Share your experience!
Hi everyone!
If you have recently bought a new VGN-CS11 series notebook, I'd ask that you take a moment to read this post.
Since I unboxed the new notebook, I have been experiencing strange noises from the fan unit evey time it operates. Before, it used to be simply that every time the fan stopped working, it made a soft "growl" noise (probably due to some internal vibration) for a mere second or two. Recently, however, it has also begun to make a strange, barely audible "clicking sound" as the fan starts up and operates, accompanied by the "growl" at the end, like before. At first, I was led to believe that it was just the normal operating noise that the fan made (although quite annoying!), but due to these recent developments, I am more and more convinced that this is some problem or malfunction that perhaps, will only get worse with time.
Other CS11 users have already posted in the thread "Problem with fan!!" that they also experience this problem, and, from what I've been able to gather, it does not seem like an isolated problem... but this is what we need to confirm.
That is the purpose of this thread.
I would like to ask and encourage all CS11 users to post in this thread if they also experience the same "problem" with the fan (abnormal noises that are clearly distinguishable from normal operation) or anything fan-related, especially if you have experienced them since you bought the notebook and haven't done anything that could "provoke" them (like dropping the notebook or hitting it in some way, blocking the ventilation vents, etc...). This is to have a general scope that this is not an isolated problem that is only happening to a few, and that way, perhaps Sony will take an interest and take the necessary measures to correct this problem if this, in fact, turns out to be a generalised problem.
I have already created a new case with e-Support regarding this issue. Note that these are brand new laptops that have been out on sale for barely a month, and now would be a good time to correct any problems that may arise. If this turns out to be a common problem for most CS11 users, then we should all contact Vaio-Link or e-Support and report the problem, so that Sony will take this problem into consideration if enough people have it.
Remember: the sooner, the better!
Also, perhaps it would also be of interest that those CS11 users that DON'T experience this problem also post in this thread, to see how many DO and how many DON'T... it may be interesting to also know.
Ok... without taking any more of your time, I leave this thread to fellow CS11 users and to anyone that might be able to lend a helping hand. Thanks!!!
Got my laptop back from Sony yesterday.
The fan was replaced and is the "clicking" gone?
There are still some weird sounds if it starts/stops but it's less audible than before.
Sounds like a purring cat when before it sounded like a ping pong ball.
Hope it won't get louder with time.
"on/off orgies" still continue.
I was actually emailed by german Sony customer support and they wrote I had problems with the fan and I was already given a reference number. Maybe Thalamus organized this or someone from Sony read my post? I initially intended not to send it until loads of people would post success stories...
The guy on the phone however didn't seem to know too much about the issue? But he sounded very understanding and we also talked about the controller software. I said the fan starts and stops every few seconds and he suggested maybe that's what damaged my fan! "Oh no, I bought it this way!" At the end we agreed that I will send my laptop in and I said that there are lots of stories about people who sent their laptops and the fan gets replaced with the same model and nothing will change. He promtly answered that he knew about people with this problem and who were now satisfied. (?)
In the week when my laptop was gone I was back on my old IBM ThinkPad and was able to compare the fan behaviour. It also knows only 2 speeds low and high, that seems to be standard. So I wrote crap in my earlier post. But the difference is that if the ThinkPad spins up it keeps spinning for minutes. Once the CPU is idle it stops.
Do all Vaios handle their cooling with these short "outbursts"?
I'm certainly no expert but this seems like bad design to me. Also something that could easily be solved with a BIOS update?
I think customer support does its best but they only initiate the shipping and write messages for the repair center which is a seperate company (in Germany). What they do is to replace parts that are supposedly broken with genuine Sony parts...
hi all
I only bought my CS21S today & this laptop seems 2 make strange fan noises as well-annoying already.
Watch out guys!!!
i got replaced too..is quiter than before but still does the purr sounds.....what can i do to have a QUITE fan replaced? anyway i need my pc now i'll wait to send it again.I hope this new fan doesn't deteriorate like the previous one.
got mine back too.
The fan´s changed but its behaviour and the knarrrrk-noise is exactly the same as before!
Not very funny...
hey guys!!
Even AFTER a technician called me and ASSURED me that the new part was available in the repair centre, and that the same thing would not be repeated (since I had already sent it once before), I got mine back a few days ago only to find THAT IT MAKES THE SAME NOISE!!!
This is not serious... what is going on here?!?!?!
How can they expect to keep or attract future clients in this way? I think that this is the last sony product that I'll ever buy, not to say that it will be VERY hard (not to say IMPOSSIBLE) to win back the trust and confidence of those of us who are going through the same thing. Their reputation and "good name" has vanished.
hey guys!!
Even AFTER a technician called me and ASSURED me that the new part was available in the repair centre, and that the same thing would not be repeated (since I had already sent it once before), I got mine back a few days ago only to find THAT IT MAKES THE SAME NOISE!!!
This is not serious... what is going on here?!?!?!
How can they expect to keep or attract future clients in this way? I think that this is the last sony product that I'll ever buy, not to say that it will be VERY hard (not to say IMPOSSIBLE) to win back the trust and confidence of those of us who are going through the same thing. Their reputation and "good name" has vanished.
i sent my laptop 2nd time and it came back worse than before. I hate sony, should have bought a MacBook! I will try to get my money back though I don't think that will be easy........
Hi All, thanks Thalamus for putting me onto this thread ! I had decided to buy a Samsung laptop and changed my mind at the last minute and bought a Sony vaio vgn-cs11z and yes i am having the same problems fan going errr then chirp chirp and activating every few seconds ??? Now i wish i had bought the Samsung instead of the over priced Sony ! However glad to see i am not the only person to feel like **** out there ! Hope Sony can sort this out ? As a total newbee to laptops could some helpful person out there keep me posted as what to do about this !! Many thanks
I have the exact same problem & its REALLLY annoying. I only bought this a month ago & now the fan gives a really high-pitched whirring noise every few minutes. I am pretty sure it did not do this in the beginning...how can I fix it?
uh ... same problem here,
I really love this notebook so I don't wanna return it nor do I want to send it in.
is there any way to change the fan behaviour to constant spinning?
software based, without sonys support.