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

Yes, go to this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/342947-my-discoveries-vaio-z-s-hybrid-graphics.html

and download the 190.24 drivers (from the official releases). If you want, you can go to the end and check out the other community modded drivers, but it's up to you as it requires more work.

Pretty sure he meant the oldest video port... as he's talking about a projector.

 

Well yes, obviously.

It was just a rather curious way to describe the vga port, hence my response (placing the notion of 'oldest port' more in context).

 

So I just got my refurb'd z12 two days ago. Love it! Hopefully whatever Sony has up their sleeve next doesn't one-up this one too bad.

I just had a couple questions for the community, and they involve the screen:

1) I'm coming from a VGN-Z, so a lot of this is based off of comparisons to that one, but the 1600x900 of the Z12 seems to make the text much, much smaller than the 16x9 of my old Z, and that's with the text at 125%. It's so small, in fact, that I can't imagine how the text of a Full HD screen is even readable. My eyesight isn't perfect, but it's perfectly adequate. Was wondering if anyone had any advice here.

2) The resolution of various icons is downright horrible. The newest Quicktime icon, for example, is atrocious ( seen here), while others are perfectly fine. I'm guessing this could relate to question one, but maybe not.

3) I've been trying to calibrate the display according to what I find acceptable, but I'm having a difficult time. Default, the saturation was just cranked, with the Firefox and Chrome icons almost glowing neon. I've turned it down some and think it's looking a little bit better than before, but still not quite "normal" looking. I've searched the topic, but haven't yet found a good software solution (and yes, I know the potential for true colors on here only goes so high; I want them as high as possible), but haven't found anything yet.

4) It would seem that the brightness of the screen is adaptive: when I show the desktop, I can see almost "waves" moving as the screen becomes slightly dimmer on my gray background. Then, when I switch back to a FF window or whatever, it's darker than before, and gradually gets brighter. This can't be normal or good. Any input? I've already disabled the adaptive brightness settings of the screen.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

 

go into the Intel graphics control panel >> Power, then at the top select On battery, then make sure Display Power Saving Technology is off. I think that might stop the seemingly auto adjusting settings. In Vaio Control Panel, turn off the Auto brightness adjust

 

post removed.
(recommended turning off adaptive brightness then realized he already had)

 

I'm beginning to think there is a problem with my video card as my computer often crashes when watching videos, listening to music, and in general the display seems to lag when opening and closing the lid. I often get a bad pool caller blue screen---not cool for a new laptop that's expected to be more reliable...Any thoughts?

 

I agree 110%, I too had a VGN-Z550, then later purchased a VPC-Z112, and the text seems smaller than the VGN-Z. I still use an old AOL email address, and there is nothing in "preferences" or "settings" to increase the text size in emails or the AOL site itself to help navigate through. I'd like to know if anyone has any solutions to this. Increasing DPI to 125% has no effect on AOL. Not sure if Gmail, or Yahoo have special settings to increase font/text size.

 

From what I understand the Blu-Ray offered by Sony enables the playing of Blu-Ray only, and will not write to Blu-Ray. I could be wrong. I say this because in a Sony CTO website for the new S Series, they offered either a Blu-Ray Player or a Blu-Ray Player/Burner.

 

If the drive in the Z is a Maa UJ-242A/232A, then it's a writer too.

edit: sorry, my terminology failed right there, I meant it's a burner too

 

It is a burner but I still haven't tried another BD-DL disc, it burns DVD and DVD-DL just fine.

 

so.. anyone got the 'stereo mix' or 'what you here' audio input working? or is it disabled on hardware?

 

I looked into it a few months ago and I was unsuccessful, if anyone knows how to do it please tell us.

 

What input are you talking about? Are you talking about the stereo microphone input?

 

He is talking about how it used to be. Remember you used to have "What U Hear" or "Stereo Mix" as a native Windows recording device. I've attached a picture of it that I found on the net.

 

This has been disabled in Windows 7 I guess, cuz few months back I tried to go about it to capture some online streaming music, but completely failed to find a Native solution within Windows 7, I had this option before in XP, and I guess in Vista too.

I uninstalled the realtek Audio drivers to see if it might have been disabled through realtek, but again, Fail.

I didn't give up, and went for a Commercial Solution since I needed this thing badly, after lots of reviews, I bought (Total Recorder Pro), which has its own audio driver layer, that can make you capture anything you HEAR, Online/offline.

Give it a Shot, but before that, read their help page to know what to choose in setup phase settings.

They have a trial version, so nothing to loose.

 

Today I went to turn my Z, when it Shocked me with a Failure in the first member disk of my Raid 0 array.

Then, it hit me again with (Operating System not Found).

I shut it down, waited few minutes and turned it on again, Error was still there (see attached photo), but it loaded Windows, I immediately took essential documents to an external media, then checked the file system it found 6GB of lost clusters.

I then went to Intel Rapid Storage Application, and had the red (X) on the first SSD member disk, with an option to reset its state, Did that, and it worked okay.

I then clicked on (verify), it finished with 0 Errors.

Can anybody explain? Should I prepare myself for loosing 1 of my SSDs which is like a nightmare to find in aftermarket?

I have RST 10.1 btw, recently updated from 9.6.

 

Oh heck; what a shocker - can you explain more about what led to this - what were you working on & did this error occur from a 'resume' or following a normal start
What version or s/w raid you running & do you have write cache on or off ?
[edit] just seeen your on 10.1, thanks
Is everything okay now ?

This sounds to me like maybe you have the RAID option of Write cache 'enabled' and then somehow the systeme lost power & the RAID thus reported an error - I would advise turning the RAID cache off & seeing how it goes.

Also worth checking you have the latest BIOS update.

I to have a RAID ssd; as sony did not offer any none raid SSD options but I must say I am not a fan of RAID0. However, my laptop is a year old now & has been fine.

Cheers,
T

 

@trevor:

Before this happens, I off-loaded some large amounts of Data from my external HDD to my Z, around 24 GB or so, then I safely ejected the HDD, after some time while being online, like within 20 minutes after finishing the copying, my Z has HANGED, it never did that before, Mouse could not move, ctrl-alt-del caused Nothing when I hit them, I even closed the Lid to see if the LCD will turn off, but nothing, complete Stall, I then forced a shutdown through the power button.

Waited few seconds, turned ON the machine, and an error in Raid-0 has been thrown at my face (lol), then the Z automatically took me to the Bios Raid control panel, at which a one can delete the raid or create new one.

then ..... ah Well, lots of JAPANESE text where shown in RED above the regular Startup screen, the one which you see before Windows starts to load.

Its Okay now, but I'm still holding my breath.

 

Hi,

So, did you opt for Delete or Create new - and did this ease all the data or was all the data okay ?

I have not seen this before & mostly these SSD's & RAID do seem very reliable.

I would suggest the following:
1/ Ensure RAID write back cache is set to 'off' (from raid console under advanced options) This will offer much greater protection with little performance hit.

Also,
I would suggest turning 'Page file' to off/ zero (but only do this is you have plenty of RAM as running programmes larger than avaibale RAM without paging will result in a crash. Doing this will reduce SSD stress.

I hope this helps,

Cheers,
T

 

This happens a lot to me actually. Started about two weeks after I got it, and that was September last year. Sometimes just one of them flags red, both on occasion. Occurs about thrice a week so I'm always saving my stuff, should the computer decide to misbehave.

My write back is off. Can't imagine using this without a pagefile. I 95% my ram without trying. You don't have to delete anything ... just wait for the timer to run out, 4-5 secs and windows boots normally. Rapid storage however nags you about a possible failed disk. Chkdsk returns a couple of errors but no data is ever lost.

I haven't sent it out for warranty for three reasons. Getting this computer was a big deal, I wasn't financially prepared for an upgrade but my previous computer failed without warning. I had to get a couple of loans from my family after repeated warnings about my bad luck with "gadgets." They were so right. I however will not let them win and shall manage this bad boy until august. I'm also weary of losing my partition tables/ data/ settings if it has to be replaced by Sony.

Lastly, and most importantly, I really want to find out whats causing this.

There's absolutely no consistency with the error messages. Its usually a freeze, occasional "disk failed" pop up, short response time as if to say "ctrl + s, now!!!" a final freeze and then a bluescreen that ranges from kernel_inpage_error to memory bullcrap. The timeline may pause at any stage, but is sure to continue sooner or later. I also noticed the computer starts lagging a few minutes before it eventually hangs. I assumed it was when I had it running multiple programs at a time, but just after a restart, warm reboot, I got the bluescreen again. BTW, it doesn't always flag your disk as failed.

What haven't I said?

Oh, yeah, I'm sorry Willy330Ci, but odds are that you're in the same shoes as I am ... it doesn't get better ... send to Sony ASAP.

 

If your Z still works, why don't you consider making a backup (instructions here, credits to Pyr0) and then break and recreate your RAID0 array? Maybe that'll help

 

I have 6GB RAM, Swap file = 0, cache is NOW turned Off, before, it was always on.

will try to do what Achusaysblessyou suggested above, maybe that will help.

one more final thought, I will stick to Intel RST 9.6 instead of 10.1, Never had these errors before when I was on 9.6.

 

Thinking about buying à New Z as à replacement for my TT. I currently also have a Z13 HDD model. Can the Z1x with 2 or more ssd 's be configured in a non raid config or raid 1 with 2 ssd? Don't need raid0 speed in combination with bitlocker encryption.

 

Hi,
You raise an interesting point with 10.1 & 9.6 of RST.
I have updated to 10.1 but shall keep an eye on the RAID & will revert to 9.6 if I start seeing anything similar, as I've had my Z for a year and not seen any RAID problems
Cheers
T

 

If you do the BIOS Hack you can set up the SSDs in RAID1 or ACHI mode


http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/473226-insyde-hacking-new-vaio-z-advanced-menu-bios.html

 

Thx! for the info.

 

I'm beginning to think there is a problem with my video card as my computer often crashes when watching videos, listening to music, and in general the display seems to lag when opening and closing the lid. I often get a bad pool caller blue screen---not cool for a new laptop that's expected to be more reliable...Any thoughts?
toplap12 is offline Reply With Quote

 

the stock drivers are crap, if you want something better try this http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/342947-my-discoveries-vaio-z-s-hybrid-graphics.html

If you want the absolute best do the BIOS hack and install the latest and greatest drivers.

BIOS hack, advanced version, but better, you might learn something

BIOS hack easy version

latest nVidia drivers for use with BIOS hack

as for intel drivers, if you are doing static switching with the BIOS hack, just get the latest drivers, they work unmodified

 

Does anyone have an good videos that really shows off the Z> I'm deciding between this laptop and the new HP dv6t quad.

 

This is the best one I have seen The Executive Decision

 

Thanks, that was just what I was looking for. In gerneral, do you guys think the Z12 for $999 is worth it over the new SA. I've heard a lot about how the SA doesn't live up to its supposed quality and i've heard nothing but good thigns about the Z, although it is from last generation. Not sure if it matters but i'm also look at an hp dv6t quad but its basically a debate of portability vs power.

 

Can I ask what site/store your finding a Z12 for $999?

 

The Sony Refurbished store. Me too thinking of getting it with 2 year Warranty + ADH.. Think its worthwile? I really feel so, just want an opinion.

 

I have seen the SA/SB side by side with the Vaio Z, both with 1600x900p screens, in Sony's flagship store in Manhattan. In the S series I think they traded glare for black level and brilliance. The S series has less glare but the colors are less vibrant and the blacks are greyer. In my opinion the Vaio Z 900p screen is nicer. A bit glossy but not superglossy and with satisfying black levels and gamut. The Z's design is also cooler-looking. I have a vaio Z114 900p myself and love it.

 

I don't see a Z at the Sony Outlet for 999.99. Can you post a link please, thanks.

 

Hi everybody,

Trying to see what would be the less expensive solution. I broke my lcd screen on my Z last saturday. I talked with someone from Sony this morning to get a quotation and he told me that it would be around 800$-900$. He was suppose to call me back to confirm but i'm still waiting for his call.



At that point, i'm thinking of replacing the screen myself. Did someone ever already tried? Is it something that I do myself if I have average technical skills?

I'm also trying to find the part number of the screen. My model is VPCZ-112GDS. Resolution is 1600 x 900.

Thanks

 

Would you consider upgrading to the 1080 screen? There's a few members that have taken it apart and from what I've heard, they said it isn't too hard to do.

 

Good luck finding either part. eBay is probably your only option.

the VPC-Z1_Disassembly.pdf will help with the install.
I have found the the part numbers in the Service Manual on page 11

A-1769-473-A LCD LT131EE11000 (S) [13.1/Full-HD_HDAR/BR_LEDAdobe_BP] 1080P
A-1769-474-A LCD LT131EE12000 (S) [13.1/A-HD_HDAR/BR_LED100%uv_BP] 900P

 

Thanks a lot Cowboy and GenericSN. I found both version on ebay for 500$. I will look through the manual to see if I'm confortable with the operation.

 

no problem, send me some rep

 

Good luck and please let us know how it goes! I've always been paranoid about my screen and have wondered if I'd be able to tackle the challenge of switching it out if I had to.

 

There is a thread somewhere on here all about doing this on a VPC-Z1, it was a hot topic 2-4 weeks ago

 

Heyas,

I've noticed something peculiar on my VPCZ1 with 1920x1080 screen, near the bottom there are 4 tiny marks on the lcd where the backlight seems to be leaking through? Has anyone encountered this? Should I send it in to get replaced? I only worry though that a new lcd might have a stuck / dead pixel which would be far more annoying than this.

01, 02

Regards,

 

Hi JL,
I replaced my screen with one off Ebay a couple months ago. We might have even had the same breakage scenario-- mine got a hair-linish crack in the center that eventually spread up the left side.

From my repair my only advice is: watch the keyboard cable. I posted about it here, and others on this thread have noted its fragility. Mine actually had some tape on it that I think was from someone previously snapping it.
Otherwise it went as any other laptop replacement-- the only other memorable part was that the hinge screws took some coordination (and a mag. screwdriver) to reattach.

This took maybe an hour and a half to fully replace. I've done multiple laptop repairs in the past, but never formally trained. I also got a really good deal on the screen ($306) after setting up an alert and waiting, however this may have been a fluke-- everywhere outside ebay was out-of-stock indefinitely (or way overpriced).

Original post here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...l-owners-thread-part-2-a-211.html#post7331407

Oh, and Sony ended up fixing my broken keyboard cable under warranty (apparently -that- part was cheap enough for them).

Hope this helps. Good luck, if you decide to proceed.

 

You are problaly talking about this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/561458-sony-vaio-vpcz1-lcd-replacement-disassembly-guide.html

Thanks jjchong!

 

Just wondering, on the topic of screen fragility whether people notice a screen ripple at the bottom edges (especially near the hinges) when adjusting or opening/closing the lid? Does this pose any risk to screen damage?

 

Happens on mine. I'd say it is pretty normal.

 

Happens on mine as well. There was a thread about this a few months ago and the general consensus is that this is normal.

 

Actually, yes it does (or can) switch to hibernate mode automatically when it hits a predetermined (or user set) battery level, even if it's in sleep mode. Look in your power options, advanced settings. You can set it to sleep (or hibernate, or shutdown) on different power levels (low, reserved, or critical)

 

Hi,
What is not so clear to me is if the laptop is in 'standby' when the battery reaches a critical low level, will it auto 'hibenate' (eg wake from standby & move to hibinate) or just remain in 'standby' until the time-out triggers hibinate then fail due to insufficient power.
Cheers,
T