Vaio Duo 11 Owners Thread

hendhess, like you I'm also in search of a better PDF inking tool. Unfortunately, none of the apps are there yet.

MS Reader - good rendering speed, but poor inking experience and unfortunately it hasn't received an update in ages

Adobe Reader Touch - good rendering speed, but NO inking ability

DrawBoard PDF - Definitely the best inking of the metro PDF apps. It doesn't slow down, has an eraser, has multiple pens and highlighters. However the author could definitely improve upon the UI and navigation.

Foxit Mobile PDF - Decent rendering, good INITIAL inking, but faces an odd glitch that makes it difficult to ink quickly and accurately on pages after a few sentences have already been added.

PDF Touch - Poor inking experience that requires the user to switch to inking mode, and suffers from poor navigation that requires the user click a button to turn pages.

FWIW I keep all of the above metro apps installed, that way I can monitor check to see if any significant improvements have been made anytime an update is installed. I have a lot of hope for Drawboard and Foxit after an update or two, but until then I continue to use Reader on the day to day

 

I've had my Duo11 (i5, 8G, 512G) for 6 days but have been away, so real hands-on this weekend. Love the machine but how the hell do I get it to communicate with my network HP printer. The HP install fails with a file-not-found error, yes I have the latest 64bit software, and I have tried to install via the add-new-printer feature using the IP settings etc that I use on my W7 32bit kit but to no avail; the Duo does not see the printer on the network or via wi-fi but does find it if I connect through the USB port but a cable defeats the object of having wireless connectivity! Frustratingly, the old kit has no problem seeing the printer in any mode. On the plus side, most of my legacy software such as CS4, SolidWorks, Starry Night Pro and Office 2007 work fine but AutoCAD 2004 does not function at all even in compatibility mode, so I need to find a solution here too.

W8 has a long way to go for the GUI to be as slick as others but I am starting to like it. The handwriting recognition is second to none and a great improvement on the W7 edition that was also excellent; even writing with the finger produces great results, handy when that damn pen hides itself down the side of the armchair.

Any contributions to my problems will be appreciated.

 

re: your HP printer. Should check with the HP website or support people. (My Lexmark networked printer required a special Win 8 patch/update from Lexmark and then it works.)

re: AutoCAD 2004. Might be in trouble It requires the 2013 (with latest service pack) or native 2014 version for Windows 8.

 

Is the Duo 11 dead and replaced by the Duo 13? From what I can see on the UK site, looks like the Duo 11 is being refreshed with Haswell?

 

First part, yes, it is being replaced by the Duo 13. Just look at the prices, free 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD, 512 GB SSD for 200€ and i7 for 40€
The second part, not it's not. It's still using Ivy Bridge.

 

HP are hopeless, I am still waiting for a resolution to a problem on my old tablet sent two years ago Strangely, despite not seeing the printer in the printers page a document appeared in the printer from the Duo. No HP software will load but I suspect W8 has finally spotted the printer on the network; this may have happened after a router reset. I'm still looking for an Autocad resolution that is not going to cost too much.

Has anyone experienced the selection lag that sometimes occurs when using the stylus and the inconsistency in dragging items with it? This does not happen with the Wacom stylus at all on any of my other pen enabled machines. What button does what as both often seem to have the same effect?

 

Hi Guys 'n Gals,

You may want to provide yourself with my solution to the wandering pen and pen cap, so here are the details; it is the pen clip for the Fisher Space Pen. . In my case it was purchased from:

BLACK CLIP FOR BULLET PEN - Fisher Space pens

As you can see, it looks good too. Take care when fitting as you will find it a tight fit and you might scratch the anodising.

Cheers,

Mike

 

Hi. I accidentally deleted my recovery partition. Can someone upload his recovery media for me?



Vaio duo 11 core i5, 6 gb ram, 128 ssd

 

Considering the recovery media is 16GB if remember correctly, your best bet might be ordering it from Sony

 

Total size is just a bit more than 16GB, so it requires 32GB flash drive to fit.
I know people can upload 50GB blu-ray but not all them have Duo11.

Sent from my LT30at using Tapatalk 2

 

Has anyone upgraded their ram to 12gb or more?

 

If I understand correctly, there's 4GB soldered onto the motherboard, with a separate bank which only accepts Sony proprietary RAM, and that maxes out at 4GB. So 8GB is the max for the Duo 11.

 

Unless if they make 8GB stick for that but I doubt they would.

 

Is this laptop worth 790€ used now that the Duo 13 is out?

 

It depends on many factors. For example, the 11 has VGA and ethernet, the 13 does not. The 13 is a bigger screen and has Haswell, so better out of box battery life. 13 being bigger is also a bit heavier. And so on.

You need to figure out what you want in your computer and go from there.

 

... and how much you want to spend, and how quickly you need it. Given the base price of the 13 is over €1500, it'll be a long while before you see even a 2nd hand Duo 13 at that price.

 

I'd love to consider a newer one of thee but shattered glass is for life; though I never did find out for sure if Sony would repair it. I did not wish to wipe private data and start again for them to take it in to be honest. None of the sites I tried could offer me a screen, which is a complete pain in the . I wasted a lot of money I guess. I am amazed more people didn't have this happen to them.

 

You never did sell it? Your experience was a shame, especially considering that you were such an early adopter, but never got to use the Duo as intended much.

 

No I didn't. It lives next to my bed. For weeks I didn't touch it, but in the last month I've found it useful to explore tiny bits of programming and other stuff. I've got Visual studio 2012 and 2013 preview on it, along with all sorts of other stuff. This size is very handy.

I'm torn between buying the xps 13 when it comes out, going for new model of this or just being sensible and leaving it alone.

I was offered £400 for it, less the ebay fee of course. I decided not to go ahead at that time. If I buy another machine, I kept the box for this so selling won't be impossible. I'm reluctant to go through the hassle of clearing my HDD to send it away for untold weeks to Sony-assuming they would do it (for a fee).

Its clear to me something like this is dead useful to me; the IPad can't be used to do visual studio or much productive authoring really. There's interest free deals about so maybe that is what I will do.

 

Hi guys. My first post here, ive got the top spec sony duo11 and has anyone else had the ghost / random / automatic screen tapping. Its hard to explain and google doesnt yield any good results. Ill be using the laptop and suddenly it will start tapping away at the top left of the screen. Im watching it now from a distance and its still randomly tapping away every few seconds this is making the laptop unusable! Imagine someone with a second mouse clicking the screen while your trying to use it! Ive tried a restore to no avail. Thanks

 

Send it back m8 for a replacement its definitely a faulty item

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

 

^^yeah send it back... it doesn't sound right.
(only related problem is if we accidentally touch the button next to the GHB keys.)
.
.
you guys know what??.... I tried the new Pro 13 at a store and the touchscreen is not quite usable... the touchscreen/LCD bounces when we use it as a touchscreen. This Duo 11 is a solid touchable machine

 

That has happened to my machine too, but only once. I did a hard reboot (had to hold down power button because I could not control the mouse) and it went away and has never come back. I called it machine possessed. I agree with others, bring it back. I also agree Duo 11 is one awesome machine.

 

I've started to have exactly the same issue. Thought I was going mad (probably still am but not related to the screen tapping). I'm thinking it must be due to a recent update from Sony or that I've recently installed the latest hd4000 Intel drivers. I'll have to rollback and check to see if its the Intels's. Either way I'll be sending back the Duo11 for a repair or replacement as my screen burn-in/image persistence is getting worse and worse. Shame as I love the machine but cannot beloieve Sony used such a cheap- panel on such an expensive model.

 

This happened to me when they replaced the Lcd due to dead pixels. My duo has been sent back and forth 5 times for this issue. They said it's driver issue and reload the system to factory image. Finally, they have to replace another LCD, but I am not sure if it will fix the issue permanently.

Sent from my LT30at using Tapatalk 2

 

Hi all,

Can I increase the size of the on-screen keyboard at all? It pops up, centered in the bottom 2" of the screen and it's just too small to be usable without removing my glasses and squinting at it like some recently surfaced, myopic mole. The keyboard "type" key (bottom right hand side) lets me choose between split, whole and enhanced styles, but they're all very small and inhabit the the bottom 2" of the screen. I might be confusing it with my iPad keyboard, but I'm sure the one on the Duo used to be bigger (I've not used it for a few weeks).

Cheers,

I.

 

The software keyboard on your Duo should definitely be larger then the software keyboard on your iPad. There are a few possibilities...

1. You are using the accessibility keyboard instead of the actual Win8/Metro keyboard
2. You changed your registry settings to allow for more items listed on the Start menu

If you have made either of these changes recently, you should undo them in order to get the originally sized keyboard back.

 

Hi everybody, i ve a Duo11 since last september (japanese first release) and at first i didn't noticed any image persistence or ghosting but after some time it show a lot and look worst and i can see clear degradation in lcd quality...
- first only bottom task bar was barely visible, but now after 2-5 minutes it looks completely printed on screen.
- there is a large margin (about 1-2cm wide) on the screen edge and show low contrast.

What panel did Sony use with visible degration over time?? some people did replace their screen but are they the same or problem can be fixed. My only concern is to have useless screen after few more months.

Thanks

 

I feel that this is driver related. I followed one of the threads on either this board or the sister tabletpcreview board for the Duo dedicated to this issue, and installed a linked nTrig driver. I haven't had any occurrences of random persistent clicking in the upper left hand corner for a few months now.

I've had my Duo since launch... so that's 7 months. The burn in is annoying. But I just avoid grey backgrounds, and I notice it a lot less. The burn in isn't that noticeable in most applications otherwise as most have white backgrounds. As far as I know, there is no permanent fix just the workaround of avoiding greys.

 

The random cursor movements and clicks drove me absolutely wild for weeks until I finally discovered it's an issue with the "pointing driver". I installed one recommended in another discussion from a non Sony source and it's been working perfectly for months since. I haven't been game to perform the pointing driver update now sitting in the Vaio update application in case it breaks it again.

I'm also experiencing the ghosting issue. It's really bothering me as it's pretty severe and I expected better for the price paid. It's only been happening the past month and I've had the Duo 11 for seven months.

 

hi guys i have a little problem with my duo 11 keyboard. apparently there's a white stain near the keyboard. can any of you guys identified what cause of this white stain to appear?

 

What program can i use GPS ?!?!? google maps ? microsoft autoroute ? no one ?! I see it on device drivers ....

 

Hi guys

I have a vaio duo 11 with 256Gb SSD.
I bought a 512Gb samsung SSD & wanted to replace.

I used EaseUS to clone but it failed (error at boot).

I put back the 256Gb.
Since that time, the system freezes intermitently starting from the boot (the win8 circles animation freeze during 1s, works 1/2s etc...). After it stays the same during 10-15min and then nothing anymore (works normal).

Two questions :
- Any idea on the freeze ? Looks like something extremely low level does not work
- How to replace SSD (working method please)

thanks

 

Here is a link to the post with the random clicking fix. It works well........ The drivers that fix it are in post 5. No reboot seemed to be required Sony Vaio Duo 11 Touchscreen and screen problems

 

Not all markets have GPS, so you may have to test this yourself. My guess is that any app that tries to access your location uses the GPS. Try loading up a map in any mapping app while connected to the internet, then go outside away from all wifi and see if the app is able to track your movement.

 

About burn in issue... My screen is really worst, quickly the ghosting appear on screen corners but recently it affects the whole screen. After working with two windows side by side and then lightroom I can see the printed text and windows right in the photography edited!
Going back to Japan next week should I ask for repair( bought in japan) ? Did anyone have repair for the screen, does the new one comes with same defect? This is my last Sony laptop for sure!!

 

I honestly don't know if the ghosting can be fixed. I think the first and perhaps most important question is, does anyone here NOT have the ghosting issue? If so then maybe some LCD panels are better... but I think betting on that is a crap shoot. You may end up sending the laptop in and they claim nothing is wrong, or they replace the panel and you either have the same issue or worse yet they put it back together poorly and you end up with body gaps along with an LCD that burns in.

If it really bothers you that much, and it may since it seems you are an artist, perhaps you should try to sell the Duo 11, and go for another machine? The Duo 13, Surface Pro, or Samsung Q don't have the burn in issue as far as I know.

 

Hello everyone, it's my first post.

I am about to get a Vaio Duo 11, but I'm having some doubts I hope you'll help me resolve.

As model availability here in Poland is limited only to the Core i3 (thanks, Sony...), this is pretty much my only option, BUT there is one second-hand i5 from the UK I could get for nearly the same price. And that is obviously a killer-dilemma for me, as there is not much info on the comparison between the i3 and i5 model performance. I've seen some PCMark7 scores of the i3 models, and one of them stated the result as being ~ 3200, while the other ~ 4800. So there's obviously something wrong with the methodology and these data cannot be taken as representative.

I've heard that power management in the i5 is slightly better, offering longer battery times. But has anyone confirmed this as being the real deal, or is it just tech-geeky fact no one actually notices in real life? Also, how much would app opening times benefit from the faster CPU? And could the gaming efficiency (to be done occasionally anyway) be dependent on the Core, too, or is it majorly handled by the HD4000 chip and the Core doesn't really have an influence on that?

Oh, and there's more to it... I've read about your Duos suffering from ghosting/bleeding/Wi-Fi problems and keyboards with keys that when pressed on the edge do not respond properly. I have checked the model offered at my local PC store, and found none of those defects, so chances are that VD11 batches distributed around Poland are generally free from that. Now, if I get the used i5 from England, the risk of jumping into any of these problems increases. The seller states the device is in perfect condition, but... you know, he most certainly does not consider factory defects.

I really hope you guys will offer me some insight on that topic, because it's a tough decision-making struggle for me between choosing a NEW i3 and a USED i5 for nearly the same price, also considering the above mentioned.

 

guys need help, please make a screenshot of files at the recovery disk or partition recovery of SVD 11 (with i5 and 4gb of RAM) or you can just upload the files and give the link to me.

 

Get the i5, or at least ask the seller how long he has used it, and if he has noticed any ghosting. If you find some issue with it, it has good resale value, and you should be able to sell it easily.

I don't think anyone will be able to upload the recovery disk for you. It is 24GB. Your best bet is to order it from Sony.

 

My Vaio Duo 11 (purchased October 2012) has some slight screen ghosting, but it's not the end of the world. The keys do require that you hit them somewhere near the center instead of the very outer edge, or else they may not record the key-strike, but in practice this is only an issue with the spacebar (which doesn't project as far to the left as to the right, and I use my left thumb to use the spacebar). I've typed through depositions with this keyboard and it worked. It's not as good as it could be but it's not bad.

My wifi is slow to connect when I wake it up from sleep, and occasionally I've had an issue where it won't connect to wifi, but putting it to sleep and re-waking it cures that. From what I've heard, that wifi issue is more of a Windows 8 glitch than a Duo 11 glitch...I believe the Dell XPS 12 exhibited the same behavior.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my Duo 11. I'd rather have a Duo 13 for the eight hours of battery life and the traditional trackpad, but still, I'm extremely satisfied with the Duo 11.

 

I was satisfied with the Duo 11 when I had it except for the screen ghosting which drove me crazy...thank goodness it's not present in my Duo 13 and I hope it stays this way.

 

No screen ghosting here, or problems with the keyboard, but battery life is poor only 5hrs browsing the net with the screen brighness on the lowest and power saving set to max.

John.

 

^
How long have you had the Duo 11? Where did you buy it from?
It takes a while until it starts to happen.
I am asking because the majority of people here have this ghosting problem.
TIA!

 

I have had it 13 days today, i bought it from Littlewoods in the UK, it was strange because it did not come in a retail box, just a brown box, i thought it was a refurb so i emailed littlewoods and they said it was brand new.

John.

 

Sonus, Mitlov, thanks for your input. I did some more thorough research on the differences between the i3 and i5 used in VD11, and reached a conclusion that I would probably benefit some from the i5, as I sometimes use CAT tools (for translating documents) that utilize significant processing power when saving, opening or otherwise processing files that often reach sizes of up to 40 mb. The question now is - what would be the ACTUAL time difference in file opening times, because if we're talking about ~5-10%, then... well, not an argument for me to risk with a used device rather than enjoying the lovely smell of brand new equipment straight out of the box (if you know what I mean).

Other applications than translating or making notes are not expected, so there isn't really any other field for comparison other than the capability in handling large files. But that still bothers me, because I don't really know what the real difference might be, and there are no side-to-side comparisons between the i3 and i5 applied in Vaio Duo. There are only comparative benchmarks of the two, but not in a stated hardware environment (just rough data of unknown origin), and the SSD in Vaio already makes stuff open FAST, despite the processor used.

I don't know how long it takes for the ghosting issue to start in new units, but given that I checked two Duos at two different stores here in my town and found this problem in none of them (and they run from 8:00 to 21:00 mon-fri), I have a good reason to believe that the i3 I get from the Polish store would not have the problem as well.

I will ask the seller of the used Vaio for a video showing a ghosting test (it'd be ridiculous to trust him on word when buying a $1000 device), I doubt he'll feel like providing one, however. But, in the view of really small popularity of that model in our country and the fact that he's having problems selling it (one 2-week auction expired already), he should be willing to do me that favor.

Geez, never had that many doubts related to buying an electronic device before...

 

okey, but can someone make a screenshot(1-2) of files at the recovery disk or partition recovery?

 

Just download Win8 x64 from somewhere a Tor****, and you can get all the driver/software off the Sony website the Win8 key is in the bios so the installer should see it.

John.

 

Hi!

I'm a owner of a SVD11 since Dezember 2012 (ordered 30.11., manufactured on 5.12.).

So far I'm quite happy. It's configured with an i5, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM..

In June (or late May) I had some small problems. When booting I got an "Operating System not found" error, followed by "Secure Boot - Operating System Invalid" and sometimes some bluescreen saying "a necessary device is not connected, or cannot be accessed" (translated from german..)

It worked normal when it booted successfully. Back then I had no time to call Sony support, and those errors only occured on a few days.

Now I was on vacation and it happened again. At first it's the black screen saying "Operating System not found", then "Secure Boot - Invalid Operating System" some blue screen, and after a while Windows boots successfully. This time I noticed a very poor performing SSD, so I made some tests with HD Tune. The results were very bad. I tried to reboot the device, and the performance got better.

I called the support hotline, and they told me to try to reset the device. (well.. I called 3 times, because the connection dropped while talking with the agent. One was already initiating the pick up of the device.. but the connection dropped again.. the next agent told me to reset the device first.)

I did reset the device, and since then everything works normally. But I'm not entirely confident in the SSD at the moment, because the errors happened before and there was a long pause between them.
Before I reset the device it was running the Windows 8.1preview. Back in May/June, when the errors occured first, it was running Windows 8 Pro. (Haven't changed the OS, just updated regulary)

I forgot to look at the SMART values before resetting, but afterwards it showed some high value at "C7 - Interface CRC Error Count"

Here are some of HD Tune Vaio Duo 11 SSD - Imgur

What would you do in this situation?

p.s.:
I hope my english isn't too confusing. I guess the grammar is a little bit weird.. sorry..

p.p.s.:
If anyone is interessted in this information: yes, my display has ghosting..

 

It looks like you have a bad SSD you need to get it replaced if it`s still in warranty.

Does anybody know what causes the ghosting? , is it strain on the ribbon cable caused my repeatedly opening and closing the duo 11, as i don't open/close mine very often and i am on 14 days since buying with no ghosting?

John.