Miscellaneous laptop discussions forum: sony vaio, touchpad behaving badly ?

ALWAYS call in every issue. You don't want such things to build up and you fall out of warranty.

Bob

You end up at the end of the warranty, something happens and you call it in.

Then you tell them you've had problems for the entire year but they tell you there is no record of it. I've seen this happen and the owner gets burned up about owning a cranky machine.

Build the case.

Bob

hey bro,

dont mean to scare you, bro, but i have a 6 months old Vaio SZ360 and it started doing this up/down right/left switch a couple of months ago: i called sony support, and made all the steps they talk me to do, like reseting the damm thing, reinstalling everything from scratch, and the problem persists. So, after some time, it began to get worst, going ballistic in my screen, hitting buttons i didn't press. A month ago, the touchpad decided to stop working. Now it is plain dead. Nothing. I have to buy this ridiculous external usb mouse to make this 2,499 piece of equipment to work. It is absurd and we are not alone. I've seen reports by the dozen of sony vaio angry users about this stupid ALPS touchpad. Sony is for sure out of my buying list for laptops for as long as i can remember this stupid touchpad.

At the moment my problem persists when I am using the touchpad only (ie. totally wireless, no usb mouse attached).

I also get the flickering of the windows, usually upon loging in & also when i come back from 'sleep' mode. I did call up about the flickering within the first week of purchase and the dealer (licensed sony dealer) allowed me to come into the store & have a play with all the other sony machines & unfort they all flicker upon login.. so "its just the way they are, it seems" i was told.

As for the touchpad issue, I will call Sony this week & report back. I hope it won't be disruptive to my workflow.

Cheers,

i haven't tried a wireless mouse with this notebook yet. but a decent usb mouse should do the trick - usb 1 or 2; i have a logitech optical; remember if the mouse is too fast, it's actually inconvenient to be chasing it around the screen all the time. Goodluck & look fwd to hearing what sony advise as a solution to you..

Hey guys,

i just returned from the Sony authorized support and they performed a "cleaning" in the laptop, it was dusty inside - so they said. Now it is working fine. I hope i don't have to go back to cleaning every four months to keep it working. It is nice to have my touchpad back.

I will buy your laptop. Please send me your telephone number and I will call you to set it up.

Extend the warranty and call it in. Repairs are more than most suspect for laptops.

Bob

This is a letter I am sending out today. It is my last attempt to get this problem corrected. I think legal action, maybe class action suit my be next step.

September 20, 2007

Sony Electronics
Attn: Executive Review Committee
12451 Gateway Blvd
Fort Meyers, FL 33913


Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter as my last attempt to resolve an ongoing issue prior to taking legal action against Sony.

I purchased a Sony Vaio computer model VGN-SZ330P about a year ago. I have been experiencing intermittent problems with the touchpad which causes the cursor to behave erratically and results in unpredictable behavior, often of a destructive nature to the application I am running when this occurs.

When I first experienced this problem, I contacted Sony and the told me it was not a hardware problem but a virus and I needed to reformat my hard drive to clean up the problem. At their suggestion, I installed Vista for Business using recommended procedures. This did not correct the problem and once again the cursor would intermittently move in the opposite direction from the mousepad action.

I notified Sony of this and was told to return the unit for repair. I asked them not to reformat my hard drive without first notifying me and was assured that I would be contacted if this was necessary. The unit was returned to me about a week later and the only thing that was done was that the hard drive was reformatted and returned to its factory state. Nothing was done to correct the touchpad problem.

I called Sony again, repeated the history and sequence of problems and was told I would need to return the unit again for repair. I did so and got the unit back about a week later, with a new touchpad having been installed and the hard drive again reformatted. After a few days, the cursor again began having the exact same problem.

I contacted Sony support yet again, went through the entire sequence of events, explained the intermittent nature of the problem and asked for a replacement unit because I am suffering business losses and expending an extraordinary amount of effort in restoring my data back to its required configuration. I was told that could not be done and I needed to return the unit for repair yet again. I was also informed that the return facility that they had me ship it to in Tennessee was not familiar with the touchpad problem and was not the correct facility to diagnose/repair the computer and it needed to go to the San Diego facility.

I sent the computer to San Diego in the box sent to me and was assured it would not be returned to me before extensive testing was performed to be sure it was fixed. I expressed my concern and doubt as this is an intermittent, but recurring problem and I had been down this same path two times before. However, as I was not given an option for replacement, I returned the unit yet again.

The unit was returned to me with the problem supposedly corrected (again) and about a week later the exact same problem began once again. At that point I did some research on the web and found (through the CNET website) that there are many, many other Sony Vaio computer owners that are experiencing the exact same problem with their touchpads and none of them have been able to successfully get this problem fixed other than by using an external mouse instead of the built in touchpad.

At this point, the situation is simply not acceptable and I contacted Sony support today requesting a replacement unit. I spoke to an agent named Melissa, agent number CZJL and was told I could not get a replacement, but had to send the unit in yet again to have the problem diagnosed, and if it was found to be having problems, then maybe they could consider replacement, but no assurance could be made that this would be done. Since Ive already had it repaired 3 previous times and each time Sony felt satisfied that the issue was corrected when in fact the exact same problem reoccurred within a week of it having been returned to me, I have absolutely no confidence or reason to believe sending it back a 4th time will result in anything different.

I am asking at this time that I can return the unit to Sony and have a replacement unit sent to me without first requiring another attempt to repair this defective computer. For reference, I am giving you the most recent event ID so you can review the history for yourselves. It is E34862005.

If I do not get this resolved at this time, my only next option will be to consider what legal remedies there are for me in this case.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

I have a Sony Vaio VGN9Z120P notebook computer. Within the one year warranty the cursor began operating in the reverse direction to which you moved the touchpad, making it almost impossible to use. Repeatedly rebooting the computer would eventually correct the problem. I complained to Sony on four occasions and spent hours on the phone with them - getting passed from the Phillipines to their support Stateside. We reloaded the touchpad/mouse software and installed upgrades, none of which worked. I was told it was caused by static buildup and told to unplug the AC adaptor when not in use. None of this worked. I was told if I reinstalled the operating system this should fix it and told that if it didn't they would send me a new one. I reinstalled the operating system at a cost of over $300.00 and countless hours of time in backing up and restoring programs. It did not fix the problem and it came back in weeks. Eventually I was outside the warranty period and then the Sony support help became rude and hostile and told me to return the laptop at my expense and they would look at it. They refused to send me a new one. I now see from the posts on this site that backing up my data again and sending the notebook to them and being without it for weeks if not months is likely a complete waste of time and money. The problem has now become progressively worse and I am now compelled to use a USB mouse since the touchpad is basically useless. At the present time I am faxing and phoning the Chairman of Sony Corporation of America; Sir Howard Stringer,Chairman & Chief Executive Officer,Sony Corporation, 550 Madison Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10022. Fax number(212) 833-6932 and phone number (212) 833-6800. I thought I was alone with this problem since Sony claimed they had never heard of it. Now I have discovered this site and found I am not alone. If we all pressure Sony one would think that they might do the right thing, alternatively we need to consider contacting the US consumer authorities or consider a class action. They have a problem with their touchpad and their approach is to deny it and hope we will go away. Sony's support is lousy compared to HP's and they try to route you to support in third world countries who try to exhaust you in the hope you will give up.
Good luck and let me know if anyone has any success with this these Sony people. Islandpaul

I purchased my Sony Vaio in April 2007. Within six months of purchasing it, I have already had to replace the touchpad twice. It is now malfunctioning again. I am very disappointed in this product. It is the worst experience I have had with a laptop. I will not purchase a Sony again unless the company resolves this issue to my satisfaction. It would not surprise me if someone files a class action lawsuit against Sony for its defective touchpads on many of their Vaio models.

Hi Steven:

Did you have any luck going to the Executive Review Committee. I was referred there but instead I am writing the Chairman and CEO of Sony. I am going to start phoning him tomorrow.

A concise history of my problem is below - same problem as yours and everyone else's. A laptop/notebook with a non-useable touch pad - great eh !

Regards

Paul

I have a Sony Vaio VGN9Z120P notebook computer. Within the one year warranty the cursor began operating in the reverse direction to which you moved the touchpad, making it almost impossible to use. Repeatedly rebooting the computer would eventually correct the problem. I complained to Sony on four occasions and spent hours on the phone with them - getting passed from the Phillipines to their support Stateside. We reloaded the touchpad/mouse software and installed upgrades, none of which worked. I was told it was caused by static buildup and told to unplug the AC adaptor when not in use. None of this worked. I was told if I reinstalled the operating system this should fix it and told that if it didn't they would send me a new one. I reinstalled the operating system at a cost of over $300.00 and countless hours of time in backing up and restoring programs. It did not fix the problem and it came back in weeks. Eventually I was outside the warranty period and then the Sony support help became rude and hostile and told me to return the laptop at my expense and they would look at it. They refused to send me a new one. I now see from the posts on this site that backing up my data again and sending the notebook to them and being without it for weeks if not months is likely a complete waste of time and money. The problem has now become progressively worse and I am now compelled to use a USB mouse since the touchpad is basically useless. At the present time I am faxing and phoning the Chairman of Sony Corporation of America; Sir Howard Stringer,Chairman & Chief Executive Officer,Sony Corporation, 550 Madison Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10022. Fax number(212) 833-6932 and phone number (212) 833-6800 . I thought I was alone with this problem since Sony claimed they had never heard of it. Now I have discovered this site and found I am not alone. If we all pressure Sony one would think that they might do the right thing, alternatively we need to consider contacting the US consumer authorities or consider a class action. They have a problem with their touchpad and their approach is to deny it and hope we will go away. Sony's support is lousy compared to HP's and they try to route you to support in third world countries who try to exhaust you in the hope you will give up.
Good luck and let me know if anyone has any success with this these Sony people. Islandpaul

Hi Steve:

Thanks for the update - so Sony finally replaced your laptop after returning it to them for repairs three times. I just can't afford to be without it for weeks and to go through that exercise.

I did find out yesterday that the Chairman of Sony, Sir Howard Stringer, does not take calls or answer his faxes so short to going down to Madison Avenue and making a scene I guess I will have to start writing to these Sony ******** at the Executive Review Committee in Fort Myers, Florida.

Would I buy another Sony laptop - not on your life ! I have spent hours of my time if not days talking to Sony's customer support in the Philipines and the whole thing is a joke, they just want to wear you down and hope you and your laptop with non-functioning touchpad will go away. You demand to be put through to someone Stateside and 90% of the time they tell you they can't or like yesterday they give you another number which directs you right back to the Philipines.

Anyway your success in dealing with them does give me some hope and I will keep going at them and I guess look into legal action.

Cheers

Paul

If anyone has a final fix, or if there is a class action suit, please notify me to be included. I find it ridiculous that an expensive piece of equipment, that I use daily in order to administrate my business and the projects associate with my business, should require an external mouse in order to work properly... I suppose that I also need to ensure that I'm sitting at a table with enough space for a mouse? Maybe on the plane, I should use the food tray of the person next to me? I didn't pay thousands of dollars for a "top of the line" piece of crap, and I want Sony to take responsibility for their mistake.

I had been having the same irritating problem of cursor moving in the reverse direction for quite a few months. I own a Vaio SZ61 series.
I called sony and they said it is a hardware problem and that i will have to send the unit to them for repair. He pulled out an estimated bill of 300 (just out of warranty by 2 days!).
This prevented me from sending the unit to them.
Now, you all should have heard of "necessity is the mother of all invention"- I started researching and FOUND THE SOLUTION.

SOLUTION- you need to re-install the proper version of ALPS driver (touchpad driver) software for your version of Vaio series. This you may have to figure out by trial and error.
For the SZ61WN series of vaio the proper version is ALPS 7.0.301.4 (vista).
You can download the ALPS drivers free from softpedia.

Hope this will solve everyones query about reverse cursor.
Sony is a reliable laptop.