VAIO TZ Owner's Thread

I would have to agree there! It took them 15 minutes to find me a battery at the sony style store in denver, when i had called beforehand to verify they had it in stock! They're very disorganized!

 

Hi, Appreciate if you could share with me how to step the memory speed to 533MHz. I just got mine today and ever since it has been having blue screen many times. I am wondering is it because of the memory compatibility. I already went for exchange once. It is very frustrating. Hope someone could help me please. Thanks.

 

how much slower? anyone know specs on this?

 

sorry, should have been more specific. i understand an internal ssd would be way faster than an expresscard SSD, but i was wondering if anyone knew the transfer rate of the expresscard SSD as compared to, say, an external HDD or a non-SDD internal HDD

 

go to control panel -> VAIO Control Center-> Categories TAB
then go to POWER management->Performance-> choose the 533 tab-> click okay then reboot

When i changed the memory speed to 533 the blue screen of death went away forever. IN your case if the 533 tab is already higlighted choose the 400 Mhz might work in your case.

 

Amen! And I don't think all Sony staff are like that, I just feel here in Canada Sony treats us in general like a third-world country and feeds us only certain configurations. I mean Japan had SSD a year ago, why not give us the option, or at least some options?

 

Thank you so much. alfa

 

last few days, I am experiencing weird sounds coming from inside of my TZ (from HDD area). In details, it sounds like "beep" "click" and re-spinning the hdd. Anyone knows whats wrong? I have BIOS R0071N7, running XP...

 

Typically that noise is made by HDDs that can't spin up to their appropriate RPM.
Normally it results from a failure of either the motor, the bearing or the rpm-detection.
"Bee" is the spinup. Then the HDD recognizes that its not spinning high enough and does a L2-check: The R/W-heads move to a special track for speed measurement. (this could overrule the electromagnetic tachymetre from the motor) When its done, the heads move back to "parking-position" and you hear the "click". The drive spins down ("BBSSIIIIIIIIUUUUuuuuuuu u u u u") and starts with another procedure ("Beep").

Normally this is a warranty-case. Neither Thoshiba nor Sony take over for any data-loss. There are companys that can read out the Data from a broken HDD just by setting the Spin-metre to "ignore" and copying down anything on the HDD, without any guaranty that the files are correct. EXPENSIVE!

On an old, (warranty expired) HDD You could also twist the upper and lower screws that hold the bearings and tighten them again. Worked 3 times in my case! (once with an old Seagate-Baracuda, once with my sister's Ipod HDD and last time with one of those "DEATH-stars..." er.... "Deskstar")

 

Now I'm having a worrisome problem with my TZ.
All disks I have put into the drive are getting circular scratches near the discs's edge, some scratched more than others. Totally scratched and ruined the recovery discs I made from it.

I don't think I had been tilting the laptop. I'll try some useless discs to make sure.
I hope I was accidentally tilting it and it isn't scratching discs.

 

I too hope this was due to tilting! Would make a lot of sense... Let us know!

 

On the upper or lower surface?

AFAIK there is one screw that could reach into the disk's keep-out-area when it gehts untight!

I'm talking about the screw the left screwdriver-tip is pointing on. Check if it is not tight enough. Maybe they did not put sufficient lock-tite on it

 

All the discs I've put into my TZ have been scratched on the bottom. I'm busy with work right now, need to put some useless discs to test to make sure I hadn't tilted the laptop while it was reading the discs but yeah, the scratches are the same on my discs, circular on the edges. I hope its just my mistake and not Sony's.

I may have had the laptop slightly tilted when reading the discs but even then, the severe circular scratches seem unusual.

 

This is excellent news! Thank you for sharing.

 

Hi rahulnirmal!
To me the solution sounds quite logical that the left upper screw that holds the DVD-drive untightened itself and scratches the DVDs by looking out of its hole too far. Look at my pic. The DVD-slide is slided out 80% to the right. The drive has no casing! It's built into the computer with a helping frame to the sides. But only this particular screw could reach into the drive!
Check if this could be the explenation.
I have tilted my computer now several times (slightly). But: NO SCRATCHES ON ANY DISCS!
Please show us a foto of one of those scratched disks!

Happy hunting for your troubleshooting-sessions,
Johannes

 

I am wondering if I can change the cpu on my tz?I have the model with the core solo and am wanting the dual core. My cpu is 1.33 vgn-txn27cn
thanks in advance.

 

tz doesnt come in core solo only in celeron M and core 2 duos

 

You say TZ at first and then mention a TXN model. Anyways, both use ULV processors which are soldered instead of socketed (same with LV chips), so they are next to impossible to upgrade. I did hear of one person upgrading a Vaio's ULV processor but he had specialized equipment.

 

Hmm, on a semi-unrelated note, if one of my HDDs in my desktop is doing the whine/click sond and dance, should I replace it asap?

 

Uhh yeah, might be the 'click o' death'. Run the SMART tests on it using any utility like Speedfan. It should give you the health of the HDD and if it's failing.

 

I've found SMART to be unreliable. If you have the money and time, just replace it.

 

Please excuse my ignorance as I'm a novice. That said, I h ave a new sony tz185n, and it is a great computer for travelling. I have a weird question. An alarm and or bell keeps going off, sounds like church bells and I can't figure out where this is coming from.

Can you point me in the right direction to address this

Thanks

R Russo

 

thanks for the heads up. as always, NBR rules

 

Newbie Question - So I'll hopefully keep it short'ish...

I've been reading this and some of the other threads related to the TZ (some great info and debate) and have finally decided to order a recently released UK model (TZ32 - 1.33Ghz U7700, 64Gb SSD) and not the Japanese or US models as I had originally intended to.

This decision is for a number of factors but in essence I would prefer the WWAN to be usable (I had been watching a thread where someone was trying to re-use the Jap spec WWAN in the UK, but a working solution hasn't yet been posted), and also wanted a longer warranty period without the issues associated with returning units using International FedEx etc.

Anyway I have one quck question re the motioneye cam, do all TZ's have .3Meg cameras or are they all now ship with 1.3Meg units? The US spec states 1.3M, but the new UK/Europe models still state 0.3M?

Many thanks in advance.

 

I'd say: ask the retailer.
I have the .3mP-version (Japanese 09'07-version) and it is excellent regarding fps and light/colordepth (which are most important for high mobility comunication). You'll never make movies with that webcam!

Hehe... who wouldn't understand that? Another problem is: Sony is only taking over warranty-repairs, if the ORIGINAL JAPANESE OPERATING SYSTEM is installed with Sony drivers and applications. They say that any extra costs and riscs due to a foreign OS-language (and English is foreign) aren't taken over by SONY. In other words: no warranty, no repair. When I tried to get German drivers here from Vaio Germany, they rejected ANY service... They didn't even tell me that the German VGN-TZ11VN/X-drivers are the default-drivers for the TZ90HS-series, with not even a model-check-feature on the applications/drivers.
Luckily we have NRF!!!

 

Guys, will TZ be able to get to 10 hours battery life with these specs?

1.2GHz
2GB RAM
64GB SSD
and big bulky battery

 

Where on any Sonystyle.com site does it state the US version gets 1.3megpix cameras? I am searching for definitive proof. Even the Sonystyle Japan site states the new TZ come with 0.3megpix camera. Where did you see it?

 

Hi Raja, just reading straight off the TZ section on sonystyle.com;

VAIO® TZ Series Notebook - Premium ModelIntel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor U7700 (1.33GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Business

Series Features: 11.1" LCD XBRITE-HiColor™, Sprint® Mobile Broadband Wireless WAN, 1.3M camera, Bluetooth®, fingerprint sensor
Upgrade Features: Hybrid 64GB Solid State Drive, 250GB hard drive, external DVD±R/RW DL optical drive

When you actually go to the so-called specification pages (and the TZ user guide) however there's actually no direct mention of any spec at all....

I might be just missing something obvious but it does appear that the latest US TZ's are deffo using 1.3M MotionEye cameras??

 

Hi johannes-77, much appreciate your answer. Agreed re the cameras abilities, I don't see us filming Tron II using one of these guys even at 1.3M!!

I purchase quite a high volume of IT equipment and have a long history of buying many previous model Vaios FS/BX/SZ'z etc, some of which have the motion eye camera but only 0.3M.

We have major issues whilst running these under low-level artificial lighting and this causes us problems for our UC video calls (this varies greatly from unit to unit on similar model ranges - some good, some bad, none great).

The issue has been so bad that we now provide external cameras for our users, a real shame as it defeats the purpose of having the camera in the first place.

As to the warranty issues it sure is confusing, and I wouldn't fancy having to keep a copy of the JP OS build purely to re-image and return to them in the event of a failure - real shame that Sony can't have a 'real' worldwide warranty as per some other manufacturers?

This isn't meant to be a dig at Sony, just a real comment from a users perspective (otherwise I wouldn't continue to buy dozens of units each year, and still think they're some of the best kit available ).

Gazza

 

The longest time I have been able to squeeze out of the big battery is 7.5 hours. The Sony spec is inflated, as are most manufacturers' specs.

U.S. site often gets specs wrong, it's only a 0.3MP camera.

 

I remember reading in the SSD replacement thread for the TZ that the SSD purchased had to have a ZIF connector. Does the same apply for standard HDDs? for example, if a 4200rpm person wanted to upgrade to, say, a 7200rpm HDD, would it also need the ZIF connector? if so, does anyone know where to find such HDDs? trying to balance the idea of speeding up my HDD a bit w/ the capacity and price considerations of going SSD.

 

just kidding after all. it looks like a 1.8'' HDD @ 7200 doesn't exist. so if it's just between the 4200 or an 32GB SSD @ $600... might just wait it out.

 

Just checked the site and you are right, but now, even the older models are showing as having 1.3megpix cameras. e.g. VGN-TZ170N/N
Have they updated the older models by just changing the camera? (I don't think so, but they might have?) Or is it a printing error?
I know it's just a camera and not that important, but I just want to get the facts right.

 

would this SSD work in the TZ? not sure if it has a zif connector yet, but if it doesn't, would it be possible to just get a zif connector somehow?

 

you can buy a 1.8 5400 rpm samsung if you want its around 200ish

 

hm, would there be a significant increase in performance from 4200 to 5400?

 

yup not as much as a ssd but there would be a big diffrence

 

here are the specs on it its 120gb
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/productmodel.do?group=72&type=60&subtype=68&model_cd=266&tab=fea
seen a seller on ebay selling it just search for the model #

 

thanks for the heads up. i searched ebay w/ no success... but i'll keep my eyes peeled.. do you know if that model can come w/ the zif connector? i didn't see that on the samsung specs page...

 

danybui81 - just found your other thread on the samsung 1.8 5400... have you done that replacement yourself? where did you find the performance improved most (app startup, in/out of sleep, rebooting?)?

 

nah i havent bought it yet im still using the stock 4200rpm im still debating

 

Can somebody tell me how to remove the VAIO Productivity bar above the Vista task bar? Thxs.

 

Gents,

Anyone got the driver for the globetrotter HSDPA modem I could get hold of for the TZ21WN/B (UK version of the 190)?

Regards
Dom

 

can anyone verify for sure that this SSD from dvnation fits the TZ?

 

It should fit - 1,8" and ZIF conector

 

Is it just me or do the screens/hinges on these TZ's get a little loose after a little break in? like every time I set it down the screen wobless a little but not lie shaking it's like it still is solid, but shakes a little almost because everything is so small and thin as if it is not strong enough to NOT shake. Is this just a problem with me? I am moderately afraid the hinges will eventually snap or come super loose :s

 

For those of you who have been following my saga with the TZ that had wine spilled on it by an Iberia flight attendant, here's an update.

I just received my TZ90 from Dynamism who repaired it in Japan. It took two months to get it back, so that's not great timewise, but the holidays were in there, so I suspect that slowed things down by two weeks, so expect a six-week turnaround under normal circumstances.

The good news is that Dynamism repaired the TZ for free, so I have a brand-new keyboard and palmrests (because those gnarly marks are gone), and it cost me zero.

Of course, I have also had zero communication from Iberia, they have ignored both a registered letter and an International Express Mail letter, so I will have to call their reservation line today and see if I can get anywhere, because they're going to have to, at least, eat the difference between what I paid for my replacement TZ and what I get for it when I sell it.

 

Oh hay that's good news

So sad my T broke after Warranty expired.. and Sony quoted me 2k CAD to repair... other computer shop still quoted me 1.2k :/

 

I need help on my sony TZ27GNB, i bought mine originally with 1gb memory, the store upgraded it with 2gb and now i cant even use it propoerly as everytime i use it i have crash dump on memory, i tried removing the memory and used the memory installed on my HP laptop, 1gb 667Mhz, and it worked fine.

My search on the kingstone memory finder indicates that kingston compatible with TZ27GNN was 2gb 533 mhz.. the store upgraded it with 667, im not sure what is the original memory Mhz installed in it. but the kingston 667 2gb is giving me crash dumps.

Also, the TZ28GN in kingston memory finder gives me 667Mhz as compatible memory. Now im not sure which ones to buy, what is the diff between TZ27GNN and TZ27GNB? can i really not use 667 2gb? but the 1gb 667 is working as of the moment. The kingston 2gb which does not work is a KVR model

thanks so much

kingston memory finder gave me the model M25664E40 for tz27GNN which is 533Mhz compared to M25664F50 for TZ17GN which is 667MHz

 

I also had this problem. When i got my TZ it came with 1 gig RAM. I also had bluescreens and crashes when i changed my RAM to a 2 gig stick. Sony factory seems to have set the memory bus speed at 400Mgz.

In Sony Utilities (access via control Panel) there is a utility to change the memory bus speed from 533 to 400. When i changed the speed to a faster speed ie from 400 to 533 Mhz the blue screen and memory dump went away.

But please read further and take CAUTION as i'm not sure if mistakenly increasing or decreasing the RAM's bus speed might do damage to the RAM or the TZ.