Listening to the Voices in My Head

Dear Sony; you #%@%$#&%#$ Suck, did you know that?

Yeah, yeah, I know you closed up your computer division a few years ago, but you did it on the sly, AFTER flooding the market with reasonably priced Sony Vaio laptops. You did this knowing you were closing up the computer division. Too bad that warning didn't come with the purchase, right?

Moving on; this is the same laptop that had the disastrous Windows 10 upgrade attempt. After a few months, and several hours online with Microsoft Assure remote help, I got the Windows 8.1 on it running correctly again. (deep sigh)

Moving on again; The preinstalled Sony software stopped working right. So, even though they no longer supported the Vaio, I emailed them anyway. Suggested I uninstall it, and reinstall it. Problem: this laptop came with Win 7 preinstalled, but Windows 8 ready. Good thing it was Win 8 ready, as it running Win 7 would cause hardware incompatibility BSODs. Tracking down the right Sony Vaio Care, and Sony Control Center was NOT easy. Too many versions, updates to version, backward compatible version, and naming the %#$$@$# files with nothing but numbers? Really? (downloaded and saved them with descriptive names).

FINALLY, for now, Sony Vaio, with Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit, and Sony utilities function as they should.

It seems my Windows 8.1 w/WMC issues have been punted up to 'escalated'. But what got me is right off the bat, their email to me; My name isn't Stephanie. From there on their email was obsequious and condescending all at the same time. I let em have it with both barrels. Politely, of course.

First, their email to me:

Hello Stephanie,

We have been attempting to contact you at the phone number you provided (SRX 1381099960) but we have been unable to reach you. As we have not heard back from you thus far, we will be moving forward with archiving your case.

If you are no longer experiencing your issue, feel free to disregard this email.

If this is not the case, please contact us at your earliest convenience and we would be happy to assist. You may respond by either replying
directly to this message or by calling us. My contact information is listed in my signature below.

Please be sure to include the following information in your response:

Phone:

Preferred contact Date:

Hours Available:

Time Zone:

Please allow at least one business day for a response.

My response:

Please stop lying, NO one has tried to call me. You have both of my phone numbers, and have had them for years, as I subscribe to ASSURE. A simple look up on my name and email address on your end would show you all my information.

I do still need help. But every time I have tried, your support keeps doing the exact same thing, regardless.

Let me tell you ONE MORE TIME:

Windows 10 Assessment tools said my Windows 8.1 Pro with Windows Media Center Sony Vaio laptop was Windows 10 Compatible/Ready.

I upgraded. To say it was a disaster would be an understatment.

Turns out that my graphics card was NOT supported by Windows 10 (your assessment tool was WRONG) and it kept unloading the graphics driver, BSODing, and this was in the first DAY. The Windows 10 update almost bricked my laptop.t would get to the login screen, and it kept refreshing over and over and over and over. After almost 3 hours, if it doing this, I was finally able to login and perform the roll back to Windows 8.1 Pro with Windows Media Center.

The roll back was only partially successful, and I have been plagued by slow start up, even with everything NOT MS prevented from starting at login. Windows Media Player and Windows Media center kept having errors. I logged into MS Help, got tech support, and was told to go to ADD FEATURES remove Windows Media Center and Player, and re-add them. So I followed those instructions, but when i went to Add Features, Windows Media Center kept failing to installed, and it's no longer listed in the APPS store.

I have gone through this 4 or 5 times, 2 to 6 hours at a time, with your support staff, and what it boils down to is I need an installation disc/ISO/FILE of Windows 8.1 Pre 64bit with Windows Media Center. I know you no longer sell it, but I'm NOT asking to buy it, as I already have. I can't be the only WIndows 8.1 Pro w/WMC who has had this problem.

Now, I know your EULA/TOS says Microsoft can't be held resposible for any damage caused, even when it is caused by your own flipping software, but I have had a Sony Vaio PAPERWEIGHT because YOUR Windows 10 Assessment tool was wrong, and the Windows 10 installation has made a mess of my Sony Vaio. The computer is basically unusable. It is my portable photo editing studio, my portable work computer, and NOT having it has cost me time and money and jobs I have had to turn down.

I got a phone call without giving them my phone number again, proving the lie they had been trying to get ahold of me by calling. I nicely corrected them as to my name. They said someone would call me between 12 and 1 today, so imagine my surprise when they called me at 10:30am.

He said he will call back at the originally agreed upon time. (When I say my Windows 8.1 laptop is slow to totally boot into Win Desktop, including the desktop icons.. 14 freaking minutes, and no, there is nothing wrong with hardware.)

One of the pre-installed Sony utilities on my computer, a Sony VAIO, isn't working quite right. I have asked Sony Support about it and after nothing in the way of support, their brilliant idea is for me to take a perfectly functioning, except for Sony VAIO CARE, computer, reformat it and start over from scratch. They didn't even bother to answer me when I asked "Will uninstalling VAIO Care and reinstalling it fix this problem?"

No, they didn't answer that, and just said format the drive.

Not only no, but hell no.

I know that SONY unloaded their PC/Laptop division, and that explains their lackluster support of items they sold prior to selling off to JIP.

Have just about finished updating all software (with notable exception of the graphics drivers that won't update for some odd reason), tweaked the system settings and have it running the way I want... for now. Waiting for Windows 8 update to 8.1, which will allow users to completely skip the metro screen. Yes, there are programs and utilities that jump to the desktop from metro, but 8.1 will give you option of not even pit stopping there first.

Sony Support did replace the dodgy/faulty harddrive, and I re-imaged it to Windows 7. Was tempted to keep it there, but I kept getting that intermittent futz error that no one could figure out what was causing it. It was more a necessity, as the computer was Windows 8 ready, but Windows 8 hadn't been released. There was something with it that wasn't quite compatible with Windows 7, hence the error I would intermittently get.

So, after updating all software, uninstalling certain items I knew would need to be reinstalled, I made a Windows 7 full system image, girded my loins, and went through the Windows 8 upgrade.

Long tedious with reboots, updating, reinstalling, tweaking, all is set up and working (Yes, Jennifer, I was able fix the issues I was having this morning). Now, just waiting to hear back from certain software makers about new license numbers, as my machine ID changed because of the hardware change.

I seriously hope I never have to do this again, for a long long time.