Official VAIO FW Series Owners Thread

[en1gmatic333-misc]

I have a FW455D and have had an non-Sony battery for months without problem (ISB utility disabled). I recently upgrade the bios for the added VT functionality but now my battery will not charge and the LED is flashing rapidly. Was battery detection added to the latest bios? Is there any way to hack or downgrade?

TIA

[Derrida]

...and that is likely why it had such good viewing angles, etc. Just learned that -- and with that and the HiColor technology (more of the NTSC spectrum), it was likely still Sony's best-ever screen. And mine died recently. Sigh.

The new Sony SVS15 line will have IPS technology Full HD screens as standard -- and notebookjournal.de gives the contrast as in the 1:430s (a touch better than the HiColor was) but the luminosity is much lower at 220 cd/m2 average. HiColor was in the 300s (exact specs were in an earlier post).

In any event, when your FW dies, it might be worth looking at the SVS line because one reviewer has already said that it is Sony's shrinking of the FW/F lines to the 15.5 inch screen.

I fear that now I realize that unless an after-marketer can find a true AUOptronics HiColor (which even Sony apparently no longer has in stock), then likely the better viewing angles will be on the SVS for the new 15.5 line because of the IPS technology.

Whether Sony will bring the European 17.2 inch E series here in the fall is anyone's guess but if so, it might have similar screen technology one would think, because of the market targeted.

Hard to know, though. Because notebookjournal.de's review of the SVS15 pointed out that the lower right corner of the notebook is in the air, so when you type on it, you push it down and it's a pain. I recall something similar with the FW series occurring in some of the refreshes. Doesn't Sony learn from the past? Maybe not....

[SoundsGood]

I'm not sure I'll buy another Sony laptop after my FW died. I've owned LOTS of Dell computers and I never had one completely die on me like this Sony did.

I took a look at a 15" Samsung Series 9 today. The screen wasn't all that great, but the rest of the laptop was impressive.

[Derrida]

I'm not sure I'll buy another Sony laptop after my FW died. I've owned LOTS of Dell computers and I never had one completely die on me like this Sony did.

That's absolutely hysterical! If that's your reasoning, you'll love this:

I left Dell -- even though my place of employment was totally Dell-invested -- because I had three Inspiron laptops in a row that had major problems the first week or two (motherboard, etc.) and a Latitude that died on second or third boot-up -- not to mention six or seven purchases of DellStudios from Staples that had major issues that went back as well.

A notebook that dies after three or four years of use is not the same thing as one that dies after three or four DAYS of use.

Expand your horizons...!

[SoundsGood]

Don't get me wrong. It doesn't mean I'm going back to Dell, necessarily. It means I'll take a pass on Sony this time around.

[funndamentals]

Hey SOUNDSGOOD,

I have recently had the same problem as you. Not sure if we have the same issue. I recently noticed that with the standard battery installed, if i moved or bumped the laptop it would shut down and not come on for days. No lights or anything. I scoured the internet and couldnt find anything to get it back on.
After disassembling it, I could here the board getting power when i plugged it in. When I hit the power button you would here some circuit click in and the hum of the power would change to a click. All this is only audible if you put your ear really close to the cpu. I got it back on by sliding the battery back in right before that click punches in. All I can do is tell you what I have found. The last time it happened to me was the quickest I ever got it to start back up. Here goes:

Unplug and take the battery out.
Hold the power down for as long as you can. Atleast 30 seconds.
Only plug the ac adapter back in. NO BATTERY.
Try to start it up by holding the power button down, but almost milliseconds after hitting the power button slam the battery in.

My conclusion is the lose battery connection sends a voltage to the motherboard and some protection circuit shuts down protecting the motherboard. It could all be a hunch, but this has happened to me 4 times in the past month while being overseas(different voltages). Im at the point now where if i leave the battery out and just have it plugged in, I have no issues with random shut offs (knock on wood). This is how I came to the conclusion that it is the battery. The battery also has a wobble in it even when its locked. I have an extended battery home that I would like to try. If i have no issues with that, then I will order another battery.

GOOD LUCK.
PM me if this doesn't work and i can tell you all the other more involved things i did to get ti to start back up.

[funndamentals]

Anyone know if I can use the audio/usb board form a fw480J in my FW590? And whats a good place to get a battery besides SONY and EBAY?

[SoundsGood]

GOOD LUCK.
PM me if this doesn't work and i can tell you all the other more involved things i did to get ti to start back up.

I very much appreciate the help, but unfortunately this didn't work. I'll PM you for your other suggestions.

Thanks...

[Derrida]

Oh, I forgot to mention...

In case it helps someone else, my screen is a Sharp LQ164D1LA4B.

The original -- or the replacement?

I'm betting the original since you couldn't tell the difference.

[SoundsGood]

The original -- or the replacement?

I'm betting the original since you couldn't tell the difference.

As far as I could tell, the replacement screen and the original were the same. It took me quite a while to find the seller that claimed to have the actual part as opposed to sellers that said they had a "similar to" part.