Let there be Windows 7

I have installed Windows 7 on my Sony VAIO FW490 for a few weeks already, and I am loving every minute of it. I have to admit that I have a very high expectation for Windows 7, after reading all about it on the web during its beta and RC releases. I am happy to report that the final retail version of Windows 7 did not disappoint. The OS is quick to response, the visuals are attractive, the Aero features (Aero peek and Aero Snap in particular) are quite useful, and the new taskbar is a godsend. Gone are those annoying UAC warnings and confusing security settings. It reminds me of the good old days of Windows XP; everything just works. There are, of course, still some minor problems that I hope Microsoft could fix. For example, the inability to minimize Windows Media Players to the right side of the taskbar, and the inability to overwrite an existing theme (currently, you have to save a new theme and delete the old one every time you make changes) can be somewhat frustrating.

Anyway, I am not writing a full review on Windows 7, at least not for now. Today, I just want to share my experience on installing Windows 7 on the FW490. Overall, the installation process is rather straightforward; you only need to decide how you want your hard disk partitioned. The entire process took about 30 minutes and involved two restarts. If you can install a software on Windows Vista, you should be able to install Windows 7 on this machine without reading this post. Think of this simple guide as an entertainment, instead of an instructional material.

To begin, you will need:

1) A copy of Windows 7 - You can download a copy of Windows 7 from MSDN or MSDN-AA library after August 6, 2009 or wait until October 22, 2009 for the retail version. If you system has 4Gb or more memory, it is recommended that you get the 64bit version. Here I will use the Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit version.

2) Your Sony VAIO FW490 with a fully-charged battery (it is always best to have a full battery whenever you are doing something that could potentially mess up the system).

3) A copy of the Ricoh® MS Memory Card Reader/Writer Driver (64bit) and Alps® Pointing Device Driver (64bit) from Sony eSupport

4) An external hard drive, a flash drive, or some blank DVDs for backing up your old documents.

Let's begin!

Step 1) Backup all your important documents! Since we will be doing a clean installation, all the files on your hard disk will be erased! Remember to backup your desktop and bookmarks in addition to My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, etc.

Step 2) Turn off your laptop, insert the Windows 7 Installation DVD, and turn the laptop on again. After a few second, you should see a text saying "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD..." or something like that. If you do NOT see that, chances are you have changed the boot sequence in the BIOS before. To change it back to the factory setting, restart your computer and hit F2 to enter the BIOS setting page, navigate to the third tab to change the boot sequence.

Step 3) Hit any key to boot from DVD, you should see the beautiful Windows 7 animated logo and the installation page 40-50 seconds later. Simply choose your installation language (English by default) and hit "Next". Afterward, you will see a giant "Install Now" button, hit the button.

Step 4) Read the End-User License Agreement, if you have the time, then check the appropriate box. The next step is critical! You MUST choose the "Custom Installation". It is absolutely essential that you do this, because this is the only way you can install a fresh copy of Windows 7 on your laptop. It is always a good idea to do a fresh install of the OS (as opposed to an in-place upgrade) as your system will perform better with a fresh install.

Step 5) Next, you will be asked to select a partition onto which Windows 7 will be installed. At this point, you can also change, create, and delete partitions in your hard drive. The VAIO FW490 has two partitions by default. The first one, about 10.4GB in size, is the Recovery partition, which holds an image of the Windows Vista installation located on the second partition. If you happen to ruin your Windows Vista, you can use the image in the Recovery partition to restore your laptop to factory condition. Since Windows 7 is clearly much better than Windows Vista, I highly doubt that anyone will want to go back to Vista. I recommend deleting both partitions and create new partitions yourself.

The image on top shows the original Recovery partition and the Vista partition on the Sony VAIO FW490. The image at the bottom shows my partition setting. I created a 148GB partition (Partition 2) for Windows 7, and two 75GB partitions for data and backup purposes. Notice there is a 100MB System Reserved partition; this is created automatically by the Windows 7 installation wizard. Do NOT attempt to delete or change the System Reserved partition.

Step 6) When you are satisfied with your partitioning, hit Next one last time, then sit back, relax, and watch Windows 7 install itself on your machine. The process is surprisingly fast (about 20 minutes; in contrast, installing Adobe Studio CS3 takes an hour). During the process, your computer will restart twice. When it does, simply do NOTHING. Do NOT hit any key or eject the DVD. Wait until you are asked to choose a username and password, then follow the instructions to finish configuring your Windows 7.

Step 7) Finally, you will be greeted with the Windows 7 welcome screen and you will get to play around with all the awesome new features of Windows 7. When that initial rush of excitement has subsided, remember to install the MS Memory Card Reader/Writer Driver (which is the Unknown Device listed in the Device Manager, and the Alps Pointing Device Driver that you downloaded earlier. This will enable the touchpad's scrolling function.

Step 8) Check the Device Manager (Control Panel > System and Security > System), all the hardware should function normally (no exclamation point anywhere). The volume control and playback control on top of the keyboard should function probably. The mute button (Fn+F2) should also work. The brightness control and the application launcher buttons do NOT work. You may choose to also install the Sony® Shared Library and the Sony® Notebook Utilities to enable these functions, but I rather skip them because I prefer to keep the system as light as possible.

I have also prepared two video clips demonstrating the installation process. Enjoy!

An amuse-bouche for your enjoyment

Please let me apologize for not updating this blog for a while. I have been rather busy with work, and life in general, lately. The laptop is still running strong, and it has been helping me a lot these days.

The good news is I have already installed Windows 7 Ultimate on this machine. First impression is absolutely wonderful. The installation process was quick and painless, and the OS itself is a charm. It's like Windows Vista WITHOUT all the crazy annoying glitches. Everything just works! I am going to talk a little bit more about the Windows 7 installation process in the next few days. In the meantime, I have two screen shots, one of Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit and one of Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit, for your amusement. Take a look at the system memory usage!

Windows Vista (Taken immediately after second boot, with all the stock software and factory settings)

Windows 7 (Taken after a clean install of the OS and antivirus)

 

A reader asked about the power adapter, so here you go...

God is in the details

I was at the Sony Style store the other day and I was curious to know how my beloved FW490 compare with all the other Sony VAIOs in the store. In retrospect, I really should have paid the Sony Style store a visit BEFORE I bought this laptop, even though it would probably have done very little to change my decision.

The difference between the XBRITE-FullHD and the XBRITE-Eco LCD screen (both are CCFL-backlit NOT LED-backlit, by the way) can only be appreciated in person. The FullHD screen is definitely brighter and sharper, and the higher resolution is perfect for viewing multiple windows (say Gmail, Hulu, and Microsoft Word) at the same time. 16.4" is, in my opinion, the sweet spot for the 1080p resolution. The 18.4" VAIO AW is, in comparison, too large to be considered a portable computer.

What comes as a real surprise is when I compare between the black and the chocolate brown machines, I noticed that they have different texture! The lid in the black one has a more sand paper like texture, while that in the brown one is completely smooth (though not glossy). It's hard to say which finish is superior, as the black one seems to provide a better grip, while the brown one feels better to touch. I just what to point this subtle detail out to other potential FW buyers.

First Impression and Virgin Boot

I finally have the opportunity to play with my new-found-love over the past couple days, and I find myself falling in love with this beauty more and more every day. First, let it be known that this Sony VAIO FW490 is an incredibly well-built machine. The non-glossy chassis looks and feels extremely sturdy and classy; most importantly it does not attract fingerprint or dust. It is relatively thin and very light in weight for a 16" laptop; it is definitely stylish and convenient enough to be carried around in a small backpack or in the Sony FW carrying case.

Open up the lid, you will find a gorgeous 16.4" FullHD display with very crisp and bright images. Even though the screen is the glossy-type, I can still use the laptop comfortably in a brightly-lit room or even outdoor under the shade. Sony does a very good job in minimizing the amount of glare reflected off the display. Compared to the HP dv5 and Toshiba X205 I had before, this Sony FW490 really has the best display I have ever seen.

The keyboard is large and comfortable for everyday use and the touchpad is also spacious enough. The touchpad does support vertical/horizontal scrolling, although the scrolling areas are not labeled on the touchpad. The palm rest area remains cool after 2 hours of gaming, which is a welcoming surprise. Overall, the laptop runs relatively cool, the fan only kicks in when the laptop is under load. During a typical web-surfing and document editing session, I don't even notice the fan at all.

Of course, this is by no means the perfect laptop; there are some noticeable, albeit manageable, flaws. First, I wish Sony can put one USB port on the left side of the laptop. Having all three USB ports lined up side-by-side can be problematic at times, especially if one of the USB device is too bulky. Second, the caps lock light is too small and is positioned far away from the button itself; I prefer to see the caps lock button light up brightly when the caps lock function is on. Finally, backlit keyboard would be a nice addition.

I am going to install Windows 7 on this laptop soon and I will do a full review after that. In the meantime, please enjoy a short clip that I made during the first and second boots. I hope it can give you a taste of the speed of this laptop.

It's (un)Boxing Day!

It's finally here. The moment I have been waiting for eagerly for the past month has finally arrived. It feels almost surreal, yet wonderfully pleasant. I was going to rip the box apart the moment I grabbed it from the Fedex delivery guy, but I somehow managed to squeeze a bit of patience out of myself and waited until I setup all the video equipment to do a proper unboxing video.

Enough said. Now feast your eyes on the new Sony VAIO FW490!

The Tale of Two Orders

Sony is an international technology conglomerate; therefore, doing business with Sony means one has to deal with its frustrating customer service department as one does with all other mega-corporations.

I ordered my Sony VAIO FW490, plus two accessories and extended service plan as part of the campus bundle discount program, on SonyStyle.com in early August. Everything went through smoothly; the sales agent even offered me free upgrade to express shipping. I received the two accessories two days later and I was rather pleased with the order, so far. For the following week, I would anxiously check the order status 5 times a day until I finally got tired of seeing the word "Processing".

Then one night, I received an email from Sony stating that my laptop order is canceled! Canceled?!? I immediately called customer service and a guy with thick Indian accent informed me that they have trouble charging my credit card. I assured him that I have sufficient funds on my card and that all my other online purchases went through just fine, but he insisted that I contact my credit card company to next morning. So I did, thinking that I would be receiving my laptop soon after I sorted out this little misunderstanding. When I contacted Sony again the next day, after confirming with the credit card company that my account was fine, I was shocked to find out that I could not simply reopen the laptop order. My original order is gone, removed from the system as if it has never existed. Now, I have to place a new order for the laptop.

In order to receive the campus bundle discount, one must order the laptop, the accessories and the service plan at the same time. Since I have already received the two accessories, I wasn't going to order two more. To make the long story short, I had to spend over 4 hours talking to three customer service agents and two sales agent over the phone to sort this mess out. And those Indian customer service representatives are not helpful at all. No matter what I said to them, they would simply recite the same scripted answer. Luckily I convinced an American sales agent to do a tele-conference with the customer service agent and myself; at one point, even the sales agent was getting frustrated by the lame response from the Indian customer service guy.

In the end, they agreed to let me place a new laptop order at the campus bundle discounted price, but I would have to pay the full retail price first and wait for a refund later. In addition, I would have to wait an extra week before they could ship the laptop.

If you read the return and cancellation policy on SonyStyle.com, you would appreciate the insanity of this incidence.

Sony Style is unable to cancel most orders after it is placed. Please see the following to better understand what situation applies to your order.

In-Stock Items: Sony Style endeavors to ship our customer’s orders as quickly as possible. This means that we do not ‘hold’ an order for an In-Stock product for 24-hours as is the practice of some online shopping sites. For In-Stock products, it is not possible to modify or cancel an order once an order has been placed*.

*Please note that engraved products are considered In-Stock items and therefore cannot be cancelled.

Apparently, a customer cannot cancel an order once it has been placed, but it is perfectly okay for Sony to cancel an order hastily without even attempting to resolve any problem with the customer. What is the point of requiring customers to provide phone numbers and emails if you are not going to use it? So many sales agents have put in so much effort to close a deal, shouldn't the company work with the customer to complete the order instead of canceling it for no good reason?

Ordering online should be a quick and simple experience; why would Sony turn it into hours of phone call and two complicated orders/refunds.

My Sony VAIO FW490 - the prequel

I am in the market for a new laptop, again. Having gone through over a dozen entry-level laptops from HP, Toshiba, Sony, IBM, Compaq and Dell, I decided it was time to get a proper performance-level machine.

My requirement is rather straightforward, or so I thought - Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, discrete GPU capable of light gaming, and a 15"+ 1600x1080 screen in a sleek looking chassis. It turns out, very few manufacturers make laptops with 1600x1080 LCD screen. After months of research, I shortlisted my choices to the HP HDX16t, the Dell Studio XPS 16, and of course the Sony VAIO FW490. The Lenovo Y650 was one of my favorites as well, it's a shame Lenovo doesn't offer any 1080 pixel screen.

My experience with HP laptops has been quite pleasant. Most of their machines, even the sub-$USD500 ones, are very well-built, and the HP HDX16t is a very, very sturdy-looking and substantial machine. It offers all the standard features in addition to a backlit keyboard. The Dell Studio XPS 16 is a very impressive laptop; it clearly stands out from all the other cheap and flimsy Dell notebooks. I am sure the 16" RGB-LED backlit LCD screen alone is enough to make my friends envious. Topping that off with a powerful ATi Mobility 4670 GPU, a backlit keyboard, DDR3 RAM, and optional 256GB SSD, it was definitely the most powerful laptop in the market that the time.

I was ready to pound the gavel and order the Dell, until I visited a nearby Best Buy, where they displayed the Studio XPS 16, alongside the Sony VAIO FW490. I must say, Dell's built-quality still has plenty of room for improvement; compared to HP and Sony, the Dell, despite its impressive specs, still looks like a piece of cheap plastic. Most importantly, the Studio XPS 16 runs hot! I have read on forums plenty of discussions on whether this machine overheats or not as well as proposed solutions to deal with the heat, like cooling pads, thermal compounds, and undervolting. The bottom line is, the Studio XPS 16 runs hot.

I normally wouldn't give Sony a second thought; I believe most Sony products are overpriced gadgets for the over-privileged kids. Nevertheless, the VAIO FW490 really does look very attractive. It offers all the features that I want in a slim and sleek package. It doesn't look as gigantic as the HP HDX16t but it feels just as well built. It has a powerful ATi Mobility 4650 GPU (essentially a lower-clocked version of 4670), yet it still runs at a very comfortable temperature. To my biggest surprise, it is not expensive at all! Sony was running a campus bundle sale, a special upgrade discount, and an educational discount program. In the end, the Sony is actually the most inexpensive laptop on my list.

And so, I ordered the Sony VAIO FW490 online, and this is where the story begins...