regarding the Vaio HDD Protection - details, suggestions, etc. please?

[VaioWannabe]

the details provided by the included manual leaves much to be desired, so im asking is if there are any web sites, etc. where i can find more information about the Vaio HDD Protection utility in the Type U... how does it work? how to best use it? limitations? points for caution?

afaik, this utility "detects" actual movements of the device, and compensates by moving the drive heads away from the platters, right?

also, from what ive heard; this utility cannot work in neither "Hibernate" (wherein RAM is stored in the hard disk), nor "Standy" (information is stored in RAM, though kept alive by a small amount of juice).

thus being the case, when im any average commuter (by walking); before i walk from one block to the next with the Vaio attached to my belt - it would be BEST to turn the device off, rather than use either Hibernate or Standby. right?

however, from my understanding of "Hibernate," (which ive been using in the past couple of days) - when the information in RAM is already stored in the HDD, the heads already move away from the platters. right?

any answers would be much appreciated! thanks!

[Floodguy]

the details provided by the included manual leaves much to be desired, so im asking is if there are any web sites, etc. where i can find more information about the Vaio HDD Protection utility in the Type U... how does it work? how to best use it? limitations? points for caution?

afaik, this utility "detects" actual movements of the device, and compensates by moving the drive heads away from the platters, right?

also, from what ive heard; this utility cannot work in neither "Hibernate" (wherein RAM is stored in the hard disk), nor "Standy" (information is stored in RAM, though kept alive by a small amount of juice).

thus being the case, when im any average commuter (by walking); before i walk from one block to the next with the Vaio attached to my belt - it would be BEST to turn the device off, rather than use either Hibernate or Standby. right?

however, from my understanding of "Hibernate," (which ive been using in the past couple of days) - when the information in RAM is already stored in the HDD, the heads already move away from the platters. right?

any answers would be much appreciated! thanks!

When I'm on the move, my Vaio UX50 is always in Standby-mode, even when attached to my belt or on bicycle rides.

Standby is energy conserving, because your entire computer switches to a low-power state. Devices, such as the monitor and hard disks, turn off and your computer uses less power. It's easy to return to work, because Standby leaves applications and files open on your desktop.Standby is not appropriate for long term use—on many laptops, overnight is probably pushing it on standby. And it has one important limitation—everything is in memory, not yet saved to the hard drive.

Hibernate mode writes an image of what you're currently working on to a special file on your hard drive, and then shuts your computer almost completely off. It takes a bit longer than Standby, since it needs to write to your hard drive. Hibernate also takes a bit longer to resume, since you must go through essentially the normal boot process, although in Windows XP your computer wakes faster from Hibernate than in previous versions of Windows. The advantage is that you can leave your laptop in Hibernate mode for days without any ill effect. When you start it back up, you'll see everything exactly as you left it. Hibernate is the perfect mode for shutting down for the night or even the weekend.

The HDD protection consists of 2 parts, a software part and a hardware part. The hardware part the simplest one cause it is basically a rubber frame around the harddisk. The software part is a little bit more complicated and needs a little bit setup (basically is is an enhanced drivehead remover/parker).

58

If you look at the screen, the protection is divided in to three main levels and for each levels you then setup the gravity force (G) for each 3D axis you like to use.
Keep in mind that, that these settings also change the harddisk's access time, cause the head is its parking position more often than usual. You have to find a balance yourself. If the harddisk protection is activated, a systemtray icon is displayed and in case knocks etc. a message balloon appears.

Regards,

[VaioWannabe]

hi Floodguy,

thanks again for the reply... very detailed, and well-explained, i really appreciate it...

btw, as noted in your post - you said that if the HDD protection is enabled, an icon in the systemtray is displayed. can you somehow post a pic of this icon?

anyway, ill try to search from my side whether HDD protection is indeed enabled - im quite sure it should be; but now im a little worried since i never saw such "icon" before.

[tairus]

in hibernate mode, computer is switched off completely. it means heads already have been parked to safe position.

[VaioWannabe]

yes, that was what i was thinking - but why would some website caution people about the HDD protection not being turned ON during a Hibernate, unless it had any value to it...

so, maybe, i mistakenly assume that in Hibernate, though the PC has been turned off; the heads are still on the platters?

[Floodguy]

yes, that was what i was thinking - but why would some website caution people about the HDD protection not being turned ON during a Hibernate, unless it had any value to it...

so, maybe, i mistakenly assume that in Hibernate, though the PC has been turned off; the heads are still on the platters?

Hi VaioWannabe,

in Hibernate mode, the hdd's heads are in parking position. Even if you have switched on the HDD protection, in this case, it won't work cause it PC is basically powerless. On the other side, in Standby mode, the HDD protection is working as you setted it up. Normal Win XP is not parking the heads in Standby mode (unless the HDD itselfs supports this). That's were Sony is jumping in with their HDD protection.

Here is the icon:
63

[Floodguy]

VaioWannabe,

you can test the protection system the easy way, by open the HDD protection software, than try to remove/insert the UX into the port replicator. You should see some blue bars appearing on the grid (like in the screen shot). Don't search for the icon, it will only appear when a decent knock or crash appeared to the UX. If you really want to see it, use a good towel on a desk and do light knock with UX's lower corner (left side).

Hoping to never see the icon again.

[VaioWannabe]

VaioWannabe,

you can test the protection system the easy way, by open the HDD protection software, than try to remove/insert the UX into the port replicator. You should see some blue bars appearing on the grid (like in the screen shot). Don't search for the icon, it will only appear when a decent knock or crash appeared to the UX. If you really want to see it, use a good towel on a desk and do light knock with UX's lower corner (left side).

hhhmmm... thinking about it, i think it is better that i dont see the icon...

:rolleyes:

Hoping to never see the icon again.

same here!!!

:)

[GuardianZX9]

my hdd protection stopped working after i reloaded with tablet xp the driver on sonys site seems to do nothing

g

[Floodguy]

my hdd protection stopped working after i reloaded with tablet xp the driver on sonys site seems to do nothing

g

Did you re-install the Sony software (Sony Control Center, HDD Protection). You can easily test the protection, by inserting/removing the UX from the port replicator with HDD protection software opened. You should some blue bars appear in the X,Y,Z columns.

[GOF007]

The easiest way is, Just shake it.

X - Left:Right
Y - Forward:Backward
Z - Up:Down

[GuardianZX9]

I installed the HDD protection file from sonys site, but it didnt seem to install anyting, I assume I dont have the correct install program.

Can someone send ti to me?

Thanks
G

[NeuroKnight]

Have you opened up VAIO Center -> System Information (Tab) -> Security -> Hard Disk Drive Protection settings.

This is where it's located on the UX 180 not sure about the other models.
My HDD protection seams to work fine even with the new 60GB hard drive installed.

[Floodguy]

I installed the HDD protection file from sonys site, but it didnt seem to install anyting, I assume I dont have the correct install program.

Can someone send ti to me?

Thanks
G

The HDD Protection program is located under C:\Program Files\Sony\Vaio HDD Protection\ if installed correctly. You can start the .exe-file from there too. It should then show the window/dialog from the screenshot above.

[kiz]

hi i clicked on this executable and nothing happened
anybody have a japanese model with vista home premium and HDD protection enabled
i have vaio control center but there is no security tab with HDD protection settings

[computercowboy]

did this feature carry over to the SSD model? There is a little FFC with something on the end of it on my 490N look at the picture below :eek:

http://computercowboy.com/images/WiFiUpgradeThumb.jpg (http://computercowboy.com/images/WiFiUpgradeLarge.jpg)

Do you see it right in the middle? What is up with that?

Is that a USB device? Can I chop that FFC and get some USB off it to use for USB storage?

[cimino]

I think all UXs have that weird flex cable with nothing connected to it.

My theory is that it's for Sony technicians to run diagnostics through. Could be a JTAG interface or something.