Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 (VPCZ1) Official Owners Thread Part 2

1)
Third party batteries are hit and miss with Sony computers. The problem is that there's software on the computer that checks to see if the battery is an official one or not. If it senses that it's not, you may have problems turning the computer on or getting the battery to work properly. I wouldn't take the risk with a third party one and would just try and find an official one. There was one member on this forum that was trying to get rid of two BPS20 silver batteries on eBay with an opening bid of $100 for each of them. However, he had no takers. I tried doing a completed items search and could not find the auctions. Your best bet would be keeping an eye on eBay for one second hand. Although I won't say that third party batteries will break your computer, would you want to take the risk of saving $120 on potentially damaging your $2000+ machine?

2)
Any sort of filler would suffice to stop the wiggle.

3)
I got my dock here last week for $163 ($173 shipped), but now the price has jumped up to $180. Sony VAIO Z110 Series Docking Station VGPPRZ10 B&H Photo Video eBay has new ones for $176 shipped. Like you said, it's too much for what it is, but I've been keeping my eye on the market for this for a few weeks and that's the best I could do. I didn't see any one the second hand market on eBay or Craigslist. So you have to take it or leave it at $160 from Sony.

In terms of the dock lacking ports, yes it's stupid the dock doesn't have HDMI nor audio out. But like you, we did our research before buying the product. You know exactly what you're getting when you do a little research so now it's up to you if those tradeoffs are worth it. Personally, I'm getting a DVI to HDMI adapter and a cheap optical out sound card, so hopefully I'll get those running without a hitch and it'll be like a full fledged dock. Of course these things cost extra money ($2 for the adapter and $20 for the sound card) but again, we know what we're getting into before we buy the item so there won't be [as many] surprises if any at all.

 

Just wanted to let you guys know that the Z117GG supports SDXC 64GB cards. I tried it and it works perfectly.

Also, since I got my laptop back from repair, I haven't experienced a single freeze or stutter.

 

good to hear that everything is ok.. HK is the best place to buy a Z

 

Let us know if (god forbid) you experience some stuttering again. Did they swap your SSD's or maybe image your drive, wipe them clean and reimage the drive? If not and there's no stutter... then maybe something else was the matter? Perhaps a software issue?

 

Does anybody here have experience using a port replicator with their VAIOZ?
VGP-PRZ1/E - Sonystyle.com.hk
I am planning to procure such port replicator as I will be using printer and scanner for my VAIO Z.

I would like to know the effect of such docking attachment on battery life and performance…

You can always expect that the battery remains fully charged while in that condition
Would it prolong the battery life if the notebook is if it’s always connected to the port replicator?

 

Okay, so I had the habit of blowing compressed air into the exhaust port of my laptops, and I just found out that it's not a good idea and may damage the fan.

I got my Z13 a few weeks ago and I have probably done that a few times, and now I am worried that I might have damaged the fan.

 

I'm not using a third party battery. I have the new VPC-Z14AGJ. I guess the battery for the Z14 is different in some way, or its something software related.

 

Thanks for your reply! After hearing all your feedback, I'll just hold off on getting the battery until I see a reasonably priced genuine sony model. Didn't realize there was such a shady overseas operation targeting laptop/phone batteries.

The docking station would be great, however again, the price point will probably steer me away for now (still a poor college student). The sony style price with the 20% discount looks like the best deal. Down the road, I might think about opting for one once I find a more permanent residence and get some sweet peripherals. As of now, all I'm using is an old second monitor via VGA, wireless keyboard/mouse and computer speakers.

Regarding your setup, do you have a second hard drive attached to the dock? Maybe a network drive on a second computer? I went with the 256GB HD, and I've already filled up 40%. I'd prefer not to use any of the ports on the laptop, especially an expresscard setup that doesn't sit flush.

 

you could take out your optical and put hard drive there

 

Yea, that's not a bad idea, although I honestly do like having the option of using the optical drive. If I setup a dock, then an external optical drive would solve that problem. However, I'm definitely a laptop modification noob and would be pretty concerned about doing something stupid and breaking something (ie the keyboard ribbon issue)! It was enough of a pain just to get a fresh install of Windows running properly. Oh well, can't have it all...

 

Hi all,
I know that there was another thread somewhere about this, but I think it went dead:

I have about 20 blinks before windows starts up. How do I fix that? Should I run windows recovery? Would that help? Or as soon as I reload all my software will I be right back to square one?

 

That's a result of the fact that our hard drives are in RAID0. The RAID controllers have to initialize before Windows can boot and that's what is causing the many blinks, the price we pay for speed i guess. In any case, there was discussion about this and because it is the nature of the RAID controller, etc. there's not much you can do. I have read somewhere that doing a fresh install of Windows helped a bit. I'm not sure though (and there's no guarantee that i'll do anything, but waste a fair amount of your time). Other than that... I dont think there's anything else that you can really do, besides breaking the RAID array and sacrifice the speed. This is mainly a hardware issue and not software so... yeah we're limited. Hope that answered your question

 

I ran a disk defragmenter remembering I really shouldn't half way through

What has happened because of this

 

anyone know if it's possible to invert the function keys on a Z13? Maybe through the BIOS? I want to adjust the brightness without having to hold the FN key

 

Nothing, it's fine. The caution is mainly to ensure you aren't doing daily defrags and needlessly inducing wear on your drive.

The other reason not to do it is that it's only a small benefit for ssd's, compared to the large benefit it provides for hd's

(so small benefit for higher wear, over the long term)

 

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Recently I've discovered that my wired ethernet port does not appear to be functioning. While the device manager says everything is functioning normally, the port ALWAYS reports "Media Disconnected", even when known-good cables are attached. Wifi is working fine.

I am pushing up against the end of my warranty, and my last service call (repair of a damaged screen that took over a month) was not ideal. Do I have any other choice this time? I could reinstall the OS, but it doesn't seem like this is a software issue...

 

Maybe try updating to the latest ''ethernet'' driver from the Intel website? just to be sure

 

HI All, does anyone know where I can download the service manual for the VPCZ11C5E? I've just taken delivery of one with a standard drive and thought I would install a SSD myself.

So far I can get most of the screws out but the two on the front edge of the base and the two in the battery compartment which seem to be holding the top surface on (after removing all the others) dont seem to match the screwdriver heads that I have. I'm hoping the service manual will give me the exact screwdriver type I need to go and buy.

 

Just get a small screwdriver, like one of those jewelers screwdriver sets, you should be ok.
Also, They don't cost very much.

 

Thanks! I was wondering about this! I suspected they could be compatible since they updated the card reader in my now very old vaio AR11 to be compatible with SDHC back in 2006.

Thanks for your confirmation, now I have another expensive way of expanding storage in my Z

 

Thanks, managed to finally find one that fits at the bottom of a drawer. Nice simple process to perform

 

Re: Windows 7 Service Pack SP1

ok everybody... it's safe to install W7 SP1 !! The startup and shutdown time didn't get any worse (for a moment I was so afraid that may happen ).

 

Yay! Thanks for being our guinea pig Phil .

 

Hey guys, does my fan sound normal?

Recorded with iPhone4 pressed right against the exhaust port: View attachment 61895

Right at the exhaust port: 60dB
3cm away: 50dB
15 cm away: 31 dB

Because the past 2 days I've been thinking it sounded louder, but I am not sure if it's just me.

 

I downloaded it and still debating should I wait to see if there are any more ill effects to be reported.

 

Thanks! It definitely will save me a waste of time in recovering my whole drive. I'll wait until I NEED to recover my drive, and then see if there's any difference.

 

^ come on... don't wait... just do it

 

Hey guys, I have a question and I can't seem to find the answer in this huge forum. I have a Vaio Z1390 and I was wondering whether VT-x is enabled or not by default. I heard that some Vaios have it disabled with no option to turn it on, but that the newer ones have it enabled. When I use CPU-Z, it says that VT-x is supported, but Microsoft's tool to check for HAV says my computer doesn't have it.

It's not a huge deal because I don't do much virtualization but I'd still like to know whether it's on or not.

 

It's turned off by default but you can easily enable it in the BIOS

 

How do I access the BIOS on a Vaio Z without flashing it?

 

If I am not mistaken press F2 after you press the power button.

 

Yea in the bios, there are only like 2 options and this is one of them.

 

Okay thank you! I was under the impression that the BIOS was completely inaccessible. F2 worked and I enabled the feature.

 

Damn it! A red stuck pixel just appeared on the left side of my screen! Dead / stuck pixels bother me!

 

can some one direct me to the link (i am sure there is one) where i can find how to create a clean install windows 7 from recovery disks. I have been searching this forum for hours but couldnt find it would be very helpful.

1) I have 4 DVD disks created the ISO images for the 4 disks
2) I want to create Windows 7 x64 Professional disk without the crapwares.
3) Would be extremely helpful if the drivers are also included in the disk itself but can download the drivers from the sony support websiite

product : Sony Vaio Z12 (VPCZ126GG) about 9 months old

 

Well, you have a product key, you just need ANY Win 7 professional disk/ISO image... then just install it on your computer, enter in key, download drivers and you're done. If you had a friend with a Win 7 Pro disk, burn a copy from him. There are other less than legitimate ways to get it, but as long as you have the license, you're fine. Some here would argue that the Z doesn't really come with a lot of crapware and i'd agree, compared to some HP's, Dells, etc.

 

Hi everyone here, sorry if the question I have was already answered somewhere in the debris of 700 pages in both threads. It concerns the European models with Gobi2000 HSPA modem.

Does anyone know any alternative software for this very modem (in GSM-HSPA mode, of course) - I mean the soft that supports USSD calls aimed to check pre-paid balance. Unfortunetly, OneClick utility "in the box" does not suppost this feature.
Thanks for possible clues!

 

Did you try unsticking the pixel?

 

Yes, iinstall vodafone connect v10.1.108 - this works fine with Gobi2000 & the s/w includes 'balance check' & usage etc.
However, this works fine with a Vodafone SIM.
Cheers,
T

 

Thank you very much! I will try. Is it a sort of generic soft (without drivers I hope)?
Update: tried. Works seemingly fine, but does not support my network. Sadly... Still need an alternative.

 

Yeah, I tried the JScreenFix thing and the light rubbing thing. Nada. Annoys the hell of out me. First laptop I've ever owned to have a messed up pixel.

It sits on my desk all the time and I baby it. Only ever been to my office or at a coffee shop once.

 

Hi all, I have a Z12 since aug 2010 and have trouble playing flash apps / movies on the web. 6 times of the 10 times I run a flash app my screen turns black, I hear my vaio still running but I have no luck to get back the screen on. Furthermore when I switch from speed mode to stamina and vice versa the screen gets for a second black when switching (which is still normal I think) but sometimes it stays black or it will finally show again the screen with an error popup from the video drive that there was an error and is fixed again.

I have this error for a few months but it doesn't happen to much so I just ignored it, unfortunately now it's happening more frequently so I'm trying to fix it, but I have no idea were to look... Does anyone have an idea to get this issue solved?

Thx
-Phil

 

My laptop seems to have developped the same white line. Any luck in getting this resolved?

Sony Vaio VGN-Z

 

That's the problem with the video drivers discussed alot... Fixes, use the updated video drivers found on the VPCZ1390X support site, or use the community modded drivers found on the "My Discoveries on the Z hybrid graphics" thread by Nautis on this forum (he's also got download links to the newer official drivers there too).

Try the Core 2 Duo Vaio Z owners thread. This thread is for the i5/i7 VPCZ11/Z12/Z13/Z14 series.

 

Thanks. But I suspect the issue has little to do with core speed, more to do with bad display / bad LCD connectors. Let me know if you find something. I will do the same.

Besides, there are very few posts I have found so far that has this exact problem.

 

Yes true, but this thread is for discussion about the VPC-Z, NOT the VGN-Z CPU aside. Besides, if it's a model-specific problem, as was Phil's problem, then you'd get a diagnosis/solution sooner. Here's the link to that thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...l-vaio-z-core-2-duo-series-owners-thread.html

You could also try creating an entirely new thread by itself on the Sony Discussion forum if you cant find a solution.

 

Thx alot Achusaysblessyou ! I'll check it out

 

I can understand how you feel. My Z117 has suffered a screen malfunction just recently. Pixels all over the screen started to bleed. I had to send it to Sony to get it serviced and they changed the screen.

If it bugs you so much, you should get Sony to fix it for you under warranty.

 

I was thinking of contacting Sony on Monday but I think their dead / stuck pixel policy is 5+ pixels or something.

 

yarrgh!!!

**** this ****!!

open up laptop after coming home from uni and the purple pixels have multiplied like x3

so annoyed because now i know i wont be able to stand it and will have to try to get it fixed.

for some reason theyre all up the top. anyone know why pixels bleed like that????