For Z owners with Win 7 installed, what do you think?

I have been holding back till now to hear feedbacks from everybody. What do you guys think? The way Sony have their recovery center is awsome. I find it very useful when I'm away from home and have to reinstall my computer. As far as I know, after installing Win 7, I will lose that ability. Let's me know how the computer run on Win 7 vs Vista. I hope it's worth the move.

 

My experience has been an absolute nightmare, trying to install MS Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade. 8 and 1/2 hours on the phone to a series of incomprehensible techs in India, who finally talked me into a "fresh install" which they accomplished remotely.

All my programs, settings, email addresses and calendar items, and the Visa add-ons, were wiped out. No drivers for certain items. Slingbox doesn't work. The computer won't read from the SD slot, etc etc.

Many features don't work anymore, the internet frequently dies, etc.

I wish I had waited 6 months.

 

Mine works great! No problems here, backed everything up to a external hard drive, wiped it and did a clean install. Downloaded the drivers, updated the bios and reinstalled some applications. Runs faster and is a nicer experience than Vista (except the UAC privileges but thats another story). Pretty straightforward, but if you aren't very computer savvy it may seem a bit overwhelming.

 

i had XP, so I partitioned my drive in half and installed W7 fresh with a dual-boot. aside from getting drivers to work (which is much easier nowadays given all the walkthroughs on this forum!), i haven't had any problems, and I have only rebooted back into XP maybe twice.

never had vista (hated it at work), so W7 had a lot of novelty appeal to me with aero and such.

 

Yeah, mine was painless too.

I had my Z running Vista x32 Business from factory until a week ago when I decided to do a clean install to Win7 x64 Pro.

Win7 seems faster than Vista tbh, and I guess it was worth it, at least for me. Having the ability to restore your machine is something you can do with a disc image, taken right after you installed everything in Win7. Not as practical as the Sony Recovery, but I guess you won't be formatting your computer a lot.

People upgrading their Windows instead of doing a clean install probably are having more issues, so I would recommend you to do a clean install.

One final note: I read some articles stating that Win7 x64 runs marginally faster than its x32 version on computers with 2GB or more of RAM. You may consider installing the x64 version, even with the default 3GB of RAM (I did an upgrade to 2x2GB, so I'm sure it will use Dual Channel everytime, dunno if Vaios support Flex Mode).

 

fast. snappy!!

 

I had no problems once the new Bios and video card drivers came out. Backed up my data and did a clean install, was fast and easy! There are many guides here on the forums that people put up that'll help if you have any hiccups

 

it was little tuff...i still think they need better video card drivers because it seems to run AERO better in stamina mode.

 

thanks for all the input guys. So did you guys format the whole harddirve including the backup partition?

 

No need to. Just keep hitting esc when the computer boots with the install dvd in the drive. keep hitting even after the "boot from dvd drive" message comes up. Then select to boot from a drive. Select DVD RAM (not ACPI DVDROM). You can then install on the partition that vista is on and not destroy the other partitions. The best of all worlds.

 

read my other thread I posted on my experiences or the many other threads here. Make sure to flash your bios to support windows 7 (two diff versions of bios depending on your model).

 

I tried the 32-bit Win7 route, and had a hell of a time getting things to work. Then I tried 64-bit, and after about 15 minutes of tinkering with the drive partitions (64-bit requires a GPT partition, not an MBR), the 64-bit install went super smooth... so if you are going to upgrade, go to 64-bit. So far I haven't had any compatibility issues either, and it runs very well.

 

Using W7 pro 64-bit after clean install on a 1st gen Z

Install went super smooth after updating BIOS in vista pro 32 bit (what it came with)...I followed FIRESTONE's guide (64bit specific)

Few thing to keep in mind

- Install nvidia drivers in speed mode (I know its obvious, but for the longest time I was clueless since this is a new comp in 8 yrs...lol...i was still using Win ME last year ...yes I need a hug)
- I only installed the important drivers + software (after some tests and many exciting hours of reinstalling W7)

*notes on installation order posted below to avoid clutter

Pros from W7

- About 10 sec improvement in boot times from vista (30-33sec on a SSD? Is that slow???)
- Only uses ~700MB of ram vs a ~1GB in vista
- Most features feel snappier and more stable
- Snap feature is perfect for the 16:9 screen
- Can't accidently delete hibernation file anymore in disk cleanup

Cons (or minor quirks)

- Did not auto-detect and auto-tweak SSD as I was led to believe
- For some reason the hrs remaining was not as responsive as the one in vista
- DO NOT REMOVE VISTA STICKER BENEATH MACHINE unless have time tons of time to kill (I can't stand stickers; this applies to cars and laptops)...I wasted a whole hour since I wanted a clean machine inside and out

 

@CLK
Just curious.
I just finished a clean install (from a x86 Vista to x64 7).
It seems that the CPU downclocks by itself if left to idle, so that when I come back, it is horribly laggy for the first 10 seconds or so. Any idea how to change this? I am guessing it is something to do with VAIO Power Management, but not too sure which setting to change (I have a vague idea actually, but don't want to change anything unneccessary). Vista Business on x86 didn't do this, but I remember changing a CPU power managment on that, just can't remember it...

An example of horrible downclocking - press the window key and TAB key together (for the 3D flip) - that is extremely laggy. Come back to it a few seconds later and it is all smooth and snappy.

Thanks in advance~~

 

@5ushiMonster

I did notice that when running on battery (I didnt mind since it does save battery power)

Have you tried:
battery icon > more power options > change plan settings > change advanced power settings > (expand) processor power management > (expand) minimum processor state > change to 100% for "on battery" & "plugged in"

I also noticed in W7, the max processor state in power saver mode is not set to 50% like in vista (you can do it manually to conserve even more power)

Note: I did not install vaio power management, since there are some posts in other thread where users found their charge don't last as long (don't quote me on that)...also, I just wanted a clean install with bare essentials

Any of you guys managed to get all 3 power plans in the battery icon? For some reason W7 only allows 2 visible; the 3rd power plan needs to be selected through the "more power options" window

 

Just sharing some of my notes I took during my clean install. Major credit goes to Firestone.

Feel free to add any sort of constructive criticism

_______________________________________________________

Installation Order:
- This is for a fresh Windows 7 installation
- If you are doing it for an "upgrade" Windows 7, you should uninstall the old drivers before attempting to install the new ones given below

1. Install the new bios which is given in the link below.
....Generation 1 - 2 Vaio Z should install R2 Bios
....Generation 3 - 4 Vaio Z should install R4 Bios

2. Go to Control Panel -> Device Manager (DM) -> right click to other devices and select "Update Driver Software"
-> go to "Browse my computer for Driver Software" and click on the folder the drivers are in
....Note: You do not need to install it in order (Installed in order anyways)
....a) Touchprint sensor (WBF)
....b) Sony PICD driver (In other devices: bottom)
....c) Sony FEPD driver (In other devices: top)

3. Install Nvidia driver (In speed mode) and Realtek (located at Point 3)

4. Install Sony Controllers (located at point 10). You may need to install all, except Battery Checker (located at point 10f) which is not necessary
*VAIO power management and Battery Checker is optional

5. Install SD and MS drivers (located at point 4), if it's not working for you out-of-the-box

6. Install Additional Drivers (1 Intel Chipset / 2a Intel ICH9M-EM SATA AHCI Driver - 8.9.0.1023
[WEI primary hard disk score increased from 5.9 to 7.5 with Intel X25-E SSD after driver update] / 8 LAN + wifi / 9 Alps; optional, but highly recommended)

7. Install Protector Suite 2009 for Fingerprint device (located at point 5c). Infineon (located at point 5b) is not necessary

8. Done

Windows 7 SSD Tweaks:

1. Disable Defrag in services (Type services in start menu)
2. Disable System Restore (In advanced system settings)
3. Turn off hard drive protection in VAIO Control Center
4. Delete sample media files in Public user folder

 

My personal experience.
I like WMP 11 on Vista. WMP on 7, bluntly, SUCKS. Me being a visual / audio fanatic, and Windows 7 being touted as something easy to use, found the new WMP rather annoying to use, not to mention the darn learning curve involved. I mean, where on earth did the graphic EQ go??? (I found it after 2 hours of playing around...). I would have like SonicStage Audio Filters, but we need the Mastering studio as well to get that to work (an installer for which it is impossible to find...). And why do we have to switch to a seperately opened window to watch videos (and the lag involved in that)? Bring back WMP11, I'd say!!!

And my CPU downclocking issue.
7 seems to downclock my CPU after a while of inactivity, regardless of being plugged in or on battery (this is despite the power settings set correctly). I have VAIO power management installed BTW.

Speed-wise, it is fast to start up and shut down. But I don't really notice a difference anywhere else. That is probably because I use a x64 (was on a x86 Vista).

 

I need the proper video drivers for the VGN-Z690. Can anyone help?

 

I did a clean install on my Z11 with Win7 Pro (64-Bit). I used the guide that someone posted here and it works flawlessly. I had a bit of a problem with the NVIDIA driver, but other than that the process was very smooth. Windows 7 has made a great laptop an excellent one.

 

WMP? I can't believe people still use that piece of junk for audio

Use something else!

 

I like keeping things 'all-in-one', that is, less programs means less lagging and more performance~. I just get codec packs and stick them on WMP. It used to sound EXCELLENT on Vista with SonicStage Audio Filter, but since there ain't any installers for it on x64 7...

Just wondering if there is anyone else experiencing CPU downclocking when 7 is left idle for a few minutes? It returns to speed after a few seconds, but that to me is rather annoying despite the fact that the lappie is connected on AC... As mentioned above, a simple windows 3d-flip (windows key + TAB)

 

Lol do i miss something here but at what point you install windows 7??
Before point 1 ? (bios)

 

Yes, before...

 

so you install win 7 first then new BIOS?

 

I installed the new bios first, and then Win 7, which I recall someone mentioning somewhere. Anyway, I'm not sure if it matters but I have everything functioning properly.

 

I installed BIOS in vista before Windows 7...for some reason, the windows 7install wasnt as smooth as i hoped until i reloaded vista to install the BIOS

 

Aside from being an idiot and forgetting to upgrade my BIOS before installing the new NVIDIA graphics driver, everything went superb with my installation. Everything is speedy and efficient, just like how I want it to be.