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

Yes, that's why.

 

Hi, I have a VPCZ114GX and am trying to get wake-on-lan to work. I have the latest BIOS with the hack to enable the advanced Insyde menu. I downloaded the latest 82577LC driver from Intel and installed it. I enabled the LAN driver power management checkboxes to allow wake-up from off state (ac adapter connected). Yet the laptop won't power up from Off (S5) when sent a magic packet. I know I am sending the magic packet correctly in my LAN since the notebook does wake up from sleep. I would like it to wake up from off or hibernate via wired LAN wake-on-lan. Thanks for pointers from anyone who has this working or someone who can point out this is a known limitation. As an example where this works, I have a Dell Precision M4300 which happily wakes up from off via LAN magic packet.

 

That's what I meant, it doesn't show up with HDMI connected. I get video, just no audio. And I've had no luck from reinstalling the drivers. Any other ideas?

 

Willy330Ci: Interesting.

Did you get those results based upon large transfers over a lengthy period of time?

It could be RAID0 giving a higher throughput I guess, but I'd also suspect the drive cache playing a role.

Have you tried the same test disabling the drive cache with, say, a 1GB file transfer?

 

Can you check the event log if there are any warnings or errors before/around the time the screen went black?

 

That's a good idea for future reference, because I have since done a restore. It only happened once again after the restore and before installing any software other than a program called EasyBCD since i dual boot winxp. I uninstalled that program and haven't recreated it since. Which leaves me puzzled because i doubt A has to do with B. But if it happens again I'll be sure to check and keep you and everyone posted.

 

Okay so i just got the "Display Driver stopped responding and has recovered" msg after another black screen from sleep mode. further the msg stated "Display driver NVIDIA Windows kernel Mode Driver, Version 188.80 stopped responding and has successfully recovered. So i'm left to believe this is being caused by the out dated drivers, smh!

 

I got the same thing today as I went to this forum.

 

@oscarrydberg:

Yes dear, in fact I did, and also talking about real-life benchs, say for example I want to copy a Movie file (DVD RIP = 699MB) from one location to another, it literally takes 2 seconds to copy the file, with copying speed 380 MB/s, the most weird thing that some times I do the same operation and can't see the Copying window at all, its as crazy as it gets, 700 MB file copied w/o a chance to see the COPYING WINDOW, That's ROCKET FAST!

Isn't it?

 

Just joined with Z club after receiving my CTO Z12 last week Have to say I'm very thankful that so far I haven't had any problems with hinges, display, or anything else. If I had to pick one thing to complain about, it's that the palm rest on the right has a little bit of give (slight click) when you press down on it. But I can live with that.

Being too lazy (and incapable) to do the Zoinks method of protecting the palmrest, I opted for this instead. It's similar to the Wrapsol one I guess, but given that the Wrapsol didn't do it for the Z11 and onwards, this one had to do.

Protector Body Cover Shield Film Skin Sony VAIO VPC Z - eBay (item 160482578845 end time Oct-17-10 23:10:37 PDT)

The fit is spot on and I have to say I'm thankful that it popped up on eBay just as I got my Z. I'm crap at applying these things so there's more bubbles than I would like, but the fit is otherwise perfect. The trackpad is far more responsive, surprisingly, with the protector in place than without.

The clear lid protector however is nothing short of hideous, and that's without the bubbles. But this is only an interim measure until my SGP leather skin comes in.

Didn't use the protector for the aluminium frame as my TPU keyboard skin alread covers most of it.

So far, I'm very happy with this laptop With 2 finger scrolling, 3 finger swipe, and YASS on firefox, it's made the transition from my MBP much easier!

Oh btw, can I shrink my C partition, so as to create a D, without losing my data or buggering my OS? I have the 256GB SSD.

 

About shrinking your partition. I use Acronis Disk Director 11 to do it. There are maybe free ware programs out there which do the same thing but they may not work with RAID or Windows 7.

 

Hello all,

I am going on Holiday to Las Vegas (I live in Spain) Do I need to take any type of converter, or will it work with just my transformer 19.5 volts and a standard plug adaptor.

sony vaio sz12 and sony adaptor vgp ac19v32

thankyou in advance

 

just a heads up ran the intel tool for checking drivers and shows an update to the network intel driver

Product Detected Intel(R) 82577LC based Network Controller(OEM)
Current Driver Installed 11.5.10.0
Newer Driver Available: 11.6.92.0 Download Now

 

A standard plug adapter from spain/europe to US sould be enough, If you check the label on your power adapter it should state input 100-240V 50/60Hz.
Have fun in Vegas.

What tool? url?

 

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx


Follow the link and download the tool and run it checks your system installed and ran works a treat after install go to device manager and open network adaptors and have a play with the extra tools that come wirh it



rep given and thanks re vegas you are right the adaptor says both

 

Anybody know what performance differences there would be with an i5 540m versus the newer i5 460m processor on the vaio z ?

 

Thanks Enny. I've previously used Acronis DD as well to do partition shrinks, but I wasn't sure the effect it would have on an OS partition in RAID.

 

According to tests the 460m is slightly faster: Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

can you link me to the keyboard skin you got?

 

@CaNuCk92:

here you are:

1. TPU not Silicon:

TPU Keyboard Cover Skin Sony VAIO Z VPC-Z1190 VPCZ1190 - eBay (item 160427988127 end time Sep-23-10 11:56:16 PDT)

2. Silicon:

Keyboard Cover Protector Sony VAIO VGN SR & Z Series - eBay (item 160406247355 end time Oct-17-10 05:44:24 PDT)

the TPU is more transparent than Silicon and less in size too, but if you type a lot, using the silicon will make typing much easier, I got the 2 above, and they fit perfectly, and don't worry about the second one being sold for the Z & SR, they sport the very exact Keyboard which we (VPCZ Users) have.

Again, try to invest in buying them both, plus a spare one is really nice, not to mention the cheap prices.

Will

 

Hi Willy,

What is the difference in feel between the TPU and Silicon? I'm finding the TPU, whilst looking great and fitting perfectly, is taking me quite some time to get used to. The "give" that I feel when typing makes it hard for seamless and error free touch typing.

How does the Silicon one feel in comparison? I could only imagine that it would feel similar.

 

^ I've had both, currently have the TPU. The silicon feels a little fuzzy, like very very slight peach skin, and softer than the TPU, it moulds to the keyboard more. You lose the 'clicking' of the keys with both TPU and silicon. You get used to it, but most certainly keeping your keyboard pristine is done at the expense of typing experience. If you're just trying to keep your keys from wearing (and not bits falling into the keyboard) then you could try some of those clear stickers for your keys, if there are some that are compatible with the Z.

 

Thanks, i don't eat around my laptop anyways, i just need one too keep out the dust so i got a silicon one .

 

What is the maximum resolution you can drive an external monitor at on the new Z Series? Can it do 2560x1440?

thx

James

 

I think that is the max on VGA, apparantly for HDMI the max is like 1920x1200, I forgot where I read this, but it is somewhere either in this owner's thread or in the general Sony forum

 

@Ptechnix:

The Silicon ones are way better for typing, its not Loose, the grip is perfect, but yet again, get both, some of us paid $3500 for the lappy, so a $10 won't hurt the deal.

Lately I got this one, which I ADORE literally, and use it almost all the time, the drawback is that it Hides the Backlit Light of the keyboard, So, I use it when I'm in public places like Starbucks cafe, it gives a great visuals too, rather than the washed-out look which both TPU and Silicon gives.

Got it from here, took 2 weeks to be delivered but was really worth it.

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

See photos attached to compare the real look on the laptop.

One of them were on the previous VGN-Z, using the Same Silicon cover, as to prove that both Keyboards are of the exact size!

Will

 

w/o lots of Introduction, HOW ON EARTH a VPCZ has Latency Problems?

I was literally shocked to see this, as a 5 years old notebook that I tested does not have any issues while running the DPC Latency checker.


see attached.

 

great pic!.. btw do you happen to have pictures using the TPU?

thanks

 

Wow, cool tool Here's my result:

 

Seems to be a lot of people coming from MacBook Pro's to the Sony Z.

I'm one of them too

Why not, cannot beat the 3lbs weight, all the ports, lot's of power .... I finally found near my dream notebook!

 

Why anyone goes with a MBP in the first place beats me... there are FAR superior PC's even disregarding the Z in specs and price... I guess that's the price of a light up apple...

 

Btw, is the "scroll item under pointer" option working for anyone? It doesn't seem to work for me.

I tried to get around this by installed Wizmouse, which worked a treat just after I installed it, but then it stopped, and I couldn't get it to work again.

If anyone has any ideas of how to get the native synaptics "scroll item under pointer" feature working, that would be awesome

I think in terms of general usability, it's hard to beat the MBP. I use it solely for internet and photoshop and I think that the slickness of the UI, coupled with the absolutely amazing touchpad (which synaptics doesn't even come close to), it's very hard to beat. It's hard to understand unless you've actually used it for a period.

I wouldn't say it's better, or that it's value for money, but it has its place. I don't believe in the whole Apple vs PC debate. They are both solid machines with their own pros and cons.

 

That probably comes from the custom NVIDIA driver from Sony.

 

Hi I have a bios update loop

As per the Vaio updater I installed bios v20743c, after rebooting it asked me to upgrade to r3030c3. now it wants me to update to v20743 again.

I did as requested and then it asks me to install the other bios, followed by the previous and so on continually.

I had hoped that it might help with the BSODs and hibernation crashes.

The default response from sony was to reformat when I asked them about the BSODs. Why can't they just review the mini dumps???

Thanks in advance

 

Having the same loop so I just stick with the newer version.

 

That's what I guessed Enny, Too bad!

 

Prepared my Vaio for repair, Sony France promises 5 working days repair with the normal 2 year warranty. I regret having purchased an extra 3 year extension from a distributor. Well reasons for repair: Loose right hinge and black spot on the screen (almost since the beginning) plus worn palm rest (lets see if they will repair that).
I bought an Asus U30JC an Intel I3 as a reserve-replacement yesterday. I already miss my Vaio. I suggest to all of you who complain sometime about some minor delays with your Z to go back and use a "normal" computer without an SSD in raid. Vaio Z is amazing, I love this computer, quality of the screen (I have the 1600x900), weight, keyboard, speed. The perfect notebook.

 

ToFu:

Please ran it for more than 2 minutes and report back, its sometimes misleading.

thx

 

Hello

So i finally got my Z a few days ago, Sunday tobe precise and damn ... didnt sleep cos i was setting it up and all ... which stalled my work and made me slow during my job hours. Didnt stop me from not sleeping again the following day though, just love this thing.

BUT

I was going to post here on coming from work today how lovely this thing was for those who hadnt made up my mind and while firing up internet explorer a pop up message read "you are running low on space on C:" I ignored it for a second cos on my previous computer i had run out of space a lot. But then i remembered, i just got this!!! my precious ssd! Sure enough, i had 0bytes left in "My Computer" and still figuring out what could have caused this. I left it on to download a few things, but that was to an external disk and its still downloading so its not a temporary folder issue. My internet connection is not the greatest so theres no way an update could cause this. Probably a log gone bad or an infection over the network.

So i just disconnected from power and my computer is running pretty slow. My battery is running down fast too. 58% in less than an hour. Deleted a file from my drive and gradually the space was all used up again. Whatever the problem is, its still very much around and being a bugger.

EDIT: Apparently, it was flash 10 that was slowing down my computer using 0.5gb in as flashutil and another 0.5 for iexplore.exe
EDIT: And guess who was filling up my computer? Microsoft Security Essentials
It was detecting viruses on the network - a lot of win xp users at my office - cleaning them but storing a local copy in the localCopy folder. Just when i try an antivirus again, after 4 years of doing without them my new SSD has been messed up! Thank GOD i partitioned it in half just the day before ... all that awake time actually paid off.

LAST EDIT: Just did a test, and another for verification. 100MBps off my SSD speed in one night, from 350MBps to 241MBps seq read. :'(

 

I don't think Windows 7 is a real-time OS, which means that certain applications can cause jitters / delays in others. But, I think if the system is lightly loaded (with no weird apps hogging CPU etc. resources), then the above behavior can be expected.

 

Hmm, I'm thinking it might be a good idea for Windows to have a disk-limit policy: e.g. never allow programs to fill up more than 150% of its original size. Together with a projected maximum view of the occupied size, it'll give the user a sense of how much space he has left. Also, it should also prevent runaway processes causing unintended effects.

 

Hello, today i got my new z12x9e and i have some problems with it. Is there any way to regulate the backlit keyboard manually?
And now i mentioned that sony is going to release the z13 this weekend, should i convert my z12? What do you think is it worth the extra bucks?

 

zero point replacing a Z12 with a Z13.

As for your backlight issue, go into Start --> Vaio Control Center --> Display ---> Automatica Brightness Settings and uncheck the auto adjust box

 

I have already checked this setting but you can't turn it on in this menu maybe you have to change a config data. I want to turn the backlit keyboard on manually.

 

oh wow, i need to learn how to read sorry, i somehow read LCD auto brightness setting :\

 

2 finger scrolling - really 2 finger scrolling or the 2 finger jerk that Synaptic comes with? I've installed the 3rd party two finger scroll that others recommend, but it's not quite as good as an MBP.

On another note - has anyone been able to get Synaptic pinch to zoom to work well - it's totally erratic with me.

 

And regarding mikeybrain's previous post. Could anyone shed some light on the available synaptic gestures? The only ones I managed to use are 1) pinch to zoom and 2) two finger back and forward. Rotate etc? Which programs support these if they do really exist? Any others available? Thanks

 

Rotate works in paint, going back in the browser and explorer (slide 2 fingers from right to left), going forward (slide 2 fingers from left to right )

 

So I purchased a Sony Z after much deliberation, and have been playing around with it for a week. Absolutely in love with the system, nice to know that they throw in a free pair of earphones too.

My system: US-VPCZ1290X-LBOM

Component: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
Component: No Mobile Broadband Built-In
Component: Blu-ray Disc™ Player/Burner
Component: Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz
Component: 13.1" VAIO Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080)
Component: Standard Capacity Battery
Component: Adobe Bundle ($448 value)
Component: Premium Carbon Fiber
Component: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Component: 256GB (128GBx2) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology
And they had pair of $100 earphones in the box

Total Cost: $2400

Was a hard choice between this and the acer 3820tg (chinese keyboard was actually a plus for me), but in the end I chose the Sony and am glad I did. Its a beautiful system.

 

my only regret was not going with 256gb ssd, good choice!