Sony VAIO Digital Studio computer User manual

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Welcome
Congratulations on your purchase of this Sony VAIO® computer, and
welcome to the VAIO User Guide.
This User Guide provides detailed information on all aspects of using
your new VAIO computer, from keyboard functions to preinstalled
software applications.
In the left navigation window, click the topics you want to learn more
about, and that information will be displayed in this main window.

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Welcome.......................................................1
Using Your VAIO Computer .....................11
Using the Keyboard...................................................12
Functions of the keyboard keys .........................................13
Combinations and functions with the Windows key .........14
Indicators ...........................................................................15
Combinations and functions with the Fn key ....................17
Using VAIO Action Setup ........................................19
VAIO Action Setup functions............................................19
Using the Jog Dial Control........................................20
Launcher mode ..................................................................20
Guide mode........................................................................21
To use the Jog Dial control with Sony software ................22
To use the Jog Dial control with other software ................22
Internal timer......................................................................23
Using Memory Stick Media ......................................24
Types of Memory Stick media...........................................24
VisualFlow.........................................................................26
Using PC Cards .........................................................29
To insert PC card ...............................................................29
To remove a PC Card.........................................................30
Notes on PC Cards.............................................................31
Using Power Saving Modes ......................................32
Normal mode .....................................................................32
Standby mode ....................................................................32
Hibernate mode..................................................................32
Notes on power saving modes ...........................................33
Connecting a Phone Line .........................................34
How to connect a phone cable ...........................................34

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Connecting to a LAN ................................................ 36
To set up your ethernet connection ................................... 37
To connect to a network.................................................... 38
Connecting to a Wireless LAN................................. 39
Turning On Wireless LAN................................................ 39
The Wireless LAN Access Point ...................................... 39
Communicating with Access Point (infrastructure).......... 40
Communicating without Access Point (ad-hoc) ............... 42
Turning Off Wireless LAN ............................................... 44
Notes on using Wireless LAN .......................................... 44
Connecting Peripheral Devices ...............45
Connecting a Floppy Disk Drive .............................. 46
To connect the floppy disk drive....................................... 46
To insert a floppy disk ...................................................... 47
To remove a floppy disk ................................................... 47
To remove the floppy disk drive when the computer is on47
To carry the floppy disk drive........................................... 48
Notes on handling floppy disks......................................... 48
Connecting a PC Card Bus Drive ............................. 49
To connect an optical drive............................................... 49
To insert a disc .................................................................. 50
To remove the drive .......................................................... 51
Notes on CD and DVD discs ............................................ 52
Connecting an i.LINK Optical Disc Drive ............... 53
To connect an i.LINK optical disc drive........................... 53
Notes on using i.LINK optical disc drives........................ 55
Connecting a USB Mouse......................................... 56
To connect a USB mouse.................................................. 56
Connecting VAIO Computers .................................. 57
Connecting with i.LINK ................................................... 57

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Connecting an i.LINK Device...................................58
Connecting an External Display................................61
To connect a computer display ..........................................62
To connect a projector .......................................................62
To connect a TV ................................................................65
Connecting a USB Printer .........................................66
To connect a printer ...........................................................66
Connecting an External Microphone.........................67
To connect an external microphone...................................67
To record from a microphone or audio equipment ............67
To switch the microphone jack functionality ....................67
To adjust sound volume in the Recording Control window ..
68
To increase the sound of the microphone ..........................68
To adjust sound device volume .........................................69
Connecting External Speakers ..................................70
To connect external speakers .............................................70
Notes on using external speakers.......................................70
Expanding Your Computer’s Capabilities ................71
Personal Digital Assistant..................................................71
The Wireless LAN Access Point .......................................71
Customizing Your VAIO Computer..........73
Displaying the Sony Notebook Setup Screen ...........74
Sony Notebook Setup tabs.................................................75
Controlling Power Management ...............................76
To view the Power Management status icons....................76
Power Management profiles ..............................................77
Power Management commands .........................................80
Conserving battery power..................................................80

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Displaying Battery Information ................................ 81
Battery icon descriptions................................................... 81
Displaying detailed battery information ........................... 83
Changing the window design of Sony software................ 84
Selecting the Display Mode...................................... 85
To select the display mode................................................ 85
Adding Memory .........................................87
Precautions and Procedures ...................................... 88
Typical expansion memory configuration ........................ 88
Removing a Memory Module................................... 89
Installing a Memory Module .................................... 92
Confirming Added Memory Capacity ...................... 95
About the Software on Your Computer...97
DVgate application notes........................................ 104
Digital video captures ..................................................... 104
Adjusting image resolution ............................................. 104
Hard disk drive partition ................................................. 104
Application, Driver, and System Recovery CDs .... 106
Using Your Recovery CDs ..................................... 107
To use the Application Recovery CD(s) ......................... 107
To use the Driver Recovery CD(s) ................................. 107
To use the System Recovery CD(s) ................................ 111
Recovering Microsoft Word ........................................... 113

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Troubleshooting ......................................115
Troubleshooting Your Computer ............................116
My computer does not start. ............................................116
My computer starts, but a BIOS error appears. ...............116
My computer starts, but the message “Operating system not
found” appears and Windows does not start....................117
My computer stops responding or does not shut down. ..118
The Power Management setting is not responding..........118
The sound of my computer’s fan is too loud. ..................119
Why does the System Properties dialog box display a slower
CPU speed than advertised? ............................................119
Troubleshooting the LCD Screen............................120
My LCD screen is blank. .................................................120
The image on my connected external display is not centered
or sized properly. .............................................................120
I cannot simultaneously display movies, DVD video, or the
Smart Capture (Finder) window on the LCD display and an
external display. ...............................................................120
I want to change the video resolution of my display. ......120
Troubleshooting the Mouse and Touchpad.............121
My mouse does not work.................................................121
My touchpad does not work properly. .............................121
ThepointerdoesnotmovewhileIamusingtheTouchpadorMouse.
122
TroubleshootingDrives,PCCardsandPeripheralDevices
123
Myfloppydiskdriveicondoesn’tappeareventhoughitisconnected.
123
My optical drive is not playing my disc properly............123
My optical disc drive tray does not open.........................124
I cannot use digital video (DV) devices. The message “DV
equipment seems to be disconnected or turned off” appears.

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124
My PC Card is not working. ........................................... 124
Troubleshooting i.LINK devices ............................ 125
I cannot establish a connection between two VAIO comput-
ers when using an i.LINK cable...................................... 125
Troubleshooting Software....................................... 126
My software program stops responding or crashes......... 126
When I click an application icon, the message “You must in-
sert the application CD into your CD-ROM (DVD-ROM)
drive” appears, and the software does not start............... 126
I cannot use the DVgate software. .................................. 126
My computer’s start-up time seems longer after I have in-
stalled AOL. What can I do?........................................... 126
What software do I use for CD-R/CD-RW software functions?
127
Troubleshooting the Modem................................... 128
My modem does not work. ............................................. 128
My modem connection is slow. ...................................... 128
Troubleshooting Wireless LAN functions .............. 129
I cannot use the Wireless LAN functionality.................. 129
Thecomputercannotconnect toaWirelessLANAccessPoint.
129
I cannot access the Internet. ............................................ 129
The data transfer speed is slow. ...................................... 129
The communication speed is interrupted or slowed down
when MPEG2 data is transferred. ................................... 130
Data transfers are interrupted.......................................... 130
Troubleshooting Audio ........................................... 131
My speakers have no sound. ........................................... 131
There is noise distortion while listening to music with USB
speakers or USB headphones.......................................... 131
My microphone does not work. ...................................... 132

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Troubleshooting Memory Stick Media ...................133
Image files do not open even though I insert Memory Stick
media into the slot............................................................133
Memory Stick media does not work. I cannot access the re-
movable drive. .................................................................133
Getting Help .............................................135
Support Options.......................................................136
Software Support Information.................................138
Sony Service Center ................................................140

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Using Your VAIO Computer
This section describes the following aspects of your new computer:
❑Using the Keyboard
❑Using VAIO Action Setup
❑Using the Jog Dial Control
❑Using Memory Stick Media
❑Using PC Cards
❑Using Power Saving Modes
❑Connecting a Phone Line
❑Connecting to a LAN
❑Connecting to a Wireless LAN

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Using the Keyboard
Your keyboard is very similar to a typewriter’s, but your computer keyboard has
additional keys that perform specific computer-related tasks.
Keyboard
Escape key Function keys
Shift key
Ctrl key
Fn key
Windows®key
Alt key Numeric
keypad area
Applications
Navigation keys
Shift
key
Correction
Print Screen
keys
key
key

Using the Keyboard
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Functions of the keyboard keys
Key Description
Numeric keypad area Contains the keys found on a typical calculator. Use the
numeric keypad area to type numbers or to perform
mathematical calculations such as addition and
subtraction. Numbers appear on the front beveled edge of
the numeric keys. Note that you must press the Num Lock
key to activate the numeric keypad. (When you do so, the
Num Lock light will be on.)
Navigation keys Several keys are devoted to moving the cursor on the
screen (the four arrow keys which also function as the
Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys).
Correction keys The Insert, Backspace, and Delete keys enable you to
make corrections in your documents.
Function keys The twelve function keys along the top of the keyboard
are used to perform designated tasks. For example, in
many applications, F1 is the Help key. The task associated
with each function key may vary from one application to
the next.
Escape key The Esc (Escape) key is used to cancel commands.
Print Screen key The Print Screen key takes an electronic snapshot of the
screen and places it in the Windows® Clipboard. You can
then paste the screen shot into a document and print it.

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Combinations and functions with the Windows key
Operator keys (Shift,
Ctrl, Alt keys)
Several keys are always used with at least one other key:
Ctrl, Alt, and Shift. When held down with another key,
the Ctrl (Control) and Alt (Alternate) keys offer another
way to give commands. For example, in many
applications, instead of choosing the Save command from
a menu, you can hold down Ctrl and press the S key
(referred to as Ctrl+S). The Shift key operates the same
way as on a typewriter; it is used to produce capital letters
or special symbols, such as @ and $.
Windows® key The key with the Windows® logo displays the
Windows® Start menu; it’s the equivalent of clicking the
Start button on the taskbar. See “Combinations and
functions with the Windows key” for more information.
Fn key The Fn key is used in combination with other keys to
issue commands. The Fn keys at the left and right sides
both work the same. See “Combinations and functions
with the Fn key” for more information.
Applications key The Applications key displays a shortcut menu of
context-sensitive choices. Pressing this key is the
equivalent of clicking the right mouse button.
Combination Function
+ F1 Displays VAIO® Help and Support Center.
+ Tab Switches the selected button on the taskbar.
+ E Displays Windows® Explorer.
Key Description

Using the Keyboard
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Indicators
+ F Displays the Search window to find a file or folder. This
is the equivalent of selecting Search from the Start
menu.
+ Ctrl + F Displays the Search Results: Computers window where
you can locate other computers. This is the equivalent of
selecting Search and then Computers from the Start
menu.
+ M Minimizes all displayed windows (with Num Lock off).
Shift + + M Returns all minimized windows to their previous size.
+ R Displays the Run window. This is the equivalent of
selecting Run from the Start menu.
Fn + + Insert Displays the System Properties window. This is the
equivalent of selecting Control Panel and then System
from the Start menu.
Indicator Function
Power Light is green when the power to the computer is turned on,
flashes amber in Standby mode, and turns off when the computer
is in Hibernate mode or powered off.
Battery
Indicates the status of the battery inserted in the computer.
Hard disk Lights when data is read from or written to the hard disk drive. Do
not enter Standby mode or turn off the computer when this
indicator light is on.
Combination Function

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Wireless LAN ****to add text****
Memory
Stick®
****to edit: When indicator is lit, data is read from or written to
the Memory Stick media. (Do not enter Standby mode or turn off
the computer when this indicator light is on.) When indicator is
off, the Memory Stick media is not being accessed.
Num Lock When indicator is lit, the number keys area in the numeric keypad
are active. When indicator is off, the alphanumeric character keys
in the keypad area are active.
Caps Lock When indicator is lit, the letters appear in uppercase as you type.
The Shift key lowers the case of typed letters when Caps Lock is
on. When indicator is off, the letters appear in lower case as you
type (unless you hold down the Shift key).
Scroll Lock When indicator is lit, the screen scrolls differently. (Exactly how it
scrolls depends on the specific application. This function does not
work with all applications.) When indicator is off, information
moves across the display normally.
Indicator Function

Using the Keyboard
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Combinations and functions with the Fn key
✍If you switch user identities during a computing session, the Fn+F7 and Fn+F8 key
functionality (if available on your computer) will be interrupted. To switch to an
external display or monitor, see “Selecting the Display Mode” for more information.
Combinations/
Feature Functions
Fn+ (ESC)
Standby
Puts the system into Standby mode, a power
management state. To return the system to the active
state, press any key on your computer.
Fn+ (F3)
Speaker switch
Toggles the built-in speaker off and on.
Fn+ (F4)
Speaker volume
Adjusts the built-in speaker volume.
To increase volume, press Fn+F4, then or .
To decrease volume, press Fn+F4, then or .
Fn+ (F5)
Brightness control
Adjusts the brightness of the LCD.
To increase light intensity, press Fn+F5 and then
or .
To decrease light intensity, press Fn+F5 and then
or .
Fn+ (F7)
Switch to the
external display
Toggles between the LCD, external display
(connected to the Monitor port), and both LCD
and external display modes.
Only LCD LCD and external display
Only external display

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Fn+ (F12)
Hibernate
Provides for the lowest level of power consumption.
When you execute this command, the state of the
system and state of the peripheral devices are
written to the hard disk and the system power is
turned off. To return the system to the original state,
press the power button briefly to turn on the power.
Fn+B
Bass Boost
Toggles the bass-boost function off and on. This
feature is available only while using headphones.
Fn+ F Display control. Minimizes and maximizes the LCD
screen. If the default display resolution is reduced,
this function maximizes the display resolution to fit
the screen size. Maximizing the display screen
enables you to view the display at a greater
resolution.
✍Some functions are not available until Windows® launches.
Combinations/
Feature Functions

Using VAIO Action Setup
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Using VAIO Action Setup
VAIO Action Setup manages the settings for your computer’s Jog Dial™ control,
Memory Stick® media, and i.LINK® interface. An overview of some of
the functions controlled by VAIO Action Setup is provided below. For more
information on changing the settings using VAIO Action Setup, right-click the
Jog Dial control icon or , in the task tray and click Help Topics.
VAIO Action Setup functions
❑Jog Dial — Changing the Jog Dial setting
❑Memory Stick — Changing the Memory Stick media insertion setting
❑i.LINK — Changing the i.LINK device connection setting
❑USB — Changing the USB device connection setting
❑Timer — Setting the timer
MEMORY STICK TM

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Using the Jog Dial Control
Your computer is equipped with a Jog Dial™ control on the top right corner of
the unit. The Jog Dial control enables you to open an application, folder, or
document from a predefined list by rotating and pressing the Jog Dial control. In
addition, when you press the Jog Dial control, you can turn on your computer
automatically and start the selected application or document.
The Jog Dial control window always appears in the display. It is either in the
launcher mode or in the guide mode.
For information on how to change the Jog Dial control’s settings, right-click the
Jog Dial control icon in the task tray and click Help Topics.
Launcher mode
The Jog Dial control window is in launcher mode until a software application is
launched or the Jog Dial control window becomes active. When an arrow is
displayed next to an item in the Jog Dial control window, you can display a
submenu of that item by selecting it and pressing the Jog Dial control button.
Using the Jog Dial Control
Jog Dial control