vaio VPCF11S1E overheat problem still after update bios

[cldsyl]

dear all,

I got Vaio F11( i7 cpu) on March 2010. I had overheat issue for more than 6 months. Just try to look into this issue recently since overheat issue is getting serious. Laptop can be burning even I just browse internet or do nothing( power on).

Following the instruction online, I have update bios, but it doesn't seem the answer. I have call for technical help. But seems my machine has passed the warranty. To get sony check my laptop, I have to pay 60 pounds first.

After review discussion online, it seems to me, the batch I got has default problems including high pitch noise, overheat, etc. I had send my laptop back for noise issue last year. And the only way to get around is to turn off the microphone( in setting).

What I want to say is that this patch ( f11) has so many annoy issues( faulty product?). It doesn't make sense for user to pay for service charge even the warranty is past. Any suggestion except paying 60 pounds first?

This should be a case for sony. I have looked into the way to contact Sony. But all of these are directed to technical repair provider. Any tip which directory I should contact?

[kennymaciver]

Like everyone else I have the same problem. The machine,VPCF11Z1E, cpu and motherboard are reporting temperatures of 104 degrees centigrade when streaming video.

I contacted Sony support somewhere in Egypt to complain and voice concern under safety grounds as I am worried that myself or one of my kids will get burnt by touching the air vent and area around the DC jack.

Sony take NO resposibility for this issue which is disgraceful as there are clearly design faults here and most likely hardware issue. The BIOS update was released to dodge the real underlying issues.

Here is my response from Sony.

"This is Samir from Sony VAIO Support.
I wanted to inform you that as per our escalation the repair will be repaired out of warranty.
The warranty expired more than a year ago, thus the repair will be chargeable.
If there is anything else that I can do to make things easier for you, please do not hesitate to let me know and   I will be happy to assist you using all of our resources here at VAIO."

Basically pay Sony loads more money or get lost.

I recommended Sony in the past to many friends and have purchased many of their products but this is the final straw for me. I'm going to contact consumer advice and have words with a friendly solicitor to see what to do next.

From the comments here and Sony's lack of response, they clearly don't care about the customer. Sony are a disgrace.

Message was edited by: kennymaciver

Message was edited by: kennymaciver

Message was edited by: kennymaciver

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[halus79]

To sonys defence i have to say that many computers the last years had overheating problems in the GPU (thats probably why antrow1985's repair shop could pinpoint that problem). Anyway, just because other computer manufacturers have gpu overheating problems too, doesnt mean it's ok for Sony not to care about their customers.

My vaio computers seem to be out of warranty too. I think i will reinstall the heat tubes and reinstall some new thermal grease from ebay on the cpu and gpu after cleaning them. There might be videos on youtube showoing the dissasembly.

One of them keeps shutting down, the other one is just extremely noisy and hot. I thing i should do something about it before its too late. Either buy a non-sony computer or maybe try to increase the cooling. I also thought about installing water cooling, but that will be a lot of work.

[tobyflaye]

Hi all

I have a sony viao VPCF11C5E. I bought it back in april 2010. I have experienced all of the previous problems that have been talked about;

The overheating started early - within a year - so much so that the palm rest (which is made of some rubber or something) has melted and distorted. it popped out of the area meant to constrain it,. But at a similar time i dropped the laptop which casued some minor visual damage and thought that i had voided my warranty.

I then decided (as i wouldnt be sending the laptop back) to trim the rubber bits back and use superglue to stick the palm rest back into its housing.

The noise is overwhelming. I have to apologise about it frequently. I generally run some CPU greedy 3D modelling, rendering and adobe programs. The heat generated is enought to heat my flat.

If i ever try to watch a video i have to plug in some speakers in order to hear whats going on. Using skype means i have to plug in a headset because the inbuilt microphone just picks up the noise of the fans.

Recently it has started shutting down even when its not that hot. it shut down about half an hour when i was just browsing the internet, which has prompted enough anger to write this down.

I tried updating the bios update when it came out but when i tried to install it i was informed that i already had a more updated version and i couldnt get any further.

Also i have moved to austalia and i am now so pissed off with the state of my laptop that i am considering sending it off to get fixed. Can i send it off to sony australia?

[halus79]

I have reinstalled the heattubes with some new thermal greae after cleaning the cpu and gpu. The heat tubes were sticking very well to the gpu but seemed to have loosened sligthly from the cpu. I used arctic silver 5 if i remember correctly, but from what i read it does not matter a whole lot which thermal grease you choose. Maybe try to avoid the unbranded ones.

Now, the vaio F11 is still noisy but the fan doesnt run at max speed so much a anymore. So it's a little better now.

To do this is quite easy, but dont expect miracles. Just remove all screws under the laptop, remove the bottom cover and then remove the heat tubes (4 screws at the gpu and 4 at the cpu). The heat sink might stick to gpu/cpu so apply some force very carefully. Clean all 4 surfaces with cotton or something with some isopropanol or something else that doesnt harm the electronics before applying new thermal grease. You can read plenty on how to apply thermal grease on the web. You might also need an expired credit card cut into smaller pieces to scrape off some old hard old thermal grease from the heat pipes. Be gentle with cpu and gpu, if you need to clean them outside the mirrorlike large area, be extremely gentle not to destroy those small rectangular components, you dont need to clean that area anyway. New thermal grease costs about USD10.

Tobyflaye: If your computer keeps shutting down or the screen shuts down, it might be the gpu has loosened from the heat tubes.

Of course, also take away the dust if you see any.

Of course, also be careful, dont touch things you dont have to touch. You might touch the metal cover on the usb ports or some other metal cover to even out yours and the motherboards static charge level before you touch anything else. But you dont really have to tocuh anything else than the heat tubes and fan and the cpu/gpu thermal surfaces so don't. Reinstall everything as it was. (even tapes, they might work as static ground.)

And firstly, remove battery and AC power cord.

I should also say i have some technical experience, if you feel unsure about this be very carefull and read on the web and watch videos about this or leave it to a workshop.