Instructions for a Vista clean install on an FZ190

Like i wrote; i can't. When i try to run it asks for administrator rights, but when i press 'ok' the desktop comes back on and......nothing happens.

Are you aware of the differences between the the European and US recovery disks btw?

 

How did you run the program in the dvd? Double click the "launcher.exe" application in the recovery dvd. It will copy the files to your hard drive.

 

I'm trying to tell you that i did that (it's called autorun.exe on my recovery dvd), but that nothing happens when i run it. I don't even get en error or something, nothing simply happens.

 

Gary, do you have any ideas on this matter perhaps?

I'm just wondering if i still can get my recovery center to work or not, without doing a new Vista install.

 

Sorry, no I don't have any ideas. The only suggestion I have is to go back to my first post and check out the links I added to other posts from folks who added some comments on their experiences. I believe one of them was from an FZ11 owner.

Gary

 

I think i've read it all, but could not really find an answer or someone with the same problem. Oh well, i've found replacements for all the missing app's on different Sony support sites, so i don't really need it anymore anyway.

I might get into it a little deeper just out of curiosity when i have the time in the future, but for now my FZ is working just fine. Thanks anyway the both of you.

 

Hey I just have a question before I do this clean install on my FZ:

I have an FZ250E/B that I want to do a clean install with Vista Ultimate on. If by any chance Vista Ultimate doesn't install correctly, is there any way to revert back to the original factory settings/OS that the FZ originally had? Thanks!

 

Hey!
I just have one question...i am sure it should be written somewhere, but can't find it. Some of you mentioned, that you did clean install on FZ2 series, so i'm curious where did you find utilities for it. There are indeed some of them on recovery disc, but are there all of them??? On UK site there are none for download. Would really apreciate the answer!

Tnx in advance!

 

The recovery DVD set that Sony has you to create when you first get the machine, will you to do this "revert back". Also if you do not remove the hidden recovery partition, you can hit the F10 key durring boot up and a menu will appear allowing you to restore the machine back to its "out of the box" state using that recovery partition. Be aware that either method will wipe out ALL files and programs.

Gary

 

this may have been answered in the post but im not sure how to search in this thread.

how much physical hard drive space is actually saved via a semi clean install?

 

ok so i will keep the recovery partition intact at least until i make sure ultimate installs correctly. is it possible to then delete the recovery partition after ultimate has been installed?

 

Sorry but I have NO idea. Never bothered to keep track, but in all honesty, it was never about disk space.

Gary

 

It is POSSIBLE, but to then gain the space as part of you existing partion is a hassle. This has been discussed here at length. My feeling is why bother to delete it. It provides an "insurance" poilcy for getting back a bootable machine should you ever need it. It also remains as a backup to the recovery DVD set you make, should they ever become lost or damaged.

Remember you MUST make the recovery DVD set, to use my instructions for the clean install.

Gary

 

is the ghost file basically the same size as all the files on the hard drive itself? I want to burn the ghost file onto a backup DVD but it's most likely too large a file to fit on the DVD am I right? The last ghost file I plan to make is the "Ready2go.GHO" from step 19 because I just want to be able to restore my laptop to the OS without any programs.

also, do I really need 30gb of space in the partition for the OS? how much of the 30gb is currently being taken up by your laptop?

 

The ghost image gets compressed quite a bit. Ghost will automatically prompt you for additional DVD's if it needs more.

I would say yes you do want 30 gig. I am currently using 22 gig of the 30. That includes a hibernation file (2gig) and I have a lot of apps installed. But I think that 30 is a good number.

I made the Initial.GHO ghost image just in case I had any troubles as I was adding the drivers and had to start over. It would have been quicker to restore the image than to reinstall Vista. I made the other ghost images for the same reason. They gave me quick fall back points if I need them.

Gary

 

Dang, now why didn't i think of checking that when i did a clean install?

Considering what ISN'T on there after a clean install i doubt the difference would be much more then 1Gb, but that just a guess i guess. You'd probably save more space by erasing the recovery partition. But hell, with the prices of harddrive's these days (internal or external) why would we anyways....?

But, like the man says, a clean install wasn't about that in the first place.

Still, i really really wonder if it makes any difference if you do a clean install (and put back all the required Sony stuff after that) or properly remove the unneeded software manually. Or witch of the two is easier to do.... I tried both, and to be honest i do not notice any differences. A clean install is the fastest way to clean up the mess, but on the other hand cleaning it up manually turned out as a very good way of getting to know Vista and my new Vaio.

 

Clean install is the way to go if you want to remove bloatware. Also you will get to know more about the device drivers installed.

 

That might be your opinion, but it's definitely not the only way to do it.

Before i did a clean install i've used my Vaio for six month with exactly the same programs and utilities installed and with the exact same Windows settings and tweaks i use now, after i had manually removed all the bloathware when i first got it. Memory use, active processes, speed, there really is no difference as far as i can tell. Getting to know more about the device drivers and how to install them absolutely is a plus, but like i said, there's also a lot to learn about your system from manually removing the crap.

 

I am trying to install clean vista on fz290...

i am trying for 2nd time now - started to reinstall with this guide when I came across battery not compatible problem at some point, and I seem to have this problem with vista checking the installation and offers to reinstall it with recommended settings.

it gives an error "sony vaio this update can only run on windows vista" and stops the installation. I am not sure if this is a problem or how to fix it.

 

It sounds like you are trying to install drivers for another FZ model. What specific driver is causing the error. And where did you download it from? (Be specific with the URL.)

Gary

P.S. Look through the thread, I believe someone else did this on a 290 and posted their differences in the process. (I even have a link to that on the first message of the thread.)

 

i downloaded from the sony webpage. - wireless driver NDWLL-13427200-US.EXE for intel wireless...

fz290 originally comes with home premium, i am installing on a business version - the website shows the same driver for both.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNFZ290

i have read most of the thread i guess...

 

the drivers from the us website comes with sony vaio installer, but europe website drivers have the driver's installer itself... i tried with the europe driver fz29 driver this time same version of the wireless driver and it allows for the 2nd installation with vista's recommended settings. so its better to use those ones i guess...

there are a number of other drivers that has done this in my first clean installation try.

 

Well done!!! Sounds like you have it figured out. If you don't mind, when you get finished, please post a synopsis of what you had to do differently from my original document. I'll link the first message to your post. Did you find the link on the first message to the post by the user who did an FZ290 clean install?

Here is a direct link:

FZ290 differences

Gary

 

it does the same thing with the ethernet driver, marvell yukon ethernet thing. i guess there is something stupid this vista's settings check. it either gives false errors and cant do anything about it, sony's installers dont let the installation run 2nd time when it is already installed, and gives this error "can only run on vista"

 

I will do it, no changes up to this point except the can only run on vista thingie with the driver from us website.

and also we have broadcam bluetooth instead of toshiba.

and i am checking that post as well, for fz2 series.

 

I got the exact same error when I installed the drivers after the clean install. But everything works fine.

 

so now i have this problem with recovery discs.

I launch the recovery software from dvd or hard disk, it starts to copy files from the dvd then asks for the 2nd disk, i insert the 2nd disk and click ok - hangs in there... same happes if i put 2nd disk first, and it asks for first cd, i place it and click ok - again hangs...

 

Sorry, I can't really help you on this. Using FZ190 recovery disks to install apps and drivers (as opposed to a restore to "out of the box" state) only require the first disk. It does not ask for the second one.

Go back to the FZ290 message link I gave you. See if there is anything there. If not try a PM to the author of that message, see if they can offer any insight.

Gary

 

i successfully installed till notebook utilities. everything seems to work fine, nothing missing in device manager, fn keys working, brightness working, key setting utilities work as well.

so the things needed from the recovery city, sony video shared library, how important is that? can live without the vaio documentation i guess, which is also from the recovery disc in your guide.

i ghosted at this point once more, and now just installing the available utilities, without the ones from the recovery disc. will let you know how it goes.

 

sony video shared library can be found from the eu ftp utilities package so installed from there... now next missing thing is sonicstage, its not available on us support website, it only has updates for sonicstage... there is a sonicstage folder on eu website but it has many installers.

 

Give me a specific link to the page full of installers and I'll see if I can sort out which one you want/need.

Gary

P.S. Was the FZ290 specific message in this thread unable to provide any insight into why you were unable to use the recovery disks to get this stuff? I remember someone saying something about a THIRD disk, with applications. But that may have been another thread entirely.

 

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/VAIO/ORIGINAL/FZ21_DRIVERS.ZIP
ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/VAIO/ORIGINAL/FZ2_UTILITIES.ZIP

those links appear here:
http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/downloads/updates/updates.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&c=0&s=VGN-FZ&m=2824

these are the files...

i attached my notes on installation with notes on little stuff here and there...

i finished installing all the stuff. except the sonicstage thing.

fz290 link provide no info on recovery disc problem, nor i could find any other info in here or other websites. though i noticed a sony update for recovery center on eu website, for fz29vn model, which is said to fix some other issues. did not try it yet tho. recovery center installs on the driver when the recover discs are first run. nothing else installs the recovery center.

to summarize the disc problem: there is only 2 recovery discs. if you start from the first one it prompts if you wanna do a complete recovery or some application recovery, when you select application recovery it starts copying files on in AppData/Roaming/Modules folder - (copies the entire recovery stuff i guess). then it asks for the 2nd disc. when you place it and click 'ok', it just hangs there forever stuck (left on whole night in case it is somewhat slow). on the other hand if you start from the 2nd disc, it asks for the first one, and if you place it and click 'ok' again it hangs.

 

delice,

You were asking about the sonicstage stuff. I wanted you to send me a link to THAT folder so I could help you decide which installer you needed. (But it is nice to have, in this thread, the FTP links you provided.)

Gary

 

ah sorry... i updated the previous post with other stuff as well.

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/VAIO/SONICSTAGE/ those are the sonicstage files.

 

OK, most of those are different language versions, obviously. There is a French version (FA) a German (Deu) etc. My best guess is the english one is the last file. SSMS_130210060.EXE

SSMSAF_110109130.EXE is the Audio Filter. But then so is SSMSAF_110210070.EXE. Don't know which of those you should use.

You might also need the PXEngine.

Do us BOTH a favor and make a Ghost image before you start this part!!! I'll sleep better.

Gary

 

yeah i have ghost images... last one taken after done with all utilities and vista updates. i will let ya know how it goes... and should audio filter be installed before or doesnt matter?

 

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/DOWNLOADS/SO/A/SST there are more recent versions here i guess for sonicstage. tho there are no audio filter files in this folder.

there are pages vaio-link.com on the sonicstage software... but they dont show up on fz models page... and i cant find how you get to those pages, or any version of sonicstage is model specific...

 

Sorry, I have no clue as to how you figure this out.

Gary

 

yeah me neither. thanks for the help tho... If i havent formatted recovery partition i could have tried to create recovery discs again but thats not an option now.

 

recovery disc problem solved, it is related to autorun/autoplay being disabled on drive. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=216683

 

Well done, delice!!! So are you now able to recover the apps you needed?

Gary

 

i can install the sonicstage audio filter... but when installing sonicstage mastering studio at some point it gives an error like 56:11 or something like that i dont exactly remember the code... it may be because it cant read the disc... i am not sure.

 

Without the exact error, there is no way for anyone to offer you any assitance.

Gary

 

this time the error it gave was for sonicstage mastering studio.

The file C:\program files\Sony\SonicStage Mastering Studio\version.txt could not be opened. - at finalizing installation step.

And then it got stuck on setup finish screen for vaio help and documentation. It just plays a ding when i click finish but its stuck... then it displays an error prompt:

The component setup program encountered en error: 0x643

Fatal error during installation.

on another go, while installing the sonicstage mastering audio filter custom preset:

it prompted: Error: 506:11
then: Task failed with error: -1

I think the disc is not readable, which i doubt, or the recovery software is full of bugs...

 

Hi Gary,

Today I finally did clean install on my VAIO FZ190 notebook.
I feel my notebook is very good after clean install
Thank you very much for your excellent clean install guide with details steps.
I found your guide didn't say anything about one original driver which is Alps Pointing Device Driver(ALDOTH-13275900-US.EXE). I haven't installed it. Could you please tell me whether I have to install it or not ?

A special thanks for Coolguy for his discovery of creating windows anytime upgrade DVD using C:\Windows\sonysys\WAU content.I used this method.

A special thanks for Orev's for his backup and activation utility for vista. It really helps a lot for clean install.

While doing clean install I faced below problems.
1) When installing Toshiba BlueTooth driver(TODBLT-12714400-US.EXE), it asked me to insert bluetooth device. At first I didn't understand that later I realized that I have to switch on wireless lan switch at the time of this driver installtion. Immediately after the instalation I switched off this so that my notebook will not connect to internet while I am installing all drivers.

2)As you said in your notes, Update for Video/Photo utilities update(SOAVPU-01532000-US.EXE) didn't install. Later I found one more latest update for this (SOAVPU-01580600-US.EXE). I installed this update successfully. After installing this update I tried to run the earlier failed update.
It complained I already have the latest version. So I am assuming with second update we will get first update as well. I am not sure about that.

3)While running updates, I couldn't able to install Texas Instuments Integrated flash media controller update. It complained I don't have vista.
After installing some more softwares, I downloaded the driver again and tried to install. At that time it got installed fine. I don't know the reason.

4)For most of drivers and software it offered me to install with windows recommeneded settings. I just let it do.

5)Before the clean install I got nVIDIA driver updates through Windows Update and it got installed . Today after clean install when I ran Windows Update, I couldn't get any updates for nVIDIA driver. Could you tell me whether you got any nVIDIA video updates ?

I will let you know If I come across any problem in the next few days.

Once again thanks for all for providing clean install instructions.

Cheers
Raj

 

Raj,

The ALPs driver is in my instructions at step 11 sub step i. I have not gotten any Nvidia updates.

Gary

 

Hi Gary,

I saw the step 11 i. In that step I installed ALDOTH-10463400-US.EXE(This is mentioned in your driver list). But ALDOTH-13275900-US.EXE is not mentioned in your driver list.

Raj

 

hello,

perfectly works on my vaio FZ21M ! feel free to ask if you have any problems with yours.

thank you very much gary.

julien

 

Sounds like it might be a newer version of the driver.

Gary

 

Hi Gary,

After few days of clean install my system is running fine. But I found one problem at booting time. My system takes 45-50 sec for password prompt and then 5-10 seconds for desktop showup.
Once the desktop is shown , it is taking nearly 45-50 secs to fully load all startup programs and services.
I don't have any thirdparty applications in my startup services.
Immediately after the boot update around 60 sec time,if I check task manger it is showing up around 34 process. After 45-50 secs only it shows up full processes around 56.

Does anybody know why my computer is loading processes slowly ?

Raj.