Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

The Firewire option is available in other countries, I have it. However, like TPM, I've so far not used it, although I'm pretty sure I have a Firewire device somewhere...

Edit: Ok I think it was an old external drive enclosure that has the Firewire interface, though it's using old IDE so I guess that's not very useful now...

 

ZoinksS2k, I haven't done a restore or a fresh install, and I've noticed that I get about 17 cursor blinks during boot up. That's not as slow as your slow post from the thread, but seems to be slower than others' experience. You think I should contact Sony? My Z11 is just under 30 days old.

 

I bought the top of the line Z12, the enterprise version, sold from Sony Business and NO TPM.

 

perfectly put

 

Thanks for confirming that doesn't work

 

It seems to be an Intel Wireless driver issue. Try this possible fix as I have from Sony (new driver), I'm still testing it to see if it resolves the "Black Screen of Death" issue.

Give it a try as well and post your findings, thanks.

Confirm Download

 

I ordered the z1290 as listed in my signature last week. When I spoke with Sony today they said it should ship on Friday. With express shipping I might see this machine next week. I'm looking forward to the boot up and shut down time improvements.

USB 3: I saw a link for a pc express card adapting to USB 3 the other day. I bet you could find it with a search. That's a sound way to get 1 USB 3 port if you're not using the express card slot already.

 

Thanks. Will give it a try Would be surprised if it works

 

I was wondering if Norton Internet Security 2010 has a huge performance impact on the vaio z? Did anyone experience a performance decrease when using this Norton antivirus software?

 

To paraphrase an old slogan:

Friends don't let friends use Norton.

(how 'bout try Windows Security Essentials instead?)

 

Hmmmm......Interesting

Heard the same phrase when someone told me:
'Friends don't let friends shop at Best Buy'

Does Windows Security Essentials include antivirus?

 

My Z128 (purchaed in New Zealand) has the TPM chip.

 

After years of using the older versions of Noton, then Zone Alarm, I have Norton 2009/2010 on 4 laptops for a year. It is light, unintrusive and effective. Stopped a few attacks and trojan dowloads when I look ar Google images. Google images can be dangerous by the way.

 

I am using Norton and it runs like a dream still!

 

I'm using Norton Internet Security 2010 and it didn't have a problem on my previous Dell 6400 laptop, I don't think it's affecting my Sony Z.

But I am experiencing lag and freeze up of about 3 seconds when I sometimes move icons around or the cursor. Both cores jump to almost 50% each when doing this after it stops both cores drop down to 10-15% each a drastic difference. This happens in Auto mode and Stamina mode and a little in Speed mode. It shouldn't happen at all in any mode really. I have 50% of Ram remaining when this happens so plenty of ram left for operations.

Any info with other users appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Welcome!

I'm wondering why TPM is not available here in the US. Does this have to do with Homeland Security? I suppose not having bad guys' hard drives encrypted makes it easier to figure things out...

 

I can't get HDMI audio output to work. Is there supposed to be a second audio device for it?

 

Uninstall it and get Security Essentials from Microsoft.

 

I'm also experiencing unexpected shut downs with my computer plugged in.

The error message I receive is as follows:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 1000009f
BCP1: 0000000000000004
BCP2: 0000000000000258
BCP3: FFFFFA8004168040
BCP4: FFFFF80000BA2740
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 768_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\071410-18704-01.dmp
C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-27502-0.sysdata.xml

Read our privacy statement online:
Windows 7 Privacy Statement - Microsoft Windows

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

Anyone else with this issue?

 

My SR-390 with Windows 7 Home has it.

 

So the Z will use AC power even with battery in? Didnt know this, from Sony: It is recommended to leave the battery in a notebook computer when running on AC power. The computer will default to using AC power even though the battery is left installed. An advantage is the battery will remain fully charged. Also, if AC power is interrupted, the notebook will automatically switch to battery power and remain powered on.

View Document

 

My slow post has gotten better after factry reset, from 30 blinks to 12, and getting less.

 

It comes from old PSA ads from the early 1980s: Friends don't let friends drive drunk.

 

That's great, I'm always hitting 22 blinks on start up. I may have to do a factory reset as well. 22 blinks is a bit too much but i don't turn my Z off to many times.

Anyone else getting less than 12 blinks during start up? I'd like to know, thanks.

 

I have the same problem every once in a while. Also, my Z-Series freezes and I see the hard drive light on for a while before seeing the blue screen. It seem to be always linked to having flash-based webpages on chrome or firefox (tried both).
Usually, after that blue screen or complete lock-up, when I restart the pc the Intel Rapid Storage utility says that one of the SSDs failed, but I just reset it on the application and it works as before.
Apart from that, the computer will from time to time have a small freeze of about 3 seconds, when the cursor doesn't move, and then it moves again.
Anyone has any ideas as of what's really causing these lock-ups and blue screens?

My config is i7-640M, 6gb RAM, 192GB SSD; 1080p; blu-ray; tpm; 3 USB; windows 7 pro 64bit

 

I am getting around 5 only, have not done anything to make it so. Did not factory reset or do a clean install.

 

Subman, thanks for posting your experience. It helps determine if I'm an isolated incident and I'm not.

I've sent an email to Sony's advanced customer solutions for what I hope is a quick and accurate answer to these issues.

Cheers.

 

ahh man .. starting to get the palm rest issues (color turning darker) -_-. Seems it's not prepared for heavy usage (aka 3 months x 8-10 hours a day)

 

for those who are experiencing mouse lock-ups :
I installed the last drivers for synaptics (I think it's 15.2.etc, don't remember well and I'm not on my Z now) and I've also upgraded intel RST (the drivers from intel website doesn't seem to be the latest available)
I did the two upgrades simultaneously so I don't know which one is relevant but I definitively have less mouse freeze. And I think It completely disappeared...
hope this helps

 

anyone seen or bought one of these? It seems that it might fix the main issue I have with the laptop... lack of hdd space

2nd hard drive or SSD caddy for Sony VAIO Z (replace optical) [OBHD9-SATA-SATA-B] - $42.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

 

This is the case with all laptops, since their inception.

 

Vote here if you canned your Z -> http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/500046-who-else-returning-their-vaio-z11-z12.html I've had it!

 

I'm supposed to try my HDMI output one of these days. In case I'm blabbing nonsense, hopefully this post serves as a bump...

Did you try looking at the playback devices (right click on Volume icon in taskbar), and see if any HDMI-related devices show up?

 

Hi guys,

I've done a complete review & benchmark of my Sony Vaio Z12 here : Vaio Z12 review .

It's in French but you'll be able to understand most of the benchmarks thanks to the screenshots. I'm comparing to AlienWare m11x of a colleague & my Lenovo W500. I've got the Core i5 540m 8 Go 256 Quad-SSD in Carbon Premium.

Enjoy !

Bye,

David

 

Great review; shame about the poor English

 

OK, I guess you should tell us why.

 

That's for the old N-Z and not the current C-Z. They have said they are working on a new faceplate. You can also go generic for $12, it'll have a gap. I prefer to think of it as an extra vent.

 

seems to be a little over-sensitive

 

Yes, of course, but that's the problem, I don't see any other device.
I've used two other laptops with HDMI and they both showed a second audio device for HDMI. On one of them, I had to switch the default audio device to HDMI, on the other it switched automatically.

The user guide says on page 201:

 

Is this only related to the Black and not the Silver? I have the Silver and so far there's been no discoloration. Does anyone with the Silver experiencing wear/discoloration on their palmrest? Thanks.

 

Hey guys,

new member here. Just ordered my new i7 Z today. I am very excited. I was hoping you guys might be able to point me to some of the cooler cases on the market. I am typically a Mac owner so the Sony world is new to me. Thanks for the help.

 

I vaguely remember someone saying the other device may need to be set up to allow for audio via the HDMI input, does that make any sense?

 

I've had both an i5 and i7 and even though the Z has issues, i think the fact that the 1080 resolution was too high and i had to zoom in and out became the icing on the cake that made everything else stand out. I had a Z11 with i5 and only 4 gigs of ram 1600x900 and everything ran very smooth. then i got the i7 6 gigs and 1920x1080 and things felt slower. So I'm started to wonder if these i7's are a bad batch or if the higher pixels might be the cause but i'm def not blaming the ram. Logically you would think the 1meg less cache i5 would be slower but it wasn't.. at this point on my repurchase i'm considering dumping the extra $150 into the 8 gig setup and going with an i5 1600x900 any thoughts??

 

Not much. I will contact Sony and see what they have to say.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but overall isn't the i5 with the standard 1600x900 display a little better that the hi-res i7 in a few ways?

i5 with standard res will have better battery life, run a little cooler so fans run less often, much easier to read fonts too.

 

Is the Z12 1600x900 display better than on the Z11 models or the same?

I'm still convinced my Z11 with 1600 x 900 res has a bad display. I've calibrated it and still it still seems difficult to read from or use for long hours.

It's hard to describe, it's like the contrast is off, there's a sheen or fuzziness, the screen seems faint and hard to read especially on a light or white background. I've turned down the brightness and done everything I can thing of. My Z a few years back had a better screen than this one,

I can't understand why a lower resolution 13" MBP can have a better, crisper, easier to read screen....

I'm not sure if I should call Sony and see if they'll send out a service person, but what is the service person likely to do, swap out my notebook or replace the screen, trying calibrating it?

Anyone else had concerns with their displays? What did you do to solve the problem?

Thanks!

 

I think there is an option in the screen settings called clear type if you enable it things might look a little better and fonts look more bold.

 

I would describe the display exactly oppositely. It's too bright, too contrasty and too vibrant. I say it's "harsh". I've cranked the brightness and saturation way down to compensate.

 

Well first off, I've got a delivery date of Jul 20. It shipped today! I think I'll be working from home that day.

The more I read about the mix reviews on the 1080p display the more I'm glad I had my experience with the 900p display on my z555 to know that 900p is the limit for me in this form factor, notwithstanding the fact that more pixels correlates with slower gaming performance.

 

I've been using NIS 2010 since the betas. It's is much slimmer than previous versions and I'm happy with it.

MS Security Essentials is REALLY small and works well too. However, it isn't compatible with the new Win7 SP1 beta. I had to uninstall it to apply the beta service pack. I was using an early, but updated version of MSSE so it may just be a problem with my install.

As for the SP itself, meh. It is great to have a roll-up of all the Win7 patches, but the SP isn't anything earth shattering, and it is beta.