TX/TXN series Owners Lounge

I heard that too, from this board that is.. but I think it's easier to upgrade from XP to vista, as I saw on the SONY website there was a bunch of Vista drivers for the old TXN17.. so that make it quit good, since you can switch back and forth and see which OS you like the best. and for my 007 version, I guess the only real difference is the 1.2Ghz vs. the newer 1.33Ghz.. would that be a big difference in speed?

 

Have to agree with Gautam.

If you have an XP CD, have access to the drivers, and know what you're doing, you should be fine.

 

@SoundsGood, Pekkle - Hardware is hardware, and it should take whatever software you throw at it, provided things work on the software end of things. I don't see the difference between a Sony TX and a 20", 11lbs notebook when it comes to how to deal with the OS.

 

Nope, all I had to do was load my UltimateBootCD at boot and run "Active@ KillDisk". I ran it twice just to make sure the hard drive was completely wiped. The single pass wipe only takes 30 minutes on my HP notebook. It takes almost 2 hours to do the wipe on the TXN27N. The HP notebook has the same capacity hard drive as the TXN27N, but the HP's hard drive is 7200rpm.

 

Wow... huge difference!

 

When you format or do a wipe, it's pretty much pure disk I/O. That's where speed of your hard drive definitely comes in.

 

^
That's true. It's probably the best way to see how slow it actually is (besides using it with everyday apps.).

 

Unknown27,

would you care to explain the upgrade process at Sony's Stores? I have accidental coverage, I have a TXN17P/W and I am sick of waiting for my vista express upgrade, and I am not confident that the upgrade will be an easy step up.

Thanks.

 

Are you sure that you want to put Vista in your TXN17? Everyone says that the TX is much faster with XP.
With the acciddental coverage can you exchange your TXN17/W for the latest TXN27?

 

My question to Unknown27 is what is the process to exchange it, since he claims that he had done it already.

Yes, I want a native Vista Install, since I can do a navite XP install myself and I have an image with my retail license already prepared for the TXN17, which will work perfectly in case I don't like Vista.

I am sure that people will say that it is faster go stay with XP and they are semi-right, although I have my own reasons to want something that is supported under the current technology, given that sony has a very screwy way of supporting their drives/apps. Having a XP pro laptop that at the end of the day will not be able to run neither XP pro nor Vista in its entirety is not an option for me, given that I've spent 2.7K already. Good luck with updated XP drives/apps for your TXN1x Series from now on.

This was my last time I fell for M$'s bul**** to go with something with a promise to upgrade.

They should've provided a clean install CD plus the drivers, not an upgrade DVD which by the way we might not even get...

 

I simply just went into SonyStyle and told them my laptop isn't working properly after it fell from my desk. They gave me a credit for how much the old TX was and I paid the difference for a new one oh and you have to buy the replacement plan again since it's only good for one time use. Hope this helps.

 

OK, how's this:

- I bought SZ450N/C
- I buy 3-year accidental warranty
- One month before my warranty expires I slam my SZ on the floor, making sure that it doesn't survive the crash
- After that I take SZ to Sony and they give me credit for how much I payed my SZ almost 3 years ago and they give me option to buy SZ550 (for example) with just 100$ more.

True or false ?

Do they give you new one no matter if the old one is repairable ?

 

Yes they do. You don't pay the $300 for nothing. They are banking on the fact that you won't use their warranty and out of thousands of people purchasing the warranty they make millions.

You can do the same thing with Best Buy, Eb & GameStop. Everything is covered if you buy a warranty.

 

Why didnt you get the 2year accidental and handling warranty? I have the 2 year plan (100$ cheaper)

Would it work?

 

I suppose it would but every time I tell them to add the warranty again they always give me the 3 year. It could be to squeeze as much money as they can from me but there is a 4 year warranty as well. I just don't question it.

I figure that those guys know what I have been doing and what I'm up to so I don't question them and that $100 more to spend is better than spending $2000 more for a new computer. Sort of like a give a little to the company in exchange take a lot. I'm sure the employees know about the loophole as well.

This is how I've done it since the First TX models. I figure $400 for a brand new laptop every year is not bad...=)

 

You're right, it isn't !

Tell me, I bought my laptop February 9th. Can I still buy accidental waranty or am I too late ?

 

That's excellent news. So you say that if i take the TXN27 now the next modell i will take only for 400$ more? How do you find the the TX25? Is workong good with Vista?

Thanks

 

LMAO!! I must be somewhat slow, but I NEVER even thought of this... You guys are brilliant.... I guess an accident is an accident no matter if it's intentional or not. "Sorry... but I got drunk and slung my laptop out of the third floor window... I meant to hit the pool so it would have had a soft landing but it hit the concrete instead and *for some reason* it no longer works."

I always reject the accidental coverage... boy do I feel dumb...

 

Unknown27,

I would assume that it doesn't matter if I got my TX17 from SonyStyle store or from Amazon as in my case. I got the ADH Coverage through sonystyle.com over the phone.

Thanks for the info so far. Very helpful

 

Yeah that's fine....they'll just have to call it in according to your serial number if you don't have a receipt. Enjoy.

 

Received my new TXN27 Vista last week.

I'm moving from a TR3A I had for almost three years, and these are my first impressions:

1- fan noise, incredibly loud for a Sony this price. I also own a Sony desktop, and together with the TR they make absolutely no noise. I read these already happened with previous TX models. Sony should incorporate some new cooling technology into these laptops.

2- not faster than the TR3, maybe because of Vista... Extremely slow hard drive, no matter how many RAM you have, this laptop will definitely feel slow.

3- bad placement of the audio input controls. No built-in microphone and webcam. I would buy them even if they were offered as additionals. Internet chat and videoconferencing has become the # 1 tool for business communications, Sony must understand this. (These features are included in the Dell XPS)

4- missing the right Fn key makes you have to use two hands to scroll down pages

5- Very good battery life, crisp LCD screen, the main reasons to buy Sony

6- Expensive accesories at sonystyle.com, should buy them at CDW or Amazon, check prices

7- Experienced the same problem posted in another thread about the wireless signal showing only 3 bars instead of the 5 I got in XP, with the laptop next to the router

If you are concerned about speed and communications, you should consider the Dell XPS 1210. I tried it but felt it was a little bulky, and the screen too reflective. Anyway it ended being a close race with the TXN.

 

Hi there,

I mostly use a laptop for web surfing, downoloading music/movies, and office stuff. Do you think TXN27 will be slow for these? I would buy SZ cause is more poweful but from the moment i saw the design of TX... How much time does to open a page? How is working TX with Vista?

Thanks.

 

1) I agree. Maybe they should try that new electronic phase cooling. Quiet and as good as water cooling. Not sure how small they can get though.

2) Again, I agree. The hard drive was way too slow. Many hiccups and freezing experiences here with the TXN27N.

3) Audio controls (volume up and down) are placed at the front edge so it's kind of easy to accidentally press them. Sony should put a webcam and microphone into the TX, but it's ok for now. Haven't seen any other notebook this small, with all these features, that also had a webcam and microphone.

4) Didn't have trouble with this. You can scroll websites with the right side of the touch-pad.

5) Battery life is incredible, even with the stock battery.

6) Yes, stupidly expensive.

7) This isn't really a problem. It's just a minor annoyance that hopefully can be fixed with an update.


I don't see how you can compare Dell's XPS with the TXN. The Dell is aimed at a different crowd. Also, XPS 1210 is much too thick and heavy for a 12" notebook.

Uh oh, you spoke out about your TXN. Now you're going to get a barrage of questions (asked by him many times before in other threads) from exetlaios.

 

My thoughts about TXN17P. My fan is relative quite, but I have heard the full speed fan noise, it's a little annoying, but all sony I have owned makes about the same noise. The speed is slow considered with the newer desktop or notebook's standard, but it's very acceptable as you are buying an ultra portable notebook. Sprint EVDO works great, after all what's the point of a Ultra Portable Notebook if you can't get on the net. battery I can't really tell yet, as the time I have tired it, it drops from 100% to 93% in a matter of about 10-15 minutes of usage only with full brightness. the accessories is super expensive, I just got the leather carry pouch, it set me back $150 bucks. but the light weight and portablity and internet ready make this a notebook something I want to use every where I go instead of some ultra high performance notebook that feels like I am lefting weights everytime I take it out, and like a dinosaure every time I put it down. This notebook is great, and it seems to play DVD movies, surf the net, download music and listning to music a breeze.. I just download some 43MB file with my sprint EVDO in less than 5 minutes. can't complain. Now only if Sony can get rid off the HUMP in the keyboard, this computer would have been perfect for me.. it's very annoying to me, with that hump.

Btw, that's with Sony factory installed Windows XP, not a fresh loaded XP, so I would assume if I clean install it, it would be evern faster with no annoying stupid free trial softwares.

 

You got ripped off buying that leather case. You should have bought a ZeroShock case for it instead.

 

Just wish SZ can come in different color as the TX

 

That slate blue TXN29N is one hawt notebook. The blue looks very nice. An employee at my local Fry's opened one up since he was curios as well what the TXN29N's "premium" carbon fiber lid looked like. It also comes with that expensive Sony leather sleeve case that's sold separately as well.

 

Pekke,

How you've managed to flash the EVDO to REV. A in Windows XP? I am still banging my head with this piece of crap not available for XP and Vista not yet in the mail!

 

Hehe, I have yet to flash it to Rev A yet, to be honest, I am not even sure the update on Sony's website is a Rev A or not, because the description only says Vista Compatible and yet, you need a Window Vista to flash it. The only reason I think the new firmware has Rev A was because a fella here says his TXN with Vista is showing Rev A. that's how I assume it. btw, I am a few days past the deadline for the free Windows Vista Express Upgrade. now I am truly stuck with Windows XP. sigh..

If I am you, maybe you can borrow a Windows Vista CD from your friends and install on your TXN so you can flash the firmware, because each Vista has 30days before you need to get it activated and that would be plenty of time for you to flash the firmware.

 

My SlackWare shows the pci device as:

Novatel Expedite ES720 EV-DO cellular modem, rev m6800A raptor_sprint126. EV-DO Revision A

I am still not sure if this whole it is Rev 0 or Rev A is valid.

What are your download speeds?

 

Here is the problem, with EVDO Rev 0, your download speed typical is 400-700kbps while upload is any where from 125-250kbps, and Rev A's download is any where from 500-800kbps while upload is from 200-400kbps. those are the bulk park of the difference, however when I was at work with U720 Novatel USB modem, I was getting 1200kbps+/- and upload was 125kbps and it shows I am in Rev A. now with the Sony's build-in modem, it shows all about the same speed like U720, but it only says EVDO not EVDO Rev A. but my lantency is about 142ms to www.google.com which I believe but don't remember was about the same as U720. So while my download certainly is faster, but my upload was still at Rev 0, no matter what type of card I use. btw, TXN has Rev A card, but people are saying on the TXN1x series it's not enabled, while the TXN2x series, it's been enabled. I can't really tell since my TXN17P has the same speed as my U720 with Rev A enabled, but the speed of upload is just not there.

 

Hate to say, it, but that's right. The ZeroShock is much better.

I don't think there is a market for it. You could always do after market customizations if you wanted to.

 

Pekkle, from what I gather, you are only concerned that the software shows Evdo, not Evdo. A. I wouldn't be worried about this, as long you are getting the same speeds! I will have my TNX27 on Friday and I will report, although I have the feeling that these two cards are identical.

 

Well let me know when you receive your TXN27, I really like the smallness of the TXN, and I am sure you will have the EVDO Rev A, as other people have reported. too bad, I wish I bought my 007 a few days earlier, as the deadline for the Vista upgrade was 3-15-07, now I am stuck with XP for good, unless I bought the vista myself.. So far except the big hump on the keyboard keys, I really like the TXN.

 

To be honest with you, I don't think that we will ever get that upgrade without *****ing about it on the phone first. Then this upgrade is not a clean cut. I've done this upgrade on a HP and the special keys and some drivers simply don't work. I am sure it will be worse with sony, given the way they produce drivers! You can go to esupport.sony.com and see a 'list of known problems' with upgrading.

What saves me in this case is, that I have an clean image of XP that I can slap on the TXN27 and the opportunity to do a clean vista install on a later stage.

As you can see, I am moving away from the TXN17 just for this sole reason!

I believe this is the last time I and many other will fall for this 'upgrade path'

 

For web surfing and downloading it's ok, however if you do some business work it becomes annoyingly slow with 3 to 4 windows of office apps running. It's all due to the hard drive, and it's the price you have to pay for the long battery life and portability. Don't waste money adding RAM.

Noticed the 3 bars instead of 5 in the wireless signal, but it doesn't seem to affect performance.

Vista works OK, seems a bit slower than XP if you use the aero interface. Had to install some programs in compatibility mode, so that they run as if it was XP. Initially had some problems with Office 2003, but it's Ok now. No major problems so far, but agree with other comments that it should be more complicated if you do an upgrade from XP than if you go with the preinstalled version like mine. I'd recommend you get Vista if it is preinstalled, it works fine and you won't have to do the upgrade later.

 

Always do a fresh install. If you use the default install, you have the following problems:

1) MFT$ file is highly fragmented and never optimized. You will need to expand it and optimize it
2) The registry is 39MB which is ludicrous
3) The Swap file is fragmented
4) Most of the AnnoyWare is running services and the CPU is spiking at 100% quite often
5) A lot of services are not needed although enabled i.e. WebClient, Help and Support, etc etc.

The proper way of optimizing these little buggers is to:

1) Install a fresh windows xp/vista
2) update it
3) Install the drivers in the order provided by sony, while restarting the machine after each driver is installed
4) Optimize the registry with a free tool like registry mechanic 5
5) Defrag after each major installation

While comparing the default install of my TX17 with a fresh install, I've noticed that the average cpu utilization over 24h, without any use is 21% on the default install vs 1% on the fresh install. That says it all.

 

Thanks for the tip, normally I would do a clean install, but recently I have really sick and tired of installing my XP and Vista every so often, so I just uninstalled what I found it's annoying in my TXN, and guess what, like you said my CPU was jumping between 45 to 25% and some times even higher without any use of the computer. so I guess it's time to clean install it. btw, since you own both the TXN17 and tomorrow you are going to get your TXN27, can you do me a favor by comparing the hump on the keyboard? for some reason it really bothers me, so either you can compare it by memory recall or you can compare it side by side, if you still have the old TXN17. Thanks a bunch!

EDIT: Can you also point me some where on the website where sony shows you how to clean install XP in TXN17P?

 

The clean install page is: http://esupport.sony.com/EN/osmig/xpclean.html
The driver page is: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNTXN17P7&UpdateType=Everything&SelectOS=7

My new TXN27 seems to have this hump you are talking about, while the TX17 does not. I will evaluate if it touches the lcd and if it does, it goes back today and I will have them overnight me a new one tomorrow!

I am used to repair/return electronics multiple times until I get what I paid for. There are instances where I demand refunds well after 6mo of use just because I haven't paid for junk (anyone with a EVGA 680i motherboard knowns what I am talking about). Value your money dude, you worked for it!

There was an instance back in January when the battery of my T350 stopped charging.

Well, you would say it is an almost 1.5 year old laptop, but I have extended warranty on it. Of course the battery is not covered, although the circumstances were a lot different.

The battery had died once 9 days before the end of the original manufacturer's warranty which is sometime in July 2006 and it got replaced. Funny enough the battery had died in december (5 months into commision) and the screwballs at sony said that they wont support it and all replacable parts have 90 days only. Well, they picked the wrong guy to screw with, so at the end of the day I was overnighted a battery.

FYI: during the life of your TXN it will most likely develop blotches on the screen, the drive will die or the battery will experience some weird memory effect and stop charging. Be prepared to return your laptop to sony and get what you paid 2G for. This is coming from someone who had an

U101, VX505, TR3AP, T350P, TXN17 and now TXN27.


The TXN27 is going back due to the hump and it BSOD'ed on me in 15 minutes of use. I am not even going to troubleshoot it

 

If you take care of your gear, that stuff won't happen. I have a VAIO SRX77P (going on 5 years) and a VAIO FRV25 (had it for 3 years).

Neither have any "blotches" on the screen or dead or stuck pixels. 98% of the time, a dead or stuck pixel will be on the screen already when the laptop leaves the factory. I have an anti-bacterial silicone keyboard cover for both notebooks and a large micro-fiber cloth to put on top of the keyboards for both laptops (to keep their keyboards from coming in contact with the screens). The only "defect" if you can call it I have with either is on the SRX77P. This was actually my fault. I dropped scissors (sharp point down) onto the lid. Both have perfectly fine and fully functional optical drives. I've replaced the hard drives in both with faster hard drives. Yes the batteries don't hold a charge much anymore, but that's expected of any rechargeable battery whether it's a Ni-Cad, NIMH, Li-Ion or Li-Ion Polymer. On a side note, you shouldn't fully discharge Li-Ion or Polymer batteries as that causes copper shunts to form in them and thus killing them. Li-Ion and Polymer batteries like to be topped off and charged often. Also, Li-Ion and Polymer batteries don't suffer / don't get the memory effect. NIMH and Ni-Cads should be discharged before re-charging to keep them from developing those memory effects, but I doubt any laptops these days come with NIMH or Ni-Cads.

 

I think out of all the TXN series, they all have hump. so I am not sure how you escape the first one but BSOD sure means trouble when it's brand spanking new. Let us know how your next one comes out.

Tonight is a reload night for me, wish me luck. no one ever answered what's underneth the hump, would it be the CPU underneth?

 

I don't think anyone wants to tear open their TXN just to see what's under that hump.

 

Is this "hump" only in the latest TXNs? Because it certainly doesn't exist in my TX790P.

 

So far, it looks like the newest TXNs aren't that great, hearing of build quality issues and Vista bogging it down a lot.

I'm waiting for the next Vaio T iteration, the TR came out late 03, T late 04 and TX late 05, but the TX is still kicking and hasnt been replaced yet.

 

Yeah, I hope a new TX model or refresh comes out...soon...

 

There was a reason for the jumps between TR T and the TX.

Sony will stick to the current form factor until later this year because it sells and they don't have any new technology to incorporate and make the machine smaller/thinner, etc.

Think about it:

The TR was thicker and heavier. The extended battery was sticking out big time.

Because they were able to incorporate smaller motherboards and push the battery a bit inside, they were able to refresh the TR series into the T.

They were also able to use a different lamp and migrate from the thicker lid to a 'uneven' thinner lid in the T series

The jump from the T to the TX was due to the new LED technology, the lighter DVD drives and the 'fanless' design due to the higher tolerance for high temps of the Dothan/Yonah cpus.

Currently there is nothing in Sony's bag to 'improve' the TXNs and they will stick to it for at least another 9 months.

In Q3 the ULV merom solos will be released, along with a 9.5mm blu-rey burner. Given that the new ULV solos and duos will support FSB undervolting/speedstep, the temperature statistics will be different. They might be able to do a true fanless laptop and/or push the battery a bit further and make the main chassis a tad thinner.

Until then, you got your refresh TX -> TXN.

 

Sigh, Maybe I should try another computer, because my hump certainly looks obvious, and it seems it's more obvious than the TXN27Ps in the Sony store, so if SonyWhore think his TXN27 is bad, than I think mine is even worse, I need to take a picture of the hump so you guys can see it. I am still within my 14 days, but I hate it when I exchange a computer only to find out the other one has other issues that I wish I kept the old one, so that's why I am so hasten to exchange it.

 

Yes, please post a picture of the keyboard hump if you can. I'd like to see what the humps look like on various models. The TXN27N that I had for a short while didn't really have a noticeable hump. I guess the size of the hump varies between each unit.

 

Looking at the TX pdf, It seems there is really no reason for the hump to be even there, the only thing that's there is the chipset which has no heat sink or anything. the CPU above it has a heat sink however that's not where the hump is.. I am really puzzled, I really want to open it up and see, however I am not very good with notebook disassembly, I wish some one that has more experience with taking apart a notebook would do this. anyways.. I am going to attach some pictures to show you the hump, I am not sure if the picture is going to speak for itself. but you guys can make comments as if this is bad or not. Also I can see with flash light that it's barely touching the screen when closed. I really wish I can just get a perfect notebook, at least from the appearance point of view.

 

The hump on your keyboard is around the s,d,f area right? That's where mine was on the TXN27N. If it's touching the screen, I'd send it back for another. If the replacement has a hump that's just as bad then maybe wait for the next TXN or whatever replaces it OR if you're really patient, just keep exchanging until you get one that has a good keyboard.

The TXNs came out late '06 right? DirectX 10 is one of Vista's requirements and one of the features that Santa Rosa will bring is integrated graphics that support DX10. Paul Otellini also said during IDF that Santa Rosa has lower power requirements.

I think Sony will release an update or replacement for the TXN series later this year that will have Santa Rosa.


If anyone is interested here's where I got the TXN keyboard cover:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7535819486/002-1695464-5616038

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320083355512

They're both pretty much the same. They cover just the keyboard though, not the touch pad. You can just lay them over the keyboard or use the transparent adhesive (very thin pieces along the left and right edges) to keep them in place.

The microfiber cloth the size of the TXN's screen is here:

http://www.shaggymac.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_5&products_id=91

10% off coupon (not sure if it still works, but worth a try):
taketen