SONY SZ110 - SZ160 Clean Install, Stamina Switch?

Hello, is there anyone who knows how to get the Stamina switch working after a clean install on the SZ notebooks?

 

my one is still working okay..just reboot the system manually after you switch the mode. There is no popup windows; i think the popup windows is part of the VAIO power management thing, which I thought I could download from sony's website so I did not even make the recovery CD but I was totally wrong.

Can anyone who has the recovery CD host that power management setup file somewhere (like rapidshare.de) or email it to me [email protected] ?

Thanks in advance

 

All you need to do is flip the switch and reboot. Nothing to install.

 

he means, what I also mentioned before. There is no popup and also I thought the light changed to orange

 

I know, but the vaio power management thingy, if i remember it right, has the options to adjust the fan speed, cpu speed, bt/wifi on/off, etc. And these are the features that I miss the most.

Can anyway help me to make a copy of the recovery dvds (sz120 p/b)? Willing to paypal $10 and have it shipped to me via Priority mail.

lmk thru pm

 

is power management available separately? I would like to get that too somehow

 

Hi guys, I'm getting ready to do a clean install of my SZ160 and was wondering if you guys can detail the steps? I've done my clean install before but it seem Sony has lots of these programs if you forget to install will cause problem. I know about the hotfix that causes the shutdown problem, but I really want to find out what is the overall process for the SZ. Thanks

 

I just tried turning my SZ off, switched the stamina switch on, when it booted back up, it apperaed that the video drivers were disabled or not working anymore, weird. Its sounds like there is some sort of software for this stamina switch to work properly....

Any ideas?

 

I'd like to get this resolved as well. Anyone with the software or the name of it? I can't see which one it is on the Recovery dvd...

 

I believe it's called "Battery Utility" on the recovery cd's

 

It is the VAIO Power Management, not the battery utility.

With only the battery utility installed, the popup did not appear.

With the power management and the battery utility installed, it does.

 

If you don't mind, what are the file names for the the battery utility and the VAIO Power Management program?

Thanks.

 

I certainly don't want to offend anyone here so please take this as my opinion alone...I've read all the horror stories regarding re-installation of the OS on their new notebooks. I just don't understand why you all try to do a clean install, especially with a new model like the SZ and the many new drivers involved. I understand and agree... there is a ton of crap on these machines, but they can be removed easily if done correctly. I've never done a re-install of the OS on a new machine and I've had NO trouble... I've been in I.T. for over 14 years and have worked with many models. I currently own the SZ-120P,(my first Sony), a Dell 9300, a Dell 710m, and a Dell 600m. As with the SZ, I do the following before I install any of my own applications.... by the way, I have never had a blue screen, freeze up, or other issue with the SZ...I've never had to power it off to resolve an issue... and I have used it for a good 8 hours a day since Feb 25th.

1. Use the Add/Remove programs to try and remove the garbage that way. The majority of it removes easily. Just the applications like Microsoft Works for example... leave McAfee or whatever security programs are installed for now.

2. Delete the leftover folders of all the programs you just deleted and others like those that contain install code for other online services.

3. Run MSCONFIG and disable all the unnecessary startup applications from running. There are always a good number of useless items in there doing absolutely NOTHING for you.

4. Do a Windows Update and get all the important patches.

5. REBOOT

6. Remove all the utilities you don't want...make sure you get all the Add-ons too... for example, McAfee has several apps that must be uninstalled individually. Reboot again.

7. Now, install a good Registry cleaner. I use Registry Mechanic by PCTools. Make sure the utility you use creates a system restore point first! Next, perform a full scan and let the utility clean out the HUNDREDS of orphaned entries it will find. Reboot.

8. All should be well. Install your favorite Anti-Virus utility. In my case I use Symantec... not the suite, just NAV. Now install a good Anti-Spyware program... I use Spyware Doctor and Spybot. Run them both and let them clean out the crap that is already on your "new" computer.

9. Defrag your disk and install the programs you want to use. That's it! Remember to always create regular system restore points.

I am not the casual user that just uses Word and Excel and surfs the net a little.. I have running on the SZ the latest IE 7 Beta 2, Zone Alarm Firewall, Diskeeper, Spyware Doctor, Registry Mechanic, Acronis Disk Director Suite (created a partition for the new Windows VISTA build), Acronis True Image...I keep a full image of the system on a USB portable drive. I always update it after making any changes and I am sure everything is running well. I also use Firefox, Nero, MS Office Pro, SQL Server utilities, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and numerous other system and LAN utilities. Again, I have had no issues with the SZ, or with the other machines I mentioned above. Everything runs fast and cleanly. I also let the system hibernate when I close the lid and don't reboot often... still, no issues.

Do I like the SZ? Yes, so far very much, some gripes... keyboard takes some getting used to...space bar can be frustrating. Battery is loose, the pathetic cover over the dock connector is worthless...very poor design there. Battery time is just so-so, only two USB connectors, and the overall design is larger than it needs to be... given the 13.3", they could have cut down on the size of the cover and used a smaller keyboard, although not as small on the 710m please!,finally, the UJ-832d DVD burner is garbage...utter crap. Never seena drive that has trouble with media as badly as this one does. Why can't Sony use their own drives??? But aside from that, the screen is terrific. In the store I was nervous it was not very bright, but that was not the case... it is very bright with no flaws. I made a few changes to the settings for both the nVidia and Intel on-board to perfect the display. I would also suggest you get the Clear Type Tuner which is a free Microsoft Powertoy download. It will perfect the display of your screen text just the way you like it! The fingerprint reader is great and works perfectly...yes it works with IE 7 too. Wireless has been very good... I've seen posts here saying they have not had good reception. It has not been an issue on mine and I've tested it in a variety of environments.

Anyway, hope this helps some of you a little. I'll be happy to answer questions if you have any.

Rick

 

I can't comment on why others do it but for me there are two reasons.

1. I am a developer so I very often test new OS's and beta software that can destroy my machine. Because of this, I like to run 2 partitions so that I can separate OSand Programs from my Data. This makes it easier for me to blast a C drive and restore it.

2. I am just picky and a bit retentive. I have seen lot's of software that doesn't uninstall cleanly and prefer to know that I have a nice clean registry to deal with.

I certainly don't think wiping a new machine is for everyone but most of us around here are geeks and just like out machines our way...not sony's way.

 

If you're happy with all the bloatware that Sony includes on the shipping image and the restore image then you're probably not going to understand why someone would want a perfectly clean install. So don't bother.

Suffice it to say, it doesn't matter why someone wants to do it, that's asking the stupid question. The question is why is it so much more sketchy to do it with this notebook as opposed to the vast majority of major oem notebooks on the market these days?

Like other's have posted, I'm a developer and I'm going to need to image and repave this machine reasonably often. Comparatively, you are a casual user based upon your post.