Extended warranty question, panic!

Some may remember my recent run-in with Sony: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/672104-open-letter-sony.html

After the whole debacle, I decided to fix my computer first and I'm sending it to the US tomorrow. But now I have a new fiasco to brighten up my day.

Completely by chance, I realized that the laptop has 6gb of RAM instead of 8gb. I checked in BIOS, then I unscrewed the RAM panel: Indeed, a 2Gb stick in lieue of my second 4gb stick.

Obviously, Turkish Sony service ran some tests during repairs, and forgot their stock stick in there. They are denying such a thing is possible and driving me crazy, but that's not the issue. The issue is:

1- Will having a non-native RAM in there (or removing that foreign RAM) void my guarantee in any way?

If not,

1- Will Sony in the US replace it if I report the case since I only entrusted my PC to Turkish Sony service?

2- US Sony technician agreed to change the mainboard when I called it in, hoping that would solve the spontaneous shut-downs. With this RAM issue, all of a sudden, would they decide not to change mainboard (the problem predates the RAM issue)? If I don't mention it at all, is it better overall?

Friend is leaving tomorrow with the laptop, so urgent need of help!

 

On a related note: Should I flash the original, un-advanced BIOS back before handing it in? Should I uninstall any software or drivers?

 

first, relax! Nothing you have described is likely to cause Sony to invalidate your warranty. A couple of things worth determining before you do anything - if you do anything, as nothing may be needed.

1) What kind of RAM did they use in the 2GB stick? It should be 204-pin WODIMM, DDR3PC3 10600 memory module double check that with crucial.com handy tool. If your 2GB stick meets these specs, you have fully compliant RAM and I I'm all but positive that there is any warranty restriction that you have to use the exact same manufacturer, just the right spec. If you have any doubts, I would pull the 2GB stick out and just send it back with the original 4GB. You could document the whole problem with the RAM substitution by Sony in Turkey, but as RAM is so cheap ($20 for the 4GB stick) it may be more effective to take that off the table. If your 2GB stick meets the specs I cite above, you can do nothing without fear of warranty problems.

2) Did you flash a newer BIOS that is found on the product support page for your model? Even if not, if it appeared on the download list for a different version of the VPC-Z, I think it would be a "sanctioned" BIOS update. Here again, when in doubt, revert to BIOS that the computer was shipped with, though if the update is shown on the product support/download page for your model, leaving it with sanctioned update should be fine as well. Since flashing BIOS always leaves a small but significant risk of bricking your laptop, better to leave it alone. If you did the BIOS hack developed and supported by people on the NBR Sony Forum, I would definitely return that to an un-hacked version of the BIOS that came on the computer.

Other than reflashing the BIOS if you are running on a hacked version, you are likely best off doing nothing. If the RAM they substituted in Turkey is only slightly off sped - eg, maximum clock speed of 1333 mHz vs. standard 10600 it would not do damage to your machine nor be a cause for warranty problems - particularly if you can document the change by the Turkey service dept. If you only recently discovered the switch and have not gotten it on record with Sony Turkey, I think you should ignore it. For your future use, though, having 2 identical 4GB sticks will cause your dual channel memory to function at its fastest. The chipset in the VPC-1 does not use more than 1066 mHz RAM, but it will just default to 1066 even if is certified at 1333 mHz. (only Clarkdale Quad Core i7s and Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge dual core can operate at the 1333 speeds.

Sorry if this ran long, but I wanted to reassure you what things you should/shouldn't change before returning the computer. If the person is taking it to the US tomorrow I would suggest only reflashing the BIOS to original if the one you are using does not appear on the support/download page for your model is a useful but overly cautious approach, unless it it an unsanctioned commuinty BIOS. Leave the RAM as is unless it is way out of spec for the machine; if it is out of spec (other than as noted above), I would just suggest pulling the 2GB DIMM out of it.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted

 

Thank you for the amazing instructions. I won't mention the RAM at all.

I tried using the most recent Sony utility to re-flash the BIOS (to remove the NBR hack). The utility refuses to, saying I have the most current version. What to do?

UPDATE: I flashed the original dump.rom and it did the trick.

 

Glad it helped. If you google the bios issue you should get links to the NBR threads that dealt with this, including some hard to find section of the "BIOS HACK people" threads. As the vBulletin software on NBR is useless for searching within its content, you get more direct links using Google. Beyond that, I would start a new thread and make sure the title and text of your post is focused and succinct: "Need help getting my hacked BIOS back to stock BI
OS for warranty service," and in the post should ignore all the details of this one, just make it clear you want to revert to the factory BIOS (you might cite the software version associated with it) without explaining why (irrelevant and will make the post too long - like mine are, lol! - and may even confuse your sole goal - to roll back your Bios to factory state.

BTW, I would have told you just how to do this but I don't know why, and this thread's title is too ambiguous to attract the "brain trust" of this forum! Good luck.

 

So, something like this is the best bet for a VPCZ1390X Arandale i7 640m? Anything faster is useless?

And by identical, how identical should they be? Another brand of the same speeds would suffice or should I buy a new set, just like the one I linked?

 

Anyone? Should I buy a lone 4gb 1066 mhz stick (the one I have left in there is a Samsung stick of these specs), or a new pair to make them even more "identical" by buying a set?