I did a semi-restore using recovery discs with SZ

I guess that step wasnt very clear. I've made the change to the guide.

 

Actually if you do not have the recovery partition on your hard drive anymore, selecting the first option of Restoring C: will use the recovery discs to restore the files only onto C:.

This is a great way to be able to partition your hard drive and be able to restore the files only onto C:. This is the option I chose to go with, I replaced the hard drive with a 7200 RPM one so no recovery partition was left. Partitioned the drive into two partitions and did the Restore C: option so I still had 2 partitions once it was finished.

 

i want to do the semi clean install but i also want to recreate the recovery partition. so after the semi-clean install, how can i recreate the partition of recovery again? i dont mind losing 7GB of space since i place my files in an external harddrive

 

Not sure how this can be done without reformatting the whole drive using the recovery discs.

Is there a reason why you want to keep the partition, are there any benefits?

You can always re-create the partition later if you want, and you can do everything your partition can do with your recovery dvds.

 

Lyshen: Thanks for the tip! If only I had known this sooner. I've been through several days of installations of all sorts of software I plan to use and customization of everything so that now I'm trying to get ahold of disk imaging software (like Norton Ghost 10 or I'll get the trial of Acronis True Image) so that I can burn restorable backups of my custom configuration.

If that works, maybe Partition Logic or Partition Magic will be able to shrink my NTFS partition down as-is or maybe I'll reformat and repartition from my bootable Gentoo LiveCD again and try to restore my recent WinXP images into the smaller partition if that's possible.

If none of that works, I guess I'll start again with partitions the size I'd like and then use Sony's recovery DVDs choosing the C: option as you recommend.

This is such an arduous process but I'm glad it's likely to work out somehow.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
-Pip

 

BlackG35: Thanks for the great thread and for updating it with the restoration option clarification.

When you're replying to qwerty above, you said "You can always re-create the partition later if you want" and I think that's exactly what is being asked about. Do you know *how* to re-create the recovery partition on the drive? If I remember correctly, it's just a checkbox on the recovery screen. I don't have time to verify at the moment but I will reply again later if I find where in Sony's Vaio Recovery software the option is to restore the original 7GB hard drive recovery partition.

-Pip

 

Thats correct. Just re-run the restore dvd's and choose to keep the recovery partition.

It will first re-create the recovery partition, then it will restore your computer directly from the partition.

 

when doing the semi clean install, should i check the box to remove the recovery partition?

 

I discovered a method to keep the recovery partition using an altered method of the Semi Clean Install described in this thread.

1.) Run Vaio Recovery-->Restore C Drive

2.) When the partition is written back to disk the system will restart,this process only takes about 5 mins so pay attention. Allow Windows to start up in normal mode "Once Only" Pay attention, Windows will not enter the Desk Top the first time. It will complete some driver setup and will restart.

3.) At the second Windows restart Press F8 repeatedly to start Windows in SafeMode.

4.) Once the Desk Top is up Delete the Startup shortcut "ALaunchCombo"
and restart Windows.

5.) Once the Desk Top is up Windows will launch System Preparation Tool 2.0
Click Reseal. Sys Prep will prompt you "To regenerate SID's, Click OK
Sys Prep will do so work for about 30 seconds and Windows will shut down the system.

6.) Power back on and you have you Semi Clean Install completed With your original Recovery Partition in tack and fully functional.

Some History:

I had to do a complete system recovery from my recovey DVD's because I had tried the original method from this thread. I wanted to see if I could find a way to incorparate the original from this thread and still keep the fully functional Original Recovery Partition in tack.
I decided to press F8 to enter safe mode and prevent the application from being reinstalled and in fact it worked perfectly.

BTW my system is an SZ230P/B US version.

 

Hi, Im kinda confused....whats the difference between this method and this?

 

This method uses the 2-dvd Sony recovery discs to recreate the factory-installed Windows XP OS with the option of choosing which additional bundled software to install, such as the Norton and AOL applications. All of the necessary device drivers are installed automatically.

The other method does not use the recovery discs; instead it uses a standalone version of Windows XP, which you must already own and is not included with the SZ, to create a clean installation. All of the necessary drivers, which are available at Sony's support website, must be downloaded and installed manually in a specific order for the devices to work correctly.

Although the latter method takes a bit more work, it allows more customization and you are guaranteed to have a clean OS without any of the unnecessary software that Sony puts in their factory-installed OS.

 

I have the same problem that the original guy had (non-functioning FN and S1/S2 keys) but when I go to pop in my backup DVD, I do not see the options for:

Control Device Driver
Programmable IO Control Driver
Shared Library
Notebook Utility

Are these the exact names that I am supposed to be seeing?

 

I was successful in doing this. It was easy and pretty safe. Everything seems to work fine. The only bad thing is that some bloatware still manages to get installed.

 

After i had spam and spyware (not virus), my SZ cant find it's wireless card I really need to know that, if I go through this process, that It will install ALL the components (because i really need that wireless!)

Hope you can help....

 

yes, your wireless card will be installed.

 

Hi All

Anyone tried this method on european versions?
Just got my laptop SZ2XP/C and wanted to try this out.

Thanks!

 

A better way to toggle Wireless Only, Wireless + Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Only is to use SmartWiFi.

All SZs including Euro and Asian can use this version. http://rapidshare.de/files/24669308/SmartWi_1.2.0.020706.zip.html

The smartwi and wireless switching utilities do not need to run at the same time since they do the same job. If you already have the wireless switching utility installed you should uninstall it or disable it from running at start up.

Open the program after it's installed, click the wrench icon and uncheck the first three boxes. Apply the settings and close the program. Now you can use the Fn+F1 keys to toggle the connections.

 

This worked great using the recovery partition (safe mode boot as described near the end of the thread). Only thing undesirable to me still installed was roxio... and it was easy enough to get rid of that.

 

anyone knows if this semi-restore will work with the FE series?

sorry if it's been asked - I searched FE on this thread and it didn't turn up

 

Yes, the safe mode boot method using the recovery partition is by far the fastest and easiest way to get a reliable semi clean re-install.

Unfortunately Roxio is a pre-installed integral part is the recovery partition.
Glad to hear it worked well for you.

 

Well.. I guess installing Vista is going to be more of a nightmare... XD

 

What do I have to install to get the S1 & S2 - buttons get to work?

Thanks in advance


OK, got it:

 

I might be jumping the gun here, but I've made one attempt to do the semi-restore onto an new HDD (100GB, 7200rpm Seagate) on an SZ28 (purchased in Australia) and have run into problems. I don't know if I've done something wrong or the 2X series is different.

It successfully completes the system re-install off the first disk but then the startup shortcut AluanchCombo doenst exist and on rebooting it keeps prompting me to recover the application disk. I havent insalled the application disk and have tried in vain to find the sysprep utility.

Other indicators that the process is different are that the menus have been worded differently to this thread and first phase of the restore includes a large chunk of bloatware including:
Norton
Picture Gear Studio
SonicStage
Adobe Photoshop Elements
Adobe Premiere Elements

I dont have the machine with me right now but when I get a chance I'll try track down the version number on the recovery utility.

Anyone got any ideas on this?

 

Did you delete the recovery partition?

 

I installed onto a 'clean' drive with a single partition, if that's what you mean

 

Heres what I recommend. Do a full system recovery from your recovery DVDs. When follow the guide from reply # 159 from this thread.

 

hey rex, i am planning to do the semi clean install. i just have a question
did the boot time get better? because mine's kinda slow. i did not do any clean installs but i uninstalled all the bloatware

 

Yes my boot time is much better now. My system is fully boot to the Windows Desk Top in 12 to 15 seconds.

 

Thank you G35! I had resigned myself to the idea that I would never be able to get a bloatware free install on my AR, and your method worked great! I'm a happy guy today.

For anyone asking about it's success on an FE model, if it works on an AR, I can't see why it wouldn't work on the FE as well.

 

Im sort of a noob at computers so please bare with me. My questions are as followed:
1. is this booted directly from the harddisc?
2. What does this install and what does it actually take off? Will I be able to pick and choose what I want to install?
3. How would I get rid of roxio?
4. Do I have to go back through regedit to make any changes?
5. Is this a total deviation from the original method? or where in the original directions does this fit in?


My computer is the 260p/c, us version. thanks in advance, sorry for the dumb questions

 

I was able not to follow your instructions rex. When I booted the 2nd time (into safe mode) I got the message

"The system is not fully installed. Please run setup again."

and upon clicking the windows key, nothing happened so I had to press okay. The same happened with safemode + command prompt. So windows restarted itself and I restored the drive exactly as the company had intended. Pressing x on the message box gave me the same results. After trying a few times, I gave up and windows restarted in normal mode. =/


fwiw: the computer is brand new, I has just gotten it yesterday and have not even registered anything or hooked it up to an internet connection

 

1. Yes, the system boots directly from recovery partition during the restore process & then from the newly restored Windows Operating system after the recovery image has beed written back to disk.

2. It installs the Operating system with all critical drivers. The restored does not have any of the trialware installed. Roxio is an intergal part in the partition image the system is restored from.

3. You will have to manually uninstall Roxio if you do not want it on your system.

4. I have found no need to edit any thing in the register file.

5. The deviation from the original method posted by BlackG35 is you keep the recovery intact & fully functional on your hard drive allowing you to recover your system, reinstall applications & reinstall driver directly from the recovery partition eliminating the need to use your recovery DVD's.

After recovering my system via this method, I only have to install the following Sony applications & drivers to meet my personal needs.
1. Bluetooth manager.
2. Wireless switch utility.
3. Protector Suite finger print application/drivers.

 

If you are receiving this message "The system is not fully installed. Please run setup again." you have pressed the F8 key too soon. Try again and allow it to advance one more boot before entering safe mode.

I have successfully used this method four times. During the trial and error process of discovering this method, I too received the error message you mention by attemtping to enter safe mode too soon(after the first re-boot instead of the second re-boot).

This method keep your original recovery partion on your hard disk allow you to restore your system, reinstall applications & drivers directly from the recovery partition via Sony's recovery application any time you choose eliminating the need to keep your recovery DVD's on hand.

 

@Rex
I have this same problem like autophobic. There is no second reboot (VAIO SZ2VP).

 

yeah I was wondering about that part too. The first reboot installs the driver (5mins) like you said. I believe this was when i was supposed to hit f8, after step 2.

If I let the system reboot on its own after step two, the process will restore my computer to the original manufacturer's specs

 

Autophobic,

I think the confusion is at step #2. I will try to clearify.

2.) When the partition is written back to disk the system will restart,this process only takes about 5 mins so pay attention. Allow Windows to start up in normal mode "Once Only" Pay attention, Windows will not enter the Desk Top the first time. It will complete some driver setup and will restart.

The key thing in step #2 is that on the first boot after the partition is written back to disk, it starts Windows to complete some driver installiation and settings. But it will not ever make it the the Windows XP Desk Top. You will only see a black screen with the Windows XP logo stuff.

Than within one minute,the screen will go totally black and your system will re-boot as if you had hit CNTRL-ALT-DEL.

This is when you start hitting F8 during Windows startup process to bring up the Windows startup options. Select Safe-Mode and allow Windows XP to startup in safe mode all the way into the Desk Top. This prevents Windows from running the Startup shortcut "ALaunchCombo" that installs all the unwanted trialware.

Proceed Step #4 and all should be well.

I am making every attempt to help you do this successfully. Be persistent and you will prevail.

To verify the steps and sequence for accuracy, I sacrificed my system one more time by do the process my self to ensure the process work as advertised. I had no issues. I just followed steps 1-6 verbatium.

Good luck and keep me posted, it would be great to hear from others that have used the method with sucess.

 

@rex

thanks rex! I finally got the thing to work after 5 tries. It turns out that my computer booted the drivers too quickly and I did not catch the reboot. You stated 1min but it took about 15secs or less and I just thought that the darn thing was acting weird, I did not realize that it was a reboot.


So that worked out well, thanks for your method, I now have close to 100gigs like I'm supposed. But two problems have arised so far

1. I can't get bluetooth to work at all. The toshiba program installed but I can't install the driver at all. I keep getting the message "please plug in bluetooth device and click okay."
- on the toshiba program, it lists the modem as disabled and a diagnostic check said failed.

2. Some programs will not install from the recovery partition. A message saying "out of harddisc space" pops up.

Ive tried to remedy both with restarts and turning the wireless to the on and the off position to no avail.


Plug and play also did not work but g35's fix did the job. Thanks for the info guys. As soon as I figure out how to fix the last two bugs, I'll be okay to start using this computer, and hopefully nothing new arises.

 

Autophobic,

Glad to hear you are making progress. I have never experanced the two issues you state above.

I was wondering if you kept your original Vaio recovery partition intact on your dard disk.

My Vaio is a SZ230P/B US version. It came with a 120GB hard drive. The Vaio recovery partition is hidden and is formatted NTFS at 6.01GB. The Windows XP operating partition is formatted at 105.78GB.

Does this match up with your system specs after you've completed the restore process?

 

Thanks rex, I really couldn't have made it without you or other members of this wonderful site. My vaio is the sz260p/c us version, and comes with the 120gig hd as well. I could not find the recovery partition but it is still in tact and works relatively well. I can still make discs and do recoveries though it does not move onto the finishing step when I tried to make a disc. It stays at the disc making option.

Anyway, since it works, I assume it's there. The c: partition is 105gig so I believe our stats do match up. I appreciate your retrying the method to prove that it works. Your help has been very much appreciated

 

I have re-installed Windows XP as a clean install on my machine.
I have everything working as it originally came except for the HD protection. Before whenever I would knock the laptop and little window would pop-up and mentioned that the HD protection went active.

Not anymore, even though I installed the driver. I can't actually verify that it's working properly.

Maybe I'm missing something, how can you configure the HD protection stuff?

Thanks
JY

 

If you have the Vaio HDD Protection software installed, look %programfiles%\sony\vaio hdd protection\ and execute VCCStorageProtection.exe to configure the settings.

 

I did this, it is installed. But no matter how hard I shake the laptop, no warning ever comes up

JY

 

Allright. After re-installing the Sony Notebook utilities, HD protection works again...

cool

 

Hi everyone, i just got a new sz110/b. I tried making the recovery discs. The first dvd is 3.78GB correct? then i tried creating the second DVD and it came out to be 110MB!!! is this correct?!? I want to do this semi reinstall and get rid of the partition but before i do that, i want to create the restore dvds beforehand Any help would be appreciated!

 

Excel,

My recovery DVD # 1 is 4,147,251,200 bytes/3.86GB
DVD # 2 is 784,724,064 bytes/748MB

 

HI all,
I have an FE 690. Does this process work for me as well? Also, after burning my recovery DVD's I was looking at the drivers offered. I noticed that the video driver is for NVIDIA 7400 but I have NVIDIA 7600? What should I do in this case when I am in the step of installing drivers? Thanks in advance!

 

i jsut finished the semi-restore process on my fe 690described in the first page....do i have to reinstall drivers or only the applications that i think are necessary? by the way which applications are definitly necessary?

 

Is there a way to preserve multiple partitions on the hard drive using this method of installing a clean system? Would using the "Recover C Drive" option instead of the "Full System Restore" do this?

 

3pod,

No, if you use the Recover C drive option it will eliminate any existing partions on your drive.

 

Hi, I'm doing this on a UK spec SZ1XP/C, and have identical behaviour on a UK TX3XP.

Do the system restore of the C drive Specifically described as "C Drive Recovery (Recommended)" the alternates being "C and D Drive Recovery (Change Partition Sizes)" and "Complete Recovery"

Click a couple of confirm boxes, Windows shuts down.

Message about starting from the Vaio recovery partition

A Blue screen appears, eventually a box appears Vaio Recovery Utility - Recovery Wizard

Message saying "The system recovery is complete" click OK

Click "Restart"

Screen goes black from restart, Bios flashes up followed by initial Windows XP logo with blue dots tracing left to right, screen goes black again, followed by A Blue Windows screen saying "Please wait while Windows prepares to start......." with the dots increasing in number as time goes by. Try to F8 prior to this restart results in the system not being fully installed as per thread #181

This is follwed by the black screen with the Windows XP logo with a "Please wait" message Windows then start properly with the initial setup questions such as admin password, whether its part of a domain etc. I find it impossible to get F8 to result in the option for a safe boot at this point.

At the conclusion of above there's another restart, at this point I've got working Windows with some junk, (Adobe Elements, Google Desktop Search, Norton Internet Security, maybe a couple of other things) but not the bulk of it, no Office trial or Works.

A window appears titled "VAIO Recovery Utility" and sub-headed "Click [OK] to start application recovery.

By editing the registry I can remove the recovery utility auto starting, then with a bit of fiddling I can get all the necessary drivers installed. But I can't do the clean install as described by Rex