Sony Vaio Z i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

I'm having the same problem as you. When your vaio screen starts to turn black after viewing full screen videos, how do you switch your vaio off I usually remove the battery and put it back in because when i press the power button, it doesn't work.

 

Press and hold the power button - after about 5 seconds, the system should turn off. Make sure the power button is firmly depressed for the 5 seconds - it is a stiff button, and can pop out if you aren't applying enough pressure.

-Peter

 

Thanks for the advice. When I encounter the BLACK SCREEN OF DEATH again, I'll try to hold the power button for more than 5 sec:smile:

 

Looks like the BluRay drive in my Z1 just took a dirt nap (Mata UJ242AS).

I was doing a clean install and the drive started clicking and the install errored out.

After this, I loaded a clean copy of WIN7 from USB. The BR drive shows up in device manager, auto-powers off and ejects fine. It doesn't spin any type of disc at all, just clicks as the read/write head moves up and down.

I think the motor died.

Looks like I'm calling Sony tomorrow

 

Thanks guys

 

sorry to hear that. call during the regular hours tom and it will be routed to cali. Good luck zoinks...!

Look at this link. either the macbookpro 13 inch or the macbookair skin should match ours with little modification.
http://www.bestskinsever.com/other-stuff/laptops

 

??? who u talking to, bro?


@ccozmo : np

 

I've actually tried Windows Media Center. You need to purchase a portable TV Tuner for your Z (via USB) and you can use your Z as a TV. Also, you can record programs directly to your Z like a DVR. I had problems with Windows scanning all the digital channels, so I used the software that came with the tuner and it worked - the sad part is it doesn't create titles for you like Windows Media Center does. I gave up trying to resolve Windows Media Center scanning all channels so I returned the tuner.

If you decide to use the feature, you have to keep your Z in sleep mode, never in "shut down" mode, otherwise it won't record your programs. If recording multiple programs, you can elect to shut down your Z after the very last program set for recording.

If you send in your Z to the Sony Service Center, good luck receiving it in the same condition you sent it in. My previous Vaio came back with all sorts of scuff marks and scratches - on the lid and underneath, especially.

 

Yeah, they can mess stuff up. They mangled my SZ170 when I sent it in for repairs. Ironically, I put it in the shop for a bad DVD drive that time as well.

I might try installing the BR reader from my Z591 to avoid problems. It's a horrifically expensive part, so I'm a bit conflicted.

 

I emailed bestskinsever.com trying to persuade them to make a palmrest skin for the Z due to demand.

If a few others email them as well that could help speed up the cause. I'm confident they can make a skin for the Z fairly quickly before any discolorations begin on the palmrest.

Cheers.

 

They'd still need a laptop to get the measurements.

The touchpad is permanently attached to the palmrest, so it's all or nothing.

Still, I'm very interested in a precision cut solution, just not jazzed about sending the machine out to either Zagg or BSE.

 

I'm hoping bestkins can go to a Sony store and just "borrow" one to make a mold for the skin. Fortunately, the strong sales of the Z should help bestskins to decide to make one fairly quickly.

Sorry to hear about your BR.

 

Yeah i know, i will call Sony tomorrow since i will have the machine back my friend working on it, i am just going to call them and get another new disc from them because the ones i made from their vaio care didn't work at all it failed.

 

how about the battery life and heat?? does the i7 have more battery life and heat less often???

 

i see no option to turn on or off two fingered scrolling ... is there something i'm missing?

 

I did not do a through test cuz I din have the time to.. But battery life was more on the lappy with i5. I cannot exactly remember the numbers but i think the i5 had at least 1 more hour on full charge as compared to the i7 on full charge, though i think someone posted that power consumption difference should not be that much.

heat is almost the same on both sets ie. will be warm to the touch on stamina mode but much warmer and noisier (whirling of fan) when i play games on speed mode. But not to the extend it will "scorch someone's thighs "

 

hmpf... anyone noticed a small 'click' when closing the lid (somewhere near the left hinge)? the faster you close the lid the louder it gets.

 

no.... mine's silent..

 

hm... crap.

 

In your email correspondence, you can point them to my protective film thread. 24 people said they would buy a kit like this. At $39.99, it's only $840. I'm not sure where the break-even point is for them from a profit perspective.

The multi-touch settings are in the advanced options.

 

Ditto for me, silent . If you remove the keyboard cover, you should be able to identify where the noise is coming from. The hinge mechanism is pretty basic. Sounds like some plastic part is catching.

 

Control panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Mouse -> Device Settings -> Settings

In there, there are various settings but no multi-touch, am I in the wrong place? Thanks for the help.

On a much more ominous note, I just noticed something verrrrry strange...

Front left corner of my Z is about half a cm off the table. I have had the Z on a USB cooling device most of the time so didn't notice before. This means it rocks as I type ... has anyone else noticed this?

It seems as though the laptop has almost been bent! Weird!

 

I don't have my Z1 with me right now, but here is a pic of the control panel. Search this thread for specifics, it has been described several times.

 

My new Z11 i7 (VPCZ11C5E) just arrived.

Very very nice indeed, but.......................

surely I'm very dumb with Vaio but I cannot see any CD/DVD reader/burner (I can't do initial system save) and I cannot see any devices that I inserted in USB port nor external mouse nor USB flash memory.

Is there a hidden function to abilitate those devices ?

Auto, Stamina, Speed.
The swicth moves in 3 position but if I put it in Stamina green stamina led is light on, if I put switch in Speed mode Stamina led remains light on....is it regular ?
In other words switching from Stamina to Speed and viceversa nothing happens, more... in Computer devices, under Video I can only see Intel graphics Media Accelerator and none Nvidia 330...why ?

 

I don't think it's something serious. There are cables going through the hinch and it sound like these cables just 'flip over' when the lid is closed.

I have to open it anyways for applying the cover so i will take a look it it.

As the i5 / i7 discussion is rising again i did a quick passmark run @i5 540M 4GB 256GB:

 

After disinstalling Norton Backup and McFee antivirus and after 2 reboot Nvidia GeForce 330 is reappeared, I see USB devices (external mouse and Flash mem and I see CD/DVD drive.

I will continue in discovering this new machine and I will publish some test and foto/video.

 

What got me on this kick is I bought eyeTV for my Macbook Pro and also got the eyeTV app for my iPhone. It really works great. I can be away from home and as long as eyeTV is running on my Mac I can watch all of my cable channels on my iPhone. There is even a web page called live3g.eyetv.com where you can log in and watch TV via 3g or wifi anywhere, as long as eyeTV is running on your Mac at home. Only problem is it only works with Macs, so if I had bought a Macbook Air instead of a Sony Z I could watch any of my cable channels anywhere in the US as long as I was in a 3G area. Hopefully they will make software to include PC's soon. At least I can watch TV on my iPhone anywhere meanwhile...

By the way I got the "eyetv hybrid" USB dongle at the Apple store, which accepts a cable TV cable on one end and has a USB on the other end to plug into the Mac; that is how all of what I am saying is done.

Wonder if there is a similar way you can get your PC laptop to do the same thing; watch TV cable channels anywhere by 3g. Slingbox? Happauge? may have to look into it.

 

I'm really getting annoyed when the BLACK SCREEN OF DEATH appears on the Vaio when I'm watching Full screen videos. Does anyone has a solution to this problem?

So far, i've noticed that these people are also experiencing the same issue!
Hollywood
freedom16

Anyone else getting a Black screen when viewing Full screen videos?

PLEASE PLEASE ANYONE?

 

U mean blue screen of death ?

 

I have not had this problem.
I'm curious, do you use the hdmi port? I don't and I wonder if those who get this are watching video thru hdmi?
Or perhaps there is some other thing that those who have this problem, have in common.
Did you overclock your gt330? or perhaps using the latest nvidia driver and not the Sony?

 

Nop, I'm not watching through the HDMI port. Its just that when I view Full screen videos, sometimes a black screen comes up and becomes UNSTABLE. I can't even switch my Vaio off with the power button!

I didn't overclock my GPU and the Nvidia Display driver I'm using is 197.16.

Perhaps there is something wrong with this driver? Please correct if i'm wrong.
I think I'm going to cry if this problem doesn't soon get resolved:cry:

 

Official Nvidia driver for Sony VAIO VPC-Z1 is 188.80. 197.16 is not supported hence (most likely) the cause of your problem.

How did you install 197.16?

 

Everytime I connect my Z to the AC power adapter, it restarts. Can anyone tell me how to fix this problem?

Thanks!

 

Which application are you using? Did you try, say, VLC?

 

Anyone interested in getting one of these for the Z? Bit pricey thou.

Super Talent's USB 3.0 SuperCrypt thumbdrive reviewed, Cryptkeeper approves -- Engadget

 

I must off accidently installed it from their Official Nvida Drivers website. So how do I get Nvida Driver 188.80? Can anyone else confirm that they got this driver?
Please could you or anyone give me a link for driver 188.80?

Its not just VLC, whenever I view full screen 1080p or 720p videos on Youtube or Windows Media player, sometimes my screen completely turns BLACK.

 

Hello, i'm new owner of vaio z11.
I just can say ... woooww. I knew that its good, but now i see that its better that i expected.
Just few disadvantages: Very bad speakers for such laptop and a little bit free battery (i knew about all disadvntages before i bought it, so its not very big surprise for me)
Im just to lazy to do clean or semiclean win7 reinstall, so im trying just uninstall unnesesary programs.
Can i uninstall vaio gate, vaio media plus and vaio window organizer???

 

Not sure which region you are in but this video driver should work.

Sony eSupport - VPCZ11FHX/XQ - Software Updates & Drivers

Once you have downloaded the driver uninstall the 197.16 driver first (go to Control Panel/Programs and Features) then install the one from Sony.

Good luck

 

I'm getting this website where you must put in your actual laptop model number. Don't know much about these things though.
Sony eSupport - Computers - Notebook - Select Your Model
Edit: same as above post.

 

Thanks guys Im now trying to install 188.80. Lets see what happens next....

 

New owner too.
I agree: very bad integrated speakers.
I resolved with very small external speaker: very acceptable sound IMHO.

YouTube - M4H00412.MP4

I uninstalled all external stuff: Norton, McFee and I set that all other Vaio "utilities" didn't start automatically.

With original 188.80 I had never experienced black screen seeing HD video with VLC full screen

 

Ok, ive install Nvidia Driver 188.80 and now when I start windows, the following thing always comes up on my screen. I click on run and nothing happens. I started windows again, and the same intel thing comes up again. What should I do now?

 

Hey guys, so I finally got my Vaio Z (after missing two delivery attempts >.<)

So I've been playing with my Vaio Z, made the recovery discs, played Bad Company 2 =), etc.

I was wondering how I could remove the recovery partition without doing a fresh install.

Also, on medium settings, Bad Company 2 averaged about 35 fps, but during more intense scenes it would drop down to about 7... I tried overclocking the gpu with MSI Afterburner, but it didn't work, every time I tried to save the new clock speeds, they'd revert back to the default. Do I need to prep the GPU settings or something? I didn't try using Rivatuner yet, but I will when I get home tonight.

In any case, this laptop is amazing! It stays surprisingly cool and it just zips through everything without breaking a sweat(or making me sweat either) =þ.

 

If you are finding difficult to overclock your GT330m, I suggest you use EVGA Precision. Heres a link EVGA | EVGA Precision | EVGA Precision I find it very reliable and its easy to overlcock

Make sure you connect your AC adapter to your Vaio before you overlcock your GPU.

 

Most drivers in W7 have a rollback option to the previous version.

 

Help please! Is this a common problem? I'm just getting frustrated with the issue.

 

Try doing it with the switch in speed mode, then try it in stamina mode. See if there is any change.

 

No. I don't believe it's common. I haven't heard of it before.

Do you mean the computer instantly reboots and windows restarts?

Does it matter whether you are in Stamina, or Speed, or Auto mode?

Does it do it even on a fresh boot up or only after some particular app has run?

Does it happen when you un-plug as well?

If it doesn't do it when you un-plug, does it do it when you re-plug in or only when first plugging in?

One possiblity, if you have it on Auto mode, that jumping to the nvidia drivers is killing your windows. You might try this by manually switching the speed switch.

Another possiblity is that somehow the dvd drive coming on is killing you. You can test this by setting it so it doesn't turn off when in battery mode (or else, I suppose by pressing the drive eject button while unplugged)

Continuing along that line of inquiry, you could see what else is set to turn on/off when you plug/unplug. And narrow it down by setting each of those things to "power" mode and narrowing it down that way.

 

Hi folks,

I received my Z on Friday and have spent a happy (Bank Holiday) weekend playing with it. I noticed the rippling effect on my screen when opening/closing the lid (one place at the bottom edge and one place on the left edge), and the bottom right corner ripples when the laptop is placed on my lap (on a book) and I shake it accidently. Having trawled through the forum I am guessing that the screen flexibility is a design feature but I am not clear on whether the screen rippling is normal.

I don't mind the screen rippling as it only occurs when I move the lid. I am looking for reassurance that this will not turn into a problem down the line. Any comments?

Thanks.

 

In my knowledge it is not a common problem.

Unwanted reboot can be caused by electrical spikes generated by high current absorption.

How do you connect power: first to the laptop or prior to the main AC ?

Try using an adapter with a switch and connect everything then turn on the switch.

The battery is it inserted ? How is the state of charge of the battery ?