Vaio FZ Owners Official Owners Thread

On my Fz190 I don't even have a Roaming\temp. Mine is local\temp. But a boot.ISO seems a bit odd. Check the date and time stamp and compare it to the data and time stamp of the folders contained in your Program Files folder. Maybe that way you can determine which app put it there if it was dones as part of an app install. Another thing to try might be a search for other files created within a few minutes of that file. (Search will let you search by date and time.) This sounds quite odd.

Gary

 

Thanks for reply, i have deleted the iso file.

I also need help regarding following problem.

I can only hear sound when i play .avi video files on windows media player please guide me which codec whould i install and url ?

i have found one codec as follows:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multim...deo-Codecs/Advanced-Vista-Codec-Package.shtml


thanks

 

So what did the ISO turn out to be? Re: Sound: You "can only" or you "can NOT"?

Gary

 

Go to divx.com, download their "free" version and you're good to go

 

Here is the link to the newly posted review of the FZ180E.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2209715

 

ehm......?

 

If you have problem with high temp in idle and short battery life, check your graphics card driver, maybe don't support POWERMIZER.

To check this in vista you must use nvidia monitor from nTune.
It will display the GPU clock speed in real time as well as the temps for the GPU.

I changed the original drivers from sony to 156.55 from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com and in the balanced mode nvidia monitor shows core/mem from 168/100 to 450/600. It's depending on what i'm just doing.

 

new fz190 owner here. I tried using the search function but i didn't get any results answering my question. I also looked at the 'clean install of vista' tutorial but didn't see any mention of this as well:

i'd like to do a clean install but retain the location free software, any way for this to happen without 'ghosting' your drive(noob here so i'm not familiar with that) thanks in advance!

 

If memory serves me, the "location free" stuff is for remote viewing of media files right? Do you have the external hardware to support that? Without that I don't think there's any need to worry about it.

In the clean install document the mention of ghosting refers to using Norton Ghost, an application that can create a compressed image of your entire C: drive. It's a way of creating a complete backup of the C: drive very quickly and recommended in my document ONLY as a way of having a QUICK fall back point at various stages in the process I outlined. It is TOTALLY optional, you needn't worry about doing those steps. Without using Ghost (or similar software) the ONLY downside is if something WERE to go wrong at a particular step you may have to start again from the begining. With an image you could just go back to the image point. It's a POTENTIAL time saver that's all.


Back to the "location free" stuff, do this even if you are NOT going to do a clean install: First create the Recovery DVD set as recommended in the document and everywhere else. That is your safety net. It gives you a DVD copy of the same stuff that resides on the hidden recovery partition of your hard drive. And can be used to recover back to the "out of the box" state should anything happen to the hidden recovery partition. As explained in the document the DVD set also serves a second purpose. It will allow you to selectively install the drivers and applications that come with your FZ190. (I recommend you NOT use it for drivers, but to use the ones from the Sony Support website, they are more uptodate.) Included in the list of applications on the recovery DVD set is "Location Free Client". I marked it off the list in my document because most folks, including me, don't have the equipment for it. <grin>

If you need to have it, install it somewhere around step 14m.

If you have further questions about a clean install on an FZ190, ask them in the thread about that topic. That way other folks who come along latter will benefit from your questions. A link to that thread is in my signature below.

Gary

 

Wouldn't the locationfree software be included with the locationfree hardware?

 

thank you kindly scuderiaconchiglia, will give it a go. Yes i would like to have it since i picked up the fz at sony's site where they're giving away the free location tv free.

they do have software that's included in the hardware but that one has a serial for only one client/device, want to use the software on another client and you have to pay for it. the one that comes on the lappy requires no such serial. i would like to use the serial on another machine.

 

the boot.iso file seems to be a backup iso file of operating system.. it was residing inside raxio folder, i have been experimenting a lot with my laptop from very first day .. i m not sure when it was created but deleting that file didnt cause any problem.

regarding sound problem ,, the laptop play most of video files including wmv, VCD's & DVD perfectly however the .avi video files only gives sound (without any video) im planning to install a codec for that.

Based on my experience I would also like to say that Vista is more likely to affected by virus malware & trojans attacks as compared to XP. also the windows explorer is not friendly at all. but one will get used to it with passage of time.

last but not least the FZ190 hi-brite WXGA LCD is really really marvellous especially when a blu-ray movie is played.. the picture clarity, color sharpness is just like real. thanks to sony they give 3 free blu-ray movies with my laptop

 

More likely? How would that be? It is much LESS likely to be affected especially if folks leave UAC turned on. What makes you think it will be MORE likely?

Gary

 

actually when i transferred my data (consisting of exe progs, images, videos etc) from old pc runnning Xp to my vista laptop, I experienced lot of problems.. that all data which was very friendly and residing calmly on my old PC suddenly turned aggressive and causes lot of problems to vista OS. I have to run AV progs to get it stable.

even before coppying data to my new laptop, i just turned on my out-of-box laptop and after few days of simple browsing some malware/trojan started affecting exe files of vista OS, i have never experienced such problem before and i have to re-install almost all applications thinking that might be semi-clean vista installationis reason of such behaviour... however later i came to know that its a virus which changes size of exe files.

 

dare2dream:
the avi problem is normal for windows media player, even on the xp system...at least for me. I don't think wmp can play .avi files, and if I didn't have divx installed, then I could only hear sound. That was the way it was for me on my old computers that ran on xp.

 

I have a question, doesn't know if t's an issue or not. At Media Player, when playing a video, the background around the movie that should be black is rather grey. I went to NVidia settings and turned down the brightness for video a little bit. It was fixed but only for windowed mode. In full screen the background is still grey - look and the screenshots. Is there any issue with media player and the shipped nvidia drivers? Funny thing is media player classic using VM9 rendering doesn't have this issue.

Also, what's the SSMS Audio Filter that is loading with media player? Does it give any audio improvements?

All in all, I am very pleased with this laptop, only downside are the speakers, hp's ones are way more powerful.

Thanks.

 

What exactly does that mean? What "problems" did these things cause Vista, and how did an AV program fix them?

And did you have any Anti virus app running? I am not suggesting that Vista is immune to viruses, but I am saying that all of the structural changes to Vista over XP make Vista LESS vulnerable not more vulnerable as you are suggesting.

Gary

 

SSMS Audio Filter is an advanced sound equalizer/mixer kind of thing. It is pretty good if you like to tinker around with equalizers and such, but you can turn it off otherwise.

 

Question for owner of FZ CTO with white keyboard.

How dirty does it gets and how soon.

 

ok so the 'official' review says :

"The VAIO FZ runs extremely quiet with the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Still, even though the fan is silent it kept heat under control."

"As mentioned, the system fan is quiet when running. You have to put your ear down at desk level to hear it over any other ambient noise in the room. Despite the lack of noise the fan pushes out a significant amount of heat …"

yet a bunch of people discuss the "crashing waves" noise and the fan constantly turning on and off and a high pitched whine, etc.

what's the consensus? is this machine actually quiet, or was the review unit only quiet because it had the integrated intel graphics?

the one i'm looking to buy has the 64MB 8400M GT, but i'm having second thoughts with all i've been reading about noise...

 

I'd say just give it a go and try it out. There have been a number of people complaining about noise and heat, but others report that it's the quietest machine they ever owned -like me-. I'm still not sure if there really is a whining fan or crashing wave problem myself, or that it's just the way the fan's suppose to work and that the noise is just a problem for people with sensitive hearing (although my hearing well exceeds that of an average person strange enough). There haven't been much reports of those complains lately, so it could have been a problem only with the early models too maybe.

All my computer building friends who are experimenting with water cooling and stuff to keep the noise of there comps down are astound by the quietness of my FZ also, that must say something to.

 

All you have read are the folks who complained. The nature of these sorts of forums are you will almost never hear from folks who have no issues.

I have had my FZ190 since July. I use it every day for at least ten hours a day. (I am a developer.) I have heard the crashing waves ONE time, when I had it sitting on a bed and the bottom vents were blocked.

Gary

 

Hello to everyone here!

Im a owner of a new FZ18L. I was impresed by Vista but I need ram for my programs so I instaled Windows XP. I had some problems with drivers...

Controls from notebook (vol+/-, brightnes...) dont work. I would also like to instal software for touch pad (with scrolers on sides). On some site I read that you just right click on inf file and and then "Instal". But this doesnt work in my case...

Does enyone know how put all controls to work?

Thank you!


Some links for those who havent found drivers yet:
nvidia 8400M gt (and some others..)
http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15175

Downgrade to XP drivers
ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/OS/XPDOWNGRADE/FZ19/

 

I just got my FZ180E/P on Monday Sept. 24th and tried FEAR on it for fun and got 19fps min, 32fps avg, and 52fps max this was using the 163.69 drivers from www.laptopvideo2go.com.

 

Just got my Sony Vaio FZ and loving it. I managed to get NZ$500 (about US$380) off because it was a factory second (the packaging was damaged), so it set me back NZ$1,700 instead of NZ$2,200. The store I got the FZ from is called 'Sony solutions'.

The battery life is pretty poor but there is plenty you can do get more out of the battery. I have had surprisingly few problems so far, although I was annoyed i had to make my own recovery discs with two dvd+r's, which I managed to get off the store manager for free.

My specifications were the lowest level available in New Zealand. I got a santa rosa 1.8ghz processor (7100), 1gb of 667 ram, a M8400GT graphics card (128), a 120gb hard drive, and a standard dvd writer (HDMI port though), 1 year warranty and windows vista home premium.

 

This is my third clean XP instal. I am loosing nerves because of this.

There has to be someone who figure it out what drivers/programs u need to instal to make those FN controls work in Windows XP.

I did came to point where the FN+F5/F6 did something (just showing brightness bar on screen...). Then I tried something else and loose my web cam ...

Help is wanted here!


oh, I have FZ18L

 

In my personal opinion one should get used to vista instead of switching back to XP. Obviously future is for vista we should learn to move and adopt new changes with time.

in past computer users were reluctant to switch to xp from older OS (win98) but change is always good and obviously how long you can stick to win98. If one dont adapt to new OS then the gap between oldest OS and newest release increases with time. its easy to switch to vista from xp than win98.

I have been using vista and it takes very little time to get used to it. so think again before installing win xp on your new laptop.

 

I have had trouble with the InstantOn update for Intervideo. It won't install and I don't plan on doing a recovery. I spent too much time getting the programs off the laptop that I don't want. Sony says they have had problems with that update. My question is, do I need InterVideo on the laptop? Specifically, does it tie into any other programs that would be affected if I delete it. I know it is an enhanced DVD player, but I use Media Player with no problems. I may only watch 4 movies a year on the laptop when on vacation. I have Roxio on the laptop for my Blackberry, when I upgrade to a media capable Blackberry. I guess I still need Live Update for other Sony updates. But, can't find that in my program list. Where do you go to see specifics or properties on Live Update?

Thanks,

Ken

I meant Vaio update not Live Update, and I found it.

 

It has been only 1 1/2 months since I bought my FZ. The lid doesn't close properly. When closing the right side of the lid is not laying flat on the bottom surface.
Anyway I managed to run my FZ faster without a clean install. The number of processes running has come down from 76 to 51. I have only 68 GB of HD space left out of 120 GB. I am still wondering how to free that up.

 

Highlighted part in the image is the hottest place in my vaio (idle). What is it?, what device is there?

 

That would be the GPU, it should be between 50 and 59 degrees idle.

 

Thanks for the answers,
but i think there is too small area for gpu.

 

Just how big do you think the gpu actually is?

Gary

 

When I open the Performance Information thru the control panel, Vista pops up a message some performance issue. The following warnings were found in the event viewer.

The Desktop Window Manager is experiencing heavy resource contention.
Scenario : The Desktop Window Manager responsiveness has degraded.

The Desktop Window Manager is experiencing heavy resource contention.
Scenario : Video memory resources are over-utilized and there is thrashing happening as a result. Reducing number of running programs and open windows may help resolve this condition.


Does anybody else get similar warnings with vista? What could be the possible reason for this?

 

Not happening here. Can you post an image or the text of the popup message(s)?

Gary

 

Here are the pics Gary.

My prev post gives the warnings in the event viewer.

 

Does this persist after a reboot? Have you changed video driver from the stock one?

Gary

 

Nope I haven't changed anything. This problem comes up all the time. But I didn't notice any degraded performance except the flickering to blank screen at start up.

 

Is this a clean install, a semi-clean install, a manual removed bloatware install? Any of the various "tweaks" applied. Have you turned of any services?

Gary

 

I didn't reinstall vista. Just removed some bloatware. I just made some services manual like bluetooth, sql sever services, etc. I didn't apply any tweak. The tweaks don't seem to improve the system performance that much.

 

Do you know what "bloatware" you actually removed? Maybe you uninstalled something Vista or Sony thinks was needed.

The other thing you might try is making all of the services you changed to manual back to automatic and rebooting and see if that has any effect. If so, set half of them to manual and reboot. Then see if you are back to the error messages. Keep doing that until you can isolate WHICH service is causing the issue. You'll need to write down which ones you trun to manual each time so you can continue this binary search for the culprit.


Gary

 

I've read Gary already mentioned it, but could you check witch video drivers you are using now just to make sure? I think i've got the same error once when i accidentally removed the Nvidia driver, Vista then automatically switches to a default driver that is, well, rubbish.

 

^^
I don't have this issue now. It occured sometime in the past. But I still didn't figure out what caused that. I will discuss more about that when it occurs again.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Another question, my FZ is supposed to have 120 GB hard drive. I have only 69 GB left now. I installed some big programs like Office 2003, Flight simulator demo, Need for speed demos (< 4GB). Anyway how can it be 51 GB used already? (after some space is used up for vista). This is so ridiculous for a new notebook right?

 

Oh, so we were trying to track down a problem that no longer exists? You might have mentioned that before. So when did the problem go away?

No not at all. This has been discussed lot on this forum and the Windows forum. It is most likely the system restore points that Vista makes when you install or uninstall things. A quick search will uncover the specifics.

Gary

 

Just finished reading through this entire thread.

I have recently purchased a FZ15G. I'm from Australia so i don't know which model this matches for the US and UK users. Basically my laptop is the 1.8ghz C2D 1gb ram 8400gt.

Several people are describing a fan noise issue which i seem to be experiencing. The noise sounds like the fan spins up and down every second or two. The fan is by no means excessively noisy when it spins up, my issue is with the variation in noise. It is extremely annoying having a fan going off and on at such a high frequency.

My question to all others who are experiencing a similar issue is what are your system specs.
Do you have the Intel graphics or NVIDIA graphics?
Have you altered the original operating system (ie. used one of the guides for a clean install)?
Do you have any background processes consuming CPU resources?

I have a feeling that this problem is caused by the power management of either the BIOS or the operating system. Can someone who is NOT experiencing this issue please post the version number of the power management software Sony provide.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

ps. if anyone thinks that this particular issue warrants a new thread please let me know and i will start one.

 

Actually I didn't notice the date in the event viewer. But the pics I posted were snippets I made yesterday. I removed the issues from the history. There are no new issues at present.

 

But what I learnt is Vista deletes the previously created restore points as new points are created to save disk space and only upto 15% of the disk is reserved for system restore.

 

Skyline34, I live in NZ and own the exact same model that you do. I honestly have no idea what our model is like compared to the US ones, but since its the '15G' you can assume its one of the lower level ones bought out recently.

 

I have FZ190cto intel 7300, nvidia 8400GT, 2 GB ram and 160 Hard drive. Running OK, but have problems with Photoshop CS3. No smooth color transition when using color picker tool. It is like heavy dark lines along the color picker screen. I tried almost everything possible to resolve: removed video drivers, reinstalled complete system and much more. No solution.
It is going back to Sony. I have CS3 with a video accelerator X1300 and it works fine.
Any advise? Sony support does not have an idea.

 

Try it with Photoshop CS3 what a disappointment! Colors are all scrambled looks like s...