Sony SE Owners' Thread

I do not have that problem.

 

Yes. I installed the Intel My Wifi technology as part of the Intel Wi-Fi driver package before installing the Sony Smart Network. Any suggestion how to get the share my network back?

I will try reinstalling the Intel Wi-Fi driver package again in the meantime.

Thanks.

 

Since the SE only has a headphone port, is it possible to hook up a splitter that would allow me to have a regular mic in connection for audio voice recording of PowerPoint narration and thanks.

Gary

 

Do you have any photos of the keyboard skin on the laptop? I might be interested in buy one of these in black for my silver SE.

Does the skin not "smudge" the screen (when the lid is closed)?

 

I tried reinstalling the Intel Wi-Fi driver package again but I still can't see the Share My Network option in the Sony Smart Network. I also tried uninstalling Sony Smart Network, then Intel Wi-Fi driver, then install Intel Wi-Fi driver then Sony Smart Network. No luck.

Does anyone have any idea how to get the Share My Network option back in the Sony Smart Network? For those who reinstall using their own Windows 7, did you get that option back?

Thanks.

 

Don't think that will work. If the on-board one won't do, go buy a USB microphone. Blue Microphone makes some very good ones.

 

Received my SE and finally got around to configuring it this week. Yanked the magnetic drive, installed an Intel SSD & second 4GB RAM stick and then gas pumped our Win 7 IT build onto it. Had to go through and install all of the Sony drivers & software afterwards but it was pretty much a snap (just wish Sony would have one complete driver/software package download instead of all the individual files). Skipped the Widi stuff for now, since I won't be using it any time soon. Still need to finish the data transfer from my old laptop and move my second SSD over (bought a Newmodeus HD caddy to replace the DVD), but so far the system rocks and the screen is fantastic.

 

Hi,

Anybody knows how and where to install WWAN Mini PCI-E card? Like Gobi3000 or Sierra MC5725. I haven't found a free Mini PCI port on pictures of motherboard.
Is there a sim card slot?

Thanks

 

Check this
Post801

 

Thanks!

It is a pity that there are no antenna cables.

 

I just bought my SE today and I've noticed that the display's colour reproduction is pretty off. The whites are too yellow mostly. I remember reading it's due to Sony's factory settings and there is a way to change it. I don't quiet remember where. Can anyone help me out?

 

I quickly spot calibrated the colors using my desktop monitor as reference. You can find the options in Catalyst if you're in speed or by right clicking the screen and clicking graphic properties if you're in stamina. It brings up some Intel thing. Advanced mode lets you change everything.

 

hey sorry if this has been asked many times before but i dont think there was a clear noob friendly answer. how do i update the graphics card drivers? do i need to also update the intel ones? or just the amd ones?

 

get the drivers from SONY. if you update the Intel drivers separately, you'll use the ability to switch graphics (STAMINA <--> SPEED).

 

i just updated my video driver through the sony website (6630m) but the update still shows on the site. i even restarted and it still shows. is this normal?

 

^ sorry! what do you exactly mean by "the update still shows on the site"? which site are you talking about?

 

the sony US site where you update drivers. you can seperate the list of all possible drivers into "ALL" and just "UPDATES".

 

Hello. New to forum. Need video card advise/opinion. I will not be gaming or running intensive graphics on the SE. It will be used to surf the net, email, Microsoft Office and other programs. Can I get by with the 512MB version of the AMD video card? I ask because Newegg has the SE in that version at a very good price and they are including the pancake battery too. I already have my memory and SSD upgrades ready to be installed. It has the dvd/cd drive (I do not need the bluray drive). Thanks. I need to order this week in order to get the free battery.

 

@lt dan:

I think you answered your own question... no gaming or intensive graphics can even be done on the integrated card.

Save the money and get the free battery.

BTW: Is it cheaper than Microsoft Store's price with 25% off?

 

Definitely, you don't even need a graphics card for casual surfing/office applications. Actually, you can probably get a better value for any of Sony's budget laptops or other companies if you want.

 

BigNerd,

Black or Silver is same price on Newegg. If I go Microsoft Store (black only), I get the 1GB video and pancake battery, but I have to pay state sales tax (7%). With the 25% off (in-store only) it is about the same as Newegg. I will have to call Microsoft tomorrow to find out if the discount applies to the SE. If the discount does not apply, Newegg is cheaper.

lieutenant dan

 

oh, i see! that's actually irrelevant. the SONY website will always show the latest updated driver regardless of which version you have installed. if VAIO Care on your laptop tells you there's a driver update available, then you need that update. if not, then you're up-to-date.

 

Hi does anyone know if there are any drivers provided by Sony that provides control over GPU scaling? I have several games and programs that are running below the SE's native resolution and it's really a big bother to have black borders around the games.

 

hello everyone, i am new to the forum, does anyone facing an issue that sometimes the laptop will be freeze when playing battlefield 3? I need to shut down the power each time it frozen, I tried with different graphic level setting and all the drivers are the newest version but sadly the problem is still there, can someone help me to solve this issue?

 

Just joined the forum, sorry if this is the wrong location, but I need major help with my Sony Vaio SE!

I got a Sony Vaio SE laptop in late November right when it came out. It was a gift from the States, but I was first using it in Korea, and now in Africa. It's going to be difficult finding reliable internet and expensive to be on hold on the customer service hotline. I was hoping I could find answers here. There are numerous problems with this laptop (although it's far better than my previous ones) even before I began installing any software. The most embarassing one is the speakers. It sounds so tinny like the maximum volume on your cell phone when you try to use it as speakers. The list is as follows, any solutions or reasoning would be really appreciated:

-weak speakers (oh gawd, they are so weak)
-headphone jack does not work properly (headphones work elsewhere)
-blue screen error when the computer falls asleep
-USB port error
-overexposure screen (i have to refresh the desktop to get proper resolution)

These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, there are alot more. Other than these problems, the computer's great, so fast!

Does anyone recommend removing all the VIAO care programs? It's more annoying than helpful.

 

yes i agree that the speaker is very weak and low quality...
for your other problems, had you update your driver?
you may go to the sony US support below to get the newest driver
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-home.pl?mdl=VPCSE17FX&template_id=1&region_id=1&tab=download#/downloadTab
I think most of your problems can be solved after the driver update, hope it help!

 

Hey Guys im new to these forum and i hoped you could all help me and answer my questions:

As of last week friday i am the proud owner of a se 15.5 inch series laptop. I clean installed my laptop and got the drivers working. But i cant get vaio care to update my drivers or check for updates. I keep getting a you are in control mode can not update drivers close vaio care and restart the program. But i have no idea where i can turn of control mode. Anybody know how i can fix this?

Second question:

I bought my laptop in the Netherlands ( i also live here) I have noticed that the drivers on de dutch sony page are not the latest compared to the US page. Can i use the drivers on the US page aswell or are they incompatible?

Thanks in advance

Ferry

 

hi folks,

so, i have the sony se now (15'') and i am quite pleased with it. it came with the core i 7 and 8gb ram.

however, it seems as though the hdd (500 GB, 5400rpm) is a true bottleneck. everytime i install any programm or even just open my browser, outlook or itunes, everything kind of freezes. it even affects the movement of my mouse cursor. now i have read something about this problem in other reviews, yet, i cannot believe that this ist normal. i never had these kind of problems with my dell xps 1530m (which also only had an 5400rpm hdd built in).

does anyone share this problem and has a way of fixing it? I'd really appreciate some help. i clicked my way through this thread but i cannot seem to find the answer.

i am thinking of upgrading the se with a 512 gb ssd but 600 - 700 euro is just to expensive for now.

 

... oh and the gpu is the 6630m.

thanks in advance!

 

Hi all,

Does anyone use laptop sleeve? If so, which one do you use and do you recommend that? I am looking for one that has a good fit with and without the sheet battery

I am thinking of getting the Sony Vaio laptop sleeve VGP-AMN1C15/B that should be compatible according to Sony website. Does anyone uses this? Any comment?

Thanks!

 

Hi lieutenant dan,

I got mine from microsoft store with the 25% off stacked with the discounted price. It should apply to laptop purchase >$1000. The microsoft store version also comes with blue-ray, and it is pretty clean system, i.e. minimal bloatware, in addition to what you listed. But it only comes in black.

 

I bought the Vaio laptop sleeve, but it was an extremely tight fit with the sheet battery on. I lightly chipped the corner of my laptop with the zipper, so I returned it for the Case Logic 15.4-16" Sleeve and it fits perfectly with or without battery. I'm sure the Sony one is a tighter/more efficient fit without the sheet battery.

 

laper,

Same here. Just got home from Microsoft Store with my new SE. Cost me less than a grand out the door with i5, bluray drive, 4 mb ram, 1 gb video card and a free pancake battery. About to install another 4 mb ram and a 128 gb SSD.

lieutenant dan

 

So it was cheaper than NewEgg?

I remember you saying with sales tax it was more expensive.

 

It was cheaper than Newegg only because of the Holiday Special 25% off and only if bought in-store. Discount not applicable if you buy online. Luckily there is a Microsoft Store here in Atlanta.

 

Was it still $1149 before the 25% off?

Had that sale been on when I bought my silver SE... I would have returned it and got that instead... although I do like my silver.

 

Yes, it was $1149 minus 25% plus tax. Black only. Pancake battery included. In-store only price. No internet. Holiday Special is good til I think Jan. 2nd.

 

does no one have this problem as well?

 

@t!mkeule

I don't seem to have that issue with my SE. Have you been able to recreate with any other programs?

 

How could you possibly need or want a 512gb SSD in a notebook?? I have a 128gb SSD and have almost 80gb of free space. Yes, dump the HD and get a SSD. Performance is night and day.

 

I used to have a similar problem, but it went away after I removed some of the pre-installed Sony bloatware. I'd suspect VAIO Gate or VAIO Care to be the culprits, although I don't have ironclad proof.

 

@ lieutenant dan

have you had a hdd built in before an ssd upgrade?
the reason i'd like to have 512gb instead of 256gb is that i do need a lot of space on my hard drive. my old laptop has an 320 gb and was constantly full so i had to think of files and folders to store on external drives.
i do a lot of work with AVCHD video material from my full hd camcorder in sony vegas and i do have a lot of movies stored on my hard drive. i also travel a lot and i'd rather leave my external drives at home.
also: i have two or three video games that need a lot of free space (like half-life 2 or counterstrike source via Steam).

why would that problem change with an ssd? i mean: why would i suddenly need just 128gb? it is a serious question. maybe i am missing some important things regarding ssds because i don't have any experience with ssds and do not know much about their life-span.

@ BigNerd

it seems to be not so much the programm but the hdd or maybe some process causing it. it's not that the system wouldnt work. yet, it becomes quite bothering after a while. for example: at the moment i am creating recovery dvds with vaio care and in between that process whilst browsing or writing a letter in word i will have brief lapses in which the cursor kind of 'drags' after the actual movement and in word sometimes, i would type a sentence and it won't show and then appear fast forwarded. this is, of course, a typical effect when working with a pc and having several demanding processes running at the same time - it's just that it shouldnt happen on a regular basis and not on a machine with all the up-to-date parts, should it?
also: itunes runs so much slower on this laptop than on my 3 and a half year old xps 1530. how is that possible with this processor and 8 gb of ram?
finally: i don't have any heating problems at all. i ran everest ultimate a couple of times to check on the temperatures and i am very pleased with the heating of the vaio se.

 

SE arrived today, this thread was immensely helpful. I will go through it again to see if I missed any more of the useful tweaks suggested.

Now just waiting for Windows to transfer some files from the old laptop... I hope this one can live up to the life of that little Toshiba.

Thanks to everyone who posted here!

 

A few things about SSD;
- You won't have SATA III on this notebook for now; And even for raid, when you add the SSD after purchase, I am not really sure, as I am sure of the fact, that when you buy it from Sony with SSD you will have some sort of dual SATA connector to have the raid. When you buy the SE with an conventional HDD you have only one SATA connector.

- Usually the logic is to have a SSD drive with your Software and App's, and the storage is done externally. It is just a different logic. Reason behind this is the high price of the SSD I guess. If you have a external way to store with USB 3.0 then you are the king of the hill.

- Users may experience some kind of SSD 'whine' with the VAIO SE, this is a barely noticeable high frequenced noise coming from the SSD. It is not bothering at all and you only hear it when the room is completely quite. I tried with my old 128SSD and with a brand new 256Gb Samsung, both do the noise.
But maybe it is just my unit or my disks.

- The normal HDD that do come with the notebook (5400 / 7200 rpm) are really really bad, I did find; Maybe the system 'blocks' are caused by the disks. Indeed the performance of the whole notebook is like night and day with the SSD --> less heat in the bottom right part of the notebook, less or non harddisk noise and a tinny bit of extra battery life.

 

t!mkeule

I never used my SE with a HDD, 30 minutes after it was delivered i'd ripped out the HDD and put a 256GB SSD in - this also stuttered for the first couple of days where everything froze, but after a few days and all the Sony updates, no issues.
If you need the extra space why not get a smaller SSD and add the old HDD as a second drive using the adaptor from newmodeus ? I have a 256GB SSD and a 1TB HDD in the second bay for other data

 

thanks! i also suspect vaio care rather than vaio gate. i am going to disable it for now and try how this works out. is there any way to disable it via some menu? or do i have do deinstall it / disable it via msconfig?

thanks for your thoughts and advice on the ssd matter. i do own a 1 TB external usb 3.0 hdd so there is enough space available.
also: the 256 gb would be affordable even now and i really want to make and have the most of my laptop as soon as possible. however, i thought that there might be discounts available in 2012 for ssds. but who knows...

would that i could. i find the idea of the second harddrive instead of an optical hard drive very appealing but i chose the blu-ray-writer option because i do own a lot of blu-rays and also have a HD-beamer connectect with my laptop. so, this is really no option.


maybe this whole thing really resolves with disabling and deinstalling some of the bloatware...

 

I didn't find a one-click method for disabling Vaio Care. I had to delete/disable all the Vaio Care entries in both msconfig and Task Scheduler. Also, I had to go into the Services control panel applet and disable VCService and Vaio Care Performance Service. This will stop it from autorunning, but keeps the program around if I ever decide that I need it for something.

If you want to uninstall Vaio Care entirely, you can use the Vaio Uninstaller (located in \Program Files (x86)\Sony\VAIO Uninstaller).

 

Hi again, I've been playing with the SE for the last day and noticed that when I use Speed Mode, video stutters and the fan goes all out (one was a low res Youtube video, the other was a stream). In Stamina mode, those same videos are fine and the fan isn't running.

I have the 6630M and am using the most recent driver supplied by Sony.

Both are on Balanced Mode and it is plugged in. Any thoughts?

 

I can confirm that the Samsung 830 SSD @ 256 GByte does noise under load. It is really not worth to mention. Even with SATA II the performance is stunning.


I face a strange problem now. I put the SE in suspend-to-RAM for five hours and after wakeup my realtime clock (RTC) does not what it is build for :/
That was under Linux v3.2RC7. Now I get a call trace on every boot. Windows neither make it.

Is there a way to clear the NVRAM of the RTC or a hidden "Clear CMOS" key combination?

broken rtc - Pastebin.com

 

Hi, I ordered an HP ENVY 15 with the IPS screen and have heard that Sony SE has a similar issue because they use the same panel. How did Sony handle this issue? How did you guys fix it?

Edit the issue is that, the screen doesn't display the color red, and it comes out as orange.