Attention VGN-CS11 users and SONY!! Problem with FAN!

[Vamp1387]

Hi everyone!

If you have recently bought a new VGN-CS11 series notebook, I'd ask that you take a moment to read this post.

Since I unboxed the new notebook, I have been experiencing strange noises from the fan unit evey time it operates. Before, it used to be simply that every time the fan stopped working, it made a soft "growl" noise (probably due to some internal vibration) for a mere second or two. Recently, however, it has also begun to make a strange, barely audible "clicking sound" as the fan starts up and operates, accompanied by the "growl" at the end, like before. At first, I was led to believe that it was just the normal operating noise that the fan made (although quite annoying!), but due to these recent developments, I am more and more convinced that this is some problem or malfunction that perhaps, will only get worse with time.

Other CS11 users have already posted in the thread "Problem with fan!!" that they also experience this problem, and, from what I've been able to gather, it does not seem like an isolated problem... but this is what we need to confirm.

That is the purpose of this thread.

I would like to ask and encourage all CS11 users to post in this thread if they also experience the same "problem" with the fan (abnormal noises that are clearly distinguishable from normal operation) or anything fan-related, especially if you have experienced them since you bought the notebook and haven't done anything that could "provoke" them (like dropping the notebook or hitting it in some way, blocking the ventilation vents, etc...). This is to have a general scope that this is not an isolated problem that is only happening to a few, and that way, perhaps Sony will take an interest and take the necessary measures to correct this problem if this, in fact, turns out to be a generalised problem.

I have already created a new case with e-Support regarding this issue. Note that these are brand new laptops that have been out on sale for barely a month, and now would be a good time to correct any problems that may arise. If this turns out to be a common problem for most CS11 users, then we should all contact Vaio-Link or e-Support and report the problem, so that Sony will take this problem into consideration if enough people have it.

Remember: the sooner, the better!

Also, perhaps it would also be of interest that those CS11 users that DON'T experience this problem also post in this thread, to see how many DO and how many DON'T... it may be interesting to also know.

Ok... without taking any more of your time, I leave this thread to fellow CS11 users and to anyone that might be able to lend a helping hand. Thanks!!!

[hollow]

"Recently, we became aware of a potential issue..."
What a joke! It's been a catastrophe from the very start and that was last year.
And they continued to sell, sell, sell this garbage.
By the way, still can't find such announcement on german or uk sony site, but it's there?

[foxynats]

I would really like to find this UK annoucement too....
The fan noise is really starting to annoy me. It happens every 5 seconds for about three seconds... ALL OF THE TIME!
I have had it repaired once but it is still a pain!
My boyfriend has got a Macbook and i cannot believe how quiet it is - I am so jealous.

[Thalamus.]

Hi foxynats,

here's how I found the statement for your CS11 series..

Open Vaio support, either by clicking Support at the top of this page or use the following link: Vaio support

Under Log-in option 2: Select your VAIO model, next to Select Model Category - Select your model from the drop down list, ie VGN CS.

Then next to Select Model - select CS11S/P

Then click Log-IN

Once logged in type Fan Noise into the search box and click on the search magnifying glass.

Under the words Useful Links, click on Continuous loud or abnormal fan noise

You should now see announcement.

Hope this helps..

[coral_pink]

I forgot to say that sony made a dent on the bodywork of my vaio as it falled on an angle...so i was wondering...how do they treat ours pc...? they cannot fix them permanently and in addition if i sent mine to have it repaired it comes back damaged...who's gonna give me a new dodywork now...

[coral_pink]

fall not falled sorry..i made a mistake..

[Vamp1387]

Hi all!

It's been a very long time since I've posted anything in this thread, but I've been following it closely all this time.

The reason that has got me to post here again is the fact that at the beginning of this summer, my fan started to make noise again. It wasn't the old noise I had had with the previous models, i.e., the "err" at the end, but a different new kind of noise (new model fan = new noise?!?). It's a noise that's made as the fan spins, a kind of rattling of the entire structure of the fan as it speeds up and maintains its revolutions, persistant and only getting worse with time. It's as if something has worn off with time (perhaps some lubricant??) and the extra strain is somehow damaging the fan.

Ok... there's one thing I don't understand...

Many of us, after being lied to and getting the "old" model fan several times after sending our vaios in vain for repair, eventually got the "new" model fan that was supposed to fix this entire issue and -as it appeared to be- it did. No more "err" or whirring noises everytime the fan spun down. However, as the months have passed, this new model fan is also failing.

There are a few things that could be happening here...

1) The "new" model fan we got (those of us that did) a few months ago and which seemed to end our fan noise problems for some time (a few months in my case) was only a "sugar-coated" version of the old one, with a few minor adjustments that would hopefully make it hold out and keep the noise from coming back until our warranty expired... or so they thought.

2) The new model was in fact a new model fan, with a different design from the old one and, thus, would not have the same problems as the other one did. However, after a few months, for some reason, it too starts to fail. Now this can either be because of the fan itself, which doesn't make a lot of sense (they replace a faulty fan with another faulty fan, but faulty in a different kind of way?!?) or because the computer is doing something to the fan to make it faulty. The only thing that a computer can do to make a fan fail is strain it past its design limits. This can either be done by the system injecting an excessive amount of voltage and or current to the fan, which is due to faulty control programs or hardware issues, or by the way the fan speed control program makes the fan operate. Now we all know that the way it is designed on our vaios is not something conventional, making the fan start/stop every few seconds only to keep it on for another few seconds, so perhaps this is what's putting the fan under too much strain, to the point that it is made to fail.

Now I'm not saying that every fan that we put in our vaios will fail just because of this sort of control method... I'm certain that many models of fans out there meet the specifications to remain undamaged for a long time while being put under the repeated strain of constantly having to be turned on and off every few seconds, but what is possible is that many cheap fans DON'T have the ability to hold out for such a long time.

We get a new model fan, CHEAP for THEM, of course, a fan that should fix everything, but because of the constant strain that the control program is putting on it, it is only lasting a few months before showing symptoms of failure.

I think that this is the most likely scenario or hypothesis of what is happening here. Of course, I am only making assumptions, but REASONED ONES nonetheless. It's not like I know for sure, but it's not many other things it could be.

A combination of cheap fans put under too much strain because of the way our vaios control it.

As an example, I have recently installed a new fan in my desktop, a fan that clearly marked "MAX. 2500 RPM". However, I had it plugged in directly to the power supply and it was running at a constant speed of 3000 RPM. It only took a few weeks for it to start making the same rattling noises as the one in my vaio has been making. I immediately plugged it in to a program-controlled socket, which keeps it in the 1500-2000 RPM interval and the noise has not come forth again, at least for the time being.

Now, in our vaios, there are two ways to fix this for Sony, and if this is the case, they must surely know them...

A) They give us a BIOS update that changes the fan control program to make it work just like any other normal laptop on the market and replace our damaged fans with other cheap ones (that will not likely break if the control program does a good job)

-OR-

B) They maintain the fan control program as it is but put in a MORE EXPENSIVE (=HIGHER QUALITY) fan that can take the strain that it is put under without failing.

Or even better... the combination of the two! But that's just wishful thinking...

Anyway, that's just my opinion. Feel free to comment or add your own. However, we must all agree on one thing: Sony is trying to shove this weight off their shoulders and take no responsibility for what has clearly been their error from the start.

The fact that they have been denying this as a general issue with the CS for such a long time and now, almost a year after, when they see that their CS sales have dropped, only now, they admit to saying that they have "recently" become aware of a "possible issue" with the fan, and offer NO REAL SOLUTION, because you can replace the same cheap fan as many times as you want, but if nothing is changed, only a few months will transpire until the same thing will happen again. We have proof of this here... all those that have gotten their "fixed" fans back, eventually making noise again.

In this way, they are trying to deny responsibility by changing our fans until our warranty expires, something which does not solve the issue in any way.

SONY, THIS HAS TRULY BEEN A GRAVE DISAPPOINTMENT. Perhaps I had been too naive to expect something more of them, at least to not only admit their errors, but offer real solutions to us.

[coral_pink]

I agree with everything you said, vamp. I thought the same things because also my improved fan broke again after a few month with exactly the sound you said, now i have a new fan again but how long will it last? since sony doesn't read this forum we need someone "high" who explain this to them, otherwise nothing will change...we will send our vaios repeatedly untill the end of the warranty...maybe when our warranty will end they'll became more aware and they will find a real solution...but then it will be too late for us...we'll have to pay.
so what can we do?

[houhai]

I just think we didnt get the improved fan at all...
They just told us this on phone maybe for let us think that the problem will be solved after we send our notebooks.
But they just installed the same fan.

Did someone open the notebook for check if they installed another model of fan? i dont think so.

Vamp i had the same problem u had. The fan started making noise just when speed up and after some weeks the fan started make that noise for all the time of speed up.

Sony is just cheating us.

[Hugo_B]

Hello there,

I'm from Portugal and also have a VAIO CS11S, and, of course, the same problem with the fan. I never bothered much since the noise wasn't loud enough to annoy.

But now it is annoying, very much! Also it appeared an horizontal line on the bottom of the LCD panel. So, with this sort of issues I will contact Sony. I will keep you posted in any change of my VAIOs situation.

Best regards to all of you

[hugpache]

Hi guys,

I've been using my CS laptop for almost a year now (got it for Christmas 2008) and I've made some posts in this thread regarding the abnormal fan noise and I even opened a trouble-ticket on the e-support website back in the day and had a 30 min talk on the phone with a Sony guy that wanted to know more about the problem I was experiencing. (at the time Sony ___didn't know___ there was a problem with the cpu fan)

Eventually I learned to live with it but wishing I had bought a macbook every time I see one.

15 minutes ago I was working and listening to some music, at first I didn't notice what was going on because the music was a bit loud and I had never listened to that particular song before but then I realized something was going on.
The fan was making a plastic-ish noise (just like a plastic straw was touching the fan's blades while the fan was spinning).

I didn't record it and now it is gone but I HAD ENOUGH. I use my laptop every single day, my masters in Computer Engineering depends on it, so I can't send it to Sony for repairs, and what bothers me more is that they got no fix at all for it.

In this topic we have seen how lame their repairs are, "oh lets just stick a new fan in it and hopefully they won't notice we don't know what the #### we are doing"

A lot of people ask me for advice when they want to buy a laptop or pc parts and just take a guess of what is going to happen..

Sorry for the long post but I had to let this frustration out,

-Hugo