Problem Installing Bios on Vaio VPCSC31FM

Hello Folks,

I pulled the trigger and purchased the VPCSC31FM last night.

So far so good - EXCEPT - I am having problems upgrading the bios.

The bios on my machine is R2084H4. Vaio update app indicates that there is a newer bios available (R2085H4). So I attempted to install it, but got an error message stating that "this update is not intended for use with your computer model".

Tried to download and install directly from the Sony support site and got the same results. I am concerned as I know of the potential outcome of a botched bios upgrade - brick city.

Can someone talk me off the ledge and perhaps clue me in as to what the problem might be?

Thanks in advance for the assistance and support.

-Ken in SSF-

 

Which sony page did you download it from?
paste the url here.

 

Here you go:

Sony eSupport - VPCSC31FMS - Software & Drivers

 

Still no resolution.

I was online with Sony support for the last hour - they can't figure it out.

Anyone else out there with S series units experiencing this problem?

Or, to put it another way:
Has everyone else been able to apply the R2085H4 bios successfully?

Are there any downsides to the new bios?

BTW Otherwise this notebook is performing flawlessly - other than some really hyper fan activity while I was installing all of the windows upgrades.

Thanks again for the assistance and support.

 

Don't update it then

 

I had no problem updating though mine is 1 version earlier to yours vpcsc1.

But it shouldn't give a problem. One thing - make sure you right click on the executable and run as administrator.

 

Analyzer123, thanks for the response.
I did run the file as an administrator - no difference.

Can anyone tell me, does the new bios moderate the fan speed?

Thanks again.

 

trust me, you better leave it. When you find out that it does moderate the fan speed you will decide that you must update BIOS. You will have this idea in you head and finally you will try to do some trick to make it work. In the end you have good chances to brick your laptop.
Look at my sig. Do you really think that I have that junk because I have never bought better laptop?

 

Yes I am experiencing that issue and these others. Please let me know if you have these. I have till Jan. 24th to return the Vaio but, I hate to because I really like the features for the price. I posted this previously on Best Buy's website.

1. The computers cut off when coming out of standby. ( saw a user post this in his review of the notebook so I'm not the only one).
2 The screen sometimes does weird things when the color is faded and the text is not readable at all. ( no update)
3. There is a BIOS update that is available on Sony Support and it states it is for this CPU however it will no allow me to install. ( The messages say "This update is not intended for this CPU) I've spoke with Sony Tech support and a ticket was created so they can figure it out but, they never contacted me back.

 

Please email me if you have the same issues.

 

Hello Jaycraw28,

Other thank the BIOS installation problem, I am not experiencing any other issues. In fact, I am extremely happy with my purchase, and I have decided to ignore the BIOS issue, as the computer is otherwise operating flawlessly.

However, if my unit were having all of the issues that your unit is experiencing, I would probably take it back.

Have you installed all of the available updates (other than the BIOS, of course)?

Just my 2 cents - your mileage may vary. Good luck!

Cheers, Ken

 

Yeah, maybe I'll trade it out for another system. I did install all of the Windows updates and also a driver update for the graphics card.

 

Oh one other thing, I upgraded the memory to 8gb. I wonder if that could be the issue for the problem I'm experiencing with the cpu restarting when coming out of hibernation I'll drop it back down to 6 gigs and see.

 

^ run memtest86+ to check your memory.

 

UPDATE:

After much research (and a little help from Sony) I finally figured out how to update the BIOS.

It involves modification of the "model.txt" file in the Windows directory. Sony tech support originally suggested this but were very vague.

As you may or may not know, Sony uses a file in the Windows directory called "model.txt" as a check to guard against incompatible software installations & upgrades.

Sometimes this file gets written over, or contains the wrong model name. In my case, it contained the correct model name but for some reason the bios installation package would not recognize it and therefore would not allow the installation to take place. After much research I determined that, for some reason, my model number (VPCSC31FM) was not included in the installation database, although I verified beyond a shadow a doubt the the Bios was compatible with my unit.

Following some directions that I found elsewhere on the Web, I changed the model number to another compatible model (in this case to VPCSC1AFM), and voila, I was able to perform the update.

The best part is that it seems to have resolved the two issues I had - fan noise, and not recognizing the primary battery with the second battery pack ("sheet battery") installed.

All is now well in Vaio land. Thanks to all who participated in this discussion.

Cheers!

 

I guess one of you posted the resolution to resolve bios R2085H4 issue, by updating the model number to VPCSC1AFM in model.txt. In my case the bios was installed by sony remote agent manually. Meaning he used universal extractor on the downloaded file to extract files and executed it. Now my system shows new bios.

But the problem with my machine did not resolve. The system restarts after resuming from Sleep/Hebernate/Shutdown 50% of the time. Not always. I tried installing Sony notebook utilities, restored to factory settings couple of times, but nothing helped.
Any clues ?

 

Wow! Price dropped on VPCSC31FM. Within 30 days! can save some!?