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

You missed out. A few weeks ago you could pick up a 23" 1080p Hannspree monitor for $40 after coupons at Staples. I scored 2 .

 

i meant internal one lol And i saw that deal on slickdeals! too bad i already got a 25" 1080p Monitor w/ built-in TV tuner (a.k.a. TV) but the quality of the panel is quite horrible compared to my 900p screen.

 

hi there.. can anyone point me where to get original Z11 (specs in my sig) recovery disks? i accidentally wiped out my recovery partition .. appreciate you help in advance...

 

you can download all the driver from sony website

 

thanks for that but I want to bring back the laptop to its factory default including the recovery partition.. hope to get some help on this.

TIA

 

Anyone know how to disable the Assist button?

 

Restart your computer, once you see the VAIO logo, hit the F10 key a few times. Select the appropriate recovery settings you want to achieve. This should help bring your Z back to factory settings.

 

his previous post mentions he accidentally wiped out his recovery partition

 

yeah this is my problem no recovery partitions now.. i just need Z11 recovery disks.

 

it'd help if you listed what OS you had. But i'd also just suggest installing your OS from scratch (fresh install) but make sure you install drivers in this order:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6155868-post96.html

because many drivers have had updates and you really dont want the old factory image anyways

 

Hi Achu.. that's what I did when I re-installed everything from scratch. I'm running Win7 PRO... thanks!

 

So it worked? everything running fine?

 

yes.. but still hoping to get the original recovery partition and create an original recovery disks..

 

I've got an idea. Are you in the U.S.? And will any VPC-Z 64-Bit Pro recovery discs work?

 

geee.. i think it will work.. however, i'm in canada.. what is your idea?

 

I can send you DVD copies of the VPC-Z117GG (which I bought from Hong Kong) recovery discs by snail mail if you want.

 

I got an unworn VPC-Z1 black palmrest and touchpad up for auction on Ebay for cheap, starting at $48. It actually comes with the entire aluminum top case but without keyboard.

 

What is the pixel pitch for the Z1 FHD screen? anyone know?

 

OMG thanks!!! you got PM

 

wait... so you have everything installed correctly... why do you still want the OLD recovery partition... go follow Pyr0's guide here to make a image of your drive!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/512180-how-make-full-backup-your-vaio-z.html#post6625769

Don't waste time with recovery partition... Actually, install all the programs you want... then make the image, so that if you ever need the image again, you don't gotta install all the programs and remove all the crapware which you would have to if you were to boot from recovery partition (just remember to keep image up to date... well this should be a given for proper back-up)

 

My idea is. Here is the U.S., you can purchase an open box item, in your case a Z, and return it within the return policy period without being charged an open box fee. Can you do this in Canada? That way, you can create recovery discs, and return the unit afterwards.

Otherwise, ota-con just volunteered to send them to you by snail mail.

 

achu.. yes everything is working fine after my fresh install. hmmm you made me think twice if i'll go with pyr0's way..

geee.. good idea but i don't thinks there is an open box item of a Z1 here in canada..

thanks!

 

Replied to your PM.

 

Anyone know how to disable the Assist button? My older brother makes fun of my "bad purchase" by pressing that button and having Vaio Care pop up.

 

I thought I remembered someone talking about changing the function of that and other buttons. I found a link to a thread in Part 1 of the owner's thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/480606-z11-reconfigure-s-buttons-assist-dual-pane-vaio-2.html. Unfortunately I don't think the team working on this was ever successful. Maybe worth a look though.

I'm not sure why having the Assist button that accesses Vaio Care makes this a "bad purchase..."

 

ahh older brothers... aren't they mean??? (i'm the older brother )

well here's a solution: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/538942-how-use-all-your-vpc-zs-s-buttons-your-purposes.html

don't forget to rep pyr0!

Didn't mean to scare you, but an image is WAAAAY better than using the recovery partition even if it's a bit outdated since at least you'll have all your programs there when you image the drive back over...

 

You have PM
Sent you the discs...

 

This may have been asked, but is there a way to make firefox recognize the Nvidia GPU? Cause, when the GPU is turned on, firefox does not recognize it. The Intel Graphicsadapter is recognized on the other hand.

Laptops a Z11-X9E

 

I know there have been posts on this in the past, but i'm unaware of any solution. Does anyone know how to get rid of all the flashing cursor blinks when I first start my computer? It blinks like 25 times before starting windows.

 

What do you mean, you mean when you switch from the Nvidia to the IGP? I don't think that's possible and it might be harder since these browsers all use hardware acceleration.

nope, it's called posting. the RAID drivers have to post, it adds time to the mix, but the only way to stop it is to not use RAID. Sacrifice some time on boot up for faster speeds in game

 

I love SSDs now... who needs sandy bridge when ya got this!
http://i.imgur.com/k7jrO.png

 

When Nvidia GPU is turned on Firefox says, I have no GPU at all. However, the Intel Adapter is recognized, when GPU is off.

 

thank you very much! i'll inform you once i receive the discs.. thanks for going an extra mile by sending backup copies

 

As achu mentioned, you can't eliminate them completely. But I did notice that when I have a DVD/CD in the drive during boot up, I get around 21 cursor blinks. When there is no disk in the ODD, I get 6 blinks.

 

Hey, finally decided to buy a Z over the SA after looking at laptops for way too long. Would it be better to get the Z12 or the Z13 from the sony outlet? I like hte idea of being able to have a 1080p screen when I need it (i'm will definitly be lowering the resolution to make it readable). Is there any difference between the two models other than their max resolution and which one would be the better buy?

 

Get the one with 1080P, there is almost no difference between the 12 and the 13 except when it was built. I'd take an older 1080P model over a newer 900P model any day.

 

Difference between 12 and 13 are the processors. Z13 uses slightly newer and higher clocked processors (at least the i7 was upgraded from 2.66 to 2.8, not sure about the two i5 processors). It's a very minute difference, so I'd base my purchase off of other things such as cost and screen.

 

Hello, new user here. I have recently had a look at the z13 model with the 900p resolution in a store and I noticed that the glare was more closer to glossy than to a matte. This can be seen in the first attached photo. The second image shows the defused reflections on my Vaio F22's matte screen, which is what I expected the Z to look like.

Can any owners of the Z confirm if this sharp reflection is common on all Zs, or if it is only found on the Z13 and not the Z12? Thank you.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

All Z's they share the same screens. It's not completely matte, it's semi-matte

 

For the Z11, is it possible to replace the optical drive with an optical bay/hard disk caddy where the hard disk can be swapped (doesn't need to be hotswappable) without disassembling the entire notebook?

For instance, maybe with this if I take the faceplate/bezel off?

 

Im looking to purchase a new laptop and I found a sony vaio z1 on ebay for $1100 and these are the specs..
Intel Core i7-620M 2.67GHz / 8GB DDR3 RAM / 256GB SSD / Hybrid Graphics (GeForce GT 330M & Intel HD)/ WIFI 802.11AGN / Bluetooth / Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Its in great condition too.
Is this a good price for the laptop? Should I purchase this or purchase a newer laptop with sandybridge processors. I have a sony vaio cw atm.

 

Get one of these, it is everything you need
2nd hard drive / SSD caddy - Z, Z11, Z12, Z13, VPC [SONY-2BAY-Z11] - $43.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

Some other info here, although he is not replacing the ODD
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...laptop-newmodeus-hdd-caddy-review-photos.html

 

Given the specs, if this is a used one, and you don't mind a used one, the price is definitely good. very good.

I've decided for what I do (coding + video editing), I don't need sandy bridge just yet. Old i5's and i7's are pretty powerful as they are. So this is up to your usage needs. Sandy bridge basically uses less power and is a little faster than Nehalem's. If I had cared that much, I would have gone with SA or Z2. But Z1's design is just so beautiful, I decided I want form over function

 

I would call that a spectacular deal. Last year you could have expected to pay significantly more than twice that amount for that particular configuration. Does the owner tell you whether or not that is the 900p or 1080p screen?

In either case, I would be a little wary of that deal. It seems too good to be true.

Edit: NBR member lovelaptops has some great advice regarding purchasing used laptops in this recent thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/599920-vaio-z.html

 

Is it possible to replace the two raid 0 64GB SSDs in my VPCZ1 with a single SSD drive that's faster than those two? Will I need a new connector?

 

In addition to what's been mentioned, TPM and more compatibilty with SD cards. I'm not exactly sure which SD cards, as I use the same one's I've had for a while, but from what I understand, Z13's can accommodate 32 and/or 64 and higher SDXC - something to this effect.

 

My first generation VPCZ117GG works with SDXC cards so I assume all VPCZ's models should too.

 

Well, someone had asked this exact same question. What I recall was TPM and The SD Cards. Is there something faster than SDXC? Or is the SDXC your using less than 64GB? Anyway..... if I can search the post, I'll post and quote.

 

^
I used a 64GB class 10 SDXC card.

Officially on the specs it didn't say that the Z117GG supports it but it does work.

 

All VPC Z support SDXC cards. Currently there's no newer spec SD than SDXC. There's no such thing as SDXC cards that are smaller than 64gb.