A click away from returning my TZ170N

Completely disappointed in the TZ170N, I've had it a week and have only turned it on a handful of times - but that's because its so slow to turn on and turn off.

I spent two hours on the phone with the help desk and they asked me to do a system restore and then a complete factory restore and this morning the slowness is still happening. My CPU usage was at 100% with over 100 processes running at once.

Has this happened to anyone else ?? Did I just get a lemon ?

These are the specs of the model I bought:-

Specifications
General
Computer Type: Notebook
Type of Use: Ultra Portable
Action Buttons: AV Mode (DVD/CD Instant On)
Play/Pause, Stop, Rewind, Fast Forword, Eject,
Wireless On/Off
Pointing Device: Electro-Static touch pad
Security: Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) TCG Ver.1.2
compliant
Hardware
Keyboard: QWERTY (82 keys with 1.7mm stroke and
17mm pitch)
Camera: Built-in MOTION EYE® camera and
microphone
Processor
Type: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor U7500
Speed: 1.06GHz
Front Side Bus Speed: 533MHz
L2 Cache: 2MB
Technology: Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology
Memory
Type: DDR2
Installed: 2GB (2x1GB)
Maximum: 2GB
Speed: 533MHz
Hard Drive
Capacity: 100GB
Speed: 4200rpm
Interface: Ultra ATA
Impact Protection: G-Sensor™ Shock Protection - Hard
Disk Drive Protection
Optical Drive #1
DVD+R DL Write: 4x max.
DVD+R Write: 8x max.
DVD+RW Write: 8x max.
DVD-R Write: 8x max.
DVD-RW Write: 6x max.
CD-R Write: 24x max.
CD-RW Write: 16x max.
DVD±RW: Yes (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/DVD-RAM Drive)
CD Read: 24x max.
DVD-RAM Write: 5x max.
DVD-R DL Write: 4x max.
DVD-RAM Read: 5x max.
Expansion Slots
Multimedia Card Reader: Memory Stick PRO™ (with
MagicGate® functionality)
Secure Digital Media
One ExpressCard™ /34 Slot
Audio
Sound System: Windows® sound system compatible
Dolby® Headphone
Dolby® Virtual Speaker
Built-in stereo speakers
Display
Screen or Display Technology: WXGA LCD
Resolution: 1366x768
XBRITE-HiColor™ Technology: Yes
Candelas: 11.1" Razor-Thin Panel
LED backlight for brilliant colors and clarity
1
14
2
6
12
Graphics
Processor: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Video RAM: 224MB Total Available Graphics Memory
Chipset: Intel® 945GMS
Interface: VGA out w/ Smart Display Sensor
Inputs and Outputs
Ethernet Port: 1
Headphone Jack: 1
i.LINK® Interface: 1 (4-pin) interface (IEEE 1394)
Memory Stick® Media Slot: 1
Modem Jack: 1
Secure Digital Slot: 1
Microphone Input: 1
Port Replicator Connector(s): 1 (Bottom)
USB Port(s): 2 (2.0 compliant)
VGA Output(s): 1
DC-In: 1
Networking/Modem

Ethernet Protocol: Fast Ethernet (RJ-45)
Ethernet Speed: 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
Modem Type: Integrated V.92/V.90 modem (RJ-11)
Wireless LAN: Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network
Connection (802.11a/b/g/n)
Wireless WAN: Sprint® Mobile Broadband service
Bluetooth® Technology: Integrated Bluetooth®
Technology
Power

Battery Type: Standard Capacity Lithium-ion Battery
(VGP-BPL11)
Estimated Battery Life: 4.0-7.5 hours
Power Requirements: 68W+10%
Software

Operating System: Windows Vista® Business
Internet Services: AOL® 90-Day Risk Free Trial - New
Users Only
Anti-Virus and Recovery Software: Norton® Internet
Security™ 2007 60-Day Trial with sypware
protection

Supplied Software: Microsoft® Works 8.5, 60-Day Trial
Version of Microsoft® Office 2007
Sony® Original Software: Click to DVD® - DVD
Creation, SmartWi™ Technology, LocationFree®
Player.
*Please access VAIO® Help and Support from your
PC for a complete list of software and trial
applications.

 

One big reason is because unfortunately, the North American TZ models are CHOCK FULL TO THE BRIM with crapware. Mountains and mountains of crapware.

If you do a clean install, you will notice a significant increase in performance. At least do that before returning it. Not a factory restore, a full clean install of Vista.

 

Unfortunately, the biggest bottleneck is the HDD. The 1.8" HDD is a dog. You can't really speed it up, but what you can do is turn off some of the Vista crapware that really hampers ultraportables. First d/l the files below. They are essential fixes for Vista from M$.

http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=41874

Next, check the link below for instructions to disable Superfetch.

http://ultramobilepc-tips.blogspot.com/2007/05/make-your-vista-to-run-faster-in-your.html

Disabling Aero will also help with performance as well as uninstalling all the crapware.

Finally, defrag the HDD and keep it defragged.

Try those and see if anything improves.

 

question, what kind of ram does the tz take because i would be willing to buy one if i could upgrade the ram to 2gb, i think 400$ is way too much for 1 gig extra ram from sony

 

It takes standard DDR2 200 Pin PC2 4200/5200/6400. I would suggest the 6400 in case you want to use the RAM later on in a faster machine. You can pick up 2GB for around $125-$150.

 

There are loads and loads of threads and sites that answer your question so in the future I'd advice you to do a simple search - i.e. look at the first post in this thread. 533 MHz, PC4200. Yes you can upgrade to 2 GB RAM.

By looking at your previous threads I however think you are being confused about what you want for a notebook. I mean Dell 1520/1420 and HP DV2500t and then going the Vaio TZ route?

 

If you'd install XP clean it will be running like a champ.

For good Vista performance you need faster HDD. 4200RPM is the bottleneck.

 

I second that. If you have the 4200 rpm hdd, you really ought to be running xp.

I have the 5400rpm hdd and I still removed vista and installed xp. And I'm loving it..

 

Some more info that XP is faster:

http://pfeifferreport.com/trends/trend_vistauif.html

 

I have the TZ170N, bought it last week from Sony Style, and I must say, that I was totally amazed that it runs as well as it does.

I'm used to using a Dell XPS-M1710, my main computer, and this little Sony really surprised me with its ability to run Vista with all Eye Candy turned on.

The 4200 RPM Hard Drive is the biggest bottleneck. Not much we can do about that. Because of the hard drive, boot up going to be slow.

Without a doubt, you have to reformat and re-install Vista. There is a copy of the Vista Install files in the Windows\SonySys directory. Copy them to USB hard drive or burn them to a DVD and you'll have a full OEM copy of Windows.

I made a copy of the Recovery Partition, and then blew it out to reclaim the disk space, and then did a complete re-install.

Don't install any of the crap that Sony gives you other than some of the essential Sony Utilities (Camera, Computer Utils). Re-install all of the drivers and get the updated drivers and BIOS from the Sony support site.

You should then be quite happy with the lil guy.

These things are designed for Portability, not Desktop Replacements. I bought mine for traveling. It suits the purpose just fine.

About the only thing I can find seriously wrong with the TZ is the major amount of Light Leakage. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it. People from the Dell camp would be returning these things left and right based upon the Light Leakage alone. But, I can live with it. Just never display anything with a dark background .

Kenny

 

I don't have any light leakage unless I tilt the screen at an extreme angle open/close.

 

Yep, def light leakage at the bottom of the screen.

 

I have the same issue! I spent over 4 hours waiting for the system to restore then download all the updates for Vista! Weird enough once the system was charged and powered out the box, Windows immedetly had an error! I was forced to re-format on jump!

I do find it very slow and I plan on running a clean install of Vista without all the pre-loaded software.

I am also considering running a dual boot of XP Pro and Vista, Im certain that XP will make this system fly!

Butch

 

After uninstalling loads of bloatware on my TZ150 (2gig ram) my baby is running really well. I don't have a slow boot or shut down...

 

Uninstalling the bundled virus software has made my TZ 170 start much quicker. Found that tip on another thread here. I'm still in the process of deleting more of the bloatware.....man Sony loads up on bloatware. I'll probably do a clean stall shortly.

 

My TZ had very minimum light leakage at the bottom, but only during the black screen during boot. Not noticeable in other times.

 

Bloatware? See the link in my signature.