Sony laptop manual unavailability (was: Re: [vox] Help disassembling a laptop?)

[Karsten M. Self]

on Sun, Jul 17, 2005 at 04:00:07PM -0700, Karsten M. Self (kmself at ix.netcom.com) wrote:
> on Sun, Jul 17, 2005 at 03:35:00PM -0700, Karsten M. Self (kmself at ix.netcom.com) wrote:
> > on Sun, Jul 17, 2005 at 11:34:50AM -0700, Richard Crawford (rscrawford at mossroot.com) wrote:
> > > I've got an old Sony Vaio laptop which has a problem with
> > > overheating.  It's out of warranty and has been replaced now by a
> > > much snazzier laptop, and I'd like to put Ubuntu on this machine and
> > > turn it into a media center; however, with the overheating, it shuts
> > > itself off after a few hours, and the fan is very loud.
> 
> [Model is PCG-GRV670P]
> 
> ... Searching model + 'site:sony.com' brings you to Sony's support page:
> 
>     http://esupport.sony.com/perl/select-system.pl?PRODTYPE=24&NAVDISP=pc
> 
> ...there's a link for manuals, after plugging in the model, though this
> seems to be a no-op.
> 
> I'll repeat my earlier comment:  based on this experience, I'd avoid
> Sony products.

...and a subsequent response makes clear that the docs are not
publically available:

    As a matter of general public safety Sony does not make our service
    manuals available to anyone except our licensed, authorized service
    centers.  For your own safety Sony strongly advises you not to open
    your product casing for any reason. In many of our products,
    dangerously high voltage remains in the system circuitry long after
    the unit has been disconnected from all power sources. For other
    products, our internal design and engineering data is both
    proprietary and confidential. Maintaining the security of this type
    of information is instrumental to our success as a business entity.

    If your product's service manual is not limited by one of the two
    issues above, the manual will be available for purchase from the
    Sony Direct Accessories and Parts Center (DAPC) website below. Their
    site will be able to provide you with the correct part number,
    current price, shipping terms and availability:

        http://servicesales.sel.sony.com

...so Sony are effectively leaving their customers at the mercy of
second-hand information.  Not necessarially all bad -- any Free Software
user knows that peer-based support can be quite good.  But given that
the competition generally _does_ provide this information, it's a big
mark against Sony in any purchasing decision I make.


As an aside:  I purchased a Mocha P4 (micro-ATX) small form-factor PC
from CappuccinoPC in 2003.

The first thing to fall out of the box was the dissassembly schematic,
showing how to replace, CPU, hard drive, memory, and other components.
Incidentally, the CPU heat exchanger _does_ get a trifle dusty over
time.

I've also been very happy with the service I've received from the
vendor.  When the system was malfunctioning due to bad capacitors -- any
PC from 2002-2003 or so may be susceptible, in this case, there was
visible leakage -- it was repaired free of charge, outside warranty.

    satisfied_customer++


Peace.

-- 
Karsten M. Self <kmself at ix.netcom.com>        http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
 What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?
    We're not going to fix this by getting the pilots to be more careful.
    - Aviation industry approach to systemic improvement.
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