Sony GRZ610 overheating problem

This is partially a reply to an earlier topic that was closed.

"littlemac" posted about his Sony laptop having an overheating problem which caused the unit to shutdown repeatedly. He went on to say that his experience with Sony cust service was less than stellar (I'm paraphrasing here).

In response, a moderator said that littlemac's experience was not common; the moderator then played down the problem by suggesting it could be fixed with a "blast of canned air", and finally shut down the discussion.

Well, Mr. Moderator, this problem will not go away with a "blast of canned air". The problem is not a buildup of dust.

The web has far too many stories about Sony GR series laptops overheating and shutting down for this to be an abberation here or there. There's even a website called "vaoishutdown.com", which is apparently the front for a company that will fix the problem (for a fee). The fact that this business venture even exists underscores just how widespread this problem is, and seems to indicate Sony's lack of ability or lack of interest about fixing the problem.

My GRZ610 started shutting down about 3 months after I bought it, usually under heavy processor load. I called Sony and was told, in a very condecsending manner, that it was a software conflict.

I called the software mfgr and tried a bunch of things. Nothing worked.

I called Sony back: They claimed they didn't know what was wrong with my computer, suggested it was a virus and told me to perform a system reset (which is a big pain in the butt).

I did as they told me. It started shutting down again.

I'm not angry with Sony; I'm furious. They must have known, from all the damn complaints from owners of this "laptop" that there was obviously an overheating problem. But to this day I haven't seen any evidence of them addressing the problem, or even acknowledging it.

So, Mr. Moderator, don't make excuses about Sony's customer service. It's extremely frustrating to see a manufacturer try to dodge responsibility over and over and over. In fact, it's downright criminal.

PS... This post is being writtn on my friend's Toshiba Satellite. Very good computer, highly recommended. It actually stays on!

 

My GRZ360ZG also experiences numerous daily overheating shutdowns which have even melted the insulation in the power cord so that recharging the battery and keeping it plugged in is tricky at best. The best solution I have found to the overheating is placing ice packs under the computer but away from the fan exhaust and replacing them as they melt with fresh ice packs. How stupid is this? I will never ever purchase another Sony notebook. Every single one has had monitor wiring problems suck as kinking and overheating problems as well as defective parts such as the cd/dvd writer. What manufacturer is the most reliable?

 

I bought one Sony PCG-V505BX from Circuit City in July 2003. The laptop was made in USA. Within the 12 months warranty, it was sent for service because of touch pad issue and battery locker broken. In April 2005, the DVD drive couldn't recognize disc anymore. And the machine can burn papers after 10 minutes using. When I brought it to Circuit City, I was told I am lucky enough to keep this laptop running. A lot of Sony laptops which were sold around my time were already broken down because of overheating problems.
My Sony DSC-F 717 digital camera was once sent to service because of CCD problem also.

I used to trust Sony and would like to pay much more money to get Sony stuff, but I am disappointed to my purchase.

After reading some reviews here, I put a package of blue ice covered with textile under the laptop. This method works fine at this moment. But, how ridiculous, we have to struggle all these problems.

 

Today was a notably hot day and my SZ240P (which I've had for about three weeks now) crashed three times while very hot to touch near the battery. The exhaust vents were unobstructed as usual and the machine had not crashed before today so I thought it might be a software problem at first but I left it off to let it cool for about 15 minutes after the second crash and then the third one didn't happen until it had been running for another hour. It seems to be stable again now that night has set and the air is cooler. I'm gonna be bummed if the problem only gets worse as summer hits full stride.

-Pip

 

my sony grs700 also does this - when plugged in to ac power, just regular browsing.

i have tried many times to diagnose this with sony tech support but all they know how to do is have it sent in to san diego service center

i don't think i'll be buying another vaio. the 3 apple laptops i have owned NEVER had any problems. and, when i did manage to screw something up, the tech support at the apple store took care of it on the spot.