Final BIOS upgrade for the old Sony Vaio
Final BIOS upgrade for the old Sony Vaio
I'm working on an older Sony Vaio VGN-NW20EF/S. The BIOS version is R1120Y4, and I'm curious if there have been any other BIOS updates for this model later on. Sony has released several laptops that could detect third-party battery replacements, and some have updated their BIOS to allow such changes. I'm trying to find out if this particular model ever got another BIOS version, since it's a solid machine that runs Windows 10 well, but the battery performance is poor and it doesn't work with most replacement batteries except an original one. I'm also open to suggestions on how to modify the BIOS to accept third-party batteries, as this isn't a Windows issue.
It seems Sony recently removed all drivers and BIOS from their servers for older computers, unlike most other manufacturers. This decision is likely due to the high cost or poor quality of maintaining outdated drivers and BIOS on their servers. A small amount of rarely used data is probably not enough for them. This move should help retain the support of past customers and enthusiasts.
Unfortunately, the Wayback Machine doesn't retain detailed site information, making it hard to confirm if BIOS updates were available.
There might be some BIOS updates, but they are only found on questionable driver download sites. It's unclear what you're actually downloading.
Someone previously backed up the Sony Vaio support FTP server before they shut it down. I doubt I'd be permitted to reference it here. I'm unsure about the forum rules, as I believe it's not software piracy but rather discontinued drivers and other content. The mods might have different views. To be safe, I won't provide a link.
You'd need to download everything and search for your BIOS among every BIOS and driver for Sony products from 2019 onward. This volume is significant, even if it's legitimate. Another reason I didn't share it.
But if a mod approves, I'll post the link so you can search through and hopefully locate your BIOS update.
Ha, I know, I held back from ranting about Sony in my initial post, but I've been arguing with their awful customer services people about this for weeks!
So initially I contacted them, asking nicely. I said, look, I understand about pulling support for Windows 7, it's obsolete, it's not receiving security updates, people should stop using it, fine, but there's millions of machines out there that received a free update to Windows 10 from Microsoft. Would you please send me the last version of the BIOS update utility that supported this machine?
They sent me a useless response, we're sorry for the inconvenience, but we can't guarantee compatibility with Windows 10. I said I don't need you to guarantee compatibility with Windows 10, I'm not asking for help running Windows 10, I've got Windows 10 running just fine. I just need the last BIOS update so I can see if it will make the battery work.
So for a while they sent me variations of the same useless reply, I sent them increasingly vexed variations of my reply, and demanded to be put on to someone who was capable of answering my questions.
So I changed tack, and asked could they just confirm whether or not a BIOS update was ever released. They said yes, we can confirm there was a BIOS update released, but they're no longer providing it.
I asked if they could tell me what the last BIOS revision was, so at least I figure out whether or not I was already on the last BIOS revision.
They then told that they no longer have any information whatsoever about this model, due to it's age. I pointed out that support for this range was only removed from their website at the start of this year, were they really telling me that all information about this machine has been totally and irreversibly erased without trace, and if so, how were they able to confirm that there had ever been a BIOS update for it?
They are refusing to answer this question. They won't even acknowledge that I'm asking it. They're now just sending me the same generic reply over and over again, about how they're sorry for the inconvenience, but they no longer provide a BIOS update for this model.
I am sending them increasingly vexed variations of the same reply, with more and more block capitals and underlining, pointing out that I am not asking them to provide the BIOS update, I just want them to explain to me how they were able to confirm that there had been one if they no longer have access to any information about this model.
This may well be the most frustrating and absurd interaction I have ever had with any company's customer services department. It's awful, futile, circular, and I hate it so very, very much.
Do you have the most recent specifications for the vgn-nw20ef laptop? I'm currently using the R1120Y4.