highlanderfil
Golden Member
I bought the laptop at the Sony Outlet during the 50% off deal and am generally pretty happy with it (after I managed to install an SSD in it and Wiindows stopped giving me a "bad install" error because Sony in their infinite wisdom don't think people are capable of replacing an HD in a laptop). However, I've got two niggling issues in it which cannot seem to want to resolve themselves.
1. This is definitely a hardware issue: whenever I hit the space bar with my right thumb (so on the right side), it is making a very annoying squeaking sound as if one of the hinges is messed up. Definitely a mechanical issue. I thought it was debris and tried to blow it out with compressed air, which produced a rather strange whistling noise, the same kind of which I cannot hear from the left side of the space bar. I talked to Sony tech support and the only thing they can think of is for me to send the laptop back to them, a process which is going to take at least a week and one I'd rather avoid if I can. Dell can just send you a replacement keyboard, but apparently it's too complicated for Sony to do likewise. That said, if I can avoid disassembling the entire case to fix one niggling problem, I'd rather do that. Is there a way to take the space bar off without causing permanent damage? And has anyone else experienced this issue?
2. The second issue is almost certainly software-related. A few days ago I noticed that whenever I make a Skype or Google Voice call, my left speaker crackles horribly. I don't know how it started doing that - nothing in the configuration of the laptop has changed - but it is uber-annoying. Also, whenever the computer just sat there, I could hear a really annoying high-pitched whining noise, kind of like weak feedback, coming out of just the left speakers. After doing a Google search on the problem (and reinstalling the sound driver per Sony's incredibly helpful tech support), I messed around with the settings of the sound card, such as the "Communications" tab where I selected "Mute all other sounds", I fixed the problem, but only somewhat. Then I went to the "Recording" tab, where in the "Enhancements" tab I now have everything enabled except "Disable all sound effects". This has helped somewhat, but now the left speaker seems to be completely off on calls, something I don't mind, but it's still annoying to have to do that. Moreover, it doesn't seem to have helped 100% - whenever I play a YouTube video now, I get the feedback for a few seconds after the video has stopped playing. And I also get the feedback constantly when I am in the "Microphone" tab, so I am guessing it's got something to do with that particular piece of hardware. "Listen to this device" is off now, so, apparently before I make a call with Skype/Google, I have to change settings yet again or the mic won't work?
So it's a jumbled mess as you can see. Just wondering if anyone has experienced these issues? Thanks!
1. This is definitely a hardware issue: whenever I hit the space bar with my right thumb (so on the right side), it is making a very annoying squeaking sound as if one of the hinges is messed up. Definitely a mechanical issue. I thought it was debris and tried to blow it out with compressed air, which produced a rather strange whistling noise, the same kind of which I cannot hear from the left side of the space bar. I talked to Sony tech support and the only thing they can think of is for me to send the laptop back to them, a process which is going to take at least a week and one I'd rather avoid if I can. Dell can just send you a replacement keyboard, but apparently it's too complicated for Sony to do likewise. That said, if I can avoid disassembling the entire case to fix one niggling problem, I'd rather do that. Is there a way to take the space bar off without causing permanent damage? And has anyone else experienced this issue?
2. The second issue is almost certainly software-related. A few days ago I noticed that whenever I make a Skype or Google Voice call, my left speaker crackles horribly. I don't know how it started doing that - nothing in the configuration of the laptop has changed - but it is uber-annoying. Also, whenever the computer just sat there, I could hear a really annoying high-pitched whining noise, kind of like weak feedback, coming out of just the left speakers. After doing a Google search on the problem (and reinstalling the sound driver per Sony's incredibly helpful tech support), I messed around with the settings of the sound card, such as the "Communications" tab where I selected "Mute all other sounds", I fixed the problem, but only somewhat. Then I went to the "Recording" tab, where in the "Enhancements" tab I now have everything enabled except "Disable all sound effects". This has helped somewhat, but now the left speaker seems to be completely off on calls, something I don't mind, but it's still annoying to have to do that. Moreover, it doesn't seem to have helped 100% - whenever I play a YouTube video now, I get the feedback for a few seconds after the video has stopped playing. And I also get the feedback constantly when I am in the "Microphone" tab, so I am guessing it's got something to do with that particular piece of hardware. "Listen to this device" is off now, so, apparently before I make a call with Skype/Google, I have to change settings yet again or the mic won't work?
So it's a jumbled mess as you can see. Just wondering if anyone has experienced these issues? Thanks!
