with their recovery discs.

Maybe you'll like to call up Sony Spare Parts department & find out if they have the recovery discs for sale so that you can purchase a copy of them. Good luck.

I know that you're going to buy a new Vaio SR notebook. My advise is that when you received that notebook, please remember to make at least 2 copies of the recovery discs to ensure that there will be less chances of having non-functioning recovery discs. Good luck again.

 

Is it posible to upgrade to SSD without voiding the warranty?, any tutorial?

 

I'm not sure but didn't Sony Z allow 12.5mm drives? If so the new WD 1TB drive may be interesting:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=403228

Officially it voids warranty. But if you do it without leaving any signs, it doesn't.

Yes there is a guide somewhere:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272690&page=90

 

...and the new Intel drives look like they're going to be quite a bit cheaper than the last ones. Nowhere near HDDs of course, but maybe enough to tip the balance.

S

 

It could be that your recovery disk has failed. Are you actually booting from it? Rather than booting from the HDD then putting the disk in?

I usually use something like Acronis TrueImage to make disk images during fresh installations which I can then go back to if I need them, i.e. one for OS, one for OS + programs, finally OS + programs + data.

S

 

They probably will... although I am waiting for the 320GB one to be released... Hopefully soon.

 

SSD's just keep getting cheaper, i'm actually really excited for this years black friday! just imagine what we'll get in this recession! or forget black friday! even cyber monday would have awesome deals!

 

Thanks JJ and Stevod.

No I am actually booting from the DVD.

I have no problem booting a retail Vista DVD. When I put this backup DVD that I created, it will not work.

Maybe I have to put back in my default 160GB hd that came with it and try again. Its a pain doing a hd on a Z. On a SR its a breeze which I will get soon.

 

Just to let you know... there is no Black friday outside the US



But well, I hope we will see some price cuts later this year... (especially if the competition picks up a bit).

 

Ya i figured that, sorry for making u non us z owners feel left out, but hey theres always cyber monday! besides... who wants to skip thanksgiving dinner to stand in line? door buster deals are always laptops or hdtv's... never anything like an ssd...

 

If you replace rubber inserts around drive with something else (these inserts add in vertical direction too and need to be replaced with something that only adds on the sides of drive), I think there is enough space to squese 12.5mm drive. But that's just a guess. Also, it would definitely affect cooling by reducing air flow, which is bad.

 

I am so annoyed at sony right now

Having ordered my new Z on 4th July, I was first told it was shipping on 16 July. When I didn't get an email, I called to see what was going on. I was then told it had been delayed to 24 July. Pretty annoying. So I called again today (29th July) because I still had not received an email and was told it was delayed AGAIN and would not ship from Japan until 10th AUGUST and probably not arrive for another 7 days after that!!! The only reason they seemed to offer was "human error". ARGH!

That means it would arrive almost SEVEN WEEKS after I ordered it! I decided that, as much as I wanted the Z, this was completely unacceptable so was going to cancel. Thankfully, I managed to talk to a more senior person and they agreed to try to get it on express shipping and to refund the cost of the bluetooth mouse I bought at the same time. Still very frustrating, but at least they weren't heartless. Any more delays though, and I'm definitely cancelling.

 

I know how this feels (although not in regards to the Z). But what is the option instead of waiting? Usually when I decide to get the best I can think of, I usually choose to wait... even with the delay... but still, I can feel your pain...

 

I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles/inconveniences. May I ask from which country did you order your Vaio Z notebook? Anyway, I hope your new purchase arrives earlier than expected this time around. Good luck.

 

I can confirm that after changing to 120 DPI in Vista, words are often cut off in message and other pop up type of windows. Scaling within applications like Firefox and MS Office is fine, but you probably already know that. I am lead to believe Win7 is where everything is supposed to be perfect.

 

Nothing is perfect, but Windows 7 is a great leap forward from its past operating systems. The Z takes advantage of this very well with its extra wide screen.

 

Well I finally broke down and got a Z. I tried really hard to hold out for something sleeker, cheaper and nearly as powerful but failed. The Z is like that high maintenance cutie you know you shouldn't date but you do anyways because she has an hour glass figure, likes sports and, you know, laughs at your jokes.

Ordered a US Z790 CTO on 26Jun, the first day eligible for the free Win7 upgrade. Got it with a P8800 and 128GB SSD. Received it 12 days later.

I like it overall but transitioning from an SZ I must say I am not nearly as blown away as I was when I transitioned from a 15" Acer to the SZ three yrs ago.

First, my biggest disappointments:

• The raid SSD just doesn't seem as blistering fast as I was hoping it to be. Maybe Vista and Sony bloatware are partly to blame, but I would imagine only a minor part. It's not terribly slow but certainly not worth the $460 price tag. At least the drive generates little heat and saves a bit of power. Those with time and patience to self-upgrade from an HDD should do so.
• The battery drain is every bit as bad as, if not worse than, earlier models. Most recently, after 2.5 days unplugged my batt went from 50% to 28% (I plugged it back in just before powering it back up, btw). I was aware of the problem but didn't think it was this bad. A complaint is in order.
• The fan gets loud sometimes, even when doing medium duty such as file compression.
• With all the space between the keys, I don't understand why they didn't fit dedicated home/end and pgup/pgdn keys. I'll have to resort to key mapping software.

Things I like (besides the obvious size/power ratio and looks):

• Battery life is great compared to notebooks of yesterday.
• The 3-prong adapter was a pleasant surprise. Now I won't be subjected to little jolts now and then. It's also much smaller than the SZ clunker.
• The premium carbon lid is nice. My first impression was "Is this all?" but I've since grown to like it. I also like the fact that it remains tasteful in a business environment.

Attempted a fresh Win7 64bit install but couldn't get some key drivers to install. Also, battery life seemed to be noticably worse. Reverted back to Vista 64bit. If nothing else, the exercise allowed me to add a partition for data and reduce the size of the recovery partition (all can be done from the recovery disks). However, Vista is an absolute PIG -- with updates it uses almost 40GB of disk space!

Final pet peeve -- the overpriced docking station is nearly the same as the overpriced one for the SZ, including the ports, indicator lights and even the port connector. Of course Sony would move the location of the port connector so that you would have to buy a new docking station.

In closing...for the price you pay the Z is far from perfect. She sure is a cutie, though.

 

I hope you have taken advantage of the Vaio productivity rebate where you'll get a free Vaio Z docking station instead of buying one.

By the way, congrats on your Vaio Z notebook purchase.

 

Thanks Speed. I couldn't wait for the productivity rebate as I only had a 2 week visit to the US. I did apply for the mobile rebate, tho. Hopefully it will go through so I can pick an extra battery on my next trip.

 

Undervolting + setting Vaio control center to silent mode can help a lot.

PS. I think a clean install will make a lot of difference for how speedy it feels.

 

The same for me - I ordered a Z45 (Z7xx) at the beginning of july and me was told that it should be delivered 2-3 weeks after the order was made. No answer as the deadline passes by. So I called them and SonyStyle said that they will send it at the beginning of august. I am very mad about this. I also asks kindly for some rebate because of the circumstances but this mail was completly ignored.

BTW: I ordered this Z in Germany where (unfortunately) no "Awesome Rebate on Sony VAIO Z" is offered

 

I bought it from SonyStyle UK.

 

That's interesting. I believe that Jorlin ordered his Vaio Z45x in Germany at end of last month (I could be wrong) & had already received his notebook. Maybe there's some mess up or glitch with the SonyStyle order system or something.... Again I could be wrong with this.

Anyway, hopefully your purchase will arrive a lot faster this time around. Good luck.

By the way, don't feel sad about the "awesome rebate" not being offered in your country. I ordered my Vaio Z690 notebook in the U.S. & I still didn't manage to get the rebate too. How s**ky is that?

 

I won the Z for about 3 weeks now (specs see below). From all the notebooks I had (6 during the last 7 years [all of them high class notebooks]), this is the most quiet one. Even without RMClockUtility (undervolting) I ran pretty quite in "office mode" (stamina + silent fan mode). Everytime the fan starts blowing even on higher speed, the noise is still much lower than any notebook I previously owned.

Right now I am looking forward to getting a SSD to get rid of the HDD noise while watching videos before going to sleep (and make it even speedier ).

 

No disrespect, but I think that says more about the other notebooks you have owned than about the Z.

I've owned several laptops that were more quiet than the Z. And in every review I've seen it's mentioned that the Z is said to be relatively noisy. Measurements by Notebookjournal confirm this.

Of course what one defines as noise can be different to everyone. But the Z has a constant hum to it, even when the fan is at it's lowest position.

 

I just got my vaio z in the mail i had one before with premium carbon and liked it but the newer models came out so i returned that one within the 30 days and purchased a new one with the red lid. I hate it. what do I do I cant stand it. Is there a way to remove it or trade it with somebody? Its brand new. Where can i buy a different color?

 

You are actually very right. I ordered it on June 28th and got it on July 14th.
I got a phone call three days after I ordered it in order to confirm my order (since I ordered it at 4a.m. Saturday night - maybe they were not quite convinced that this is something I really intended to do ). After that I got frequent emails to update me on the process.

I got it within the estimated time frame of 2-3 weeks. And I am quite happy with the whole process; especially with the continuous updates...

I immediately updated to Win7 64 RC ultimate (from Vista 64bit Ultimate) and everything works like a charm but the WWAN which is a known problem and will hopefully be fixed once the official drivers are released.

Regarding the ordering process: I remember that the estimated time for custom builds very much was depending on the components you selected...

I hope you guys need not to wait much longer .... :/

 

I agree with you. But with my Z the fan often turns of on starts to "blow" silently for a bit to turn of again after some time. The CPU usually runs between 40-50°C. And even if the fan runs faster, it needs to be very quite to be disturbing... It is the first fan in a notebook I own that does not make a noise that is very high pitch which usually is very disturbing. And I know quite a lot other notebooks of friends or collegues that are worse regarding this... Maybe I am just lucky with the one I got...

 

*phew* and I though I am the only one who thought it was really ugly (already when seeing it on the photos posted earlier)...

I am sorry for your misfortune. Is there no way to send this one back as well? At least in Germany, you are allowed by law to do so within 14 days after arrival if you bought it on the internet...

 

You shouldn't complain, in NL we can only order the Z21 from Sony.

And we can only get discount if we order through 3rd party and accept UK keyboard: http://www.computerpirates.com/

For NL it's a pretty decent offer, 2022 euro for Z21 with 128GB SSD and BR burner.

 

Photos dont do the bordeaux red justice... but seeing as you have it in person and dont like it, I guess, return it again? not sure really...

 

I might buy it. I do want SSD. What are the specs.

 

I am about to purchase a new Z to add to previous Z purchases for the family. Has anyone received a Z 690 with 256GB SSD within the last month? Do you know the maker and model of the SSD in this particular machine?

Many thanks for any help.

 

My Z is not equipped with SSD, but I think Sony uses Samsung SSDs.

 

I think it's Samsung PB22-J 256GB

 

You can't simply return it within the 30-day period once again? In the States, Sony restarts the 30-day clock with the re-purchase.

 

Hello, I just bought a new Z and was wondering how you guys had your screens set up (96 dpi font size or bigger and what works for you?) The 125 dpi was a little too big for me, but 96 seems a little small...but when i do custom it seems to mess up certain things (like the start menu isnt proportioned right)

 

Try using it for a bit, you might adjust to the standard resolution.

 

140 dpi. Yes, really.
Then you adjust the font point size where they're too big, starting with Windows' default fonts.

The main advantage is that when you do this on all your systems, a given font size (say, 12 pt) will be the exact same physical size on all of them, and a printout will also be the same size as on screen.

 

Thanks, NHT,

I wish Sony SSD were Samsung PB22-J 256GB. A reading of various pages of the Samsung website, which says the company supplies for Sony Z690 and lists some 258/128 stats, suggests its a slower, older model with only 90/80 R/W.

I can't find any definitive information. Does anyone know for sure?

 

is a refresh in the works for the fall season?

 

Hasn't the Vaio Z line just been "refreshed" last month (June)?

 

And a refresh usually only means minor upgrades. Nothing that is going to make your current Z go from top-end to low-end.

 

Looking at past models, Sony usually only does 2-3 refreshes for any given model (an example is the TZ series, which only got upto 3 refreshes).

Since the Z is already in its 4th refresh, I would rather doubt Sony will give it another one. But then, the SR has a 4th gen version as well, plus the fact that Windows 7 is just around the corner, we may see just one more refresh of the Z before they make something new from the ground-up...? Just wish for a Z with decent media capabilities like the TZ or P (instant-on...?)

 

If your in the market for a new computer/laptop and can hold off till at least 1st or 2nd quarter of 2010 then go ahead and do so since thats when Intel will be releasing new platforms. I mean they should be out late this fall but they'll be mainstream by then hopefully and won't be charging you an arm and a leg for being an early adopter. (Sorry but i totally forget the name of the new architecture/platform/series of processors coming out. Just got sick and tired of looking it up lol)

 

I can't wait for a new redesign on the Z. I just rec'd a Sony catalog in the mail today and I noticed the NW Series has dvd slot loading. There was some talk way back from someone in this thread whose relative worked for Sony in San Diego rumored that the Z would get this feature. Perhaps, it'll be part of the redesign. Is the NW Sony's first slot loading notebook? I've never noticed this on any of their notebooks.

 

erm slot loading ... i will skip, prefer tray type.
what i hope for Sony to improve its Z is better cooling system and perhaps hybrid gpu on later version of NVIDIA?.

 

You're forgetting how much refreshes SZ had, and before that S.

I believe we will see another refresh of Z in fall, then new line next year when new Intel processors come out.

 

Hi,

Does anyone remove their battery on their Sony Z when the mains in plugged in. I do this quiet often to preserve battery life and when using the laptop in bed and it makes very light.

I'm just scared that removing and reinstalling battery may break the 4 very little clips that hold the battery in place . They look very fragile. I have three year warranty, well two years from October but don't want sony ever ripping apart my laptop.

what do you think?

 

The Z will probably be refreshed in December I think.

I think you're doing the right thing. It will preserve your battery.

Don't know if you know but best is to charge it at 40% and store it in the fridge.