Restoring windows on vaio without having factory applcations installed

I have a vaio laptop with a pre-installed xp windows. I want to reinstall windows but I don't want to have the other applications that came with my laptop (like norton internet security trial versian) to be installed. How can I do this?

 

you just install a clean copy of windows... no other way I know.

 

How can I do that when I haven't got a windows cd?

 

If you don't have a separate copy of Windows and want to do it from the Recovery CDs, it depends which laptop you have. There are various clean install guides posted on the forums but the steps will be somewhat different for each laptop. You should do a search for your specific laptop both in this forum and the owners' lounge forum for your model.

 

well, I searched for my laptop model in this forum, but I found nothing anout reinstalling a clean windows on it. my laptop model is: Vaio VGN-FS715P/W

 

What you are describing is what has been called here a "semi-clean" install. Try looking that up. It has been written up for several models. Basically it involves starting the restore process from the Sony recovery disk set and then interrupting the install process at just the right moment. That is an overly simplified description.

Gary

 

Since you have an older model, there isn't an owner's lounge for yours and there won't be as many people on here with the same computer so I don't know if you'll find specific help. You may have to experiment with your Recovery CDs to figure out when to interrupt the install process. As an example of what you'll need to do, I'll give you a link to a Win 7 install for the F series using Recovery discs: Sony Vaio F Series Windows 7 64-bit Clean Install Using OEM Recovery Discs
You will then need to install the drivers and other necessary files from your Sony eSupport page.

Until a few months ago, it would have been possible to get a free copy of XP from Microsoft and use your key on the bottom of your laptop to install it but Microsoft stopped providing that in order to force people to Win 7. You can still find copies to download on the web and then use your laptop's XP key to license it, but you will have to determine for yourself the safety of those files and what you are comfortable with. If you get a copy of XP and install using your key, you can then follow the instructions on the sony esupport site for downloading necessary files and drivers for your laptop.

 

Thank you guys, I think I have got it!!