Instructions for a Vista clean install on an FZ190

i have also just realised that Roxio Easy Media Creator Home is missing as well. Not a major loss or anything but thought it might give someone an idea as to what the link could be? And just to check if this was on other recovery discs...

 

Nope. I am at a loss on that. You might try Sony support and see if they can point you to some place to download it. You might tell 'em you are doing a clean install of a Vista Ultimate and that you need the WinDVD installer. Otherwise they are likely to tell you to do a system restore instead of a clean install.

Oh wait here is an idea. In my clean install guide I mentioned an FTP site where you can get some of the drivers. Look what I just found there!

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/OS/VISTAUPGRADE/APPLICATIONS/

There are two WinDVD directories. Now I don't know if either of these have full installers or only updates that require a version already installed or not. But it might be worth looking into. Or go back to the messages in this thread where the other person was having trouble and see if they tried the FTP site.

I was cruising around the rest of the FTP site and found this:

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/VAIO/WINDVD/

Some of these are obviously upgrades but the first one has the appearance of a typical Vaio installer name.

Gary

 

nope - sadly none of those work
the 1st link is WinDVD 5 and works fine for DVDs but not BD

the second one is all updates/patches and says I have the wrong version installed with version 5 so no luck there either.

I've already contacted Sony Support yesterday saying I "accidentally deleted WinDVD plus Blu-Ray" and could they tell me how to get it back without doing a clean install but thinking about it - your way probably would have been better sos they can't just say no - it's the only way.

Well I'll let you know if I get anywhere and please let me know if you find anything else (incl if you find Roxio/similiar somewhere from Sony)

Cheers!

Si

 

Hi Gary, I wanted to know about the drive partition. I realized that you assigned a bigger size for ghosts (i assume that for the c: images). I have a FZ-180E with 200 GB. How much size do you suggest me to assign for the c drive and for ghost drive? what's the recomended?


best regards

 

Yes, I made the third partition (I called it G: ) large enough to hold more than one image of the C: drive. (Note I also formated that partition as FAT32, so that when I boot into PC-DOS on my bootable Ghost CD, the OS was able to see the drive. If I had used NTFS that portion would not be visible to the OS. My old version of Ghost can read ANY type of partition all by itself, but it can only save images to ones the underlying OS can see.)

As to how big to make the C: drive? I can't begin to give you any help, because I have no idea how much storage you will need for the applications you install. As to the Ghosts Partition it needs to be AT LEAST about 2/3's the size of your C: drive as long as you use Ghost's compression. If you use high compression it actual reduces the image to about 50% of the C: drive size. But that is a benchmark estimate number NOT an absolute number.

I can tell you that because of the STUPID way that Windows "Side By Side" is implemented that the Windows directory will grow over time. Mine is over 14 GB. 6.8 gb of that is WinSXS. (Don't get me started!) I would set aside 20 GB just for Vista, to be safe. Then add to that the PageFile size (approx. 2.5 GB), a Hibernation file equal in size to the amount of RAM in your machine, then add in the amount of space your applications will take up (mine are about 5gb), the USERS directory (mine is 2.5gb) and you should get a rough estimate of your C: drive needs. Add some "slop" for good measure, again to be safe.

Gary

 

When you use the recovery disks to obtain some of the old apps, how do you pick and choose which ones to use. when i put the recov disk in it gives me an option to restores apps and drivers but when it starts it says "recovering all" and i dont want/need everything. just looking for some of the more essentials like "batterychecker" and things that sound important.

Ive already sorta did a clean install.. just went out on a limb and did it with no tutorials. everything worked out well but im afraid my function and volume keys arnt working... im assuming the drivers and apps installed from sonys website were not installed in the correct order, so i need to redo it. if i want to get rid of all the drivers already installed do i have to find them each in the device manager one by one...or is there an easier way to take care of this? should i just reinstall vista and start over? also i was wondering if anyone knew exactly which apps controlled the function keys? maybe i just failed to install them. i avoided downloading certain things that sounded unnecessary. certain things were questionable... like sonicstage. couldnt remember ever using it before the clean install so i figured it was nothing. im certain it doesnt control my fn keys but im wondering what does. any helpp is greately appreciated

 

Pride54,

My suggestion is that you should just start over again if you haven't already installed a bunch of other software. You MIGHT have luck by trying to manually roll back but I can't say for sure.

If you look at step 11 in the clean install guide you will see the stuff that you MUST install to get all the drivers in device manager. Then you need to complete steps 13 and 14a through 14f, at least. There are some other in step 14 that you might want, but that if you do the above you should have all hardware fully working.

The sequence is important otherwise the function keys and power management may not work correctly. (That's why I suggest just starting over if you can.)

As to your question of what controls the keys it is a combination of step 11a and step 14a.

Oh, before I forget, the issue with the recovery DVD's was you tried to BOOT from disk one. That invokes the "full recovery" app. Not what you wanted at all. Instead while Vista is running pop in disk #1. Let the auto-run behavior startup an application. It will give you the "pick and chose" functionality you are looking for.


Gary

 

Vaio OOBE is ( out-of-box-experience) a vaio application that applies the offers from sony to the welcome center. It also sets up the welcome page for when you first switch on your laptop out of the box(your name and password..etc.. It's not needed once your set up and working. Deleteing this is perfectly fine, you will notice a clean welcome center(without the crap offers!) immediatley.

And if you ever factory recover your laptop with the recovery DVD or partition, Vaio OOBE is automatically installed for that OOBE (out-of-box-experiance) once again.

So perfectly fine to delete, not needed.

 

Hey Everyone,

I want to upgrade the hard drive on my FZ190 (because I was dumb and kept the 80Gig HD) and I was wondering how I can get a clean install of vista on the new drive without having to clone the old drive onto the new one. I'm wondering if this is possible because you mention a lot about using the old partition. I don't see how that would be a problem because you can Down Load alll the drivers and software from the Vaio website or by running the Vaio recovery center from the first Recovery DVD.

Tell me if I have no Idea what I'm talking about,
Borchm79

 

If you have the first recovery DVD and a copy of Vista you can do a clean install with no need for the hidden partition at all.

But if you already have the OS, any other programs and all your data on the OLD drive, why not use something like Acronis to clone it to a series of DVD's and then using a bootable CD of Acronis (it will create one of these for you) to restore those DVDs to your new drive.

Gary

 

Hello all.

I recently purchased a Sony VAIO VGN-FZ485u and would like to do a clean windows install.

I read the instructions by OP but I'm not sure if I should continue with the clean install because I can't seem find the c:\windows\sonysys\WAU folder on my HDD (referring to the instructions on this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2738751).
Even after making hidden files viewable through folder options, it just appears that the folder doesn't exist.

I'm currently burning the 2 recovery disks as it says in Section one - Step 1, but do I need anything else (such as an installer disk for windows vista ultimate), or do I have everything I need after burning these two recovery disks?

Please advise and thanks greatly for your time.

-Duane

 

If you don't have the WAU folder and you don't have an installer disk for Vista then you will NOT be able to do a clean install. The 2 recovery disks are used in the clean install process to install some of the drivers and auxiliary applications you need for full functionality. But you still need a Vista installation disk.

Gary

 

Thank you very much Gary.

I've been following your posts even prior to my laptop purchase and I must say that they've been helpful.

Anyway, is there any reason that I don't have the WAU folder on my laptop?

I purchased my laptop via ebay as a refurbished item (could that be why)?

Also, do you have any advice on how to optimize running my system since I can't do a clean install and don't have a windows installer disk?

I'd like to do this sooner rather than later as I've only had my laptop for less than a couple weeks and haven't really loaded many programs onto it.

Thanks again.

 

The WAU folder was not on all Sony models.

Re: optimizations. I don't really have anything I can suggest other than to look at my clean install document to see what is REQUIRED for your machine and then go about installing any of the other stuff you don't want. One thing I would do is immediately get rid of the Norton stuff. I personally use AVG which is much less intrusive and less of a resource hog.

It is perfectly legal for you to BORROW a Vista installer disk and use it with YOUR license key. That might be an option for you.

Gary

P.S. BTW the two disk recovery set your made will allow you to recover back to the out of the box state, should anything go wrong.

 

Hi Gary

Are there any updates when it comes to doing a clean install on an FZ21S for windows 7?

cheers

 

Not in this thread. There are some other threads here about this. Basically they used the same process, the order of install is still important. Some folks had to use the "compatibility mode" to install certain drivers, to trick the driver installer into thinking it was running under Vista. But I know Dr. Pratik and others have gotten Win7 to work even with all the function keys etc. (Not sure about the special "S" key, or not.)

Gary

 

I have got everything (except the WLAN switching utility) working in my FZ-190E with Win 7 RC 64-bit. The procedure for clean install should be the same as with Vista. You can wait till Win 7 is officially out and Sony releases drivers for Win 7.

 

thanks for the advice guys.

Gary- I never managed to get the S1 / AVmode buttons to work in vista, dont really miss it, so I'l probably just follow your guide as I did a couple of years back.

CoolGuy- If I install win7 RTM (from an msdn subscription) now, and then sony release official drivers on release, will I be able to update the drivers easily?

 

Not sure why you never got S1 and AV to work. The work fine for me and other folks who used the guide.

RE: the win 7 drivers. You are asking Coolguy to predict the future. Who know what or even if Sony will release anything. But if they do I would suspect you would be able to use them. But that is a guess, and a guess is really all you can get to such a question.

Gary

 

You have to depend upon Sony only for their proprietary drivers and utilities (SFEP driver, Sony shared library, etc). All other drivers could be updated easily from the mfgr's support site.

 

Sony is well know for not providing driver support for a newer OS other than the one originally installed. But Win 7 should be able to run fine on notebooks designed for Vista. So, my wild guess is that Sony will provide Windows 7 drivers for older models too.

 

Oright guys thanks for the advice, I will give win7 RTM a go following the vista guide.

 

Hi everyone,

I am in desperate need of the fz190 recovery disks!

I installed a new HD because my first HD died and I can't find the recovery disks I made. Can anyone either send me the iso or dvd's? I am willing to pay up to $15 for them!

Thanks!

- John

P.S. Please have a paypal account.

 

No one here can help you out. Even asking about this is a violation of forum rules. Why? Because the software you are asking for is copyrighted. Yes, I know you have every right in the world to have a copy. But only the copy you originally created, or a copy you buy from Sony. Your only legal recourse now is to buy a copy from Sony.

Gary

 

Couple of quick questions:

Im looking to upgrade the harddrive, and was wondering what/if anything I should do when proceeding with the clean install. I'm primarily concerned with drivers, I've kept my original recovery disks and was wondering if that would suffice?

Another query, when I remove the HDD that is currently running my FZ, would I be able to just put it into an enclosure and use it as external storage immediately?

 

The drivers are not for the hard drive itself, they are for the hard disk controller. So the ones you have should be just fine.

Yes you can use the drive immediately in an external drive. In fact you will be able to see everything that was on it originally.

That brings up a question. Why do a clean install? Why not clone the old drive to the new one? You can do this via the external enclosure and software like Acronis True Image.

Gary

 

ah ok..
i think i just want to start afresh, got soo much crap on the other, would rather just keep it as an external.

So just to clarify, I can put the new HDD in and install win7, and then use the recovery disks to install drivers / (follow guide)

 

That is how I tested Win 7, used new HDD.

 

I am not sure about the use of the recovery disks after Win 7 is installed. But what I would do is make sure you have the installers for each of the drivers on a USB thumb drive instead of relying on the recovery disk.

You should also check around the forum for other posts about this. I know there are several folks who have Win7 running on the FZ with all drivers functional. That includes on screen display of brightness, volume etc. The only known issue is the "S" button. Find those posts BEFORE you start.

Gary

 

Oright, I have a problem

I've installed win7 nicely, put in the recovery disk1 to start intalling all drivers and apps and am getting an error dialog box of "error 500", then the following 2 dialog boxes

"task failed with error: -1"
"CreateProcess error 2:C\Program Files\sony\VAIORecovry\Launcher.exe"

so i cant even get into the recovery disk application!

any help would be great

 

I warned you NOT to rely on the recovery DVD, as I knew of no one who had tried to do it. You needed to get all the drivers onto a USB drive before you started.

Your only option now is to download them from Sony's web site.

Gary

 

Na, i do have a back up of all drivers and apps on a seperate cd.

What is your opinion on coolguys thread on the sony released win7 drivers?

 

Whew!!! Glad to hear that.

I think it is great! Rajeesh and I have corresponded for a long time, ever since I wrote the original FZ clean install document. He knows what he is talking about and can be trusted implicitly.

Gary

 

yehr, I do trust the guy..just wondering of your opinion on installing the drivers from that FTP site?.. is it worth it?

 

I have no idea what you are asking me. If you need them they are worth it. If things are running fine now, why bother.

Gary

 

Why are you asking the same question about updating drivers in multiple threads? Are you using Windows 7 now? If so, you must update your drivers to Windows 7 specific drivers.

 

another quick question:

Im sifting through the win7 updated drivers FTP site coolguy linked to.
Currently trying to install the SFEP Driver, but there is no installer on the original set of drivers nor the updated ones from the FTP.



so im not sure how to install this driver

cheers for the help guys

 

Click the start button, type "device manager", open device manager. Double click "Human interface devices", right click "Sony Firmware extension parser" > Update driver > browse to the downloaded file.

 

thanks for the help

just tried that, and there is no "Sony Firmware extension parser" under human interface devices.

just rebooted and now getting a battery error telling me to remove & reconnect battery while it hibernates itself! everything was working fine till i did a reboot, im thinking its the battery util.

another issue is the pointing device/touchpad; cant get the scroller working

 

Just a quick bump


Still having issues with the SFEP driver.
managed to sort out the battery issue, and the touchpad

Now just the SFEP, and AV buttons/Fn Buttons for screen brightness dont work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

singh100, are you running 32-bit or 64-bit Win 7? You better start a new thread, because this thread is not related to Windows 7.

 

My first posts were to get information on installing Windows 7 Professional while at the same time installing Windows XP.

After reading many posts and after checking my Sony VGN FZ455D, I now realize that my goal for now is to get W7 installed properly. A problem I am having is that the FRZ455D is a Canadian model. The US Sony site has no information on it and the Canadian site recognizes it but that is all.No information re documents, drivers etc.

So, as it currently stands, it is working, bt only just. No function keys, no web camera, plus probably maney other areas that I haven't found yet.

So. my question is, does anybody know the US equivalent to the FZ455D. Could it be the FZ190? The only thing Canadian I can see about the Notebook is that it has a bi-lingual key board. Which I don't want or need.

If you can help, thank you very much.

Ron

 

Even if you found the equivalent model, it's not going to do you any good. Sony is not supporting Win7 on any FZ model. So we are on our own. There are a couple of options.

1. Look around on NBR for threads on installing Win7 on FZ. (In my signature line below is a link to Dr. Pratek's notes on using my FZ Vista clean install guide to install Win 7 on and FZ model.)

2. Upgrade to Win7 from your existing install of Vista. I did this with GREAT results. I recovered over 6 gb of disk space in the process! (Again, my signature line has a link to the details.)

3. Do a clean install of Vista and then upgrade to Win7.

None of these are ideal, when your quest is an easy clean install, but...

Gary

 

Hi. I made a clean install of windows 7 (32 bits)on my Vaio FZ260e. I'm still having 2 issues. Has anyone here managed to make the battery utility and fn+ f5/f6 work?

If so, please tell me how...I upgraded from XP just because I though I'd get back my battery ...

 

tks a lot, bro