Vaio Z Problems Thread

I figure we can start a thread listing the various problems, in the hopes that some of these problems can be fixed amongst us.

I have a Z570N U.S. version.

Here's what I've noticed:

1) Eject button (top right of keyboard): The eject button tries to eject the CD/DVD-rom type device letter that occurs first (F before G, G before I, etc.). What this means is that if you have another CD/DVD-rom type emulator like Daemon Tools, or U3 system off some flash drives that emulates a CD, and if those drive letter precedes the drive letter of the built-in DVD-rom in the alphabet, the eject button will try to eject those drive, and not eject the built-in DVD-rom.

A quick fix to this problem I found was to change the drive letter (either other drives to letters occuring towards the end of the alphabet, or moving the built-in DVD-rom drive letter more towards the beginning, such that the built-in DVD is the first CD/DVD-rom the eject button sees).


2) The expresscard slot cover doesn't seem to flush well with the body if you press it and let go. This is probably a faulty spring, as you have to put the pressure on just the right place to get the cover to flush properly. This is a bit annoying as even if your hand brushes the cover, and it gets depressed, it will not return to the normal flushed position. I am not sure if this is a widely prevalent problem, so comments are appreciated. Its not a big enough problem to be sent it for repair, yet its not small enough to not be annoying.

3) I think somebody mentioned in another thread that the battery is still being drained when the laptop goes into sleep mode. I close my lid and put it to sleep, and when I open it about 30-40 minutes later, it would have gone from 80% charge to about 74% charge.

4) I also have another laptop from dell, and that laptop with a 90W charger charges super fast (< 1hr for full charge for 6 cell battery). It seems, with the included ~90W charger from Sony, the power charger charges the battery at a much slower rate. Haven't timed it exactly, but about few hours from no charge to full charge. Perhaps this is done to conserve battery life? But if you're not charging that fast, what's the point of having a 90W charger, when a smaller, more compact charger can do just as well? But like I said, I haven't looked closely at this problem. I just know that it takes at least 2x as long to charge my sony laptop than it does my dell. If somebody has done this test, charging time number would be appreciated for comparison.

5) There are lot of small software things that are bit annoying, but I think those are related more with Windows Vista than Sony, so I will not talk about them.


If anybody has seen their share of problems with their Vaio Z, please list them. Solutions/comments/etc. on problems are welcome!

 

Actually all notebooks will lose power when they are in sleep mode over time. The reason is that "sleep" actually keeps powering the memory (since memory is volatile and without power would lose its values) and a few other devices - so this is perfectly normal.

What's odd about almost all of the Sony lines (and appears to be the batteries they use) is that when the machine is powered off completely or in hibernate mode (which is different than sleep - the machine will write all of the contents of the volatile memory to the hardrive before powering mostly down) it will lose battery power.

 

biggest gripe is all the bloatware and super slow start up and too long to resume from sleep mode, takes *much* longer than any other notebook I've owned ...

otherwise, design flaws (imo):
- is there any real benefit to having a shorter 13.1 screen over a 13.3" screen - I don't think so, not in any business application that's for sure, just means you need to scroll more or hit F11 ... more scrolling means less productivity.
-chiclet keys - do you type better, faster or is it more comfortable to type on chiclet keys? No, no and no! .... has to be a style thing, I'll take function over style any day...

 

i notice a werid jump on cpu usage whenever i start using my expresscard verzion modem. and it drains my battery at a surprisingly huge amount.. not sure if it cause i ghosted my vista since i had to exchange my 540 3 times.. or it is my expresscard v740.. but it read reviews and the express card use as much power as my intel wifi card.. so im not really sure.. or it just maybe window battery indicator is not accurate cause the remaining time jump back and foward. lol

 

couldnt it be losing power from "powering it on" ?

cause it makes sense for it to use more energy to power up

 

I think we should do a test: let's fully charge the battery then shut down your laptop, take off the battery and put it back in after a fixed amount of time. Start and record the % lost. Repeat the same experiment but leave the battery attached. This will def. tell whether it's the battery or the laptop itself.
About sleep mode, I think it's totally normal to lose some power. The percentage lose, however, will be vary a lot between company and series.

 

someone care to comment on the expresscard cover? anybody else experiencing the same problem, where if you depress the hinge anywhere but right where the spring is located, the cover will settle oddly, not in flush with the body.

 

mine does that as well.. no big deal.

 

my expresscard coever is always being used by my verzion v740 lol. dont matter much too me.. i care mostly about battery life, can yah guys post how long your battery last exactly? i only get around 4-5 hours on my z540

 

4-5 hours sound right on the Z590 too

 

mine is going into sleep modus when <20% of battery is left, without warning, without anything, right away. and i also only have 92% battery after loading it full and then turning it on without power cord.

someone has the same experiences?

 

After some experimenting, it seems that some battery loss (2-3%) is due to shutting down if you shut down on battery. An additional 2-3% is loss on startup if you start up on battery. On top of that, there's another 1-2% loss from just having the battery inside the laptop overnight.

 

No to argue your negatives, but I don't know I'd call them "design flaws." It's more a matter of personal preference with those. What you consider negative I find to be positive features to me. Like the 13.1" - it's shorter, but it lends to more of a widescreen resolution, and I prefer that to up/down space in general. And the keys aren't going to be a hindrance to everyone - I've seen plenty of positive comments about the new keyboard in terms of function.

 

You can find a problem with anything. the z is as light as x300 and mbair yet centino2 not low voltage

ONE PROBLEM Though- Cant wait any longer

PS FRESH START gets rid of Bloatware

 

Given the relative resolutions of the 13.1" (1600 x 900) and 13.3" (1280 x 800), I have to disagree that you would need to scroll more. You have both higher vertical and horizontal resolutions on the Z.

Sorry Didn't realise US had two different resolutions. Only seen the 1600 x 900 in the UK which is one of the selling points of the laptop for me, I wouldn't get the lower res.

 

Absolutely, I was wondering the same question. I'm getting the Z590 with 1600 x 900 and it's more likely that i will have to scroll less AND zoom in more

 

okay so my laptop is on par with others on battery life. i get around 4-5 hours on brightness at 3 and almost everything turn off except for express card slot. at 80% charges using the battery saver crap.

But when im using my expresscard for verizion i notice my battery life jump down to like 2-3 hours .. is that normal since it draw powering? or is it just windows crap battery meter.

 

The battery is OK so I have no gripes about that.

I personally prefer the old style keyboard. If you miss on this keyboard you don't get anything whereas on the older keyboards you have a better chance!

The screen, I prefer 13.3". I also like the 1600x900 though.

Not really a problem but I would have preferred the barrel hinge to have been metal or at least looked like metal. It's very obvious it's a cheap metallic plastic which is a shame.

I would have liked BR to be an option in the UK.

The touch pad is huge and feels great but the mouse keys are too low on the keyboard and a tad too small.

I also personally don't like how light the screen feels when you open it but some people love it so it isn't a problem.

One more USB port would have been nice.

A 300GB 7200RPM drive would also have been nice on models without SSD considering the massive price in the UK we have to pay.

 

How do you find the blu-ray faberge? Did you test it with burning, is it worth the money in general?

 

It was fine, it reads quickly and I didn't have any skipping like some other users have had. For the cost, I would have expected a much faster drive though. When writing BR it was more more like less than 1x and burning a DVD is also quite slow

 

Okay guys, I'm happy with my new laptop, but yesterday I noticed a small defect with the screen. For all I Know, all of these laptops might be like this, so I'm posting these screens for you to view and so you can check your own machine to see if you also have this defect. I'm going to contact Sony today about this issue. I can only see it when the screen is white or very light coloured. I think it has to do with the backlight. I have the z555 with 1600x900 resolution. Anyways, here are the screens:

 

You mean the two dark lines down the middle right?

I don't have it on mine

 

Yup, that is the problem. It reminds me a little bit about the MacBook pro problem with the vertical lines and I wonder if the problem is the same? In my case, it is barely noticeable, but if you working on a light background, spreadsheet or word document, it does stand out enough to be bothersome.

Here is the problem that has plagued thousands of MacBook pro owners. Keep in mind, that this is also an LED display.

 

Isn't that "problem" on your Z's screen similar to the LED "black bands thingy" that was once a problem on the SZ6 series?

 

It#s not directly a problem, but a question ^^
Can you hear your harddrive working?
Yesterday (night) it was quiet, and i heared my harddrive the hole time working. I dont know if its normal that you can hear it
I have a 2,5" HDD but this HDD I cant hear <,< but the HDD of my Z makes *ratter* sounds
Anyone know what I mean? :S

 

i am not having both problems. screen is not having those "big fingerprints" and hdd never rattered.

 

What kind of hdd do you have teiger in your Z?

 

250GB with 5400 rpm