GUIDE: Creating a Bootable ISO from your Sony Windows 7 Upgrade DVD for Clean Installs

Just make sure all the "-" are minus signs and it should work.

 

Thank you! I'll try admin mode.

I'm pretty sure I have enough space, since I've only use 1/2 of a 320 gig HD.

EDIT: It is now writing! Thank you so much!

 

Since I am not able to make it work, here is what I am doing:
i)copy Win7OS64 from my Win7upgrade dvd,
ii) paste the above in a folder created on C:\ and named WinDVD,
iii) download your file oscdimg and put in the C:\,
iiii) copy and paste oscdimg on cmd C:\ (no users, nada, but just on C:\).
I have tried several possibilities regarding the location of oscdimg in the C:\. I still get an error

 

What's the error you're getting? You might want to put it in your Win7DVD folder.

 

I am ready to be flamed
I am more than embarrassed by my own mistake .
I owe you and the Forum members an apology.
Thank to you I discovered my error. The keyword jumped to my face: Win7DVD.
I named the folder I opened on C:\ "WinDVD". I forget the 7 .
As soon as I renamed the folder Win7DVD I had no more errors .
Finally I can go to the next step.

One final word: don't get older, avoid to become old, if not you will be proned to mistakes. Trust me

 

I just wanted to know if doing a clean install with this process will me to install 64 bit windows 7 instead of 32 bit windows 7 which i currently have?

 

Sure, if you copy the 64-bit folder onto your clean install DVD, you will install the 64-bit version. Just make sure your VAIO supports 64-bit. It doesn't matter what version of Windows you are currently running, this process will let you completely erase your hard drive and start fresh.

 

I followed the steps...and finally i am unable to know where the ISO file is created!!!



Help pls....

 

I had the same issue with not knowing where my ISO was. Just do a search of your hard drive for the file (maybe try *.iso) and you should find it. I think I found mine in c:\users\<username> ... somewhere.

 

I was not able to find the iso file in the root of my c:\ drive even though it created it their. I redirected it to be created in the WIN7DVD folder instead.

The last part of the statment c:\win7.iso is the path and name of where it is supposed to be created. I had to change mine to c:\win7dvd\win7.iso to make it work.

 

You ISO file is in "C:\" and the file name is Win7.iso

 

What is the difference in doing a custom install from the bootable DVD we make from just running the install from the upgrade dvd? Both options will give the user the opportunity to delete the previous operating system from it's partition.

Im interested in installing windows 7 as "cleanly" as possible and would like to know the advantage of beginning the process from a bootable DVD. Thanks, this guide was wonderful.

 

Here's what my take on this is: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5478469&postcount=11

I do remember seeing a "clean install" option on the upgrade DVD, however, I don't recall seeing the ability to format the drive before installation (it just installs Windows 7 on your hard drive without deleting anything).

 

Thanks for the response. I've followed the guide and have an ISO image file in the specified directory. The OP recommends ImgBurn to burn the image. I thought i burned the DVD correct because when I restart with the disk in the tray I'm asked if I want to boot from the disk in the drive. However, I'm only given the option to boot Vista on the next screen. Any ideas on what I did or am doing wrong? Thanks again.

 

When you turn on your notebook press F2 to enter BIOS. There you should change optical drive's booting order/priority. Optical Drive should be first.

Hope you understood me.

 

I have no problem with the Win7 disk (DVD2), it was bootable. And I succeded in installing it (clean inst) and also activating it.

BUT I get problems when trying do upgrade drivers with DVD1. Then I got the following:

---------------------------
Supplement Disc
---------------------------
The Supplement Disc utility is unable to retrieve the main C: drive partition information and cannot continue.
Restore your computer to the original factory settings and try the Supplement Disc utility again.
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------


I have runned WinXP before, have no Vista backup, and no recoverypartition (any longer). BUT I DO have the Vista serialnumber on the back of my PC...

What can I do?

/Thomas , Sweden

 

I deleted my Vista restore partition and reformatted and installed Windows 7. I then ran the companion dvd without any issues.

 

Thanks for the help, it booted the second time around. Now a question about the companion disk: Do I install the drivers with this disk (and god knows what else sony has on there) or should in download the drivers from sony style? My goal is to keep this process as "clean" as possible. I don't want anything on my hard drive that I didn't intentionally put there. Thanks again!

 

If you want all the extra sony stuff then install from the companion DVD, otherwise download them, Sony actually doesn't have as much bloatware as say HP so the companion dvd is not so bad.

 

can anybody upload the Sony Windows 7 Upgrade DVD that contains windows 7 so we all use it?????????????

 

All the Sony drivers and utilties are already available in the FTP site.

 

He's asking for the Upgrade disc, not Companion DVD.

 

He has Windows 7 installed already. Anyway Windows 7 download links are available in plenty.

 

My Win7 disk also boottable but I had same problem with Supplement Disc.
I install Vista again/from recovery partition/,then Win7 upg and Supplement disc with sony drivers.
But I wanted clean install....

 

Can someone explain what this?

It appears that a clean install can be done without doing all this.


http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/support-info.pl?template_id=1&info_id=507

It even says the hard drive is formatted.

 

You can follow that guide if you have have a retail/ self made DVD.

 

Thanks. Good thing it is clear.

Why would Sony have instructions for a RETAIL version of Windows?


I hate Sony.

If it is not a television and it is made by Sony, it sucks.

Can anyone give a possible explanation why Sony just wouldn’t allow a clean install with their upgrade CDs? Seriously.

 

If I donwloaded the file from Microsoft, how do the instructions change? In the cmd prompt, I recieve the following error message when I type in the message."

"oscdimg.exe is not a recognizwed as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file"

When I go into the CMD funtion, is there a particular directory I need to run that command from?

Does the directory where I put the Win7 folder and the CMD prompt have to match?

I changed the filename to the name of the file I downloaded from microsoft. Same error message.

I changed

Thank you again Sony.

If it matters, I am trying to do this in WIndows 7 ( (it is the upgraded version)) instead of Vista

I would rather do this using the Microsoft download.

 

Great thread. Really appreciate how helpful and congenial this forum is.

May I cut in with a simple question? I have a new Z with 64 bit Win 7 Professional comiing. I too want to wipe and do a clean install without all the bloat ware?

Will native Win 7 Z come with a bootable Win 7 disc that I can do a clean install or do I need to go through all the same processes outlined in this thread?

Thanks,
UL

 

My understadning is that it will not. It will come with a partition that has the OS with all the bloatware on it.

Sony sucks.

 

Whoa...!

And thanks for the reply.

UL

 

I am having a big problem: install.wim doesn't copy from the DVD for whatever reason. My DVD drive just makes a bunch of messed up noises like it's trying really hard to copy it, then finally it tells me "cannot read from the source file or disk"

Any suggestions? Can I download this file or will my product key only work with the install.wim on my DVD?

 

Did this work for anyone?


This is where I am:

Could not delete existing file "C:\Win7DVD\Win7OS64
Error:5 Access is denied.



That is the message I am gettting in the cmd screen.

 

This is really frustrating. Please, why can't I copy install.wmi? Is my disc defective?

 

Sounds like there's a problem with your dvd.

 

If you are having problems I suggest you start all over from step 1, from the looks of it some of you are just not putting in the right directories, just check your directory/filenames.

 

Does it say "Could not delete existing file "C:\Win7DVD\Win7OS64" with that error message? That is what I have.

I thought it had to do with allowing permissions, or taking ownership of the file, but I tried all that and it did not work.

 

All day I've been going crazy and finally I got my disc.
Here's what worked for me.
In the command after -m I left out the"|" in "-|WIN"_EN_DVD
I tried it with a "1WIN" and that was a no-go.
I dont know what that vertical line in front of WIN is but leaving it out made it work for me.
Also I put oscdimg.exe in C:\ not in theWin7DVD folder that I created,
and put C:\ at the beginning of the command.
I hope this helps someone.
Also I would like to thank eviltuna and others who provided this info.

 

Okay, I have been trying this for days. And tried Jenn C's way and I ended up leaving off the WIN7DVD part in both lines just used the Win7OS64 (I believe it is because of the way I put the file in the c drive. Anyway I believe it worked finally. It says Danger contains UDF files. Is this normal?

 

I believe it is normal but I don't remember if it said that when I was successful. I was just to happy it executed and I was able to make the iso boot disc. If you look on pg.6 at "raju vukr's" thread it is in his snapshot, so yes, it must be normal.

 

Sorry but how did you do that?

When I inserted my Supplement Disc the 2nd time to "install the software and software drivers" it froze at step 13, so I rebooted and when I tried again, I got this message:

"The Supplement Disc utility is unable to retrieve the main C: drive partition information and cannot continue. Restore your computer to the original factory settings and try the Supplement Disc utility again."

It seems that Windows 7 has been installed already but some functions are missing.

 

I did not get the "Danger" warning.

 

Sony's way of doing the "clean install" renames your current Windows folder to "Windows.old".................so all your old operating systems files are still there.

I don't know why they even call it a clean install.

 

"Sorry but how did you do that?"

All I can say is that it worked. I didn't receive any errors. After I deleted the vista partition and reformated and installed Windows 7 I ran the companion disk. The only problem that I had afterwards was that Intervideo DVD was missing. Sony has since released a update that fixed that.

 

Thanks to everyone here. Everything went smooth including updates.

KLM,

I noticed that my Function + (brightness) buttons did not work. So I am unable to change the brightness of the screen.

Did you initially have this issue?

 

"KLM,

I noticed that my Function + (brightness) buttons did not work. So I am unable to change the brightness of the screen.

Did you initially have this issue?"

The brightness function worked for me. Playing Blurays was my only issue. The bootable Windows 7 DVD worked great. I'm glad that I was able to remove the Vista restore partition which was no longer needed. Thanks to the person that figured out that one!!!

 

After doing some research & talking to Sony techsupport, it turns out that the Companion DVD that comes with the Windows 7 upgrade may not have all the Windows 7 compatible drivers & Sony applications.

I confirmed this when I ran the Companion DVD after doing a formatted, clean install of Windows 7. The Sony Shared Library installed by the Companion DVD is actually for Vista.........which explains why some applications were installed while others failed.

From what I've gathered.........the drivers & applications have to be installed in a certain order. So now......I'm back to square one. I installed Windows 7 again.......and am looking for the right procedure to install the drivers & Sony applications on this machine (VGN-P588E - US Version).

 

For people who were having trouble with an error message like:

ERROR: Could not delete existing file "[your file]"
Error 5: Access is denied.

I had the same problem. The following worked for me (it is creating a batch file that runs the command you have been pasting but has not been working--perhaps this gets around a permissions problem?)!

At the command prompt, in the same directory where your oscdimg.exe file is, type copy con oscd.bat and press Enter --> NOTHING HAPPENS, which is normal. It is waiting for input from you.

Then, paste in the command ["oscdimg.exe...."] as you did before (or type it manually if you're a masochist) and press enter. Then press the F6 key (you will see "^Z" which means end of file) and press enter again. Now you have a new file called oscd.bat. If you just type oscd.bat now it should work!

Hope this helps!
Aaron

 

Kevin, I tried to find a way to PM you but don't see one. Anyway, I got around this error and added a post here explaining how!

 

UPDATE:

I have finally installed W7 and have all the features that were working in Vista.
It took me a few tries, but all is well now.