Official Vaio Pro 13 Owners Lounge (SVP13 2013)

Regarding the whole lot of posts in this thread about upgrades and updating of drivers and so forth: The customers who have bought a Vaio Pro have obviously HAD TO do all this and more tweaking in order to get their newly unboxed Vaio to work in a proper way.

Is this a normal situation when one buys a new computer? Should it not work OK out of the box, or after doing only much less tweaking and upgrading of drivers and "clean" or new installing software or removing software, and .... ?

 

Three things to note here:
- In this forum you'll find 10-20 people complaining, but you'll not find the thousands of satisfied buyers
- the vaio pro is brandspanking new. It's the first Haswel/windows laptop, a super light chassis. It's cutting edge, so there's bound to be some problems at first. (think iphone antenna-gate, think intel pentium bug). As a comparison: there's hardly been any bug-free phones that came out the last couple of years all needed some fixing (or in apples case complete denial of the problem). The technology in high tech machines like the vaio pro is very, very complex. NFC, Bluetooth and WiFi al chatting about is an interference nightmare.
- I received mine the 26th, followed the quick-start guide (which states: update windows8 and run vaio update). After rebooting everything was fine. No wifi problems, touchpad behaving well. No problems whatsoever.

So should a machine like this run out-of-the-box? Well, when pioneering with new technology, problems can and will occur. You cannot test this to the point where there isn't a single bug left. Maybe sony has rushed it to market somewhat, but the WiFi issue has been all but solved in a couple of weeks. And as a new customer, my experience (and the experience of the many buyers who do not post here) with the product was hassle free from the first unboxing.

 

So I received my Vaio Pro 13 today...

My first impressions:

-Yes it is loud :-( The fans just kick up too early.
-everything (text & icons are so small) My head/eyes hurt after browsing. Anybody with a few ideas how to fix this in Chrome?
My windows size is already 150% and it is still too small
-No Wifi problems here
-same Vaio Updater issue (doesnt find anything)
-How do I remove Vaio Care & Vaio Update from autostart?
-Weight and build quality is fantastic

 

Thanks for this answer, which IMO states understandable reasons for the driver updates, among other things.

Are there someone with technical knowledge who has studied the Pro's cooling mechanism/system? Given the limited space of the machine, is the cooling and/or heat dissipating system made/designed in a good way, or are there improvements that can be implemented in a refresh model in the Fall?

 

Uhm it is the latest version from Intel, and this is where it is from, intel's site and not some random website I've never heard of. Besides I have the 4400 not 4000, although similar are not identical, and the drivers on that site don't seem to even mention the 4400. Searching intel's website for the newest driver for the 4400 yields

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Se...hics+4400&ProdId=3719&LineId=1101&FamilyId=39

the version # is 15.​31.​9.​64.​3165

If you want to install drivers from some website that isn't intel, that is your decision, I would rather install from intel's site.

 

Text Size: Not sure about Chrome, but Firefox has an app called Default Full Zoom Level which lets you set the browser to any size you like. If Chrome has an app store, look for something like it.

Program Removal: Go to Run > MSCONFIG and choose the Startup tab. Uncheck all the non-essentials such as the Vaio stuff and the Intel stuff.

BJ

 

Has that refresh already taken place?

 

Chrome has a builtin option to adjust the font which can be found in advance settings.

 

1. "In this forum ...", the plain fact is you can't know this. The readers and writers might be representative. All reports are valuable.
2.Yes Haswell etc. is brand spanking new. Which is a concern to me. I have owned 3 Vaio Zs over the years. From my own experience I'd say Sony makes great machines (at 3000 USD apiece you'd hope so) but that they sometimes are little too leading edge and so unstable ("rush to market" as you say). I had power problems with all the machines and fan noise/cooling was always a problem - down the line overheating machines become unreliable. It is well known that getting Sony to accept and repair and re-repair machines takes a great deal of nervous energy (get legal help). Sony are also slow to release drivers etc. And I don't expect they'll support Win9 or whatever the next version is called. For me these new problems are like a red flag - I like the "idea" of this machine, but I'll take some convincing to buy one. Maybe 3rd iteration as reports improve.
3. Hassle free unboxing - Last year by I bought a macbookair - I'm not a fan of apple in it's current control driven incarnation - but what a hassle free experience. My vaio was, once again, undergoing repair.

 

What are u talking about!!!
Stop being afraid like a child PP

That's site is propbably the best site in Internet when it comes to leak drivers from all main drivers from main hardware devices... not my fault that you don't know it!!!
Beside, if you look in, theres 2 tables, one for:

and below that table another for:

BUT, they contain the exact same drivers versions, CAUSE, the latest version of intel gpu drivers are for Ivy processors, for the HD Graphics 4000/2500, and Hanswell processors, for the HD Graphics 4400/4600/4700/5100/5200 etc...

Next time, please take a better look to what your screen presents...

I would suggest to all you guys to update to that latest driver, cause that can help to reduce that freaking noise from the vent!!!

 

hi all. my vaio pro just arrived today. seems a good machine, very light and good looking.

keyboard and trackpad are good (I normally hate any trackpad so that is a surprise)

noise doesn't seem to be a problem either.

but it seems to have a dent/depression in the keyboard tray, just to the right of the backspace/delete keys. anyone else see anything like this?

I'm sure i'm not seeing things, or maybe the tray is slightly concave?

any ideas?

 

My fan noise is almost non existent now, if you want to test the drivers for your pro, please do so. I'm happy with the drivers from intel.

 

Yes, it's slightly concave.

BJ

 

Yes, what a strange request.
I'm not going to install these drivers on my own machine, but everyone else please install on yours & tell me how they are, otherwise you're a coward?

 

delete post

 

Has everyone here installed drivers directly from Intel's website? Not sure if I should do that since it says that I've got some kind of custom drivers from Sony and that might cause problems... sounds weird, Intel drivers should be fine, shouldn't they?

@ ascariss: I believe that hippo's post was directed at onesolo as well

 

ah my bad, apologies to hippo.

I heard some users are not able to install the intel drivers since it states their driver is custom one. I am wondering if this is a EU only issue, since my previous vaio S CTO also was able to install the intel drivers. Although I think the realtek driver is not recognized by intel it states.

 

Yep, sorry. I reread my post & it wasn't very clear. I was directing my comment entirely at onesolo. Very cheeky to tell us to install the drivers but not willing to do it on his own machine.

My UK Vaio Pro CTO doesn't allow me to install the drivers from the Intel site either. Same message about custom drivers.

When I first started my Vaio, the Wireless wouldn't connect from my bedroom. I sat next to the router installed all the windows updates, updated Vaio Care (but no updates available yet) & haven't had any wireless problems since. I've checked my wireless drivers & they're still on the factory drivers. I've not installed either of the new wireless drivers. I did change the 2.4hz setting to auto, but other than that haven't done anything else to 'fix' the WiFi.

Also fan noise doesn't seem very loud on my machine. Pretty much silent on idle & browsing. Spins up a bit when updating/scanning & watching 1080p, but not what I'd say as unbearably loud as others are saying. If I stick my head right next to the keyboard then I'll hear it, but otherwise in normal use I rarely notice it.

Maybe I was very lucky with my machine.

 

Hi guys, i'm thinking to buy this ultrabook. I would like to know if wi-fi problem has been resolved. I can buy the basic version at 930 euros with the student discount.
The notebook seemed to me by far one of the best,if not the best,considering (portability+performance)/price.

 

Hi,i'm interested to buy this ultrabook.Anyway I saw a lot of comments of people having trouble with wi-fi. Has this problem been resolved?Should I wait Sony to fix this problem before buying the laptop?

 

hi, thanks for the reply. i did turn it round after i posted and you can see that the keyboard tray is concave.

thought i had a dodgy one there for a moment.


But yes, lovely machine. Screen is great, i have no issues with reflections. mine seems to have no wireless issues at all and is dead quiet. which after using my Vaio VPCEC for the last couple of years is a huge change.


It just needs a windows rebuild now. Think i'll do that when 8.1 finally comes out. And i need to figure out which partitions i can get rid of. It has an OEM partition, 3 recovery partitions and a uefi partition!

 

By the way, I don't have a Vaio Pro, so obviously I can't test these new drivers... and that's why I was asking if anyone can test those, if those help in anything... I'm running them on my desktop pc, on a Intel 4000
For some feedback try here www.station-drivers.com • Voir le forum - Cartes Graphiques ou Gpus (nVidia, Amd, ect...)

ahaha, everyone is getting chicken to install some (real) intel drivers, ahahah, uuhhh they got to come straight from intel website..,. uhhhuuh so afraid... uhuhu lolol

 

What kind of CPU temperatures do people have when browsing web etc.? Mine is usually around 46-50 and the fan is rarely so silent that I could barely hear it (in a silent room)

 

not scared. but i'm not downloading and installing stuff from a site i'm not familiar with. just because you say it's ok, it doesn't matter. i don't know who you are, how can i trust you? at least with "official" drivers from "official websites, even if i don't know who you are, i know those driver's are legit. not some kind of rogue trojan or something.

 

So whats the best way to clean this notebook from the bloatware & recovery partitions??

How do I install Win 8 from USB and what is with the win 8 license? ( sorry my first notebook)

 

I purchased my SVP13 non touch (8GB, 256GB, i5) via Webstore using student-discount, received it yesterday (1 day ealier than mentioned on sony's website), so here's my little review of the experience so far:

-The "fresh-out-of-the-box" experience was great at first. Hardware looks amazing, good build quality, very light. After turning it on, it was terrible. Fan started turning immediately. While I was trying to install updates for Windows and Vaio stuff, it was very loud. Turned out McAffee was scanning the entire system right off. I had to remove all the pre-installed crap.

-After the updates, it was very pleasing to use this device. Fan noises were there occasionaly, but overall not distracting. Watching HD videos and HD streams (twitch.tv 1080p) worked like a charm.

-Touchpad is very tricky per default. Coming from a Macbook (2008 version), this touchpad is not compareable at all with Apple's touchpads. You HAVE to play around with the synaptics-settings.

-Keyboard is nice, not really loud while typing (it is a bit noisy, yes)

So far so good, I think I'm going to keep this one.

 

My Sony Vaio Pro 13
Been folllowing this thread for a long time now and finally decided to join in on the conversation. I bought my Sony Vaio Pro 13 in Canada (one of the first ones back in early June). Its an i5/touchscreen/8gig/128gig SSD PCIE.. I had all the issues that everybody mentioned and almost returned it within the 15 day, but said to myself, there really isnt another machine i want to buy. So i will share my thoughts.

WIFI ISSUE
Out of the box, i had WIFI issues. I updated the drivers the the 16.05.3 and i kept on dropping Wifi. I have two routers (Asus RT-N66U and Asus RT-N65U both dual band). Annoying because i use remote desktop alot.. Talking to Sony tech support they yieleded nothing.

Decided to reformat the laptop with Windows 8 PRO clean install, and reinstalled all the sony drivers, including the latest WIFI driver (16.1 something). I am very happy to say NO MORE dropped WIFI. Connecting at 300mbs on both routers from a good distance away. Sometimes the signal strenght shows only 2 bars at 300mbs, but i tried transfering files and it was transferring at about 17megabytes /sec which is the best i can ask for under WIFI.

Also tried hooking on to some other WIFI networks, and it seems to work fine, no more dropped wifi (including tethering WIFI to my Samsung S4 and Samsung Note 2).

WIFI ISSUE STATUS: RESOLVED

BLUETOOTH ISSUE
I had problems with bluetooth dropping on my Logitech V470 mouse and audio connect to my 2010 Infiniti G37. It would connect but later dropped. Noticed in my G37, if i continued to stream movies at it, it will remain connected, but then when there was nothing playing, the bluetooth would drop.

Updated all the drivers from the Sony website. Still dropping. Found out to fix:
1. Go to System, device manager
2. Under Bluetooth, for the INTEL(R) WIreless Bluetooth, right click properties, go to power management and uncheck "Allow computer to turn off device to save power"
3, Under Universal Serial Bus controllers, right click on Generic USB hub, click properties, go to power management and uncheck "Allow computer to turn off device to save power"

BLUETOOTH ISSUE: SOLVED

FAN NOISE
No solution, the computer is quite most of the times, but playing HD video, or when the windows antivirus scans, fan spins up. I use a lot of complex spreadsheets, and the fan spins up pretty loudly. It bothers me, but not enough to switch to another machine.

FAN NOISE ISSUE: REMAINS

Hope that helps some folks. Overall i love the machine, and still dont see ANY machine on the market that can delivery what this can.

 

just create a usb thumb drive installer from your dvd or downloaded iso, theres loads of web tutorials on this, how mainly depends on whether you have a disk or have downloaded files.

the boot from it, at the partitions page, choose advanced and delete all the partitions on the laptop, then install.

it should pick up the license from the uefi bios on it's own

 

Hmmm so what is better? What are those partitions for?

 

Seriously, what's wrong with this machine... 10 minutes of browsing the internet makes the heat go up to 52-55 degress and the fan is going nuts... For instance if you go to Home | Mail Online and browse through the site for a while it instantly makes the temperature rise a great deal... Otherwise this is the perfect machine but I might have to return it due to the fan noise, it just makes me want to throw the machine out the window... too bad.

 

Now I have another problem!

When I remove the power cable, the notebook goes off!!! It wont start, boot, without the power cable?!!?

Anyone know how to fix this??

 

Has anyone had touchscreen issues? My 13 svp13213CG correctly shows 10 point touch input in windows info, but it doesn't work at all. I'd try reinstalling the drivers but I can't see them on the Sony site - any ideas anyone? I hate to have to return the machine, it's otherwise perfect.

 

Use the computer as it was originally intended and stop toying with the operating system.

That's a start.

BJ

 

My fan has only gone loud once in the 6+ weeks I've owned it and it was on Day 1 when I did the first Windows Update which was substantial.

Since then, not a single incident.

There is no way a single browsing session would cause that type of situation, so you've got something running in the background (virus scan or something similarly intensive) that's causing it. Turn off all the useless processes from Sony and Intel, make sure the Firewall settings are at default, and make sure whatever anti-virus program you're running isn't set for any random auto-scans.

BJ

 

So after much finagling I was able to get Arch Linux dual booting with Windows in UEFI mode ( mostly thanks to this blog). Unfortunately, the laptop is in pretty bad shape as a Linux machine. I only get 2-3 hours of battery life, as opposed to my 7-8 on Windows, and the Wifi can only stay connected for a few minutes, unlike my solid wifi in Windows. Looks like I'll have to keep waiting for better linux drivers to become available. No complaints with Windows though.

 

This is disappointing. See if you can get a program that measures the watts being used, that might be revealing

 

I didnt do anything to the OS, but yeah, thank you for your helpful post -.-

 

I've been monitoring the task manager and according to it Firefox is basically the only process using the processor (while scrolling down a website processor usage sometimes goes around 30%, same thing with Chrome). But I'll give that a try. Would you consider all the Sony processes useless? I have Vaio Update, Control and Power management enabled (the 80% battery feature won't work if power management is disabled).

 

If it booted normally the first time, then I doubt the battery died all of a sudden. You might have to retrace your steps backwards from the last time everything was working to see what might have caused this issue.

 

yeah it worked for the last 3 days since it arrived.

I made daily backups, so I will try to restore an image tomorrow when I am home.

The only thing I did yesterday was to install Lightroom

 

So I got my pro 13 two days ago. I got the i7/8gb/256gb one. I ordered mines from the Microsoft store with the 10% student discount and their 2 year ADH warranty (they have great CS believe it or not. way better than Sony). Anyways, I guess since all MS store products has their signature thing, they do a clean install of windows for you and all the bloatware is gone (and some driver's weren't installed, like the track pad). But my wifi has been working perfectly, and the fan doesn't get loud at all. even when I'm playing 1080p video (both Youtube & local media). the only time it gets loud (only enough to hear) is when i'm doing the updates. other than that, it's perfectly fine. track pad seems fine as well. I haven't really done much else. All I wanted to do was test for the two things that would bother me the most first.

 

I have noticed that the screen wobbles a lot when you use the touch screen. Compared to the Acer Aspire S7-392's dual hinge resistance to the wobbling of the screen, it kind of bothers me. Did you guys just get used to it? I'm torn between the two laptops at the moment.

Also, is the i7 a worthy upgrade of ~$200?

 

Just a quick note: Got my Pro 13 yesterday Fedexed from Sony Canada. No major issues so far; wifi works, fan noise is normal. The only thing is the trackpad; it doesn't respond as gracefully as the trackpad on my old Macbook Air 11", but apparently it seems most Windows trackpads or drivers are like this. Plugged my Logitech Anywhere MX mouse that I used with my Air, and that works well for me. (see attached photo)

Ran all Windows and Vaio updates that I know of, but will go through this thread again to see what else needs to be done. And this 13" weighs the same as my old Air 11"! Wow.

As with my Air, I'll be using the Pro mainly for business (my wife and I run 4 retail stores) and personal stuff; I'm not a gamer nor a hacker, so I don't plan on doing any major tinkering with it. Overall, very impressed so far.

 

Just noticed that when I use the laptop on power saving mode it's quiet enough for me (on web browsing....::thumbsup Anything else and it gets really loud really quickly Do others notice difference in noise between power saving and other profiles?

 

Mine shows as "Samsung mzhpu512hcgl-00000".

Not sure about performance numbers though.

 

Does anyone know if the SSD is user upgradeable? and If so, where would I buy one and what type would it be?

 

I believe all the devices with PCIe have the samsung drive, I checked mine it is the same as yours but 256gb variant.

Theoretically it should be since it is a M.2 device which can be replaced once you open the device. That being said, I am not sure if such M.2 ssds will be sold to consumers.

But as been mentioned earlier in this thread, euroepean Pros seem to only currently ship with Sata SSDs and not PCIe.

 

I am in UK. So which Brand is for the 512Gb mSata SSD? Any idea?

 

Hey everyone,

Just got my vaio pro in this afternoon... happy with a lot of things about it, but one thing is bothering me. I ran crystal disk info utility on the machine, and I am getting 89% drive health right out of the box. The vaio disk utils all check out and no issues are shown, but the crystal disk diagnostic is not exactly up to par. It isn't detecting the drive temp as well. All of my other drives that I own all check out at 100% with the utility, and this is actually the worst reading I have ever seen besides a few drives I have seen in the past that were on the brink of failure. I am curious to see what other users here are getting on this utility. Anyone else tried this out?

 

You can check via the device manager in the control panel, then click disk drives, should have the model name and probably brand.