Vaio FZ Owners Official Owners Thread

Ha....I should get the one made for 13.3" screen.

 

GAH! My new sony vaio FZ that ive had for only 4 days or so now has a red pixel on the top left corner of the screen that won't go away

I heard there are ways of getting rid of these pixels as they are "stuck pixels" Can anyone give me suggestions on how to handle this esp on a glossy screen such as this..

since I've only had it for 4 days would the warranty for sony be any good for this?

just an update i just found a thread on it. I will probably see them tomorrow about it but yeh rubbing the screen doesnt seem to be something i want to do. Just tried and it did nothing and the jscreenfix was a bit of a failure but hey its not too much a worry as it is out of the way, its just a shame all the same.

 

Thanks, I'll try to use a different set of drivers.

Does anyone know what is the difference in battery time with and without bluetooth enabled (I am using a bluetooth MS 8000 presenter with my FZ190)?

 

A few days ago I got the FZ140E for my daughter to take to college and there are three (?) lines running vertically along the far left side of the screen. It's hard for me to tell for sure, but the two outer line seems dull white and the middle line is a dull pink (red.) They are definately more noticable during start-up (black background), but are also visable at all time.

I'm not the most comuter literate person so I'm polling the incredible wealth of knowledge on this forum. Does anyone have any ides what these lines are from and how I can get rid of them? I purchased new from an authorized internet dealer so warranty isn't a problem, but a simple notebook return is.

Thank you,

Rick M.

 

depends how hard you are willing to get it to work!

http://www.osx86project.org/

 

Beanz,

Was it like this right out of the box? If so, from the sounds of it it needs to be returned.

Gary

 

Hey, I just got my FZ190 las Thursday and luckily I think everything is running smoothly. However, I got rid of all the bloatware that I could but does anyone know how to get rid of the little bar that pops up at the bottom of the screen right above the taskbar on every startup? It contains three links: VAIO Entertainment, Security Center. These are just advertisements to buy things, and you can close the bar, but evertime I reboot my computer it comes on again. I uninstalled the programs but the bar is still there.

Also, is there any particular sneaky bloatware that I might have missed some traces of? I haven't seen anything but I didn't look at the registry that closely.

 

I didnt see anything about FZ in Sony's Compatibility List. Seems FE still gets stuck. Anyone gave it a try?

 

It depends on Sony's policy about "dead pixels." Most manufacturers are about 5-10 dead pixels before they will replace it.

 

The main problem is drivers. Its probably easier to get OS X to run in VMWare or an equivalent if you just want to try it out for looks.

 

I was replying to Beanz who had significantly MORE than just a few errant pixels.

Gary

 

My bad, didnt see the part about the lines.

 

Hi,
I'll be purchasing a vaio fz190 cto tomorrow and would like to ask a few questions. How frequent is the occurrence of dead pixels, high pitch and heat issues? What temperature should the laptop be running at? Can I request a Sony Rep to test the machine before they ship it over?
thanks
Ody

 

What's everyone's battery life like? Mine seems to be pretty decent given what I've heard. Mine got 2hours 53minutes with the screen on next-to-highest brightness, in VAIO Optimized mode, and with itunes open and playing music the whole time.

 

i just got my sony vaio fz. its amazing! but the bloatware crap isnt!
i was just wondering, how do you uninstall all those aol things? i mean i tried to uninstall it from control panel -> uninstall a program, then i uninstalled it and some of it is still there.
help anyone?

 

I got my FZ190 yesterday. It is amazing. For those of you wanting to know, the notebook is very quite. I don't have any fan or processor noise problems. The bloatware is quite horrible. Aol was a pain to completely remove but everything else went smoothly.

BTW, does anybody now how to get rid of the welcome center? If not, how do I get rid of the sony offers on the welcome center?

 

cool. i cant wait! how long did it take for it to get to your house, from when you ordered and when it actually arrived? what shipping method did you use?

anyway, try making recovery CD's and then doing a clean install of vista. i asked a rep and she said that is how to make a lcean install w/o the softwares, ect.. at least thats what she said..

 

I ordered July 30th. Shipped through ground on August 2nd. Arrived in Florida August 7th. I still need to make recovery cds. I won't be doing a clean install because I don't want to go through installing all the drivers. On another note, I have noticed that the notebook does get quite warm. Not enough the burn you, but just enough to notice if you lay your wrist on it.

 

Then she was WRONG. Restoring from the recovery DVD's will return the machine right back to its "out of the box" state, bloatware and all. The ONLY way to do a clean install is to use a Vista install DVD, or a Vista Upgrade DVD.

Gary

 

To those deciding between a standard and extended battery:

At first I was worried about the battery extending out of the notebook, but now I love it. It creates a great angle for me to type with. I actually prefer the angle compared to having the laptop flat. The extended battery is great when you have the notebook on a desk but it is uncomfortable in your laptop. With the extended life, I got almost 3 hours of life. During this time, I uninstalled programs, had full brightness, and had wireless on.

 

I just got my FZ-190. No problems so far. Anybody here got any workaround for the AV instant mode problem with Nvidia?

The device manager shows up the processor as T7300 instead of T7100. I heard of this problem in this forum before. I also noticed a slight dark area (noticeable in white background) in the right bottom corner of the lcd. Is that dead pixel or something like that?

Also this is my second FZ since I returned the first one which had a noticeable high pitch sound.

 

It won't work, period. They don't support it and who knows if they ever will.

Could be uneven backlighting. A program like Dead Pixel Buddy can reveal dead pixels ( http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Benchmarks/Dead-Pixel-Buddy.shtml)
Do you have the XBRITE-ECO or the Hi-Color?

 

Hi guys!
What do you think about this:
http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/product/VGN-FZ285U/B

It`s possible? I can`t believe it!!!!!!
T7500, 250GB, 2BG RAM, GeForce 256MB and BLURAY for just about 1300$

PS. I`m still waitng for my FZ190N4 and I`m plannig to buy some RAM, for example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145048
Is this good MEM? And what with dual channel? They cannot guarantee that it will work in dual channel mode with the original sony module
What do you propose and what memory do you have?

 

Wow. That's just annoying. I paid more than that and I don't even have Blu-ray.

 

Apparently this is an NVIDIA issue, not a Sony one. The Nvidia drivers don't work in a "standalone" mode that is required to support running the machine without the operating system.

Given that, I am curious if there is any way we can use that button for some other purpose. Anyone know what utility is used to set what that button does, or if there even is one?

Gary

 

where can one purchase this VGN-FZ285U/B ?

 

I searched around to see if thats available for purchase and I can't find it anywhere online. That just seems too good to be true.

 

I have the xbrite-eco. I think it is uneven backlighting. Is that a big problem?

Anyway start up is too slow in FZ when compared to dell vostro. I removed all unwanted progs from start up and still fz is struggling to boot faster.

 

There are a number of FZ2s on Amazon for pre-order. Prices are comparable to the FZ100s, though, for the same specs--not ridiculously low like that page indicated. Looks like they ship in September.

 

So how log DOES it take to boot? First how long to the login prompt, and then when you hit enter at the password how long to the disk settles down?

Mine (a clean install) takes about 30 seconds to boot to the login and another 45 till the disk settles down.

Next, what exactly did you remove?

Gary

 

I don't have any password. From the bios screen to the desktop it takes around 1 min. and then settles down after 45 secs-1min. It should be quicker without the windows side bar.

I removed napster, vaio productivity center, vista vaio survey, from start up.
Also I unstalled some progs. Do you really need vaio update in start up.

I ran disk defragmenter, registry cleaner once. After that the speed is better.

One thing I don't like in the FZ is the touchpad. There is no space/ palm rest area and it is sluggish. The hard click buttons are annoying.

 

Coolguy,

I notice no mention of the Norton crapware in your list of things you removed. That is your BIGGEST issue with boot time. Norton is absolute JUNK. Get rid of it and try AVG or some other less cpu hogging antivirus. I posted a link to a review of the COU and DISK performance of several alternatives in a thread here a few days ago.

You don't need vaio update at all. (It does not work anymore anyway.) Look at the notes in my "clean install" document it explains what stuff you do need and what you don't.

Gary

 

Greetings,

I've had my FZ for about 4 days now. When I played a game for around 2 hours, the bottom of the base seemed very hot (uncomfortable to the touch); the fan also seemed to be quite audible. Is this at all normal?

Thanks.

 

I forgot to mention norton was the first one I uninstalled. I had installed my university copy of symantec corporate edition.

Also edit to the time I posted before

Bios to desktop - 1:35 min.

settling down - 1:35 - 2.15

I guess that's too much for a new notebook

 

Just this morning, I loaded up my laptop again, and it the hard drive seems to make awfully audible loading noises. It shows my hard drive to be loading (A few flashes every 2 seconds) even when I'm doing nothing on my desktop. When I opened up the game I usually play (guild wars) the graphic options were all reset...I really hope there isn't something wrong with this.

Please offer assistance.

*This is a follow-up of using the laptop the previous night for about 2 hours, in which case it got really hot.

Thanks.

 

Sometimes a simple uninstall is not enough. Many programs leave traces all over the place, including the registry, thus still slowing the system down.
I've successfully completed a clean installation of Vista and the difference is very noticeable.
The system is fully functional in 60-70 sec with Bluetooth and Wirelesss n enabled. It also manages to load Avast Antivirus in that time frame. The only thing that takes a few more seconds (it varies) is connecting to my wireless router.

Update: Just timed it again. 49sec to desktop, 68sec fully functional and wireless connection established.

 

I believe that you could only get it at this price if you're buying quantities. Unless you're a business and you're buying in bulk, forget about it.

 

Well, I finally got my FZ a couple days ago and am enjoying it so far. Love the screen, it's so bright. Only one complaint tho, the sticker underneath where the serial number is, completely rubbed off after a few days in it's bag. Anyone have this happen to them? Aside from that minor glitch, it's almost perfect. No noise at all, just a little warm.

T7300
2G RAM
8400M GT
100 GB HDD

 

Hi,

I am a total noob
How do you do a clean install? what software I need? Is it hard? Can it ruin the laptop?
All your help is appreciated.

 

It might help if we knew which model of machine you have. If you have an FZ190 or FZ180, a link to the instructions is in my signature below. For a TRUE clean install you need a retail Vista DVD or a retail Vista Upgrade DVD.

For a semi-clean install check out the other threads here there are two different (yet related) sets of instructions.

As long as you have a COMPLETE recovery DVD or an image of the hard drive, before you start, then no you can't "ruin" the laptop. If you have either of those, you can always restore it back.

Gary

 

As long as you stick closely with the instructions of the guide, it's fairly easy.
It took me about 1 hour to set up Vista Home Premium using this great guide:
http://www.davescomputertips.com/Newsletters/20070715.php#2

Then comes the tricky part. Installing the drivers in the correct order is very important. I highly recommend that you follow the steps concerning applying the drivers described in Gary's guide, since they are FZ specific.

 

I don't have the vista dvd to do a clean install. Also I used registry cleaner to clean up the traces of unistalled progs.

 

How many running processes do you guys have in the task manager when idling? Mine has 65 processes.

 

I've managed to get it down to 40 (or 37 if you don't include AV).

 

It's a shame really that Sony haven't included the Windows Anytime Upgrade DVD in the package. I guess they did not foresee the great number of users that would gladly scrap their crappy original setup and opt for a clean install.
This DVD is actually free, but you must pay shipping for it. The cheapest I was able to find was at Amazon.com, the total cost is 4.99.

Just out of curiosity, what program did you use to clean up your registry?

By the way, I was totally shocked when I booted my FZ out of the box. It took close to 3 minutes to load up. It only had 1GB RAM and slower HDD (5400) at the time, because I had my upgrade plan laid out already.
My point is, you can transform this machine into a real monster with fairly little effort.

 

i really want to do a clean install but can someone tell me where the recovery partition on my fz is located . do i need a dvd burner to make copy of the recovery DVD. or i can just use a cd rw drive.

 

Hello to everyone,

I'm a new member of this very impressive board and I am 99% of the way towards purchasing a Sony Vaio FZ190 CTO (without blu-ray)

I have configured it with the following specifications and would really appreciate all the feedback on performance, battery life, and excellent functionality of this laptop. I have made many trips to electronic stores for the FZ160e and FZ180e and I had nearly settled for the FZ160e but I wanted a dedicated graphics card. Plus the FZ190 CTO is customizable, and shows to have longer battery life.

Here are my specifications:

#
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 / 2.0 GHz
#
2 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-667MHz, 1 GBx2)
#
200 GB Hard Disk Drive
#
SuperMulti (DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive)
#
15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR
#
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
#
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
#
802.11a\b\g\n with BT
#
Large Capacity Lithium-ion Battery (BPL8)

I will be using this laptop for basic needs, programming, high level computing, and occasionally for watching movies/gaming.

What do you guys think? How much battery life can I expect on average use? Can this laptop be purchased from a Sony Style store? Also, what are the specifications of the built-in web camera (how many megapixels), and is the physical dimensions and ports on this laptop the exact same as the FZ180e?

Thank you very much in advance for your responses.

 

Hi all,

tomorrow I'll be getting fz11l with 64mb 8400gt.

my question is this;
what are the latest drivers are there for 8400gt? earler on i've read that the 101.28 drivers are latest. Are there any new one?

Also, how do I install new drivers? do i just uninstall the old drivers (from add/remove - whats it called?) and install the new one? and it will work, or do I have to do some more work?

thanks

 

I used windows free one care clean up scan. It removed like 500 invalid items. Yeah my fz also takes a while to connect to wireless network and to load windows side bar (I have only one gadget).

 

just got an FZ 190 CT with 1gb x 1 ram. Am interested in getting another 1gb stick to make it 2gb.

can anyone recommend which brand of ram to go for?