My discoveries on Vaio Z’s Hybrid Graphics

Yeah I know SirRobin.

I have that test driver that is a full package for the Z2 but requires test mode/signing.

I can put together an Intel only driver with all the corresponding settings and act as an update for the Intel side of the Z2. In fact I think I am going to do this anyways. I will test it on the Vaio SC and report back if it works.

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EDIT: Yep seems like the seperate Intel driver works on the SC. So it looks like I will post separate drivers for the Z2 & SA/SB/SC with no signing required. (Tested on SC unknown on Z2.)

 

Ok, so i will do the following later this evening:

Make a full backup with acronis and test if updating the intel part only will work

1. without dock
2. with dock connected

BTW: Is the best way to do a full backup with acronis or over the win 7 integrated backup tool?

I´m so pleased in your work nautis, thank you very much! My only hope is your work

Together i´ve written an email to one of the european heads of sony tech development. Maybe it is a good idea to publish this email adress so anyone can write to this person?

 

This thread is a mess. It was bad enough that it had hybrid graphics, optimus on hybrid graphics and modded BIOS discussions, with VPCZ1 and VGNZ types creating confusion. At least it was restricted to nVidia and Intel. Now we have ATi in the mix as well.

Will everyone at least put the manufacturer of their graphics cards in their signatures?

 

Yeah I am going to spin the ATI (Z2 & SA/SB/SC) stuff off into another thread. I may actually look at just letting this thread die and starting up seperate ATI and NVIDIA switchable graphics threads since there various models for each.

Its difficult, as much as I have tried keeping most of this information seperate it seems to all come back here since this thread has so much information. It is also where I get the most feedback. But yea I probably need to coordinate something with the mods here and do my part better.

To bring it back to NVIDIA Vaio Z discussion. The Intel/ATI seperation has given me some new ideas to try on the NVIDIA side.

I am still working on 280.## series drivers. I am trying to tie up some loose ends that the install logs are showing and get them to install with the correct version control panel. I will probably stick with the Intel side being 2281 for VPC-Z1 and 1994 for VGN-Z since we know they work. My goal with this release is to set a new framework so modding will be easier for everyone.

 

Thanks, Nautis. Appreciate all that you've done for us poor hybrid guys.

We could muddle along in this same thread but IMHO it would be a lot easier if everyone put their relevant details in their signatures. It gets very difficult to follow what someone is talking about if you don't know what hardware they've got. (Note: Sony's website doesn't say anything about ATi in their page on VPC-Z21V9E VPCZ21V9E (VPCZ21V9E, VPCZ21V9E/B.CEK) : Technical Specifications : VAIO & computing : Sony so even Googling is not painless).

Perhaps Intel 2266 would be a better choice for the VPCZ1. Andrew08 had some reservations about 2281, IIRC.

 

Yes - done. Good idea

 

^^lol, I think the model # is enough

 

@Nautis

good to see you back!! and glad to see people are still working hard, I stopped after I hacked my bios as... frankly there is no need since the official / unofficial drivers realised all work with a modded inf from laptopvideo2go.

Anyway, sounds like a great idea about making new threads.

 

Hey, thomaskc.dk! I was wondering what had happened to you. Been a while.

Re the BIOS hack, not everyone is comfortable with the idea of having to reboot in order to change the graphics mode. It entails interrupting whatever task you happened to be running at the time, including stuff that takes a while to complete.

P.S. ...and edit your signature, i.e. put your system info in there. (Yes, I'm now the signature police! LOL)

 

Hi,
I'm new to the forum but found it after having lots of problems with my Sony VPCZ1. I got lots of black screen hangs and BSOD.

I installed the "Nvidia 263.14 - Intel 2266" driver and now when my system resumes from hibernation it has a problem.

Even if it is in 'speed' mode it switches into 'Stamina' mode when I log in and then the screen flashes black and white then the PC hangs. I have to reboot to recover.

Should I install a different driver, avoid hibernation or just accept this behavior?

Thanks!

MrLou

Edit: My system is VPCZ1 with GT330M, Win 7 Enterprise x64

 

Looks like a program or driver on your system has issues with hibernation. Identifying the culprit could be tricky. If it is not too much trouble, backup your data, do a complete system recovery, install the Nvidia 263.14 - Intel 2266 and then see how it behaves. If all is well, then install your apps one by one and figure out which one causes the problem.

 

Haha will do!!

Well the case for me is that never use the Intel GPU... ever! everything I do is mostly graphical stuff or gaming, where I want the gpu acceleration anyway, so it makes more sense for me personally to just use the latest drivers and skip the whole hybrid thing.

 

Thanks.

BTW, what kind of battery life do you get when running on nVidia? Just curious, although come to think of it, a laptop with a single nVidia GPU (no dual graphics stuff) should be considerably cheaper than what we shelled out for the Z1.

 

^thomaskc.dk: It probably makes sense for most people as it is the most reliable thing at this point.

Its sad when we either have to use a hacked bios or drivers put together by some people on a forum to properly use the notebooks we all paid so much for.

I of course am still going to work on Switchable (Hybrid) Graphics and Optimus support for the Vaio Zs. Switchable graphics was a big selling point for these notebooks and when it works it is very nice. I don't like the idea of having to disable a portion of my notebook in order for it to work properly.

A bit OT: Pretty big success today on the AMD/ATI switchable graphics for the SA/SB/SC. With a lot of the work, I am using the same ideas building the new package for the VGN & VPC-Z1. I had tested the new Vaio Z package and it was working fine. I tested it again and it is giving me a couple issues. One issue is that it is refusing to switch for my VGN-Z from STAMINA back to SPEED (grrrr..). I was having an install issue but have fixed that one I think.
I was getting frustrated with the new Vaio Z package. I had to take a break. Move on to the Vaio S package and had much more success...
More testing.. more modding.. gotta get these Vaio Z drivers licked.
Z2 users are gonna need some help too I think.

 

Oh yes, we need help

 

I actually can't tell you as I rarely use it on battery. I do move my laptop but still to use it as work station / gaming platform, which will never happen on battery for me. So that said, it's not super important for me either.

I am still surprised though how little actual power (performance) the 1GB (totally useless) 330m can output... its pitiful.

I'm pretty sure the same 330m would do just fine with 256MB of memory as I think the amount of cores and the speed makes it bottleneck long before the 1GB would ever be used efficiently, which is suuuper annoying.

In all reality it is just a small ty gpu in a compact laptop and there is not much more to it, but somehow I still feel that it underperforms compared to what even that should...

 

So just to understand, what is the latest fully working old school hybrid driver currently for the VPC Z ? still the old 263.14?

 

Hmmm So I just tried to install the 263.14 hybrid drivers, but im getting an error! :O im in Test mode but they just fail.

Am I missing something? (and yes, bios is put back on auto)

EDIT: I went to microsoft update and let windows install the Intel drivers it found there, rebooted and after that the signed 263.14 install like a charm. All fixed.

 

Hm.. wonder why it failed in the first place. Did you uninstall both drivers completely? Sometimes the screen just goes black during the uninstall and you have to do it 'blind', i.e. wait for several minutes until you are sure it is finished, and press 'enter' to reboot (imagining the 'restart now' screen which you can't see).

Now that you have got it working, can you check what version of nvbridge.kmd you now have on your system? Perhaps Microsoft Update gave you a newer one. Unlikely, but we can but hope.

 

Yeah sure! Hmm but what numbers are you actually looking for? because I can't seem to find a strait up "version" number on this file. lots of dates and such but..

 

well in the never ending process of breaking my old vgn-z it seems my up arrow is now stuck and down arrow is broken. I guess this will speed up my process of buying a new notebook. I think some water got between the keys.
....

 

Well. the one I have was modified on 10-12-2010. Remember - this is actually nvbridge_int.kmd that was renamed to nvbridge.kmd during driver installation.

Can't believe a tiny 14KB file is giving us so much trouble.

 

Have a new Z1 on order and due to be shipped this week. Still considering the Z2. Time to have some fun.

 

Does anyone know what would cause a "Display driver error: The video playback device does not support playback of protected content" error in Windows Media Center when attempting to watch copy-protected (CableCARD) TV channels using the notebook's internal display with either the onboard or dedicated graphics, but NOT when using an external display through HDMI? I have tried stock drivers, custom drivers, Intel drivers, Microsoft drivers, NVIDIA drivers, etc. At wits' end... does anyone else have a CableCARD tuner?

 

Nice to read During your wait have a lot of fun

 

I am waiting on the Z2 refresh, I am excited to see where we can go with the Z2. I am not thrilled about the ATI graphics... but I am very excited to see if I can get the Z2 to drive two WQXGA displays without any hardware mods. We already know that HD3000 can drive WQHD.

Here is to hoping that the Z2 refresh will bring use a better Hybrid driver set for the PMD and that we can discover the secrets to packing our own.

 

Today i´ve tested severall things with my new machine. The Open GL problem is also when PMD is connected and external VGA monitor is connected there, desktop expansion is set.

Can´t start minecraft in this mode. (or anything else which requieres open gl 1.2 or higher)

After setting to internal display only, minecraft will start.

Can this problem be confirmed by other users?

 

Hello guys!

I just purchased a Vaio Z13(M9E), and I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. First thing I will be doing is a clean install.

What is the latest graphics driver out there right now that works without enabling text mode, works with the hardware switch and has support for PhysX? I've tried looking in this topic but it isn't really easy to find in all these posts...

Thanks!
Ambroos

 

Pretty much what is up there in the first post at this point AFAIK. Newer driver have been giving issues. I had been working on a new set that was going well and then hit a switching issue. Soon after the keyboard on my VGN-Z descided it doesnt like water droplets in it and fritzed. I have a Z1 on order and at this point it looks to be delivered on Monday. As soon as it gets here I plan on hammering on the drivers hardcore. I have both Switchable (Hybrid) Graphics and Optimus to look at (possibly eGPU soon too).

 

In my opinion, sony should send you this machine for free to honor your work for us!

 

Pants tent!

 

I got vertical lines that appear on screen for a split second during the welcome screen part of loading up on my z13. The same thing appears when I switch from stamina to speed during normal operations. Again, just for a split second or so.

What I notice about the welcome screen lines is that at around this time is when the speed light comes on, despite the button already being set to 'speed' in previous use of the machine.

I guess its not a huge problem as it only appears for a split second or so, the lines, and I don't seem to be getting any related problem elsewhere...I think.

Got warranty left on this and so have been in a email exchange with Sony Link team about this for a week(though they haven't been able to help me sort it out yet (nor have they asked me to send it in....yet)) but was wondering what you guys think could be wrong?

As suggested by Sony Support, tried resetting vaio back to factory condition as well as reinstalling graphic drivers.

 

if you restore it as they told you ..................you will loose time only ......
since I have my Z I called Sony so many times for a previous problem ..... and the only answer they gave me it is only to restore my laptop.....or maybe if you are lucky they could check your unit remotely.

I am very disappointed about SONY Service!

 

Expect some disturbance when switching modes. It is momentary, and shouldn't bother you. Some applications don't like the mode change, so take note of those and avoid changing modes when those apps are running.

 

Sounds like an issue with the multiplexer. When switching the Z uses a chip inside the notebook called a multiplexer to basically switch video sources. The flash/flicker/blank you see is the multiplexer switching from one GPU to the other. The reason you see this happen at startup is because it takes a bit for the Nvidia service to load. When this service loads it detects where the switch is at, sends the signal to the multiplexer, and the light comes on. This is when you see that flash/flicker/blank.

I haven't seen the vertical lines issue you are talking about but it sounds like it has to do with the multiplexer. If this is an issue to you I would jump through all the Sony hoops, restore the machine (which will do nothing) do everything they say and let them know it is still doing the same thing. Chances are they will either replace the motherboard or send you a new system.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

Nautis, kudos for the multiplexer education

Yep, jumping through the hoops for the past week or so and I think its coming to a point where they will have to admit defeat and ask for it to be sent in.

The laptop is in great cosmetic condition, hope it comes back in the same state, which is my main worry with sending it in for repairs. If they offer me a new system, not sure i would want the z21 if they offered it . Sony UK rarely have z1 up on their Outlet part of their site, so their availability maybe scarce.

The Sony email guys are better in terms of being supportive than the Sony online chat guys I have found so far, in relation to this. The latter were just like 'live with it', within minutes of me telling them of my issue....well in a bit more roundabout polite manner than that!

If I wasn't within warranty period, I wouldn't have bothered as its not that a big issue I guess

 

Indeed. It sucks having a problem like that with any system. Tough decision sending it in risking the carriers handling both ways and Sonys tech department. The issue also could get worse and have a non-functioning notebook right after your warranty period is up. So it becomes a gamble really. Glad I could be of help with the multiplexer information. I am about 98% certain that is what the issue is. Best of luck with whichever choice you make.

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For those waiting on newer drivers: I have the Z1 I ordered in my hands. Let the games begin.

 

Drat! I thought that was how it was supposed to be. Now I'm unhappy too.

BTW, Nautis, have you got your Z1 yet? Was supposed to come today, wasn't it?

 

Niiiiiice !

 

Me too.

10 char

 

What are you selling your Z1 for? A Z2?

 

Hi,

I installed the first of these drivers, and now I am looking to enable the "special features 2"... How do I do that?


Thanks!

 

Navigate to Display.Driver folder and
1. rename nvmvsz.inf to nvmvsz - standard.inf.bak
2. rename nvmvsz - Special Features 1.inf.bak to nvmvsz.inf

Go up to the parent folder and run setup from there to
3. reinstall driver, selecting clean install option.

 

Update:

Sony confirmed they will collect it for repair and stated the following:

'The issue is most likely with the graphics chip (Nvidia) or with the stamina/speed mode function.
Kindly be advised that your VAIO will be tested thoroughly at the repair center and the defective component will be completely replaced'

Definitely taking pics of laptop before it goes, as a precaution.

 

Running into some issues with the installer on the newer drivers. Oddball stuff and it seems to be across the board (Optimus, Switchable Graphics). Working out the kinks.

Good idea. Most likely they will be replacing the motherboard. You may want to make sure you take down your exact system info too. Maybe screenshots or exports of system information just to make sure you get everything back the same.

 

Will do, thanks.

I have already cheekily asked them that if they do end up replacing the mobo (got a i5 z13), if its possible for them to upgrade it to a i7 cpu mobo (and that I would be willing to pay for the upgrade cost). No idea if its plausible or not, nor likelihood but no harm in asking I guess.

Apologies for taking the thread temporarily off-course

 

@Nautis
Microsoft Nvidia driver stuck at 268xx, guess this is end of hybrid graphic development.

 

Well the nvbridge_int.kmd can be used beyond the driver version it was meant for and they haven't started pulling the Hybrid Graphics code yet. The Z1 at this point seems as finicky as the VGN-Z when it comes to switching and the driver versions used. I am working out the kinks on 285.27.

I have a working Optimus 285.27 put together too for the Z1.

I currently have many driver modding packages that I am working on:
Vaio Z2 new package. Z2 has horrible flawed stock drivers.
Vaio SA/SB/SC updated drivers. which I can seem to get updated pretty well since I have access to one.
Vaio Z1 updated hybrid graphics drivers.
Vaio VGN-Z updated hybrid graphics drivers.
Note:I plan on rolling both VGN-Z and VPC-Z1 Hybrid Graphics drivers into a single package when I can get them both working better.
Vaio Z1 updated optimus driver and trying to work on the power issue.
Optimus Retrofit updated drivers for eGPU and ViDock users.
Note: Optimus Retrofit and Z1 Optimus packages will be combined in the future.

 

1. I think it works for a few versions beyond what it was meant for, but not indefinitely beyond that. The latest nvbridge_int.kmd we have works up to Intel 2266, and a lttle more, and then stops.

2. Unless by 'working' you mean the power and HDMI issues have been fixed, there is not much problem with running Z1 in Optimus mode. I have used the latest (non beta) drivers without much fuss.