Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Anyone know what WWAN chip is in the European Z21?

 

Z12 is for SouthEast Asian: Malaysia, Indonesia etc.

It is comparable to z16 (Singapore, AUZ, NZ) and Z590 (P8600, 1600x900, 2GB, 250GB, DVD) and Z11 in europe

It is a LED TFT.

 

Guys I get an error durring the process of installing an update. Specifically is the update for Business Contact Manager per Outlook 2007 (KB946140). It shows me: Error 779. Any ideas how to solve this?
I uninstalled Microsoft 2007 before all this..but is impossible to uninstall Business Contact Manager, I don't know why.

 

Has anyone been able to locate which brand/model HDDs are being used currently? I was originally going to order a cto w/ the 200gb/7200rpm after seeing the drive comparisons, but now they have 250gb and 320gb w/ 7200rpm ... Naturally, I'm leaning towards the 320/7200, but if it's notably louder or anything I'd love to find out before ordering.

 

The 7200RPM 200GB is Hitachi
The 5400RPMs are Toshiba = little more noisier

 

The CTO HDD options have changed, though. Now they don't have the 200gb/7200rpm. Now they offer a 250 or 320 at 7200rpm. Hence rehashing the discussion, I don't know what brand/models they are using for these.

 

I know i read the post related to my question but i cant find the thread anymore, but did someone state that there was a problem with the lcd benzel being loose and not tightly wrapped around the LCD?

 

Congratulations! And what a sweet price, too...

Yeah, some people definitely stopped showing up here after they got their Z -- I know I don't read as many posts as when I was debating what, when, and whether to get...

 

I see the photo and step on how to get the keyboard out and start from the cd drive area. How do you prey it open? Using a tap up screw driver?

 

Now I just need to wait for the price of a P9500 to drop (right now it's around $300 on ebay)..... Actually, I'm wondering how much of a difference a P9500 vs. P8400 would make in everyday use (for one who is not coding or running CAD software or other processor intensive stuff). I'm thinking the hard drive upgrade will make the most noticeable difference.

Has anyone ever tried upgrading the CPU in a Z? Does the BIOS support any processors other than the P8400/P8600/P9500? I know the GM45 Express Chipset does?

 

don't waste money on the chipset. RAM and HDD is where to invest. As far as the HDD question. I would get a 5400/320gb because I think that it's seagate and has great performances.

 

Hi Guys, This is my first post on this site so im hoping that at least one of you can help me. I have just purchased a sony vaio Z11WN/B laptop and i burnt the recovery disks before downgrading to xp. Once i remembered that xp could only use 3/4gb of my ram i decided to upgrade back to the original vista installation. Wen i tried doing so, my recovery disks wouldnt get me past the windows installation. I think they must have burnt badly. Anyway, i have no way of getting back to vista as i have also deleted the recovery paritition, thinking i didnt need it anymore..... DOH! I have contacted sony however they want me to pay £35 to order the recovery disks. Could someone please upload the recovery disks to a website so that i can download them? Or point me in the right direction on where to download it, if anywhere! I think the files might be too big to email.

Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance, Ryan

 

Doesnt Sony allow you burn a OS CD? They dont even include a OS on CD?

 

yikes, why WOULD you delete the recovery partition b4 making sure 'EVERYTHING' ran perfectly on XP..

Anyway check out mega-man's clean install thread, thats probably your strongest hope

They include Recovery Partition on HDD like most now, recovery DVD-Rs can also be created which will include bloatware if you got it - as factory default -

If you choose Vista Business you can order an XP Downgrade disc which has a less than stellar sucess rate w/o downloading drivers in "EXACT" order or something and HDMI might not work

 

I just place an order for the Z540 at PCNation. I got the cheapest config at 1.4K.

1. Can I update to 4 GB using Vista x64?
2. I want to get the 500GB hd but I dont think it will fit the Z right? So I will get the 320gb at 7200rpm instead.

Please advice.

 

1. yes
2. a 500GB 2.5" hdd will fit the Z
having a larger capacity doesn't make the hdd physically larger

 

Thanks for the quick reply, i will check out the thread in a minute. I wiped the hard drive because i intended on running a clean install of vista and only installing what i needed. My laptop had 96 processes running every time i turned it on! Crazy!

Ryan

 

Hey all, my Z11WN/B came pre installed with vista business, i have tried reinstalling vista business for a clean install (32bit OEM and 64bit OEM) however it says my cd key is for a different version of windows when i try to activate it. What version of windows does it come pre installed with? Retail license? OEM? :S

 

Ryan, the 3GB/4GB problem is 32-bit vs. 64-bit, not Vista vs. XP -- a 32-bit Vista won't utilize 4GB memory either. Are you sure you have a 64-bit Vista pre-installed and got a 32-bit XP downgrade? If not, is there any other thing that makes you want to switch back to Vista?

 

Hi Skyshade, i thought that because of the way that vista was coded that it could utilize 4gb, which is the 32bit limit. I read somewhere that Microsoft were going to bring a fix out for XP soon though. Vista actually shows 4gb of ram whereas xp only shows 3gb.

I have both 64bit and 32bit disks and i have tried installing both however my cd key isnt valid for either. They are both OEM disks. To downgrade to xp i just used the xp disk supplied, which is 32bit. I have even tried installing the businessN version of vista but that didnt work either. What version of vista do sony use by default?

I want to use vista as the 9300m gs will have better drivers for vista as opposed to xp, plus its less hassle installing the drivers as sony natively support vista for the Z series.

Ryan

 

I know Sony supplies 32-bit Vista Business in US, not 100% sure about the European models. I think you want to check out one of the Vista clean install guide threads around because Vista license is a little bit trickier.

 

Basically what they mean is that dead pixels do happen during production of an LCD from time to time, and that they don't consider it to be a defect. Some companies are more explicit about their dead pixel policies, even down to saying how many you have to have within certain areas of the screen before they'll consider it for replacement. It sucks like that, this whole LCD thing...

You could try massage it out, or use software-based pixel "massagers." I believe there was mention of this earlier in this thread. Sometimes these go away with time (and potentially return, like they do on my Toshiba). Hopefully you can rectify that situation... I know how annoying dead/stuck pixels can be.

 

I see that in some Z especially from USA CTO and Z in Best buy, check it yourself in Bestbuy and Fry's, it could be because of demo?

Mine has very2 tiny gap but it is not as severe as the one I see in the US shop.

 

My Z utilize 4GB, 32 bit Vista SP1 recognize it as 4GB.

 

Hi Phil, are you sure 500GB will fit since it is a bit larger than 320? Z is very2 tight

Also 7200rpm are not necessarily faster than 5400 rpm according to:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2-5-hard-drive-charts/Average-Read-Transfer-Performance,675.html

 

Yeah they come with vista business in the UK but i think that there a quite a few versions of it, all exactly the same but each batch uses a different cd key or something. If i can get the right vista disk then thats me sorted!

Ryan

 

If using the notebook with a larger (e.g. 20") external monitor, wouldn't it be better to get the greater screen resolution?

 

what brick&mortar stores in the states actually have the Z? I am having a hard time finding one. Why is it so hard to "touch". In my area of 5 best buy only 1 has it and it's like 50 miles away. Circuit City doesn't have it all. What other chains can I look into?

 

The limit of 3.xGB for 32bit OSes is a strict limit caused by the nature of 32bit addressing. Vista SP1 just reports the amount installed. The fact remains that it can't utilise anything above the 3.xGB limit. It just reports what's installed in the system, despite not being able to use all of it.

Exactly. Vista SP1 is reporting the installed RAM correctly. But it isn't using more than 3.xGB of it - it can't. Only 64bit OSes can use the full amount of RAM if you have >3GB installed. Check this Microsoft article for further details:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946003

 

Don't know if you have a Microcenter by you, but I found one there.

 

You see one Z you see it all? My local BB got it and its at 2K.

 

Not quite. In terms of build quality and general form factor, I think so... but not in terms of screen resolution. There's quite a big difference between the two available resolutions in terms of screen 'real estate' and pixel density.

 

Of course, I'll get a 24" screen with HDMI connection 1920 x 1080 p ! WIth BR, perfect for full HD playing !

 

Would you say a SSD is much much more quicker ?? (how much quicker ?)
Thanks for your advice !

 

Unless I misunderstand the question, the answer is it doesn't matter... the native resolution of the Z's own screen should be independent of any external monitor resolution.

However, if you plan to use a multiple monitor setup and use your external monitor as an extension of your Z's screen (or vice versa), then you would obviously want to choose an appropriate resolution for your Z's native resolution, depending on what you wanted to do with it etc.

 

I cant imagine looking at 1600x1200 on a 13.3" screen. You must have super eye.

 

13,1"



10 char

 

In that case, choosing the greater resolution (1600 x 900) should have no effect on the type of resolution you will get with an external monitor. I'm looking through this thread for more info: forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=299850&page=1

 

My Z540 just shipped. I cannot find specifications on it at all. I have download the manual and quick guide in pdf.

I just want to cofirm with you all that I can put in a 500gb hd as long as it is in 2.5" height right? It also say 9.5mm on it. I am going to get the Samsung brand and it has a 3 yr warranty.

 

Absolutely correct. It will not have an effect in terms of being able to provide output to the external monitor's 1920x1200 resolution (if you're using one that supports that resolution). However, do take note that the Zs with 1366x768 screens come with 128MB VRAM while the Zz with 1600x900 screens come with 256MB VRAM.

 

I'm returning my Z. I have the Z11VN from the UK.

I've noticed that when using certain solid colours (specifically the blues) on speed mode that the screen exhibits a flicker and has dot crawl. Also, any external monitor has trouble sync'ing up when on speed mode and the majority of the screen is blue.

I'm on my second one with the same problem.

The colour that best exhibits the problem is one of the Vista solid background colours. You can set your background to it to see very clearly the problem. Dot crawl and vertical banding everywhere, and flickering around window drop shadows.

The RGB value of a good example of a colour that causes the issue is 10, 59, 118.

The problem isn't present if you switch to the integrated graphics.

Sony support have confirmed and replicated the issue and said they can't do anything about it.

 

Well recieved my $3300 CAD CTO Z590 notebook last week. And despite all the paranoia and fears exhibited by a few poor people, there is nothing wrong with the build quality of my notebook. No dead pixels, no scratches..everything is working fine. BLU-RAY DRIVE works great, all USB ports work. Graphics card is there. Wireless works, battery works. No issues. No sticky keys on keyboard. Did I just win the lottery or something? Am I just that lucky?

 

I have the Samsung 2.5" 9.5mm 500gb drive in mine - works fine

 

There's been a lot of discussion about the choice of 1366x768 versus 1600x1200, where it's a clear trade off between resolution and pixel pitch. We've also discussed changing the DPI to resolve the "squinting" issue, but a few people, myself included, have not been happy with Vista's performance with custom DPI's.

So here's the goods: come June 2009, Windows 7 will introduce vastly improved support for custom DPIs and

"Just to take it one step further, Windows 7 will even choose the most appropriate DPI for you when you install."

check it out (from WPDC 2008):
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20081029/windows-7-dpi-scaling-my-7-is-bigger-than-your-7/

Anyway, I think this will make 1600x900 the definative choice, as scaled up fonts will render better with a finer pixel grain when scaled to the same size, therefore eliminating the arguments for lower resolution screens.

So now I'm wondering if I shouldn't hold off on the Z purchase until I can get one with Win7 and an i7 (dreaming)...

 

anyone knows if an intel x25 will fit perfectly in the Z?
Also, what would the bottle necks be?
I believe it would not perform 100%?

 

This is the first I've heard of Windows 7. Is this OS replacing Vista in June '09?

 

Yeah it's rumored to be released sometime between June 2009 and January 2010 to replace Windows Vista..
And it's gonna run faster than Vista.. Can't wait.

 

... with less RAM usage!

... and fewer annoying notices! ("do you really, reallyreally, really... REALLY want to install so-and-so app?")

... and so on... I can't wait to get 7 on my Z. Especially if the backwards compatibility is as good as they're saying it will be.

 

Yes, June would be the earliest, but more likely that the RTM is near the end of 2009. I can't wait that long, but it's gonna be oh-so sweet.

They've even showed a beta version running on an EeePC!

Anyway, apparently there was mention at WPDC of the new OS giving consideration to small and high-resolution screens, like 1600x900 on a 13.1" (and note that you won't have to re-boot to change the DPI), as well as other notebook issues such as having native support for ambient light sensors so as to change screen contrast, brightness and fontsize/content context to improve usability in daylight.

I wonder if notebooks like the Z will be able to utilise these screen adjustement features via the webcam?

 

bbsra in my case i would be getting one of my brothers or a family friend to pick one up for me or i would do it myself before Christmas.

I would pick up a premium one from the US but the US WWAN will not work over here. I don't care so much about the Sony warranty anymore because it kind of limits what you can do to your laptop in terms of upgrades.

rambler3872 you seem to be enjoying your new laptop and i should hope so to considering what you paid for it how is the fan and battery life for you?