Hi guys,
I'm new to the forums, and am really excited to be a part of this community. I have a pair of Sony VAIO PC's - a VGC-RA701G desktop, and a VGN-A290 notebook...
I've put Windows 7 x86 on both, and the VAIO desktop (3.2EGhz P4 HT CPU, 1GB RAM, 500 GB HDD), and the VAIO notebook (1.7Ghz Pentium M, 1GB RAM, 150GB HDD)..
So far the desktop performs just perfectly! I couldn't be happier. The noteboook has been another story. Since installing the latest and greatest Windows desktop OS (W7 Ultimate), the notebook all of a sudden has overheating issues now, and shuts off a few times per day. It's interesting that I never had this issue on XP Pro.
Anyway, I've done a fair amount of research on this issue and I've tried blowing compressed air in the vents, and have configured the standy and hibernation features to kick-in a bit earlier than before (actually, I had them disabled before). Using SpeedFan I can see that the notebook's hotspot is the CPU, which after 10 minutes of running and almost no foreground applications running, it hits about 85+ degress Celsius. At 95 it shuts off... so as you can imagine, after starting a few browser sessions it inevitably starts climbing toward the threshold and turns off.
Anyway, I'm now looking outside of the OS to address this problem. When I first installed Win7 on the notebook, I was going to drop in a compatible 2.1Ghz CPU and 2GB RAM (which I have sitting around the house, luckily)... however, if the system is just going to overheat with the additional resources this doesn't seem wise.
So, I'm now beginning the process of getting this PC stable again. I'm guessing the CPU fan could be starting to go as, although it is running, it does make odd noises occasionally. I found some used ones on eBay (CPU fan/heat sink assemblies) and am going to install those along with the upgraded 2.1 Ghz CPU to see if things get getter.
I'll likely put in the extra RAM at the same time, since I'll have the case disassembled. Do you guys have any pointers or suggestions for me?
Should I just use an OEM used replacement fan/heatsink? Or can I get an "upgraded" one to help with the cooling? I know I can go out and get a notebook cooling pad to sit under the PC and stream cool air into those vents, but I'd like to see how much I can bring down the CPU temps without going outside the case first.
To improve performance on the PC even more, I've found many articles that discuss overclocking this generation Pentium M/chipset, but again before I go do something that is going to generate more heat, I'd first like to see what I can do to cool things down a bit, so to speak.
The only other issue I face is getting the volume/brightness/S1 buttons working. I've read countless articles on this topic and have followed the instructions to a "T" over and over again, but i can just not get these buttons working under Win7. I found some useful threads on this site and may try them next... any advice here is much appreciated too!
So fellow techies, please advise, if at all possible, to help me squeeze some more performance and stability out of this nice (but somewhat dated) notebook PC if, at all possible! My goal is to limit my investment into it, as new noteboooks are pretty cheap nowadays.
Thanks in advance for your help!
B
I'm new to the forums, and am really excited to be a part of this community. I have a pair of Sony VAIO PC's - a VGC-RA701G desktop, and a VGN-A290 notebook...
I've put Windows 7 x86 on both, and the VAIO desktop (3.2EGhz P4 HT CPU, 1GB RAM, 500 GB HDD), and the VAIO notebook (1.7Ghz Pentium M, 1GB RAM, 150GB HDD)..
So far the desktop performs just perfectly! I couldn't be happier. The noteboook has been another story. Since installing the latest and greatest Windows desktop OS (W7 Ultimate), the notebook all of a sudden has overheating issues now, and shuts off a few times per day. It's interesting that I never had this issue on XP Pro.
Anyway, I've done a fair amount of research on this issue and I've tried blowing compressed air in the vents, and have configured the standy and hibernation features to kick-in a bit earlier than before (actually, I had them disabled before). Using SpeedFan I can see that the notebook's hotspot is the CPU, which after 10 minutes of running and almost no foreground applications running, it hits about 85+ degress Celsius. At 95 it shuts off... so as you can imagine, after starting a few browser sessions it inevitably starts climbing toward the threshold and turns off.
Anyway, I'm now looking outside of the OS to address this problem. When I first installed Win7 on the notebook, I was going to drop in a compatible 2.1Ghz CPU and 2GB RAM (which I have sitting around the house, luckily)... however, if the system is just going to overheat with the additional resources this doesn't seem wise.
So, I'm now beginning the process of getting this PC stable again. I'm guessing the CPU fan could be starting to go as, although it is running, it does make odd noises occasionally. I found some used ones on eBay (CPU fan/heat sink assemblies) and am going to install those along with the upgraded 2.1 Ghz CPU to see if things get getter.
I'll likely put in the extra RAM at the same time, since I'll have the case disassembled. Do you guys have any pointers or suggestions for me?
Should I just use an OEM used replacement fan/heatsink? Or can I get an "upgraded" one to help with the cooling? I know I can go out and get a notebook cooling pad to sit under the PC and stream cool air into those vents, but I'd like to see how much I can bring down the CPU temps without going outside the case first.
To improve performance on the PC even more, I've found many articles that discuss overclocking this generation Pentium M/chipset, but again before I go do something that is going to generate more heat, I'd first like to see what I can do to cool things down a bit, so to speak.
The only other issue I face is getting the volume/brightness/S1 buttons working. I've read countless articles on this topic and have followed the instructions to a "T" over and over again, but i can just not get these buttons working under Win7. I found some useful threads on this site and may try them next... any advice here is much appreciated too!
So fellow techies, please advise, if at all possible, to help me squeeze some more performance and stability out of this nice (but somewhat dated) notebook PC if, at all possible! My goal is to limit my investment into it, as new noteboooks are pretty cheap nowadays.
Thanks in advance for your help!
B
No need to go through Anytime Upgrade Process.
