How to Optimize Any Sony VAIO With a Semi-Clean Install

It should be. Is that a European model?

 

How to check if it is an European model may i ask?

ps: could you re-read my previous post since i've edited/added some stuff lol

 

Well, do you live in Europe?

It's called "Instant On" on my CR190, but I'm not even sure if your model has it. It should be there if it does.

 

I live in the UK, carried out the install anyways, and it seems to have worked but i have lost the 'instanton function' (AV Mode), also it fails to detect any CD i insert into the laptop, this is quite worrying.

Is there any way to fix this? or is there a program/driver i need to reinstall for the detection of the CD?
I've tried uninstalling it then rebooting but doesnt work.
it is MATSH ITA DVD - RAM UJ-850S ATA Device (if thats any use in helping)

thanks in advance,
BoN

EDIT: Fantastic, I've searched the sony support forums and for those who have this trouble of missing the drive after the semi clean install do give it a read.
http://club.vaio.sony.co.uk/clubvaio/gb/en/forum/viewthread?thread=36996&offset=90
However still nothing on the InstantOn..
If that is seen as off topic do tell me, I could always take it off if u wish, NinjaNoodles.

 

Not sure about your model but on the FZ series the "instant on" app can be loaded by using the 2 dvd recovery set folks make when they first get the machine. If you insert disk one, while Vista is running, you can get to a two tabbed interface. One tab is for all the drivers and the other is for the applications, like the Instant On app. Again, that's how it is with an FZ but I suspect the others have a similar setup.

Gary

 

Thanks for that, i'll try it out tonight.

Another thing is, I've lost the 'Motion Eye' function.. its the inbuilt webcam, any suggestions on how to fix this?

BoN

 

Nice thread. I´ll try this on my new FZ180e, hope it work with the Blu-ray and nVidia stuff.

Gabe

 

Well this is my first post and i have a FZ280 E/B. Hello All. I have used this guide to help aleviate the 'bloatware' however i feel i still have a lot of extra baggage. does anyone have a complete barebones list of what one needs to have installed for everything to work properly. any info will be appreciated. thx

 

While it is not EXACTLY what you are looking for, in my signature below you will find a link to the thread about doing a clean install on an FZ series machine. The first message in that thread has a document attached. In that document there is a list of all of the software that came on the machine out of the box, with MY take on which are junk, marginal and essential. There is also a list of the drivers and auxillary apps you MUST have for proper performance of things like power managment and the function keys etc.

Gary

 

Gary has an excellent guide about performing a clean install on your FZ. He's already posted the link - I'm just endorsing it.

 

OK got a problem guys i was wondering if anyone could help. I did the Semi-Clean but the disk i copied the Vaio Recovery folder has died and it not being read buy my vaio. So now i do now has any of the Vaio features i need for my notebook like AV Mode (Instan On) or the Recovery Utillity. Does anyone know a fix to this or shale i just return the laptop and get another one?

 

i got a question, if i uninstall norton in the add/remove programs. will it cause any problems?

 

@roor, I would recommend you use the Norton Removal Tool provided on their website. But the semi-clean install should take care of Norton...

@Akhil, why isn't it being read? Physical damage to the media it was stored on?

Anyway, just restart the computer and hit F10 to recover to the factory (unclean) state. Or (as I would recommend), you could start the semi-clean install over again.

 

I am afraid you will need to start over. Reboot and hit F10 as it boots up. This will allow you to get the machine back to it's out of the box state. You can create another recovery DVD set and start the process again.

Gary

 

Ok thanks for your help guys. Will do that when i get my External HDD back tonight. Thanks for the quick help. Will let you know how it goes.

 

removing norton made a noticeable difference, instead of 49-50, i now have 39-40 running processes on startup, and gained back some usable ram

 

And disk speed and cpu cycles. Norton slows down disk I/O appreciably and eats CPU cycles as well. Tis a pig.

Gary

 

I just got a new VGN CR150F. So far I like it, but I'm thinking about doing the semi clean install. The thing is I live in latin america, so I'm not sure this would work in my vaio. I wanted to know if someone here has tried the semi clean install on a vaio bought in latin america. I have windows vista in spanish and all the vaio features seem to be in spanish.

Also, I'm not at all an expert so excuse the question, but if I do try the semi clean install, and it doesnt work, whats the worst thing that can happen? Will I still be able to put the notebook in its original state, o can irreparable damage be done?

Thanks.

on a side note, web pages are loading ridiculously slow on my new CR, and I'm sure its not an outside problem. can anyone help me with this?

 

Ariana, bienvenidos a NBR!

As long as you make your recovery disks as recommended in this thread, you should be OK. If something goes wrong, you can use your recovery disks to get your laptop back to factory state. Upon the clean install, you can elect to change the language to English, so all the steps you follow will be the same.

I don't know if you can change languages on the fly to revert back to Spanish, so I can't answer that question.

I don't know what causes your slow browsing. Must be your Internet connection. But you will notice that your Sony works much faster once you do the semi-clean install, because it removes power-robbing bloatware.

 

I was running about 70 processes before I did the semi clean install. After I was done with the semi clean install I performed some vista tweaks that I found on this website, removed a few services that I won't be needing and I removed some programs that I won't be needing (according to Gary's clean install guide)

When I was done with that, I had 52 processes running, and using approximately between 600-700 MB RAM. But after the automatic update by windows, and adding some applications like the regcleaner, system mechanic, crap cleaner, vista battery saver, I am now looking at 56 processes, and my system is using nearly 1GB of ram.(I had these programs before I did the semi clean install) Should I delete any of those applications? I am just worried that the semi clean install did little to my system, and just took a bunch of time.

I have a vaio fz, 2 GB Ram

any advise??

 

So I have decided I would like to go back to xp on my fz280e/b. Vista feels like something I know....hmmm. Really it seemed so familiar....hmmm. Oh that's right, it reminds me of well... ME(Windows ME!!!) Arrgh shiz terrible stuff. does anyone have a guide for installing xp. i have a licensed copy of xp pro and would love to see how this would scream. any help will be appreciated.

thanks

 

Please don't hijack threads with a totally off topic question. This thread is about Vista installs, not Vista bashing. Had you bothered to search, you would have found there are several threads here on installing XP on various Sony models.

Gary

 

Bump for new buyers.

 

I finally did the semi clean install on my CR150F and it worked perfectly, so I think this works also for CR models for latin america. However I don't know why my hard drive is so full already. I have a 120GB hard drive, but I only see 101GB available. Is this normal? 20GB for the hidden partition? Right after the semi clean install, I installed the programs that I needed, and now I have 59GB of free space. But its not like I have tons of music or video or anything. Is this normal? Thanks .

 

Scuderia, I was not trying to 'highjack' your thread. and frankly the question isn't off topic. I understand the thread is concerning vista and was simply asking to be pointed in the right direction for 'my' next step. sorry to offend.

 

I think I'm a bit retarded, where is the recovery central located? I can't seem to find it. Also is there a way to customize the menu as Windows XP is instead of the Vista look pictured below.

 

Anyone? I honestly don't see where the recovery center it.

 

Try "C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio recovery\Launcher.exe"

Gary

 

Ah yes, that would been the obvious thing to do. I'm creating the recovery disks now, thank you. Might you know how to get my start menu looking like XP? Is there even a way?

 

I just did this semi-clean install, and I am very impressed. I definitely got a lot of space back, and everything seems to be running smoother. Thank you for the wonderful guide!

 

My DVD/CD drive suddenly went missing after a couple restarts, I used the following http://www.randomfix.com/2007/04/12/windows-vista-–-missing-cddvd-rom-drive/ and it resolved the problem(kind of) the drive shows up, but only reads certain disks. For an example I just tried my cable modem, and router disks both are recognized then I inserted a music CD and it isn't recongized. I then tried a different music CD, and it does recognize it. I tried the disk that the SZ wouldn't recognize in my FZ, and it worked fine. Any ideas?

 

Any suggestions?

 

I just did that to my TXN27 last night!! and it works GREAT~~~!!!! a very good way to do a clean version.... ... im so happy THANKS

 

Technically it's not a clean install, but it is as close as one can get without an "official" Vista install DVD.

Gary

 

Sponsi, try rolling back the driver (or updating the driver) from the device manager.

czzzla, I'm glad you found it useful.

 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060

This works for vista too. I did this myself. But your cd/dvd burning softwares might not work after this process. You may have to reinstall them.

 

I got a problem when truying to uninstall MS SLQ Server 2005. This is this:

The setup has encountered an unexpected error while Setting Internal Properties. The error is: Fatal error during installation.

Then it stop the uninstalltion. So any advice and help?

Thanx

 

MS Sql Server is installed as part of VAIO Entertainment Platform. It is only used to by the VAIO Media program, which I also did not install. The VAIO Media application is used for network sharing of your media files. The entertainment platform stuff is also what installed Microsoft SQL server.

When you tried to uninstall SQL Server, it was probably still in use by the Vaio Entertainment platform. If you uninstall the Vaio Entertainment Platform it will automatically shut down and uninstall SQL Server.

Gary

 

I had uninstalled Vaio ENtertainment platform but SQL server still cannot remove, i got always the same error, same after update with the SQL server 2005 SP2...

Still researching a solution..

 

I found the way to remove SQL Server 2005: (especially to my problem)
Please find in the bellow link

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919945

Tizzi

 

That's strange that you had to do a fix relating to Active Directory, since it is not installed on your Vaio. I am surprised that SQL server did not uninstall when you removed the entertainment platform. It should have been stopped and uninstalled automatically at the same time as the entertainment platform.

Glad to here you got it resolved.

Gary

 

will this work on the nr110e/s series?

 

You guys had quite long conversation here

I'm not sure if I gonna read it all. Although let me blow off some of your doubts.
In my opinion this guide is really helpful. Bloatware is bad. I'm buying professional hardware not for having it stuffed up with some resource consuming spam
I'm about to test the solution. I'm from Europe but I imported my SZ 650 n/c from USA. After loosing by that warranty, it is 1st positive feature I mean it'll be if all work successful with semi-clean install.
Is there anything I should be aware of?

Do I understand correctly that if I create recovery discs then I can restore from it including recovery partition itself to the hard drive (assuming I remove it)?

[edit]
something important I wish to know:
Can I do semi-clean install only with recovery discs after removing recovery partition?

I have found list of all added software with references where you can get each one if it's missing.
It's located at Menu start -> Help and Support -> Manuals & Specifications -> VAIO User Guide -> Support Options -> Program Support Information. Also it can help to determine which software one personally needs.

I've read whole thread

btw. what's that InstantON feature?
[/edit]

 

tamashumi, I'm not sure if you can do the semi-clean install via the recovery disk. If you have a few hours, you might try it before removing your recovery partition (I know it's a lot of work, but it's the only way to make sure.)

If you do, please let us know what you find.

-Peter

 

Thanks for reply

Maybe I try this way. I wish to get rid of original recovery partition. I'll made my own with acronis true image or similar software after I'll get clean and working system.

However still I want to stay with option of returning to factory state. So wonder about full recovery from discs. Does it restore recovery partition to the hdd if it has been deleted? Please get me out of doubt about this

One another thing which my friend pointed me on. Maybe the best solution would be scenario like that:

1. Copy VAIO Recovery (ref. point 2. from 1st post)
2. Install clean system from other source then Sony
3. Copy back and run VAIO Recovery for installing drivers and needed additional software

How do you think? Anyone want to try? Maybe I will but I won't have enough time soon. Ofc still remains the question is it possible without original recovery partition (only with recovery discs made before wiping it out).
The last question is reducing to: where from VAIO Recovery (launcher.exe) gets data for installation and would it find the source on clean install...

 

I'm in a similiar situation to you, thinking about doing the semi-clean install and getting rid of things I don't really need as much as possible...including the recovery partition on my HDD. Since I don't need it anymore if I have my 2 DVD recovery discs.

So my question is why would you want your recovery partition on your HDD if you have your recovery DVDs? Also, I think I read somewhere that the recovery DVDs will re-generate the recovery partition on your HDD anyway...

I'm a little confused now, am I maybe wrong in my reasoning...?

 

Good questions up there ^^^.

I myself am about to do a semi-clean install on an FE. I should be doing it sometime later this week after I'm done with all my finals. I'll follow up later on.

 

Well guys I was hoping you can be more helpful

I wiped out all partitions today with acronis disc director suite. I had to use safe boot option of it as normal hadn't found vaio hard drive
Anyway after this VAIO recovery discs option "restore C: drive" popped up with an error about it can't find C: drive. Oh! I forgot I set my own partitions before trying that:
- primary hidden 10GB FAT32 (for further purpose)
- primary active C: 24GB for vista
- rest left unallocated for now
Anyway VAIO recovery discs couldn't recover C: drive on it. I was hoping it could have. So now I'm recovering to the factory settings. It means, yes it can restore also recovery partition. I was asked about. Moreover I was asked if I want to restore recovery partition with microsoft software only or rather microsoft and VAIO added software. I've chosen only microsoft (message popped up that I need keep recovery discs safe for vaio added software and 6GB will be usable for other purposes then recovery partition). I wonder what exactly that means
One more thing worth of mentioning. Full system recovery asked me about C: partition size. I could choose custom

If this way fails to get nice semi-clean setup with custom partitions and selected VAIO added software. I'll try to fully recover whole hdd to factory settings. Make on it semi-clean install by using original recovery partition and then resize partitions with acronis. I hope it can handle resizing with data. And most of it I hope I won't need go to this point

btw. Is here any one else who likes customize on his own?

 

It's late and only to notice you: VICTORY!

Full system recovery, with option I choose, have created ~1.5GB recovery partition (which I already removed) and restored my C: system drive. But here comes the deal. During C: drive restoration (after 1st or 2nd reboot) it asked for Recovery Discs 1 (it was the moment when according to this guide one should enter task manager for killing launcher.exe). So I hit cancel button and voila: Semi-clean setup without most of bloatware
For removing partition and moving C: to the physical beginning of the hard drive I used acronis disk director suite. I created acronis secure zone (it's like hidden recovery partition but at the end of the hard drive and you can specify its size and what's backuped on it). I stored there fresh C: drive image after the semi-clean install for the future use. What's really nice, most (if not all) of needed VAIO software had been installed. The worse part Napster, MS Office, MS SQL trials and other MS software was installed too. However it's not so bad. I'm going to use office anyway, mssql maybe too for development purposes. Ofc always they can be uninstalled. I haven't been using any cleaners yet nor custom system settings. Time to sleep - it's past 2:00 am

btw. processes after the operation has decreased from 72 to 58 :]

Oh! and I can still run "VAIO Reinstall Programs" from recovery discs.

cheers!

 

Which set of instructions should I use for a FZ290? NinjaNoodles or ScuderiaConchiglia's? I'm not very confident about doing this but I don't want 61 processes running all the time and I have even started putting my preferred programs onto it yet.

Thanks =)