Sony VAIO AVIO Notebook User manual

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Contents
Welcome.......................................................9
Using Your VAIO Notebook......................11
Using the Keyboard...................................................12
Combinations and functions with the Windows key .........14
Indicators ...........................................................................15
Indicator lights ...................................................................16
Combinations and functions with the Fn key ....................16
Using the Touchpad ..................................................18
VAIO Action Setup...................................................20
Using the Center Jog Dial Control ............................21
Using the center Jog Dial control ......................................21
Launcher mode ..................................................................22
Guide mode........................................................................23
Center Jog Dial back button...............................................23
Using the center Jog Dial control with Sony software ......24
Using the center Jog Dial control with other software ......24
Using the Optical Disc Drive ....................................25
To insert a disc...................................................................25
To eject a disc ....................................................................26
To play a DVD...................................................................27
To play an audio CD..........................................................28
Notes on CD and DVD discs .............................................28
To write data to a CD-RW or CD-R disc...........................29

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Using PC Cards......................................................... 30
To insert a PC Card........................................................... 30
To remove a PC Card........................................................ 31
Using Memory Stick Media...................................... 32
Types of Memory Stick media.......................................... 32
Write-protecting Memory Stick media ............................. 34
Formatting Memory Stick media ...................................... 34
Notes on using Memory Stick media................................ 35
Using a Second Battery Pack.................................... 37
To insert a second battery pack......................................... 37
To charge the second battery pack.................................... 38
To remove the second battery pack................................... 39
Using the Weight Saver ............................................ 40
To attach the weight saver ................................................ 40
To remove the weight saver .............................................. 41
Using Power Saving Modes...................................... 42
Normal mode..................................................................... 42
Standby mode.................................................................... 42
Hibernate mode................................................................. 42
Notes on power saving modes .......................................... 43
Connecting a Phone Line ......................................... 44
Connecting to a Local Area Network ....................... 45
Setting up your Ethernet connection................................. 45
Connecting to a Wireless LAN................................. 46
The Wireless LAN Access Point ...................................... 46
Communicating with an Access Point (infrastructure) ..... 47
Checking your connection status ...................................... 48
Confirming access point information................................ 49
Communicating without an Access Point (peer-to-peer).. 49
Turning Off Wireless LAN ............................................... 50
Notes on using Wireless LAN .......................................... 50

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Connecting Peripheral Devices ...............53
Connecting an External Floppy Disk Drive ..............54
To connect an external floppy disk drive...........................54
To insert a floppy disk into the external floppy disk drive 55
To remove a floppy disk from the external floppy disk drive
55
To disconnect an external floppy disk drive when the
notebook is on....................................................................56
To carry an external floppy disk drive...............................56
Notes on handling floppy disks .........................................56
Connecting a Port Replicator ....................................57
To attach the notebook to the port replicator.....................57
To remove your notebook from the port replicator ...........59
Connecting a PS/2 External Mouse or Keyboard......61
To connect an external mouse or keyboard .......................61
Connecting an Audio Device ....................................62
To connect a CD player, active speaker, or an amplifier...62
Connecting an Audio-Video Device .........................64
To change the display ........................................................67
Connecting a Parallel Port Printer.............................68
To connect a printer to the notebook .................................68
Connecting a USB Printer .........................................69
To connect a USB printer to the notebook ........................69
Connecting an External Display................................70
To connect a computer display to the notebook ................70
To connect a multimedia computer display to the notebook .
71
To connect a projector to the notebook .............................72
To change the display when connecting an external
computer display or projector ............................................73

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Connecting a Universal Serial Bus Device............... 74
To connect a USB device to the notebook........................ 74
Connecting an i.LINK Device .................................. 76
To connect a digital video camera recorder ...................... 76
Notes on connecting an i.LINK device............................. 77
Connecting with another VAIO computer................ 78
Connecting External Speakers .................................. 79
To connect external speakers ............................................ 79
Connecting an External Microphone ........................ 80
To connect an external microphone .................................. 80
Expanding Your Notebook Capabilities ................... 81
Personal Digital Assistant ................................................. 81
Wireless LAN Access Point.............................................. 81
Wireless LAN PC Card..................................................... 82
Customizing Your VAIO Notebook ..........83
Displaying the Sony Notebook Setup Screen ........... 84
To display the Sony Notebook Setup screen: ................... 84
Sony Notebook Setup tabs ................................................ 85
Controlling Power Management............................... 86
Viewing the Power Management status icons .................. 86
Power Management profiles ............................................. 87
Power Management commands ........................................ 89
Conserving battery power ................................................. 89
Displaying Battery Information ................................ 90
Battery icon descriptions................................................... 91
Displaying detailed battery information ........................... 91
Selecting the Display Mode...................................... 93
Changing the window design of Sony software................ 95
Using the Multilingual User Interface Language

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Option........................................................................96
To Change the Language Option .......................................96
To Change Numbers, Currency, Time, and Date Formats 97
Adding Memory .........................................99
Precautions and Procedures.....................................100
Typical expansion memory configuration...............101
Models with 256 MB Memory ........................................101
Removing a memory module ..................................102
Installing a memory module....................................104
Viewing the amount of memory..............................105
About the Software on Your Notebook .107
Software Overview..................................................108
Software Support Information.................................115
Sony Service Center.........................................................117
Using the Recovery CDs.........................119
Application, Driver, and System Recovery CDs.....120
Using Your Recovery CDs......................................121
To use the Application Recovery CD(s)..........................121
To use the Driver Recovery CD(s) ..................................122
To use the System Recovery CD(s).................................124
Troubleshooting ......................................129
Troubleshooting Your Notebook ............................130
My notebook does not start..............................................130
My notebook starts but a BIOS error appears..................130
My notebook starts, but the message “Operating system not

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found” appears and Windows does not start................... 131
My notebook stops responding or does not shut down... 132
The power management setting is not responding.......... 132
The sound of my notebook’s fan is too loud................... 133
Why does the System Properties dialog box display a slower
CPU speed than advertised?............................................ 133
Troubleshooting the LCD Screen ........................... 134
My LCD screen is blank. ................................................ 134
My LCD screen continues to show the previous screen. 134
The image on my connected external display is not centered
or sized properly.............................................................. 134
I want to change the video resolution of my display. ..... 134
I cannot switch the LCD display to TV, and vice versa. 134
Troubleshooting the Mouse and Touchpad ............ 135
My mouse does not work. ............................................... 135
My touchpad does not work properly. ............................ 135
The pointer does not move while using the Touchpad or
Mouse.............................................................................. 136
Troubleshooting Drives, PC Cards, and Peripheral
Devices.................................................................... 137
I cannot establish a connection between two VAIO®
computers when using an i.LINK cable.......................... 137
My floppy disk drive (optional) cannot write to a floppy disk.
137
My optical disc drive is not playing my CD or DVD
properly. .......................................................................... 137
My optical drive tray does not open................................ 138
I cannot use Digital Video (DV) devices. The message “DV
equipment seems to be disconnected or turned off” appears.
138
My PC Card is not working. ........................................... 139

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Troubleshooting Software .......................................140
My software program stops responding or crashes. ........140
When I click an application icon, the message “You must
insert the application CD into your optical drive” appears
and the software does not start.........................................140
What software do I use for CD-R/CD-RW software
functions?.........................................................................140
Why is my computer operating improperly after
downloading the CD-burning feature of RealJukebox®
software?..........................................................................140
I cannot use the DVgate™ software. ...............................140
Troubleshooting the Modem ...................................141
My modem does not work. ..............................................141
My modem connection is slow. .......................................141
Troubleshooting Audio ...........................................142
My speakers make no sound............................................142
My microphone does not work. .......................................143
Troubleshooting the Printer.....................................144
I cannot print....................................................................144
Troubleshooting Wireless LAN ..............................145
The computer cannot connect to a Wireless LAN Access
Point. ................................................................................145
I cannot access the Internet..............................................145
The data transfer speed is slow. .......................................146
The communication speed is interrupted or slowed down
when MPEG2 data is transferred. ....................................146
Data transfers are interrupted...........................................146
Getting Help .............................................149
Support Options.......................................................149

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Index.........................................................151

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Welcome
Congratulations on your purchase of this Sony VAIO® computer, and
welcome tocomputer the online VAIO® Computer 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.
✍Click here to find the latest updates and supplemental information about your
computer.
Click here to view your computer's hardware specifications and software information.

VAIO® Computer User Guide
10

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Using Your VAIO Notebook
This section describes the following aspects of your new computer:
❑Using the Keyboard
❑Using the Touchpad
❑Using the Center Jog Dial Control
❑Using the Optical Disc Drive
❑Using PC Cards
❑Using Memory Stick Media
❑Using a Second Battery Pack
❑Using the Weight Saver
❑Using Power Saving Modes
❑Connecting a Phone Line
❑Connecting to a Local Area Network
❑Connecting to a Wireless LAN

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Using the Keyboard
Your notebook keyboard is very similar to that of a typewriter, but the keyboard
has additional keys that perform specific computer-related tasks.
Keyboard
Key Description
Numeric keypad 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.
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.) Press the Num Lock key again to deactivate it.
Navigation keys The Left/Right/Up/Down arrow keys are devoted to move the
cursor on the screen, and also function as the Home, End,
Page Up, and Page Down keys, respectively.
Correction keys The Insert, Back Space, and Delete keys enable you to make
corrections in your documents.
Esc F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12
NumLk
Scr Lk
Prt Sc
SysRq
Insert
Pause
Delet
e
Break
Tab
Caps Lock
Shift
Shift
Ctrl Ctrl
Home
Page
Up
Page
Down
End
Fn Alt Alt
Z
A
Q
X
S
W
C
D
E
V
F
R
B
G
T
N
H
Y
M
J
U
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K
I
>
L
O
?
P
2134567890
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Enter
+
Backspace
Escape key Function keys Print Screen key
S
hift key
Ctrl key
Fn key
Windows key
Alt key
Applications
Numeric keypad
Navigation
Correction
keys
key keys

Using the Keyboard
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Function keys The 12 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.
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 S (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 is 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. 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.
Key Description

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Combinations and functions with the Windows key
Combination Function
+ F1 Displays VAIO® Help and Support Center.
+ Tab Switches the selected button on the taskbar.
+ D Displays the desktop.
+ E Displays Windows Explorer.
+ 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.
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 Properties window. This is the equivalent of
selecting Control Panel and then System from the Start menu.

Using the Keyboard
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Indicators
Indicator Function
Power Light is green when the power to the notebook is turned on,
flashes amber in Standby mode, and turns off when the
notebook is in Hibernate mode or powered off.
Battery 1 Indicates the status of the battery inserted in the battery bay
on the right side of the notebook.
Battery 2
Indicates the status of the battery inserted in the multipurpose
drive bay on the left side of the notebook.
Memory Stick Indicates that the Memory Stick® slot is in use.
Hard disk This indicator will light when data is being read from or
written to the hard disk. Do not enter Standby mode or turn
off the notebook when this indicator is on.
1
2

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Indicator lights
Combinations and functions with the Fn key
Light On Off
Num Lock The number keys in the numeric
keypad are active.
The alphanumeric character keys
in the keypad area are active.
Caps Lock The letters appear in uppercase as
you type. The Shift key lowers the
case of typed letters when Caps
Lock is on.
Letters appear in lower case as
you type (unless you hold down
the Shift key).
Scroll LockThe screen scrolls differently.
(Exactly how it scrolls depends on
the specific application. It has no
effect in many applications.)
Information moves across the
display normally.
✍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 Function
Fn+ (F3)
Mute On/Off
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 .

Using the Keyboard
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Fn+ /
(F7)
Switch to the
external
monitor/LCD
Toggles through the LCD, external display (connected to the
Monitor connector) and both LCD and external display.
Connect the cable before you turn on the notebook, otherwise
Fn + F7 will not work.
Fn+ only/
(F8)
Control AV out
Toggles between LCD-only and dual LCD/TV display
modes.
Connect the cable before you turn on the notebook, otherwise
Fn + F8 will not work. You cannot use the Fn + F8 function
to switch between LCD and TV once a DVD is inserted into
the optical drive.
Fn+ (F12)
Hibernate
Provides for the lowest level of power consumption.
When you run 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 its
original state, use the power button to turn on power.
Fn+Esc
Standby
Puts the system into Standby mode, a power management
state. To return the system to the active state, press any key.
✍You can also carry out these functions using the center Jog Dial™ control. Some
functions are not available until Windows® launches.
Combinations/
Feature Function
Only LCD LCD and external display
Only external display
Only LCD LCD and external display
Only external display

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Using the Touchpad
The keyboard contains a cursor-pointing device called a touchpad. You can point
to, select, drag, and scroll objects on the screen using the built-in touchpad.
Touchpad
Action Description
Point Slide one finger on the touchpad to place the pointer on an
item or object.
Click Press the left button once.
Double-click Press the left button twice.
Left and Right buttons
Touchpad
Pointer

Using the Touchpad
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The Mouse Properties dialog box lets you customize your mouse and touchpad
features, such as touch sensitivity, motion, and buttons.
To open the Mouse Properties dialog box
1Click Start on the Windows® taskbar, and then Control Panel.
2Click Printers and Other Hardware, and then Mouse. The Mouse Properties
dialog box opens.
Right-click Press the right button once. In many applications, this action
displays a shortcut menu of context-sensitive choices.
Drag Slide one finger while pressing the left button.
Scroll Move your finger along the right edge of the touchpad to
scroll vertically. Move your finger along the bottom to scroll
horizontally. (The scroll function is available only with
applications that support a touchpad scroll feature.)
Action Description

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VAIO Action Setup
VAIO Action Setup manages the settings for your notebook’s center Jog Dial™
control, Memory Stick® media, and i.LINK®*interface. An overview of some
of the functions controlled by VAIO Action Setup is provided in this section. For
more information on changing the settings using VAIO Action Setup, right-click
the Jog Dial Utility icon or in the taskbar and click Help Topics.
* i.LINK is a trademark of Sony used to designate that a product contains an IEEE 1394 con-
nection. The i.LINK connection may vary, depending on the software applications, operating
system, and compatible i.LINK devices. All products with an i.LINK connector may not
communicate with each other. Refer to the documentation that came with your compatible
i.LINK device for information on operating conditions and proper connection. Before con-
necting compatible i.LINK PC peripherals to your system, such as a CD-RW or hard disk
drive, confirm their operating system compatibility and required operating conditions.