I was browsing at an online store today and I see that Intel has released 1.8" 160GB drives! These are 5mm thick.
Now I have upgraded my Z to a single 160G (2.5") but these should slip right in!
Does anyone know where I can get the required cable and the tray for the z-series notebooks
Does anybody know if the SSDs on the Z series use the slower MLC flash memory or do they use the more efficient (and expensive) SLC flash memory?
View 10 Replies View RelatedHow to Setup - RAID Volumes
BEFORE CONTINUING WITH THIS POST, BACKUP YOUR DATA AND CREATE RECOVERY DISKS IF YOU DECIDE TO DO THIS!! DID I MENTION MAKING RECOVERY DISKS AND BACKUPS? GOOD!
RAID 0 as defined from this Wikipedia Article
Quote:
RAID 0
RAID 0 (striped disks) distributes data across multiple disks in a way that gives improved speed at any given instant. If one disk fails, however, all of the data on the array will be lost, as there is neither parity nor mirroring. In this regard, RAID 0 is somewhat of a misnomer, in that RAID 0 is non-redundant. A RAID 0 array requires a minimum of two drives. A RAID 0 configuration can be applied to a single drive provided that the RAID controller is hardware and not software (i.e. OS-based arrays) and allows for such configuration. This allows a single drive to be added to a controller already containing another RAID configuration when the user does not wish to add the additional drive to the existing array. In this case, the controller would be set up as RAID only (as opposed to SCSI only (no RAID)), which requires that each individual drive be a part of some sort of RAID array...............
I found the part number for the raid component in the Z-series. You just need two low-profile SSD, and you should be able to do RAID in the Z-series laptop without paying for RAID config from Sony.
Part number is A-1553-769-A
You can go here to purchase the part
[url]
You may be able to use this in the TT as well, but I'm not so sure about that.
Changing Chipset SATA Mode from AHCI to RAID?
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I have already checked:
1) Changing regiser's key as above/;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesstorahci Start 3 -> 0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesiaStorA Start 0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesiaStorV Start 0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesstorahci Error Control 3 -> 0
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Unfortunately after rebooting in RAID mode, OS doesn't work.
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2) Going step by step over the description made by microsoft support team: [URL] .....
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Doesn't work.
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My aim is to configure my SSD as a cache drive and as I read - without changing mode into RAID, it wouldn't work.
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Maybe there is a possibility to set up SSD as cache in AHCI mode?
Is it possible to remove the Raid 1 Controller / Drive from a W540 that was ordered with it installed?
View 1 Replies View RelatedI purchased a Sony AW230J/H believing it would be easy to convert to a RAID 0 array by installing my 2 Intel SSD drives. Turns out on this particular model they turned the RAID options off in the BIOS so I can't access it, and install a NON-RAID version of Intel Storage! But, striping/mirroring are available in the native VISTA Storage of Manage Computer! So, how can I create a RAID on drives that are already being used to boot into the OS? Or does anyone know any tricks to turn ON the RAID Bios so I can configure it PRE-OS installation? When I right click on the 2nd SSD (unpartiioned) all options for mirrow/striping/etc are available, but no drives to add to it. My primary drive has those items greyed out?
View 9 Replies View RelatedI have the Lenovo Y400 laptop with Intel Core I-7 processor and Nvidia Geforce 650M Graphics chip. Â The laptop came with windows 8 and is now running windows 8.1 At the time of purchase I opted to go for a model with a standard HDD and no MSATA SSD for caching.
I have recently purchased a 128 GB "My Digital SSD - Bulletproof 4" MSATA SSD and installed it.
I installed the Intel Rapid Storage Technology software and it shows the drive, but does not give me any options for acceleration or caching.
Based on my research so far, it seems I need to enable RAID mode in the BIOS (SATA setting is currently at AHCI).
The only other option shown is to change it to "compatibility mode" which it identifies as IDE.
Is there a way to switch the BIOS to RAID mode so I can use my MSATA SSD for caching without having to reinstall windows?
I'm about to take the plunge and order the vaio z from sonystyle uk, i was looking for the fastest, reasonably portable with good resolution laptop, and while I was looking for screen little bit bigger than the vaio z (15"-16") I couldn't really find anything that would go as fast the vaio z while still being under 17" and light enough to carry around.
But all my searching was based on the fact that I want to raid 0 two fast SSDs.
But is it really worth it? will two x18-Ms in Raid0 on the vaio z raid controller be really faster than one x25-M?
Also is it possible to DIY the raid? I did some reading and while I found some threads talking about the parts used to do the raid i couldn't get a clear answer whether it's easy to do the raid yourself.
One other question is that on sonysyle uk you have the most expensive vaio z having the carbon fibre option, while anything cheaper doesn't say so, does that mean the others are not carbon fibre? how different would a carbon fibre vaio z be VS non carbon fibre?
W540 20BG001CGE, had BIOS 1.05 and RAID 1 with two Samsung 840 EVO 1TB working fine under Windows 7 - x64. Did a (by lenovo update tool recommended) BIOS Update with the bios update manager to 2.05. Update ran fine. After Rebooting (and loading defaults, disabling Intel Rapid Start, Changing BIOS boot option to legacy first ... I recognized SATA Option (AHCI or RAID) in BIOS is gone. At boot Intel Matrix Storage Configuration doesnot appear anymore (where you can build RAID etc).
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Boot then brings up message "missing operating system".
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Downgrade to BIOS 1.05 impossible, due to ISO File on www.lenovo.com support is not system compatible, message "Lenovo Group Limited - Invalid system disk; Replace te disk, and then press any key")
(The link to the ISO File version 1.05 at the bottom of this page links a non bootable ISO image [URL]....)
Also the downgrade to BIOS version 1.08 found here [URL] .... does not work, CD also messages "Lenovo Group Limited - Invalid system disk - Replace ...").
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Rewriting BIOS version 2.05 (GNET57WW) does not work (says "BIOS update not necessary").
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Embedded Controller Version GMHT25WW (1.10) ME Firmware Version 9.0.22.1467. How to get back my RAID controller?
Is the quad raid 0 512Gb on the Z the fastest setup in the laptop/mobile world?
How does it compare to the 512GB SSD setup on the new MBP or even the Alienware 15x and 17x?
I asked this on the Alienware forum; but nobody truly knows much other than that the alienware would demolish the Z and that the ssd on the Z is a dual setup like the mbp and alienware. I know its a quad setup, but is it the fastest option availble?
I was under the impression tht it was, and it would be extraordinary on such a tiny laptop.
I'm thinking of purchasing the new sony Z-1190 laptop. Some of the options have only one drive (say 128GB X 1, or 256 X 1) but still supposedly have raid 0. How is this possible (I thought that more than one drive was needed)? Would there be a performance difference between the 256X1 or the 192 (64X1 + 128X1)?
View 10 Replies View RelatedIm looking to buy the raid cable and bracket for my Z. I've seen old threads and saw that the raid cable is FCP-126, but does anyone know the model number for the bracket?
View 3 Replies View RelatedI've got the HDD option, which replaces the optical drive with a normal HDD, and doesn't come with proprietary Sony SSDs. I've been thinking about and testing RAID configurations, and this thread is meant to gather some thoughts on that. At some level it's probably easier to go the Sony SSD route, but... I prefer something else
There are two parts: (1) external RAID, (2) internal RAID.
Part 1: External RAID
I went down this path because I believed that there's only one SATA port offered by the HDD-option. From Intel [url], it appears that the port multiplier functionality is not implemented in the ICH8, which is what the Z1 comes with. This means we can't get two or more drives to logically share the same SATA port, which means that they have to appear as one logical device, which in turn means that some sort of external RAID/BIG hardware is needed.
I tried a number of hardware RAID solutions. The first was the Silicon Image SiI 4726, in a mini-board with a form between the 2.5" and 1.8" drives. Unfortunately, after configuration on a (old) desktop, the chip offers only its admin drive ("Config") to the bios and Windows, rendering it impossible to boot off of...........
how much faster are the tri and quad raid configurations compared to dual raid? I know bench tests show that the tri and quad raid are significantly faster but how does this translate into real world use? will opening programs be twice as fast or games will load twice as fast?
View 3 Replies View RelatedMy RAID failed yesterday and one of the new drives I bought is dead. I only had it for less than a day.
I don't know if it is was the drive or RAID but either way the drive does not work but the connector does so.
I'm most likely going to send a ram module I bought back as I’m unsure the voltages of that ram.
My keyboard also developed a problem. Not all the keys work. I looked at it and the connector is burnt the middle of it. The keyboard connector is what goes into the sound board. I'm not 100% certain how it happened may be it was either the ram or RAID that did that or some other unrelated fluke caused by something else. I kept on powering of and on without logging of in test mode and may be that did it. I'm not a smoker and I never physically did that.
The ram I originally had was 7-10-F1 the ram I bought was a 4GB 7-10-F2. I think what has confused me is that I googled and read that the ram I bought was CL8 when I had originally CL7 it makes no sense to me to me that ram could be CL8 when the first letter is C7?
I put my laptop on my desk like I normally do and it just turned off. I powered it on and it said no OS found. I opened it and the connector looked fine and the KB was ok at that point..................
I have a valid license for Vista Ultimate 64bit. If I order a Z series with Vista Home 64 (cheapest option), will I have any problems updating it with my Ultimate 64?
In particular.. will I have all the necessary disks to install any Sony software that would normally come with the laptop? (stuff particular to the laptop.. like making everything work.. I don't care about 3rd party junk software like antivirus, works, etc).
I have the new Win7 disks from MSDN (pro and ultimate). Tried multiple times yesterday to upgrade my Z690 from Vista. Uninstalled all of the conflicting drivers/programs, it goes all the way through the install process, gets to the point where it copies over the old files, but then abruptly restarts and uses the Rollback program to get me into Vista again.
I tried 4 times, same result each time. Anyone have an idea if there's something I can do get this machine upgraded?
A clean install is not an option, too many programs I can't find the disks to...
have a TZ340 on order. At the time I thought it would be nice having an ultralight with an optical drive and really long battery life, but ten looking at the specs ULV U7600 1.2ghz cput and 100gb PATA 4200 rpm, 1gb ram, i'm starting to get buyers remorse cause it seems like the hardware is kind of dated already. Anyone with some of the older TZ models have any relatively cheap modification suggestions to speed up the laptop when I get it. I have some 2gb so dimms laying around so I'll just swap that in for the 1gb, but anyone have any suggestions on some smaller ssd drives available now? I believe the 100gb pata drive in the tz is a 1.8" drive, do they make 1.8" pata ssd drives?
View 4 Replies View RelatedDoes anyone have pictures or instructions to upgrade Z series wireless network card?
View 4 Replies View RelatedI bought my sony Z series in Oct 08, havent got the full spec infront of me. But it was the 4GB, 320GB model The past 18 months its been faultless apart from a problem with the left clicker under the touch pad which sony fixed very quickly.
Ive had a couple of problems recently with it overheating. Fans running at when seems like warp speed then the laptop turning off. The laptop seems to run really warm when I have the wireless on and using the internet etc. Ive done plenty of virus scans, defrags, disk clean up and cant seem to find anything un toward.
So my next port of call is to do a full system freash install. My questions are
With the speed that technology changes is it possible to upgrade any of my current Z series?
Or
would I be better off buying on of the latest Z series models?
The laptop is used alot for internet and some gaming.
I know that many of us have been seeking an inexpensive third-party RAM upgrade for our new Vaio Zs. Fortunately, I've found a great solution. Not only does this module use precisely the same RAM ICs as the currently shipping Vaio Z11 8GB machines, those RAMs just happen to be manufactured by the world's largest DRAM manufacturer (by far), Samsung. This module has been tested for over a week, and it has truly been a completely stable solution. Plus, I don't suppose that it'll hurt to point out that this is the least expensive 4GB DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM module that I can find in the United States right now! Moreover, it's sold by a very reputable vendor, whom I trust - EWiz.com (they're still making the transition from their old name, SuperBiiz). They've got great prices, ship fast, and stand behind what they sell - no, I have nothing whatsoever to do with them, other than being a customer.
Rock-solid RAM that's the cheapest, too! For details behind all the testing that allowed me to finally post this, see this thread (which started off as a look into RAM speeds on the new Vaio Zs). To pick these up, check out the Super Talent 4GB DDR3-1066 Samsung Chip Notebook Module at EWiz.com - literally priced below any other 4GB DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM on Pricewatch, as of 3/30/2010!
Here's my story and, let's say, my analysis:
I bought a generic 2 HD sata2 RAID1 enclosure based on the chipset Silicon Image SteelVine 5744. It can be used in USB or eSATA2. This embedded chipset (named SiL5744) is known (understand "claimed") to auto-handle Sata I/II and host sata2 controllers that not support the port multiplier feature. The HD are two Samsung F1 1To. There's no jumper to rollback to SATA 1.5Go on them, you can only do it by flashing the HD's bios, however we don't need to do it as I wrote just before, the SiL5744 supports SATA 3Go natively.
The enclosure works pretty well with USB, but *not* in eSATA : the E6500 freezes/hangs just after the POST step (a potential driver issue with the installed vista 64bits is not the reason then). As soon has I disconnect the eSATA cable, the system recovers and continues as normal.
What I've tried/done so far :
Both E6500's BIOS SATA mode AHCI and IRRT mode were tested,
Intel Matrix driver and software was updated to the latest 8.7.0.1007 version (AHCI and IRRT),
The SiL5744 chip was upgraded to its latest firmware as well (in case of...)
In order to verify the esata cable, the HDs and the enclosure itself, I succeed to :
- Use the enclosure's RAID1 feature when using the USB connection, I could partition,format, and read/write on the logical volume
- directly connect *one* HD (Samsung F1 1To) to the E6500's esata port -(I have a sata2esata cable), Vista installed it and I was able to use it as normal, even the hotswap feature seemed to work fine (I unkindly removed it). I could so test both HD individually this way... On the enclosure hardware side, everything looks fine then.
An IMPORTANT thing : The E6500's ICH8/9-M sata host controller seems to support the Port Multiplier feature *ONLY* on sata port 0 -as a bubble message from the Intel Matrix soft sometimes shows up-, but this is exactly where the internal HD is plugged on the motherboard I found nowhere you can change the internal sata port ID (switch,bios,ect...). I think this is the key of the problem that seems to be a dumb port conflict, because the esata port is in fact the port sata 4 (the DVDRW drive is sata 1, dock's esata is 5 for instance). If somebody knows how to swap the sata port ID, I think I won't be toasted !
How to replace Hard Drive for Sony Vaio Z...
View 7 Replies View RelatedDDR3 PC3-8500 or DDR3 PC3-10600 modules? Two 4 GB modules or a matching pair 8 GB kit?
View 4 Replies View RelatedI have a a vaio nw series with a blu-ray player and i want to upgrade a couple of things on my computer. I would like to upgrade the memory on my laptop to 8Gb and the processor to a t9900. On the sony website it says the laptop can max at 2.2ghz and 4gb but the chipset in the laptop can support the processor i want and the 8gb.
View 4 Replies View RelatedI would like to request your opinion on upgrading my current Sony Vaio VGN-Z590 P9500 2.53ghz processor into a X9100 3.06ghz one. I would like to know if it would still be possible to upgrade my cooling system by just applying a thermal compound on the existing copper wire cooling system. I also plan to add more thermal compound on the cpu and heatsink.
View 10 Replies View RelatedI just recently upgraded my Z from Vista x64 to Windows 7.
I am having a problem with the function keys though.
Everything works except the brightness controls both in stamina and speed mode.
I tried reinstalling numerous drivers but nothing seems to work.
Does anyone know the fix for this issue?
I have a Z790CJ model if that is any help
I am looking at buying the Z690/790 with the SSD RAID configuration and was looking for more information on the size and interfaces of the SSDs used in RAID configuration.
a. Are they 2.5" inch drives or 1.8" inch drives?
b. Do they have SATA interface or some other interface
Alright so i have been trying to upgrade from home premium 64bit vista to W7 with my upgrade disc and i am out of idea. Every time i try to run the upgrade i get an error saying
"Windows cannot copy files required for installation. The files may be corrupt or missing. Make sure all files required for installation are available and restart the installation. Error code: 0x80070017"