Installing Windows 7 64 Pro on Sony F series?

Hi

I am considering purchasing a Sony F series laptop but I really don't want the default installation of Windows 7 with all of the bloatware, trialware and Sony media type gadgets that I would probably never use.

I have a genuine copy of Windows 7 64-but Professional from my previous PC which I would like to do a clean install with.

Does anyone know if I am likely to encounter install / driver issues?

Thanks...Brett

 

When you say VAIO F I assume you mean the latest one with 3D functionality. You probably only have to worry about your hardware when you clean-install a 64-bit OS, but since the VAIO F has a quad core SB i7 along with 8GB RAM, it'll definitely manage to handle the 64 bit OS.

 

Thanks for the reply.
It's probably the hardware that I'm the most worried about - I'd be concerned about Windows not finding the right video drivers, SATA drivers, touch pad drivers, webcam, etc. in case they require specific Sony drivers.

Of course the alternative is to stick with the default install and spends a few hours disabing and uninstalling the bloatware.

 

Well if I were you I'd choose the second option to eliminate any uncertainties. The bloatware shouldn't be too hard to uninstall, you'd just have to sit in the control panel and remove them one by one

 

The drivers will be on the Sony website, although you usually have to install them in a particular order.

It will probably take more time than some other makes of laptop but it's not impossible.

I just got an SB with W7 Pro and it didn't have all that much bloatware on it; trials of McAfee AV & Norton backup, Office 2010 starter (I upgraded that anyway as I have a licence key), Evernote and an annoying Vaio dock/bar thing along the top that I've disabled. The rest of it is either diagnostics or hardware control type stuff.

 

Yeah it's probably the best approach.
I did the same on my gf's Sony Vaio last year and so it's probably the easiet route.
Cheers!

 

My recommendation is to create a set of Recovery Discs when you get the VAIO and then do a clean install using those discs. You'll have the option of NOT installing the Value Added Software (bloatware). Or, if you don't... there's a place during the installation where you can interrupt it and the bloatware will not be installed. You can read through this guide to see if you're up to it:
Vaio F Series Clean Install Guide - F11 F12 F13 by Joe Bleau

The reason for doing the clean install using the Recovery Media is that ALL of the necessary hardware drivers are included and almost always install during the OS installation, so you don't have to worry about downloading/installing them in a specific order.

Once you've completed this, you can use the Windows Anytime Upgrade to input your license key and unlock the Pro features of Win7. There are a few people in the F series owner's thread who have done it this way and highly recommend it.

UPDATE - Yes, you can simply uninstall bloatware from the Control Panel, but it doesn't really get rid of a lot of things that you don't know that you don't need. For example, when I first got my VAIO VPC-F112FX/b with 4GB of RAM it was booting and hovering at about 46%. That was crazy. I uninstalled a bunch of things and got that idle down to 34%. Once I did a clean install, I could boot at 23%. That's 10% of my RAM that was being wasted. Now, after a clean install and all of the things I need running, I'm at 41% at this very moment. I'm able to use that RAM for MY needs, and not the needs of bloatware that I can't get rid of.

 

Hello,

I haven't found here any topic for Vaio BX series, that is because I ask you here for help.

I have installed Windows 7 on my VAIO VGN-BX41VN, but the Fn keys do not work. The screen seems to be definitely darker than with XP before (and it cannot be adjusted by Fn keys of course). This issue is very frustrating for me - can it be solved?

(I ask you here, because I could not find any BX forums here.)

Thank you for your help in advance,

vpi777

 

Did you make the Recovery Discs before installing Win7?

I don't know what your model comes with, so I'll use mine as the example. You'll need to go to your esupport site and download VAIO Care. Once you've installed and launched it, you can use your recovery discs to install various different bits of software. The F Series needs the following in order for the Fn keys to fully function:

VAIO Event Service
VAIO Control Center
Settings Utility Series
Sony Shared Library