Installing Vista Clean on a SZ330P/B - My experience

You can definitely "replace" XP with Vista using my guide but you should understand that means you will lose your XP install and everything on that harddrive.

If you want to delete your XP install and then put Vista on top, you should be able to use gparted to format your C: and then use the Vista DVD to install to C:.

But remember doing this means no more XP and all your data on C: is gone.

You can alternatively install Vista OVER XP which will keep all your data and whatnot but that's not a clean install, that's an upgrade.

 

I'm currently using NVIDIA_video_97.46_logo_Notebook

Do you think these would fix my External monitor problem?

 

I currently have an annoying virus on my computer, that is slowing it down severely as well as stopping me opening 'ad-aware' or 'windows task manager' and causing various other nuisances.
What i'm planning to do, is copy my music, video and photos to an external hard drive, then wipe everything off the hard drive and install a fresh vista. I'm worried i'll install vista and realise that not all the files have been wiped and in the depths of my hard drive will be the virus ready to cause more havoc on my brand new OS.

I've purchased the Vista Premium Home upgrade pack, but i'm not sure what i should be doing (after backing up all my music etc) to achieve a nice clean install. Do i just follow microsoft's instructions, or do i need to do something else aswell?

You have been immensely helpful so far, and that is much appreciated.

 

Give them a try - I installed them last night and they seem to work better than .46. Doesn't hurt to try.

 

No.

Problem remains, has anyone else had this with their SZ and Vista?

 

In what way? Do they perform better? Do they offer more features?

 

Anybody else found how to correct the wifi from staying actve with notebook in sleep mode? I hate having to hit the switch b4 shutdown, but if I don't the wifi light stays on.

 

I tried this and Windows Media Player stopping running altogether....

 

I still have the wifi problem, but sometimes.
But even with the wifi off the computer uses my battery a lot!! when at sleep.

My Windows Media Player is crazy, when I click on an mp3 or media on a folder, the media player starts playing the song but the program never appears, not even in the taskbar. I now it is supposed to be constantly running in the background, but this is rare. Sometimes when I am playing a song, if I close the media player, the program disappears but keeps playing the song. :S I will try to download the media player again

 

If the Wifi light is on then your notebook is not sleeping...it's in Away mode.

Go to Power Options -> Select your current plan -> Advanced Settings

Scroll down to Multimedia Settings.

Make sure both battery and plugged in are set to "Allow the computer to sleep"

 

I installed the BIOS update last, after vista and all the drivers. But afterwards I read that th BIOS update should be installed first, even before vista. What difference does it make?

 

Mobilehavoc:

For the duo boot install. Do you need to install two copy of software such as Protector suite QL? Do you know how to delete the xp partition if I don't need xp later, that is change it to single vista boot?

 

truelies- yes, everything is seperate. You'll need one for XP and one for vista.

 

By the way, what Nvidia driver do you use? I'm using that 97.46 Sony offeres because its the only one with working brightness. But its pretty unoptimized and slow. Anyone tried the new 101s from Laptopvideo2go? Are the better? Do they loose brightness control? Thanks for your help.

 

Thank you for your reply. What's you suggestion on the size of C: and D:? I think driver C: need to be bigger since some software only can be installed on driver C:.

Also so for the protector suite, if you install two times for xp and vista, can they both installed in driver c: same dictionary or need to be in two partitions?

 

I have the 101 Nvidia driver from laptop video to go running on a sz330pb. All the buttons and function keys work and video is better than the Sony 97.46 driver. I tried the 97.54 driver but the nvidia control panel did not work right.

One thing I noticed is that it is easier to break a vista system than xp by removing and reinstalling video drivers.

Also, my Vista experience score does not change between the intel and nvidia gpu's. It always reads "unrated, new hardware detected" no matter how many times the benchmark runs. Buggy. I think I am going to format this sucker and just use XP.

It is hard for me to understand why so many folks are trying to crack Vista, as far as I care, its cracked right out of the box, or at least broken.

 

Ok, you're getting confused. C is Vista and D is XP (for this example anyway). When youre running the Vista, it will install the protector in C. When you reboot to XP and you install Protector, it will be installed to D becuase D is the XP drive.
Did that make sense? One drawback with Dual boot is windows will show you BOTH drives when youre in Vista or XP instead of hiding the one youre not using.

 

So first you installed the xp on drive D. Then install vista on drive C. Vista need to be installed later than xp. Is this the way to install?

 

since I had XP already on my system, I have C ans XP and D as my Vista. I installed (see previous posts here on how I did that)

 

Also another question. If I boot at vista on Drive D. Can I install software under vista on Driver C?

 

you can force it to(ie: tell it where to install a file) but I try and keep everything seperate. I would hate to put something on the other drive only to mess up how things were installed on that drive.

 

Get it. I will use 40GB at C and 80 GB at D. Because many software can run on vista.

 

great thread so far - everything is working apart from S1, S2 and the webcam - but i'm going to wait for sony to release the drivers for them.


Quick question - before i did a clean install i had adobe photoshop elements on my sz which was included when i bought it.

I haven't seen anything for this programme on my computer and i was wondering if there was anyway to get it back without having to purchase the software?

 

Just finished install the duo boot. Everything include the Fn+brightness working. Looks like this problem only caused by upgrade installation.

The problems left are:
1.Installed smartwi, but can't find anywhere.
2.Need to move wireless switch to startup
3.Can change brightness of intel display card on power managerment, but can use Fn+brightness.

 

1. See my guide for SmartWi
2. Not sure what you mean?
3. This is a known problem

 

For smartwi, I don't have issues with Sprint activation. The problem is the smartwi didn't run and I can't find it anywhere.

Now we know the Fn+brightness problem is from Microsoft! Not from Sony or Nvidia.

 

Hi, I want to ask, can i use SZ48GP recovery disc to install vista to my SZ38GP?

Thanks!

 

Hi
Great thread !
I just made the move to Vista a few days ago, and some of my functions weren't working.
I could'nt get the Control Centre to work, S1/S2 buttons,HDD Protection...etc
Thanks to you guys, everythings working with the exception of the following:
S1/S2 buttons - when I go into the Control Centre to change these, I get the error message, "You Can't Launch"
There are a few other options in the CC that give the same error, but some do not apply to my specific laptop model.
HDD Protection - does not show up in CC?
No control over fan speed - does'nt seem to be an option for it
Mass Storage Controller(mem stick slot) still showing in Device Manager as without a driver. The link in the first post will not run for me, giving the error message, "This update is not intended for use with your computer model"

I'm using the Sony posted 97.46 drivers, and all the FN controls seem to be working perfectly.
Audio FN keys work as well, (up/down/mute)
Vista runs great, and I haven't found any of my programs that have compatibility issues.

I'd really like to be able to use my Memory Stick slot & the S1/S2 buttons if anyone has an answer ?

 

The S1/S2 buttons are controlled by the Series Setting Utility so make sure that's installed..linked in the first post. Not sure why it wouldn't work for you.

The Memorystick driver should work but it's not letting you install by default because it's for the SZ330.

Go to Sony's website and find the Memory stick driver for your model for Xp. Instlal...the one I link to is just the Xp driver for my laptop. Works like a charm.

 

I better just check that I am accessing the right controls for changing button settings....
I am going to Control Centre, and clicking on the "special buttons" section.
This gives me 3 choices - DVD button, Monitor off button setting & S button.
If i click DVD button, i can change settings, BUT i don't have a DVD button on this model, nor a monitor off button, but i have TWO S buttons.- Have I installed the right version of control centre????
The other 2 options just give a "you cant launch" error when clicked.

Any ideas there?

I'll go download the XP Mem Stick driver now and see if it works.
Thanks

 

Installed the XP driver for the mem stick reader, and it works just fine - also updated with the Icon update and it went OK too.

 

I just realised that after that install, I now have a SD/MMC shown up as well as my mem stick slot , on a different drive letter as well. Where is this physically located? Is this the Express card multi card reader? ( which i never got with the laptop as i bought it s/h)

 

I think it's just a side-effect of the driver with Vista...the SD card slot doesn't exist in Sony's implementation but it shows up in Vista. Just ignore it...

 

Thanks for the info regarding the SD/MMC

Any more thoughts on the above?

 

It sounds like you may have installed the wrong version? On mine the only options for special buttons is S1 and S2. Try uninstalling the version you have and use the links from my first post in this thread. Maybe that'll work?

 

Uninstalled the setting utility, and re-installed - now it works perfectly !
I really don't know how, the filenames that i downloaded were identical.
Anyhow - thats me running 100% now - thanks

 

hey mobilehavoc i was wondering im ganna get my sz450 next monday and i hate bloat ware, it already comes with vista so how can i do a clean install without all bloat ware and i dont want to buy a copy of vista since i already have it im just a bit confused on who your tutorial applies for. thanks in advance

 

Some people (myself included) had an issue with the "WLAN" light staying on when putting the notebook to sleep. Here's a solution for this (found on Intel's website):

Control Panel -> Power Options

Pick a profile that you use, click "Change plan settings", then "Change advanced power settings"

In the popup, expand the "Wireless Adapter Settings" and "Power Saving Mode." If it's set to "Max Performance" or "Low Power Saving", then the WLAN stays on when the notebook is in sleep (and that's reflected by the WLAN staying lit.)

 

It'll be far easier to uninstall the bloatware than to try and reinstall Vista from scratch. Using the Sony restore discs will just put the bloatware back on too.

I would just go in and uninstall the stuff you don't need...keep all the Sony stuff.

Although people knock on Sony for including bloatware (lots of companies do) the stuff Sony includes doesn't seem to be TOO bad and easy to uninstall.

 

You know that uninstall routines never remove everyting, do you?

 

Since when, they've always removed stuff for me.

 

Hey mobilehavoc - you are god, to start.

Installed Vista Ultimate Clean, no stupid windows.old cloggin up my harddrive.

Everything works great except the following:

1. S1/S2 buttons dont respond at all
2. Fn keys do not respond at all
3. Switching from stamina to speed no longer pops up a dialogue with a restart option/prompt (but thats not a big deal)
4. I cannot access Vaio Power Management at all, even if i go under Power Options -> Advanced -> Vaio Power Management, the computer locks up when i hit that tab. I can only use windows power management for some reason.

Woe is me.

Hopefully these issues will be resolved with future vista-freindly drivers and other hacks/workarounds.

Anyway, you have a great guide here with alot of good advice. Thank you so much, and i mean, i followed your directions to-the-letter and its much better than trying to follow Sony's messed up installation protocols. Thanks a ton!

----------------------------------------------------
Sony Vaio VGN-Sz240
2.0 Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 80GB HD, Nvidia Go 7400/ Intel 945GM Express

 

Oh man ... it is commonly known that uninstall routines rarely revove everything. Have you ever taken a look in your registry? Common Files Folder? Application Data Folder? You'll find LOTS of remainders from programs you thought you had uninstalled. Uninstallers under Windows were always lacking leaving stuff behind. I've yet to see one that does its job completely. They may remove the main program folder, but that is only part of the installation.

That's the reason why I would NEVER start from recovery discs. You cannot get rid of some stuff, esp. Norton crap. I always start from scratch with a clean installation. This may take longer but I will not have remnants on my system.

 

Try installing this:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNSZ240P&upd_id=2622&os_id=29

 

Yea, i already installed that, along with most of the updated vista drivers for my SZ240, the problem is, the drivers just dont seem to do anything. Sony has let its Vista users down alot on this one.

P.S. - I am having serious issues running Steam on vista, it just freezes up once the splash/news screen appears, anyone else know about this/ have steam working?

 

I can help with the Steam problem since I had the same issue. Go into your Upek Protector Suite QL (Fingerprint software) and disable Internet Explorer support. Problem solved.

Swipe finger -> Control Panel -> Settings (User Settings) -> Swipe finger again -> Password Bank -> Uncheck Internet Explorer -> Ok.

Should be fine.

 

Hey MobileHavoc,

Thanks for your guide! I finally took the plunge and upgraded to Vista Ultimate on my SZ360. I did a clean install and followed each step and EVERYTHING works perfect! (Minus the brightness with the Intel drivers.. I'm assuming since I didn't even try yet). I installed 32-bit vs the 64-bit version just isn't ready for prime-time with regards to driver/program compatibility issues.

Just wanted to give a big thank you! Vista actually runs really well... MUCH faster than XP with the correct drivers and compatible software/programs. I disabled the UAC while I installed everything and it made the process much more streamlined and less annoying. Debating if I should even turn it back on

Anyways, thanks again!

 

Your welcome...I haven't tried Intel in a while but until they release new drivers that add the brightness control in power management it won't work.

Glad to hear everything works...

 

Careful when installing some certain applications with UAC turned off. When i went to install Adobe Reader, i was forced to put it into windows xp compatible mode, or else it refused to install; all because of disabling UAC. Took me a while to figure it out, very frustrating.

If and app doesnt seem to work, always give it a try with Windows XP sp2 compatible mode.

Good luck.

 

Incredible, you are absolutely correct, nice job!!

The fix worked perfectly, thank you!

I wonder if there is a way to make Steam work with UPEK protector suite.
What about firefox support?

Ideas?

Thanks again!