Vaio FZ Owners Official Owners Thread

Just tried to run this scan on my FZ, did not let me do it, probably because I'm using Firefox.
The wireless connection process is a bit of mystery to me. The timing varies a lot, because it tends to connect and drop several times during startup. The good part is that it does not disconnect at all once it has settled.
I'd appreciate any suggestions for optimal wireless settings.

Regarding the Sidebar, I've disabled it from starting at boot, but I did create a shortcut on the desktop, so I could bring it up at any given moment.

 

Im planning on upgrading my HDD when I receive my fz190. I see a couple different interfaces on these 7200 drives. Which one do I need?

 

Hi all,

My keyboard and touch pad area are getting hotter when I am running full antivirus scan.Sometimes after running for few hours it is getting hot also. Could somebody tell me whether your FZ notebook also becoming hot when running any antivirus or other applications?.
I am thinking whether to send for repair to sony or not based on the feedback from others.

Thanks in advance
Raj
**********************
VGN-FZ190
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 / 2.0 GHz
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR
SuperMulti (DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive
2 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-667MHz)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

 

I have the same setup as yours, but with a smaller hard drive. My notebook gets warm too after awhile.

 

Hi MCLAREN369,

Thanks for your response. Could you tell me what area is mainly getting hot on your computer ?. When you run antivirus is it getting too hot ?.

Thanks in advance
Raj
**********************
VGN-FZ190
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 / 2.0 GHz
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR
SuperMulti (DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive
2 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-667MHz)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

 

I have an FE and was wondering why Vaio Update stopped working all of a sudden. What's the problem and how else are we supposed to get the updates?

 

The hard drive sites right below the keyboard/touch pad area. Look under your FZ, theres a little slot that can be opened up, I'm positive thats the hard drive.

In this image:
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/34-117-481-14.jpg
It would be the "Vents", the first one on the bottom left. That cover there.

 

do you know what temp the hot spot is?

 

Hi all,

I just observed one point in my FZ notebook. I uninstalled my norton antivirus recently and installed AVG antivirus. After that my notebook seems to be not that much hot.
Can somebody confirm when you are running complete Antiviurs scan, is your keyboard or touchpad near areas getting hot ?.If they are hot then when you place your hand how your are feeling the hot ?. Is it too hot to keep your fingures on keyboard for long time?
I just would like to know other FZ owners opinions .

Thanks in Advance
Raj
**********************
VGN-FZ190
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 / 2.0 GHz
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR
SuperMulti (DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive
2 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-667MHz)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

 

I opened up the two covers on the bottom of my FZ190 and heres are the photos:

 

It doesn't get anywhere near hot enough to bother my hands. I've seen it* at 105F (41C) when theres continuous hard drive activity (copying some 20GB of files).

You can run SpeedFan to see how hot exactly the hard drive is.
http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

Edit:
*By "it", i mean the hard drive temp as read through speedfan, which is actually through S.M.A.R.T. of the hard drive.

 

I'm very interested in The FZ

I have been reading about the a/v instant button problem with the blueray versions. I also have read that the nvidia Gforce 8400M GT isn't supported by the a/v instant button. Is any of these statements true?
also one more thing what is difference between
# 15.4" WXGA (EEBR) W/CMR [subtract $50.00]
# 15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR


thanks

 

If you get the 8400m GT, theres no a/v instant mode, period.

Get the HC, its only $50 and its worth that much.

 

The HC stands for the high color screen, it has two instead of one backlights and produces more brightness and deeper colors and uses a little more power.

 

Hmmm, it seems that the vent holes in the harddrive-lid don't line up with the ones in the bracket, would that be the reason that it gets a little warm down there? Should be easy to fix

 

Hi guys,

On paper the FZ11 looks like my ideal laptop but due to the frequence of "horror stories" (i.e. over heating, webcams not working, loudness, dead pixels, having to re-boot after idle) relating to this model I'm wondering whether it's actually worth buying. These issues seem pretty common. I also understand the Sony's customer service is awful.

I'm torn between the FZ and the Samsung R70 which, while lacking a firewire port and bluetooth, seems to have nothing but positive feedback.

I'll be using the laptop for graphic design, video/audio editing, downloading (legally)/playing HD video, surfing and MS Office-ing.

How are people generally finding their Vaios?

Whoelse uses theirs for design and handling HD video? How's the machine respond?

This may sound like a stupid one, but is there anyway to avoid some of the issues I've pointed out above or is it all luck of the draw?

Thanks...

 

You mean a dremel? Thats not a bad idea.

 

if you call those frequent problems I implore you to browse the dell and hp forums. In addition be sure to read the 20some odd page thread about HPs customer service.

 

dsg2003gt is right, your always going to hear from people who have had problems. The people with problematic laptops are going to be louder than the happy customers.

Is the FZ11 like an USA FZ1X0 equivalent?

 

I would if I were interested in those brands.

 

My laptop gets hot after any major use of the hard drive. It mostly gets hot near the front where I rest my wrists. It doesn't get burning hot but just enough that you notice it.

 

According to the tech I spoke to, the web site/web service that Vaio Update connetec to, was the issue. How are we supposed to get updates? Just periodically check the support site manually. That is really all the Vaio Update did anyway. It just "automated" the process.

Gary

 

Run speedfan and see what it says for "HD0" when its really hot.

 

Has anyone here ever opened up a FZ down to the gfx card and CPU (cooler block)? I'm interested in knowing if its possible to replace the original thermal compound or pad with AS5 or AS Céramique for better temps (i want them as low as possible).

 

Apparently speedfan is unable to read the temp of some of the HDD's offered in FZ series machines. For example the 160 gig drive I have.

Gary

 

Just to check, your running SpeedFan with admin privileges (that UAC prompt thingy)?

 

No, the UAC prompt never popped up. But after your message I did try running it by doing a right click and selecting "Run as Admin" and what do you know, there was the HDD temp, the cpu graphs, the here to fore missing Temp1 and Temp2 two numbers others had reported seeing.

WOW, thanks!!! I reported this some time ago, but no one suggested it was an admin issue. I am running with admin rights but NOT using the admin account.

Thanks again!!!

Gary

 

Dang, I should have mentioned that a while ago. Well, I hope this helps everyone else who can't see those temps.

Right click on your SpeedFan icon in the start menu, Properties, Compatibility, check "Run this program as an administrator"

 

Yeah, i was thinking of something like a power-drill to make some extra holes in that bracket

I'm gonna open up my FZ in a month or two, i wanna know how much dust it collects (my former laptops had removable lids so it was easy to clean the fans&stuff), i'll make some pic's of the inside for you guys and girls.

And thanks for the tip mate, among other things i can finally see how hot my hdd gets too, lol
(42 degrees Celsius or 108 degrees Fahrenheit on medium power settings after 12 hours of p2p downloading at high speed)

 

I look forward to those photos. I don't really care about the warranty (i didnt buy an extended), thats why I would like to mod it for better temps.

I'm sure cleaning that copper heatsink once or twice a year will help the temps a lot considering how "little" airflow it has to start with.

 

I only have a one year warranty myself too, the extra warranty is way to expensive i think. I've used and tested my FZ for almost 2 months for approximately 14 hours a day now, with now indication whatsoever that there's anything wrong with it, so i'm willing to take the chance and open it up. I took out a small blanket of dust and cat-hair out of my old pentium4 notebook every 3 months (guess i should get a better housekeeper, lol), so i'm very curious how it is with this one.......and i'm also very curious how it looks like inside and what actual components are used and how they are putt together (i've been taking stuff apart since i was 4 years old i think, it's just this irresistible urge i've got )

 

Would you recommend a anti-static wrist strap for opening up laptops (i mean the actual inside, not just the RAM or HD)? I've built 2 desktop PCs without one and its been fine, but I don't know if laptop components are more prone to static damage.

 

Both are made the same way. If you have a anti-static strap, use it, otherwise just keep yourself grounded by touching metal every once and a while and you'll be fine.

 

Or use the old standby, take off your shoes and socks. I am not joking!! Unless you have the most dry feet in the world, it is impossible to retain static electricity in your body with bare feet. An old computer technician taught me that little trick a long time ago.

Gary

 

lol, nice to hear everybody's tricks, thanks guys. I always touch the pipes of my central heating system to discharge myself or my tools, but i'll do it bearfoots and strapped in this time just to make sure my FZ survives

 

I just ordered a FZ190 yesterday, should i cancel it due to the load of bloatware?

 

You're kidding, right? Just look around here a bit and you'll see all sort of resources for ridding your self of all (clean install) or most (semi-clean install) of the bloatware. Besides if you buy pretty much any other brand, your are going to have to deal with bloatware.

Gary

 

The bloatware isn't too big of an issue if you can spare 2 hours of your time.
Just go to the Control Panel, and click Uninstall a Program.

Also, be sure to make the Recovery DVDs before you do anything, just in case.

 

I ordered my FZ this morning:

802.11a\b\g\n with BT
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR
SuperMulti (DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive)
120 GB Hard Disk Drive (Price reflects discount of $20.00)
1 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-667MHz, 1 GBx1) (upgrading myself)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7100 / 1.8GHz

I got free next day air shipping (offer ends Thursday), and I also got a coupon for a free "Location Free Base Station" ( http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...1&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11041077). I am kind of confused about what this thing acually does, anyone use it before? Anyways, the Base station acually shipped out today so it should be here tomorrow...

 

wow... mine took almost like a week to shipped...
i was in processing for 3 days and built in 1 day and shipping 2 days...
i ordered as 1 day air shipping

 

damn it all. my FN+F6 button (that controls your screen brightness) doesn't work. I know I uninstalled some Sony bloat, I wonder if thats part of the problem?

its annoying me right now because I'm also having problems with Deep Freeze. I want to thaw it, but there's the lil icon on the task bar where you click it, is now gone. the alternate method is to press F6 but now that one is gone too

 

It just might be part of the problem... grin...

You need this installer from the Sony Web site:
Sony Notebook Utilities

You really don't want to delete ANY of the items it installs. But the one for the function keys is "Vaio Event Services".

Gary

P.S. What is "Deep Freeze"???

 

No it was only the Base Station thing that shipped. The laptop is still processing...

 

I would like to thank the members of this board for being so nice and generous in answering my questions.

I am now a proud member of a brand new Sony Vaio FZ160E/B.

I purchased it this morning and through a very busy day was really impressed with how simple it was to boot for the first time into Windows Vista, as well as how easy and simple it was to remove the bloatware and customize to my personal preferences.

However I have another question which just arose. My music files play perfectly in Windows Media Player but why dont my movie files play? They are in .avi format or labeled as Windows Media player files. They play perfectly fine on my Windows XP desktop. Is there some solution to this? What other media players are out there that will play my movie files on Vista?

Also, I see a lot of Vaio software. What is worth keeping, what should be removed, and what are the few that I should keep temporarily?

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

great! that restored the brightness control, unfortunately I'm still having problems with Deep Freeze.

Its a useful program that "freezes" the state of whatever ur designated drive is. when frozen.. whatever you do to it (download virus, create files, etc) get wiped out and is restored to the last state you left it "thawed". many Universities use this on their computer as they wipe out whatever crap students put on it and resets it to a clean state after every reboot.

you can control the frozen state (to do upgrades or whatever) by double clicking a lil icon in the task tray (which disappeared on me), or by pressing ctrl, alt, shift and F6 (the back up method, which doesnt work on me either).

whats worse, the icon disappeared on me while I was doing some hard drive partitioning, so now I have 100gbs of free space that can't be used until I get this thing "thawed"

 

bah, I think the only way out is to reformat and do a re-install. does anyone know if Sony provides a program to burn our own recovery disks?

 

Vaio2K7 you probably don't have the correct video codecs to play the videos. Try downloading the Divx and Xvid codecs off net then try playing your videos.

 

AVIs and DVD playback in WMP requires a special codec. If you install the DIVX codec (free) at divx.com, it will allow WMP to play these files.

 

They don't. Why the need for a reformat though? How did you get "Deep Freeze" on the FZ190 in the first place? Can't you uninstall and then reinstall just "Deep Freeze"? Having just asked that, I am sure there is something preventing that as it is such an obvious solution. I almost deleted this reply and then thought, hmmmmm, it might be a case of the "forest and the trees". So, I'm letting it stand.

Gary

 

While it sounds like you don't want to do a clean install, you might still want to look at my instructions for doing a clean install. It will help you decide which are the essentials. There is a complete list of everything that was on the machine to start with and a list of the things I actually installed during my clean install. See the link in my signature below.

Gary