Sony VAIO PCG-SR27 User manual

1
Contents
Using Your VAIO®Notebook......................7
Using the Keyboard ........................................................................ 7
Indicators .............................................................................9
Indicator Lights..................................................................10
The Windows Key in Combination with Other Keys........11
The Fn Key in Combination with Other Keys...................12
Using the Touchpad ..................................................................... 13
Using the Optical Drive................................................................. 14
Notes on CD Media ...........................................................17
Using PC Cards ............................................................................ 18
Using i.LINK®Network Connection.............................................. 22
Windows Me™..................................................................22
Windows 2000 ...................................................................22
The Jog Dial™ Control.................................................................. 23
Using the Jog Dial™ Control ............................................23
Launcher Mode ..................................................................24
Guide Mode .......................................................................24
Using the Jog Dial Control with Sony Software................25
Using the Jog Dial Control with Other Software...............25
VAIO Action Setup........................................................................ 26
Using Memory Stick®Media........................................................ 26
Types of Memory Stick Media ..........................................26
Handling and Storing Memory Stick Media ....................27
Inserting a Memory Stick Media .......................................28
Removing a Memory Stick Media.....................................29
Using Memory Stick Media with Data from Another Device

Change to Current Document Title
2
30
Write-Protecting a Memory Stick Media.......................... 31
Formatting a Memory Stick Media................................... 32
Power Saving Modes ....................................................................32
Normal Mode .................................................................... 32
Standby Mode ................................................................... 33
Hibernate Mode................................................................. 33
Notes on Using Power Management................................. 34
Using a Phone Line .......................................................................34
Notes on the Telephone Line ............................................ 37
Using Local Area Network (LAN) ..................................................38
Using Ethernet to Connect to a Network .......................... 38
Setting Up Your Ethernet Connection .............................. 38
Connecting Peripheral Devices ...............41
Connecting a Floppy Disk Drive (Optional)....................................41
To Disconnect a Floppy Disk Drive When the Notebook is
On...................................................................................... 43
To Carry a Floppy Disk Drive .......................................... 44
Connecting an i.LINK®Device ......................................................45
DVgate™ Applications..................................................... 46
Hard Drive Partition.......................................................... 47
To Defragment a Partition................................................. 47
Connecting a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Device ..........................48
To Connect a USB Device ................................................ 48
Connecting an External Display.....................................................49
To Connect a Monitor....................................................... 49
To Connect a Projector ..................................................... 50
Recording from a Microphone or Audio Equipment......................51
Switching the connector functionality .............................. 51

3
Expanding Your Notebook Capabilities......................................... 54
Personal Digital Assistant..................................................54
The Wireless LAN Access Point .......................................54
The Wireless LAN PC Card ..............................................55
Customizing Your VAIO®Notebook ........57
Displaying the Sony Notebook Setup Screen................................ 58
Sony Notebook Setup Tabs................................................59
Controlling Power Management ................................................... 59
Viewing the Power Management Status Icons ..................59
To Activate the Power Management Toolbar....................60
Power Management Profiles ..............................................61
Power Management Commands ........................................62
Conserving Battery Power .................................................63
Displaying Battery Information ..................................................... 63
To Activate Battery Information Toolbar ..........................63
Battery Icon Descriptions ..................................................64
Displaying Detailed Battery Information ..........................65
Changing the Window Design of Sony Software .......................... 65
Selecting the Display Mode .......................................................... 66
Using the Dual Display Function (Windows Me only)................... 68
Selecting Dual Display Mode ............................................68
Setting the Colors and Resolution for Each Display .........69
Customizing the Virtual Desktop ......................................69
Releasing the Dual Display Setting ...................................69
Adding Memory .........................................71
Related Safety Guidelines ............................................................. 71
Typical Expansion Memory Configuration .................................... 72
To Install a Memory Module......................................................... 72
To Remove a Memory Module ..................................................... 75
Confirming Added Memory Capacity ............................................ 76

Change to Current Document Title
4
About the Software on Your Notebook ...79
Overview .......................................................................................79
MovieShaker™ ..............................................................................84
Importing Images and Sound Clips................................... 84
Creating a Movie using Shaker......................................... 85
Editing Clips and Scenes................................................... 86
Saving a Movie ................................................................. 87
OpenMG Jukebox 2.0 Software Instructions.................................87
Electronic Music Distribution (EMD) Services................ 87
Starting OpenMG Jukebox 2.0.......................................... 88
Recording a CD................................................................. 89
Transferring Songs (Check-in/Check-out)........................ 91
Additional Features ........................................................... 93
Notes on Performing the System Restore Function of System
Tools on Windows®Millennium Edition ......................... 94
Notes on Using Portable Players....................................... 94
PictureGear™ ................................................................................95
Managing Your Pictures ................................................... 95
Creating a Photo Album.................................................... 95
Using Panorama Maker..................................................... 96
Making Still Images and Panoramic from MPEG ............ 96
Application, Driver, and System Recovery CDs.............................97
Using Your Recovery CDs ............................................... 97
Using the Driver Recovery CD(s)..................................... 98
Using the System Recovery CD(s) ................................... 99
Recovering Microsoft®Word 2002................................ 100
Software Support Information ....................................................101

5
Getting Help .............................................103
VAIO Support Agent ................................................................... 104
Using the Quick Fix Wizard ............................................104
Using Common Solutions................................................106
Using Support Central .....................................................107
About Automatic Updates ...............................................111
Troubleshooting ......................................117
Troubleshooting Your Notebook................................................. 117
Troubleshooting the LCD Screen................................................ 121
Troubleshooting the Mouse and Touchpad ................................ 122
Troubleshooting Drives, PC Cards, and Peripheral Devices........ 123
Troubleshooting Software .......................................................... 125
Troubleshooting the Modem ...................................................... 126
Troubleshooting Audio ............................................................... 127
Troubleshooting the Printer........................................................ 128
Index .........................................................131

Change to Current Document Title
6

7
Using Your VAIO®Notebook
Using the Keyboard
Although the notebook keyboard is very similar to that of a typewriter, the
keyboard has additional keys that perform specific computer-related tasks.
Keyboard
Escape Key Function Keys Print Screen Key
Shift Key
Fn Key
Windows Key
Alt Key
Applications Key
Numeric Keypad Area Navigation Keys
Correction Keys
Backspace
Key
Ctrl Key
Fn Key

VAIO® Notebook User Guide
8
The Notebook Keyboard Keys
Key Description
Numeric keypad area The numeric keypad area contains the keys found on a
typical calculator. Use this area to type numbers or to
perform mathematical calculations such as addition
and subtraction. Note the following:
❑To activate the numeric keypad, press the Num
Lock key, which causes the Num Lock light to
come on and remain on until the numeric keypad
is deactivated.
❑To deactivate the Num Lock key, press the Num
Lock key again, which causes the Num Lock
light to go off.
Navigation keys The Left/Right/Up/Down arrows 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.
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 (Ctrl, Alt, Shift
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 $.

Using Your VAIO®Notebook
9
Indicators
Windows key The key with the Windows logo displays the
Windows Start menu; it is the equivalent of clicking
Start on the task bar. See “The Windows Key in
Combination with Other Keys”on page 11.
Fn key The Fn keys at the left and right sides work the same
and are used in combination with other keys to issue
commands. See “The Fn Key in Combination with
Other Keys”.
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.
Indicators Functions
Power Light is green when the notebook is powered on,
flashes amber when the notebook is in Standby mode,
and turns off when the notebook is in Hibernate mode
or is powered off.
Battery Indicates the status of the battery, which is attached at
the rear of the notebook.
MG Memory Stick Indicates the Memory Stick slot is in use.
Key Description

VAIO®Notebook User Guide
10
Indicator Lights
Light On Off
Hard disk Data is being read from or
written to the hard drive. Do
not enter Standby mode or turn
off the notebook when this
indicator light is on.
The hard drive is not being
accessed.
Num Lock The number keys in the
numeric keypad are active.
The 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 Lock The 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.

Using Your VAIO®Notebook
11
The Windows Key in Combination with Other Keys
Combinations Functions
+ F1 Displays Windows Help.
+ Tab Switches the selected button on the taskbar.
+ D All displayed windows are temporarily minimized,
and desktop is displayed; when pressed again, all
minimized windows are opened.
+ E Displays Windows Explorer.
+ F Displays the Windows Find: All Files window to find
a file or folder. This is the equivalent of selecting Find
then Files or Folders from the Start menu.
+ Ctrl + F Displays the Windows Find: Computer window
where you can locate other computers. This is the
equivalent of selecting Find then Computer 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 clicking the System icon in the Control Panel.

VAIO®Notebook User Guide
12
The Fn Key in Combination with Other Keys
Combinations/
Feature Functions
Fn+ (ESC)
Standby
Puts the system in Standby mode, which is a power
management state. To return the system to the active
state, press any key or press the power switch on your
notebook.
Fn+ (F3)
Mute on/off
Toggles the built-in speaker off and on.
Fn+ (F4)
Speaker volume
Adjusts the built-in speaker volume as follows:
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 then or .
To decrease light intensity, press Fn+F5 then or .
Fn+ / (F7)
Switch to the
external display
Toggles through the LCD, external display, and both
LCD and external display.
Fn+ (F12)
Hibernate
Puts the system in Hibernate mode, which is the
lowest level of power consumption. When you
execute this command, the states of the system and
the peripheral devices are written to the hard disk and
the system power is turned off. To turn the power
back on and return the system to the original state,
press the power switch on your notebook.
Fn+B
Mega-Bass switch
Toggles the mega-bass function off and on. This
feature is available with headphone only.
✍You can also carry out these functions using the Jog Dial control. Some functions are
not available until Windows launches.
➜ ➜
➜
➜
➜
➜
➜
➜
Only LCD LCD and external display
Only external display

Using the Touchpad
13
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
Actions Descriptions
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.
Right button
Left button
Touchpad
Pointer

VAIO®Notebook User Guide
14
Using the Optical Drive
It is recommended that you use a Sony compatible DVD drive, for optimal
performance.
If you use the supplied optical drive when your notebook is running on battery
power, the battery life will be shorter. The drive draws power from the notebook
through a PC card.
(Windows 2000 only) To play an audio CD in the optical drive, your notebook's
settings must be set properly. You can check the settings as follows:
1Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2Double-click the System icon.
3Click the Hardware tab and then click Device Manager.
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
edge to scroll horizontally. (The scroll function is
available only with applications that support a
touchpad scroll feature.)
✍See Mouse Properties for information on touchpad features, such as clicking both
buttons simultaneously, adjusting touchpad speed, Web Assist, Tap Off, and Easy
Launcher functions. To access Mouse Properties, click Start on the Windows taskbar,
point to settings, select Control Panel, and click the Mouse icon.
If you connect a non-Sony DVD drive to your VAIO notebook, the DVD
playback may not function properly. The bundled DVD software must be
installed to play a DVD.
✍Procedures for connecting the CD drive may vary, depending on the CD drive. See the
manual that came with your CD drive for more information on use.
Actions Descriptions

Using the Optical Drive
15
4Double-click the drive you use under CD-ROM drive.
5Click the Property tab and make sure the “Enable digital CD audio for this
CD-ROM device”box is checked.
To Connect the optical Drive
1Remove the PC card slot protector from the PC card slot. See “Using PC
Cards”for details.
2Remove the PC card from the bottom side of the CD drive.
3Insert the PC card into the PC card slot with the SONY logo facing up. See
“Using PC Cards”on page 18 for details.
✍You can connect the optical drive while the notebook is on, unless you plan to use the
System Recovery CDs. Turn off your notebook before using the System Recovery
CDs.
Removing the PC Card

VAIO®Notebook User Guide
16
To Insert a Disc
1Press the Eject button. The disc tray slides out.
2Place the disc in the tray with the label side facing up. Push the disc onto the
hub until the disc clicks into place.
Inserting the PC Card
✍A protective cover is attached to the lens of the CD-ROM drive at the factory. Before
using the CD-ROM drive, remove this protective cover.
Using the CD-ROM Drive
Eject Button

Using the Optical Drive
17
3Close the tray by pushing it gently. The BUSY indicator on the drive flashes
while your notebook is reading data from the disc.
To Remove the Drive
Remove the PC card from the notebook. See “Using PC Cards”on page 18 for
details.
Notes on CD Media
❑Do not touch the surface of the disc.
❑Do not drop or bend the disc.
Inserting a Disc
The Flashing BUSY Indicator
Disc
Busy Indicator

VAIO®Notebook User Guide
18
❑Do not use adhesive labels to identify the disc. The label may come off while
the disc is in use in the optical drive and cause the drive to malfunction.
❑Fingerprints and dust on the surface of a disc may cause read errors. Proper
care of the disc is essential to maintain its reliability. Do not use solvents
such as benzine, thinner, commercially available cleaners or anti-static spray,
as they may cause damage to the disc.
❑For normal cleaning, hold the disc by its edge and use a soft cloth to wipe the
surface from the center out.
❑If the disc is badly soiled, moisten a soft cloth with water, wring it out well,
and use it to wipe the surface of the disc from the center out. Wipe off any
remaining moisture with a dry soft cloth.
Using PC Cards
Your notebook includes a PC card slot. PC cards allow you to connect portable
external devices, such as a CD-ROM drive.
To Insert a PC Card
✍The PC card slot can accommodate one Type I or Type II PC card. This slot is
compatible with 16 bit card and Card Bus. ZV (Zoomed Video) port is not available.
Some PC cards require that you disable idle devices when using the PC card. You can
use Sony Notebook Setup to disable devices. See “Displaying the Sony Notebook
Setup Screen”for details.
Be sure to use the most recent software driver provided by the PC card manufacturer.
If an “!”mark appears on the Device Manager tab in the System Properties dialog box,
remove the software driver then reinstall it.
✍You do not need to shut down the notebook before inserting or removing a PC card.

Using PC Cards
19
1Insert the PC card in the PC card slot with front label facing up.
Eject Button
Eject Button

VAIO®Notebook User Guide
20
2Gently push the card into the slot until the card is fixed into the connector.
Inserting a PC Card
✍Do not force a PC card into the slot, as this may damage the connector pins.
If you have difficulty inserting a card, check that you are inserting the card with the
correct orientation.
Do not carry your notebook while the head of the PC card (such as a wireless LAN
card) is out of the slot. Pressure or shock may damage the connector pins.
If you alternate between normal power operation and the Standby or Hibernate power
management modes while the card is inserted, a device connected to your system
may not be recognized. In such case, reboot your system.
See the manual that came with your PC card for more information on its use.
PC Card
Insert with the arrow
facing forward.