Vaio FZ Owners Official Owners Thread

off topic;

wauw, since when did i became a Notebook guru? I'm honored, lol

 

Greetings gents.....ladies too.

Just ordered an FZ190 CTO which I should have in about a week or so. Wanted to say Hello to all the fellow VAIO users.

I already pulled down all of the drivers for this machine from the Sony site figuring that I might do the full blown re-install. Im not sure yet though. In have read that you can REALLY remove most, if not all of the bloatware if you take your time and use your head. Others eeem to disagree and feel that the complete OS redo is the only way to go. I hate the thought of a brand new system having to be messed with so much right out of the box so I would PREFER to NOT have to reinstall the OS but I will if I have to. So, I'd like to ask:

- If Im pretty competent and take my time, can I properly clean up the machine via traditional methods of deleting and registry tweaking? OR, is the complete blow away and redo of the OS the way to go?

- Also, since I downloaded all the drivers I am ready for the complete redo...right?

Thanks follks!

 

Hey Storm, thanks for the response. Yeah, I've noticed that not many people have mentioned an "FZ17" or "FZ18" around here..

I'm not particularly fussed about blu-ray really. I'm content with a dvd burner. I've checked out the specs for the two models and they both have 'Clear Bright High Color LCD 90' screens (but between you and me, the FZ18 has a better screen).

Also, there is a significant Vista rating difference. The FZ17 (2.0Ghz) scores an overall of 2.0, whilst the FZ18 (2.2Ghz) gets 4.5. (Both models have an Nvidia 8400GT video card also)

Does the blu-ray component of the drive effect the performance of the dvd burner at all? I wouldn't want my dvd drive functionality compromised for a silly blu-ray drive.. (ie, is the dvd/cd aspect of the blu-ray model the same as it would be with a stand-alone dvd drive?).

Sorry for the barrage of questions.. for a difference of almost $1,000 between the two models, I'd like to make sure I don't make a decision I will end up regretting..

Thanks again for all your help.

alias22

 

Welcome to the club Road Lizard, and congrats with your new Vaio

I didn't do a clean install but just manually cleaned out mine, someone already posted a list somewhere in this thread of all the stuff that can be safely removed if you need it. After sweeping the registry and removing the bloathware I think i have a clean and fast machine now, but i'm not sure if it's less work then doing a clean install. For me thats no problem anyway since i'm constantly tweaking the thing and i also got to know Vista and my machine a little better this way, but if you're in a rush and have everything you need you can do a fresh install also. Whatever you prefer is my short answer i guess

 

Woo Hoo! I just purchased the FZ180E. Following Gary's instructions, I did a clean install of Vista and all of the Sony drivers, etc. Thanks Gary, for such complete instructions. I am free of bloatware!

 

Yeah, Sony seems to use different model nr's for the same machines in different countries (and more unfortunate; sell different models in different countries), so it's a little hard to tell them apart sometimes. Maybe it's a good idea to put down the machines spec's in your messages/questions to make sure we know what we are talking about.

Those Vista ratings sound a little bogus to me, again, do you have some spec's on both machines? I think the one with the 2.0 score must have the intel intergraded graphics chip, or there's something wrong with it. Even if it has the 8400GT with only 64mb of dedicated mem it should score atleast 3 points in the Vista index. You can see my spec's in my signature, and i already got a Vista rating of 4.0 with mine on the Aero part, the other parts are higher rated.
I can't help you with your questions about the optical drive, but it sounds to me like you don't need to spend the extra cash on it. In what country are you and what other models are available to you?

 

Does anyone have this problem where when your laptop comes out of sleep mode, the brightness controls don't work?

 

Hey again Storm,

Sorry, I should have been a little more specific..

Okay, here are the available models here (in Australia), and their specs:

*FZ15G- C2D T7100 1.8Ghz, 1gb ram, 2mb L2 cache, 120gb SATA hdd 5400rpm, d/l dvd drive, NVIDIA GeForce 128mb 8400M GT GPU, 15.4" Wide (WXGA: 1280 x 800) TFT Colour display (Clear Bright High Colour LCD 90), Vista Home Premium.


*FZ17G- C2D T7300 2.0Ghz, 1gb ram, 4mb L2 cache, 160gb SATA hdd 5400rpm, d/l dvd drive, NVIDIA GeForce 128mb 8400M GT GPU, 15.4" Wide (WXGA: 1280 x 800) TFT Colour display (Clear Bright High Colour LCD 90), Vista Home Premium.


*FZ18G- C2D T7500 2.2Ghz, 2gb ram, 4mb L2 cache, 160gb SATA hdd 5400rpm, blu-ray drive, NVIDIA GeForce 256mb 8400M GT GPU, 15.4" Wide (WXGA: 1280 x 800) TFT Colour display (Clear Bright High Colour LCD 90) ***Though the screen on this model is of much higher quality than the other two***, Vista Home Premium.

They're the basic specs. If you need any more info, let me know.

Though with both FZ17's that I tried, I put another gig of ram into them (so I had them running with 2 gigs), and they were both equally sluggish.. So the 2.0 rating in Vista was justified in my opinion, as it was reflecting the poor performance I was getting. The FZ18 is really jumping out at me at the moment, though not for the fact that it has a blu-ray drive.. I shouldn't have to contend with loose screen bezels, flaky video cards, faulty batteries, and need to spend an extra $1000 to ensure I don't encounter those problems.. *sighs*

 

To do a clean install all you need are the drivers you downloaded, a Vista install DVD (or Vista upgrade DVD) and the two DVD recovery set. (By the way the VERY first thing you want to do is make that DVD recovery set, regardless of whether you do a clean install, a semi-clean install or just go the uninstall route.) Trust me you want that DVD set, it is your safety net.

If you have the Vista install or upgrade disk the clean install process is easy. See the link in my signature below for step by step instructions. Look them over first as it details where to find all the drivers, utilities and applications you'll need. There are a couple of things that do NOT show up on the Sony support page where you downloaded the drivers.

If you don't have access to a Vista install (or upgrade) DVD, you might consider the "semi-clean" install from NinjaNoodles (and someone else who's "name" escapes me.) I am NOT certain if it has been verified to work on an FZ series machine or not. You can find his thread here in the forum.

The last option (and least effective) is the uninstall route. It's better than living with the bloatware but not the same thing as starting afresh.

Gary

 

Thanks for the reply and information. Learning more about Vista is a good thing, IMO. I might just try the "do it yourself" route figuring that if I dont feel the performance is where it should be or if I still feel "bloated" I can always do the blow-away and start again deal if I have to.

 

Thanks a bunch, Gary. I pulled down your word doc and have it for reference. Great job on that, BTW! I do have access to a Vista install disc(from work ) so thats all good to go. Like I replied to another member, I might just try it for a while with good old "self delete" and see where things are. I can always do the clean install down the road if I feel the need to.

Cool!

 

Hi Guys,

Talking about fresh installs ... what is the level of success of the WinXp tries in the FZs?? I know that it is probably spread in the 92 pages ... but you know .. =)

In my previous laptop I did the downgrade from Vista to XP and the performance gain was so fantastic that I would like to do it again with my brand new FZ140.

Thanks,
Marcelo

 

Quick question, I noticed in the specs of a few Vaio FZ's a few posts back that there was a 256mb GeForce 8400GT. Is this true? If so, what sort of configuration is needed? And is there any noticable difference between 256mb nVidia GeForce 8400GT vs the 128mb?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Yes there are two versions, and there would be a difference. If you order straight from sonystyle.com the FZ-190 CTO has the 256 mb version, which is what I have, plus you can customize if you desire. I'm not sure which other models have the 256 mb version.

 

I didn't get the blu-ray drive option. Does Sony sell it seperately? Do I really need it?

 

Well, since I support HD DVD I would say NO, you DONT need it!

Seriously.... if you think you'll get the use out of it then by all means go for it but even if I did decide to add a Blu-ray player to my Home Theater I wouldnt use a laptop computer as the disc player. Otherwise, Im sure thew movies will look good on the laptop but a 15" screen is only going to be so exciting for movies...ya know?

 

I will be purchasing an FZ this week and I want to make sure I get the better version of the 8400GT. I am getting it as a replacement under warranty from Circuit City. Does anyone have an FZ180e/b from Circuit City, and if so, does it have the 256mb 8400GT or the lesser version?

 

Ok, now i'm confused....
At first; i see two models with only one Gb of ram; here in Holland the model with only 1Gb has the 64mb version of the 8400GT and the eco-bright screen and is called the FZ11E. (we found out that it had only 64mb through a dutch user forum, in most dutch webshop's add's it did/does say 128mb though, and even Sony.nl seems confused about it, some of there employees still claim it has 128 mb even after a survey we held among owners in our thread....)

As far as i know there are only 2 types of screen for this machine, the eco bright with one lamp and the X-bright with the dual lamps; are you sure you saw a significant difference between 2 identical screens? Did you check the brightness settings on both machines, and did you watch them both with the same screensaver/movie/whatever on the screen in the same light conditions?

The loose bezels and other flaws shouldn't happen to either machine of course, and falls under Sony warranty. But since i didn't hear any other complaints about those it thing it does make me wonder about the build quality of the FZ's in Australia. Could you check where the FZ's sold in your country are constructed? The one i purchased over here was build in China.

After your experience it must be tempting to get the one with the blue ray drive and just be done with it, but i still think you should be able to get a proper working machine without an expensive optical drive you have no need for anyway. If you really wanna throw away money you better send it to me, i'm very good at wasting it

I'm not sure how i can help you any further since the models in our countries seem very different. My advice would be to buy it at a place where you can check the machine out before you buy it, pull it out of the box, check the screen (bezels AND pixels while your at it ), the overall build, turn it on and check the hardware configuration and especially the amount of v-ram.
Then if everything looks good take it home, no sooner then that.
That 17G model sounds very nice with an extra Gb of ram, i'd get that one (i'd love to have that T7300, in Holland it is only available on the blue ray model...)

 

Actually there are 3 versions of the 8400GT for the Vaio FZ model, there's also one with 64mb of v-ram (with a total of 319 included shared video memory).


The difference is significant; here are the 3DMark06 scores for all 3 versions.


64mb (319mb shared) - 1080
128mb (895mb shared) - 1785
256mb (1024mb shared) - 2350

note: all machines were equipt with 2Gb of ram for the benchmark test.

Sony doesn't really make clear witch version you get, at least not in Holland. I think they messed up terribly there. A lot of people here didn't get the machine they thought they bought through this, so check and double check the machine you buy yourself. It seems like the only way to make sure witch one you get since even Sony itself doesn't seem to know how much v-ram they put in there machines.

edit: I just noted Jonno's signature, seems my readings for the 256mb version are a little on the low side.

 

@ Jonno;

could you post some details or maybe even a riva-tuner screenshot, i'm really curious at what speed your 8400GT is running now. Great benchmarks btw

 

One question. Have you got a BluRay?
If yes it can be 256MB but if no it`s 128MB I think. In SpecScheet they wrote:

http://www.sonystyle.com/wcsstore/SonyStyleStorefrontAssetStore/pdf/VGNFZ190CTO_SpecSheet.pdf

383MB Total Available Graphics Memory if NVIDIA® GeForce®
8400M GT GPU and 1GB ram is selected - 128MB VRAM
895MB Total Available Graphics Memory if NVIDIA® GeForce®
8400M GT GPU and over 2GB ram is selected - 128 MB VRAM

How I`m sure? Watch this:
View attachment xxx.bmp

http://www.e-kasuga.co.jp/home/etc_style/type_fz.htm

 

I think I have a dead memory module. I installed a 2gb stick in addition to my 1gb stick and it's only showing that I have 1gb. What should I do?

 

Hi All,

Does anybody know how to load the toshiba wireless switch utility when the system starts. I mean it has to load first so that It resolves the reconnecting to internet problem. Now everytime I start the FZ notebook, the internet get connected and after 1 or 2 minutues toshiba wireless swith utility comes and disconnect the internet connection to connect again.

Regards
Raj

 

this is kind of off topic but relates because im using an FZ190.

My camera works (sometimes takes a while to get it working) but i have a problem. When i used MSN messenger, as soon as I start up my webcam and someone accepts the invite to view it, it automatically exits. It gives me a message stating "you have stopped viewing webcam with ___." I don't click anything and it just goes away. any help would be appreciated

 

I want to do a clean XP install on a FZ series, is there a nice thread like the one on the SZ series? I have used multiple search words within this post and the entire sony forum but I can't find it.....anyone??

thanks

 

I would be receiving my FZ190N5 after few days. I assume that brand new fz laptop will have 2 drives (C & D) Somebody plz give me detailed instructions as how to create more partitions of hard drives ?

Secondly, how can i get my vista OS on DVd from sony ?? please guide.

 

It will not. It will come with a C: partition and a hidden Recovery Partition.

The very first thing you want to do is to make a DVD Recovery set. This is an "insurance policy" should something happen to your hard drive to make it unreadable. It can also be used to recovery certain drivers and utilities should you accidental delete one, or need to install them after a clean install of the operating system.

Creating more portions can be accomplished in a couple of ways, depending on what you are trying to do. If you want to shrink the existing one without damaging it and add a second partition. You'll need something like Partition Magic, or BootIT NG, or any number of other such applications. Actually, I have heard there are facilities built into the Disk Managment tool of Vista that allow you to shrink a partiton. I can't vouch for that though. If that does work you can then add the second partition with then same Disk Management tool. See: Resize a Partition using Vista

If you have a Vista install disk or upgrade disk, you can use it to erase the current portion as you install the operating system. You can then specify a specific size of the partition you want the Vista install to create and leave a portion un allocated. Then once Vista is functional you can use the built in Disk Management tool to allocate the unused space for additional portion(s).

As for getting "my vista OS on DVd from sony", you can't. They only offer Recovery Disks, just like the ones you should make yourself as I said above.

Gary

 

yes, here it is: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=132560

i have been wondering about all those guys here on the forum intending to install 3-4GB of RAM: as far as i know, 2GB is maximum for FZ series. please correct me if i'm wrong?

 

so, i'm just another owner of FZ machine, a particular model of FZ11E to be exact. although first impressions are all positive, i need to downgrade to XP to appreciate it completely (all my work is XP based and i have no experience with Vista).

what stroke me is that although i bought a model based on T7100, the Device Manager in Vista clearly shows i've got T7300. ofcourse, that's nothing really to complain about since T7300 got twice as much L2 cache! however FZ11E is not supposed to have a T7300, also when i enter my serial number on Sony site, the spec list i get includes T7100.. weird

 

OK, you are wrong.

The max for the HARDWARE is 4 gig. The Vista 32 bit OS will only see... wait for it.... 32 bits worth of that or a bit over 3 gig. A 64 bit OS (for which there are currently NO drivers) would be able to see all 4 gig.

Gary

 

allrite! i wasn't sure since i only seen this limitation when purchasing my FZ11E: 1GB out of max 2GB.. might be an error from the vendor.

 

also.. is anyone in know about the differences between 1x0 and 11 series? as well as letter codes (like FZ11L, FZ11S, FZ11E etc). can't seem to find this info on Sony site..

 

I have that too with mine, but if i check the Vista performance thingie it does say T7100. Some Vista flaw maybe, not sure what causes it. if you want to make sure what cpu you have you can check it with cpu-z or another hardware configuration check program.

I don't really understand the nr's Sony use for there FZ series either, but don't waste any time with learning them, there are some new models on the way.
The new FZ's suppose to have the T7250 instead of the T7100, a larger hdd (200 and 250Gb, 4.200 rpm), faster w-lan and a 1.3megapixel webcam. Oh, and they also changed the max. ram to 4Gb officially now.

Not sure why Sony decided to make some changes to a notebook that's only on the market for a few months though, and if the changes are only for Europe's low end models. Does anyone know a little more about the new FZ series perhaps?

 

The discrepency between the device manager display and the actual CPU is apparently the result of how Sony imaged the machines. They don't actuall "install" the OS on every machine. They use a specialized image that was created on one machine and then copied to each machine. And the device manager is showing the info from that original image, not what is currently on your machine. There was discussion of this in a thread a few weeks back. If I remember correctly the "solution" was to go into the device manager and remove the two cpu's. Then reboot and device manager will "discover" the "new" cpu's and update the info. Removing the CPU's from device manager is a scary prospect. You might want to do a search here first to get the specifics. Check for the messages BEFORE you try this. My memory is a bit hazy on this.

Gary

 

I was wondering if anyone could help me.

I'm having a hard time between ordering a Sony VAIO FZ190 CTO with blu-ray or a Dell Inspiron 1520 with blu-ray. I can't decide. I plan on using it for photo and video editing, mostly left at home, some occasional traveling, possible install wireless at home. They both work out to about the same price for me since I get a fed employee discount at Dell even with the extras that I can include with the Dell. I don't like the bloatware issue with Sony and I would be scared to death to attempt a clean install if I had the VISTA disc to do it. Plus hearing some of the problems with whining, heat, did I hear display problems too? Sounds like the Sony display is better???? would that apply also to the blu-ray drive? I don't like the fact that Dell doesn't come with an HDMI but they claim I can buy a $10 adaptor to convert a USB port to HDMI. Is that true? OK, lots of questions, sorry.

Seems like it comes down to weight and customer service. I googled and found plenty of talk on Dell's customer service (not good) but not much on Sony's. First impressions are that Sony's plan seems expensive and Dell gives more for less with this particular notebook. Regarding weight, the Dell appears to be about 1 pound heavier.

Configuration on both:
T7300 2GHz
2GB RAM/4 L2
NVIDIA graphics with the 256MB dedicated
160GB/5400rpms
Vista Home Premium

ETA: Brother-in-law called and is trying me to look at MacPro. I've never used Mac so haven't considered it before.

 

TO all the proud owners of the FZ11S:

Can you please tell me if you run Oblivion on your laptop? and how well does it play? (or any other recent game).

I'm trying to decide between the FZS (128 dedicated 8400GT) and the Acer 5920 (256 8600GT)


Thank you all

 

Thanks for the explanation Garry!

To know is good enough for me, i don't feel the need to change it myself but maybe someone else does.

@adr-vrd: as i posted yesterday there are some new FZ models on the way. I'm not sure witch one but one of these models will replace the FZ11S. Sony isn't clear about how much v-ram the replacement model will have but i doubt strongly that it will have more then 128mb. I do know that it will have the eco-bright screen instead of the Xbrite so if you want that one you better hurry and get yourself a FZ11S before there sold out.

But if it's a gaming laptop you want you might wanna go with a 8600GT with 256mb, the gaming performance is much better then that of a 8400GT with only 128mb. Although i would never recommend an Acer machine to anyone....

If you want some more options in the same price range you can also check out the Asus S96 perhaps or Xxodd or Compal machines, if i remember correctly they also offer models with a 8600GT.

I don't have Oblivion, but i can tell you that GTR2, San Andreas and Blazing Angels play very well on my FZ, i hope that that information helps gives you a little more insight.

 

Storm3016 _ thanks for your reply,

really appreciate it, cheers

 

Very strange how Play.com doesn't sell the FZ11S anymore. Are they out of stock? or this is a clear sign that the new model it's on it's way.

Some retailers still have it like Comet but going at £819 and above.

Just when i wanted to buy it......

 

Yeps, the new models are expected 17 september and ready for pre-order on amazon, it are the FZ2xxx models.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_p...964,541966,565108&field-keywords=Sony+vaio+fz


Thanks to mboots for posting this link on tweakers.net

 

If you precisely compare specs of upcoming FZ2XX models they have slower read-write blu-ray or dvd drives....

i dont know why also again missing bluetooth

 

hello ... i just got the vaio fz model with the 1.8 and intel graphics and no hdmi ... i noticed that this has many programs installed, most of which i will not use, so I was wondering if you guys could tell me what programs i could uninstall, those programs that are real junk l etc etc...
I looked at the how to optimize your vaio thread but i dont really want to do that way.... also is there like a program that will really uninstall a program ? that will clean all the files and etc etc ??
thanks all and good labor day weekend !!

 

Even though it sounds like you do not want to try a clean install, you might still want to look at my instructions for doing one. It has in it a list of all of the applications on the FZ190, FZ160, FZ180 and I believe the FZ11 series machines and lists what they do. It also shows which drivers and applications are NECESSARY if you did do a clean install. By using that list you can also decide which ones are NOT necessary.

Check the link in my signature below.

Gary

 

Anybody here tried to upgrade default windows vista business to vista ultimate on their vaio laptop ?? if yes please tell is it simple procedure like inserting disc and click next, next .. or it require fresh installation from scratch including drivers ?

I have one more important question:
After creating partitions e.g, D: & E: on hard drive.. if I later restore my laptop to factory settings using restore option in control panel (NOT through recovery discs). what will happen to data on my drives D: & E: ? will it remain untouced ?

Note: I'm talking about restore option in control panel NOT through recovery discs.

 

yeah but this sony vaio i bought didn't come with any cd with it ...
i guess ill just do a one by one unistall ... im guessing that the software/program in red on your pdf file are the ones that are essential right ?

thanks for the reply !!

 

Maybe you should read the file mr Gary put together for all of us so kindly one more time, you have to burn your recovery dvd's yourself using the Vaio recovery program. You'll be needing 3 empty dvd's for that.

 

No one gets DVD's with a sony. You have to burn them. And you should do so BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE. If you start deleting stuff before you have these DVD's you may find youself in trouble with no way out. Those DVD's are your saftey net!

For the most part the red ones are what I initally thougnt would be essential. For the definitive list the grid on the last two pages shows exactly what I did install. That's the "real" list of essentials.

Gary

 

I was just wondering if you knew whether or not Sony was planning on offering these new FZ2xxx on Sonystyle.com

 

I assume they will, but to be honest i have no way of knowing that. If you want to be sure you have to contact Sony.

 

Went to the Sony shop on saturday, and a guy there told me to ring them towards the end of this week , when they will be able to tell me what exactly will replace the FZ11S.

Ideally i would hope for a 256 dedicated 8400GT, but after looking at the models offered on amazon, i think it will only get worse, i.e slow HDD, eco screen and the rest...