Sony Vaio CB Official Owners' Thread

Successfully updated the BIOS. I got the Blue Screen Of Death when refreshed the Windows Experience Index. But after rebooting the system, i ran it again and it worked fine. From 5.3, it jumped to 5.9.
Battery life at around 6 hours when on Intel graphics.

1) Does this voids my warranty ? Too bad as i have 3 years extended warranty and would hate to see it going down the drain.
2) If I do a complete system re-install using the recovery discs, will it bring back the old BIOS ?
3) Can I update the CCC to a newer version if available ?

Thanks a ton for all the support!!

 

thank you very much for your help.

I am veiwing a pre-configurated model of CB (VPCCB2M0E). In the specification page they mention the graphic card is : AMD Radeon™ HD 6470M
with 512 MB memory. Is this card still can switch between intel and AMD or is it only one card that is not switchable?

any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Wow, I've missed alot since my last post. I have a VPCCB190X ordered back in April so I have the graphics issue.

I've been reading through these tons of pages on the BIOS fix but info is kinda scattered. Can someone briefly summarize for me what the BIOS fix does exactly? Also, the steps for installation and any "fixing" that needs to be done afterwards? (backlight keyboard issue?)

Thanks a ton.

 

There is alot of info on it in Pages 138-145, anyways after installing the BIOS do the following;

"Sony eSupport - VPCCB290X - Drivers & Software

after that

Sony eSupport - VPCCB290X - Drivers & Software

Before that you should uninstall all utilities mentioned in above link
•Battery Checker 4.5.0.02140
•VAIO® Control Center 4.5.0.03040
•VAIO Event Service 5.5.0.03040
•VAIO Power Management 5.4.0.02180

Restart and install new bundle.

Best of all is fresh install, sony shared library, utilities.

I can not upload extracted utils now, if there will be a check block upon install let me know. Very bad internet here now, but I will find a way to upload extracted files later on.

Alex"

BTW, the above steps were compiled by Alex, just re-posting em for you.

 

Thanks... looking through my un-install list of programs I do not see any of those VAIO programs. I have:
VAIO Care
VAIO Help and Support
VAIO Messenger
VAIO Smart Network
Application Manager for VAIO

Is there someplace else to find/uninstall those VAIO apps?

 

I have the "fresh start" option or whatever its called, but I'm thinking I should still see all those utilities. Can anyone help me find them to uninstall? Thanks.

 

In the Programs/Features (basically, Win7's "Add remove programs"), there should be something called Application Manager for Vaio. "Uninstall" that, and it will bring up a selection box of stuff to uninstall. Don't worry, unless if you select the option to remove the application manager itself, from within the application manager, it doesn't actually "uninstall," itself. It only uninstalls the programs you choose inside.


Since a pic is worth some amount in words, and I don't feel like tpying all of it out and making a bigger mess....

 

It shoud be switchable, however, I know either the CA or the CB got a BIOS update some time recently, that allowed a more SA/SB/SC/SD/SE/Z1/Z2 like hard switch function. Either way, I'd wait for an actual CB owner to answer that question for you. Have fun!

 

thanks for your reply. I have the feeling that this card is not hybrid . Perhaps one of the CB owners here can confirm this.


Also, the resolution of the CB is 1366 x 768 while my old laptop (5 years old) is 1280 x 800 . I feel both are close? the second number (vertical resolution i think) is even bigger in the old laptop! is this normal?


thanks again.

 

Both are indeed very close. I personally prefer 1280x800 over 1366x768 (due to extra vertical workspace), but notebook vendors feel differently...

 

Whats the best supported RAM for my vaio ? any help would be appreciated! Also whats the install order for drivers after a fresh install.

 

i use crucial ram it's been great...

i don't think there's an install order. but try to leave sony's application for the last

 

was wondering if BF3 can be played comfortably on our laptop?

 

hmm, i dont think so.i've tried lost planet 2 ( seems like a competitor in minimum specs), and it's struggling.. we need to change the resolution down.. with direct x9 i can play it but the fps seems unstable... but with directx11. don't think there's a way to play it

 

lol .. Can you run a benchmark program and put up ur result .. like the one here MaxxPI² - Download (MaxxMEM² - PreView)

Also has anyone tried the update VAIO EVENT service from here on their VPC CB15 or C190x

ttp://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VPCCA290X&upd_id=6821&os_group_id=6

 

Add more

Tom Clancy H.A.W.X 2 1080p Benchmark Test on Sony Vaio VPCCB17FG - YouTube

I'll be wait for your command on there. Thx

 

Hey guys, im havin a serious problem where my laptop is not detecting my internal webcam. I have an original CB model with the latest bios update installed, and its been fine for a while. Just suddenly, my internal webcam wont turn on anymore. When I go to device manager and uninstall/reinstall for some reason windows installs USBcam 2.0 using MICROSOFT drivers. It seems its installing the wrong drivers and i cant seem to find the right ones anywhere.

Anyone know how to solve this??

 

Try Removing the drivers and then download Webcam Companion 4 software from Sony Support page for VPCCB290X.
Also sometimes there might be a configuration mistake in programs where your default webcam is selected as some other software and not the built in webcam.

 

Yesterday had the possibility to measure/calibrate the FHD display of CB unit. For the asked price you get a really good panel inside with similar quality as Mac Book Pro or the WLED FHD panel in Dell Latitude/Precision. Personally I like the glossy look for photos...

The smaller gamut inside sRGB is the CB FHD panel.

Best, Walter

 

here the icc profile if someone wants to try...

Best, Walter

 

^

Walter, did you calibrate at full brightness ? Isn't it recommended to calibrate at a lower brightness level ?

 

Didn't know the CB has such a good screen

 

yes because so you generally see worst case for evaluation...

 

i was so looking forward to play BF3
it has to be smooth at lower resolutions.....
did anyone try the beta??

 

Can someone please answer these ??

 

1) No it does not
2) No, it won't bring back your old BIOS
3) Yes

 

Hey guys ..
i m looking forward to buying this laptop bt it seems this cb15 model has been replaced with cb 35 nw...
is there a difference between the two??
Hw does gta 4 perform on this laptop..??

 

Thank you very much!!

 

Have you look my link that i've posted on youtube before about benchmarking? check it if you haven't look yet

 

i didnt see any BF3 video on your channel...

 

well... i havent upload BF3. but, i have tested with Metro 2033. if you and all user in here dont mind, i will post all the SS benchmark in here. But, beware of your Bandwidth because the SS will gonna be BW killer for users that doesnt have much Bandwidth. if you all dont mind then i will post know. Thx

http://www.kaskus.us/showpost.php?p=519046021&postcount=3 <- Part 1
http://www.kaskus.us/showpost.php?p=519046434&postcount=4 <- Part 2
http://www.kaskus.us/showpost.php?p=519046853&postcount=5 <- Part 3

All posts i've separated in 3 sections. Before OC, After OC, and Full OC. OC= Overclock(in this case is My GPU). It's include with DX 11 games with ultra settings in 720p resolution like S.T.A.L.K.E.R and lost planet 2. It Works Well

Sorry for posting threads before. This is my own Review in bahasa. Thx

 

is metro playable without Overclock??
which is more demanding,metro or BF3 ???

 

metro 2033. 4A Engine Is Hell. Even with Full OC, it's just only improve for 2 FPS from 24 FPS in normal clock rate with DX 9, 720p resolutions, n medium settings. you must set to low for playable fps. pretty sad

 

atlast i updated my BIOS

but i could not find
Battery Checker 4.5.0.02140
VAIO Event Service 5.5.0.03040
VAIO Power Management 5.4.0.02180

i only found VAIO® Control Center, which i uninstalled and installed the version from the link below
but still theres no backlit option....

 

The links are working just fine. Try again after some time. Happened with me too when I was downloading.

 

i am not talking about download links,they are fine
i cant find them in add or remove programs to uninstall..

 

You dont need to uninstall all those. Just remove Vaio Control Center. Then install Sony Shared Library from here:
Sony eSupport - VPCCB290X - Software & Drivers

Then install the four utilities. Thats all!!

 

hay guys i hav this dll problem, with fifa 12 it shows d3dx9_41.dll is missing, with black ops it shows XINPUT1_3.DLL IS MISSING. i hav used CC cleaner , can it be a problem of registry cleaning???
plz help...its damn irritating.
thanx in advance....

 

download dxwebsetup from microsoft. Your directx is out of date. BTW, that installer isn't the best, but just let it go through it's paces.

 

i could play black ops earlier, but after windows reinstalling from backup it is showing these problems any clue y???

 

@jeremyshaw: dat worked... thanx!!

 

after the update to BIOS
i am getting blue screen restart as soon as i change the power plan...
help??

 

relax... it's just happening once because the after effect of bios update...

 

it happened to me more than 10 times today
it only happens when i change the power mode

 

wierd... do you use clean install of windows?

well, i use clean install when i used that patch... and same with you, i got BSOD, but only once. don't know why it did you more than once

 

no, i did not do a clean install

 

Any1 facing problem with webcam....
Very low colors and image quality is just too bad....
Any patch or drivers update
or any1 could plz post me their webcam settings for best quality possible...
mine acrsoft webcam companion version is 4.0.21.444

 

Check out this post

 

Okay...i got it but still its not good...everyone else getting this kind of webcam or im the only one....

 

^
Naah it's not just you don't worry lol

Still tinker around the settings a bit more and maybe it might get a little better.