Clean install on a FW

I can get Vista 64bit business from school for free and was wondering should I just format my computer completely, removing sony's partition, and just download all the drivers off the website. My FW465J/B we'll be here tomorrow and I think that is the best way to approach the bloatware provided by sony. Is their anything else I need to worry about?

Thanks!

 

Any input? Thanks

 

Unless you find an FW4 model on the esupport.sony.com Website that supports Vista 64-bit Business and then get around the download blocks (Sony rigs things at the site so that you only download for the appropriate model to avoid errors), I suggest that you may encounter some issues. Those who report on these forums having done installs of other OS's than the "native to the model" have reported loss of function key use, etc. which one puts up with if one has to in order to run specific software, etc.

Are you that desperate for the fax function or is it the Business back-up that is tempting you? I'd leave well enough alone and simply do a clean install of your "native OS Home Premiun" unless Windows XP was needed or your free upgrade to Windows 7 desired for possible 32-bit software incompatibility resolution.

You'll be making your life difficult if you ever need to deal with Sony tech support as well since everything is calibrated around the "native OS" -- in fact, if the computer is ever repaired, Sony will ship it back with the drive erased and the original "native OS" reinstalled.

Sony will help you upgrade your system (e.g., they offer the opportunity to go to Windows 7 with driver support, etc.) but what you're suggesting is more of a "lateral move" -- to another version of 64-bit Vista. Are you sure it's worth the hassle and the risks?

P.S. Want to post your Eco screen's hardware ID from the device manager for us? Curious if it's the SNY06FA....

 

The drivers will work just the same across home premium and business, the reason being that I'd use the business version is because that is what I have at hand, not because of choice. I also have downloaded all the drivers onto my flash drive and will just install them upon a fresh install.

My main concern is the bloatware which has to be removed completely, because once I finish that I will use http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm to disable all unneeded services. With all computer I have bought it needs to be fine tuned to run at its optimum speed.

If I ever received a replacement/repair from Sony I would just restore my computer using Acrhonis True Image.

More than likely I will switch to Windows 7 upon it arrival, so Vista Business will only have a short stay anyway.

 

Sounds like you know what you want to do. Let us know how it all turns out. Making recovery disks first would allow you to go back to the beginning, of course, should you encounter any poorly-tolerated functionality issues.

Have fun!

 

I found this thread on how to do a clean vista install on an FW: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=292475

The guide is kind of dated but I downloaded the extractor and now have all the drivers ready to go as well as the proper install order.

 

Absolutely -- but you may lose some functionality, as many forum members have attested to on several threads (function keys, Bluetooth, etc.). Even the clean-up site you linked in your reply to me notes the differences between Home Premium and Business so there may indeed be a few extra/different drivers for the two versions.

If I were you, I'd make back up disks and then sit and wait until my Windows 7 upgrade (for which Sony promises full support). But I'm not you...:GEEK:

Good luck....