Sony FE Series - The Clean Windows Install Game

Finally!

Howto is done.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=1386236&postcount=17

Lookie. Or Just go to Page 2 Of this thread

 

G'day Xantax. The FE15GP and FE18GP are also available in Australia... I'm considering the FE18GP myself, although an extra $500 for the 1.83 vs. 1.66 plus a little more hard drive space seems excessive.

I can't give you any specific advice about a clean install, but your modem/soundcard problem is related... both functions are handled by a single DSP. That's why you only have one unknown device in your hardware manager.

 

I am installing the sony version of windows at the moment to see if I can hunt for some drivers. Also i'm planning to get a copy of c:\windows\system32 in the hope that one of those files will be able to control the DSP for (I'm guessing) legacy style hardware on the PCIe platform.

The FE series is a very nice series of laptop. A little large, but still fantastic. And as for the price, I managed to only pay $2200 NZD for my FE15GP ... The joys of staff discount

 

Finally, man where have you guys been? I posted this last week and heres what's going on. When you do a fresh install all goes well loading the easy stuff. Motherboard was fine, sonys utlis and stuff all went on great. Once i hit the wireless i had a problem. My router stopped connecting to my labtop, so i downloaded the sony driver update. I also flashed my bios because there was supposedly wireless lan bugs. Now my lan works, which bring me to the only other problem i can't figure out. Bluetooth, maybe some of you don't use it but i need it. After downloading 8 or so different bluetooth packs including sony's i could not get it to work. Furthermore the audio driver included in the recovery cd is the wrong freakin driver! the working audio driver is off their webisite sonystyle.com..then click into support. Other then bluetooth i had it working so well, but went back to my old setup because i need bluetooth! Does anyone know how to fix this bluetooth issue?

 

You need to have the wireless switch utility installed before you install the bluetooth drivers. Also, in the wireless switch utility, you need to tick the bluetooth box. Now, flick the switch to wireless, and all this new hardware should come up. The driver you want should be on your recovery CD in VAIO\Drivers\Bluetooth - Funnily enough the bluetooth module is made by Toshiba

Also, I managed to extract a version of wireless switch utility off the recovery cd from sony's .pac files. It seems a little different to all the other versions out there. Not sure if doing the same for you would give you a better version of it.

 

Well!

I gave it another shot, using the Sony Chipset Drivers, and I did it!

FULLY FUNCTIONAL clean isntall of windows!

No little registry fixes needed, no SwitchWI (I have the original wireless switching utility working, and it's fully functional), everything working absolutely fantastic!

If people want to know how I did it, post and I'll write a howto. Be aware it's a longwinded process, involving making your own WindowsXp Cd (Slipstreamed with sony's hotfixes and the current Microsoft ones)

 

I would really appreciate a how to even if its technical. The only time i have to play around with a clean install would be on the weekends. Theres enough bloatware for my Sony to give birth to another labtop... it's still a ballsey labtop in any event! that guide would be key if you get a chance, later on.

 

+1 for the howto Xantax... Sony has a well deserved rep for loading up on the bloatware, so a guide for the FEs will be very much in demand.

 

Another vote/request for a how-to here, XantaX!

 

Alrighty, just give me a few days and i'll get onto it. I'm a little short on time at the moment

 

I have a FE15GP and thought I would share something I have discovered with mine. Basically in the Display settings I can not force the Vertical Sync ON, only OFF. To solve this problem I downloaded Powerstrip and it gives you an option to turn on Vertical Sync in there. I tried for hours to do it, but its a bug in the drivers. even new drivers i downloaded had this problem.

Just in case you run into this problem

 

Okay!

I have realised my brain's memory is ****.

If somebody who is using the Original windows install please find a folder on their C or D drive labelled "Hotfix", containing a whole lot of installer files labelled "WindowsXP....."

Since I have my install working perfect I'm not really in the mood to reformat

 

Xantax...
NZD2200??... wat a steal!... neeways... any chance of us getting a look at how u did the clean install guide?...

Cheers mate...

 

Ive done 2 clean installs with my FE now the first one took a while but the second one took just over a hour and a half from format to finish. To isntall the modem you have to install the sound drivers first, to install the soud drivers you have to have the right chipset drivers installed . I made a ghost image when i was done so if something bad happens I can just reload my ghost and not have to worry about installing it all again.

 

I have installed the standard install that comes with my Fe15GP, but when I loaded to Windows for the first time, it asked me to click continue to install the applications. I pressed cancel and the system ran fine with all drivers and none of the **** software.

Everytime I load windows, it asks me to click continue to install the applications, but I just press cancel evey time as I dont want them.

My Question is, is there a way of getting rid of that bluey/grey screen that asks me to install the applications, or so i just have to press cancel every time I load it up.

 

*Cough*

Somebody with an FE series laptop, running an original sony install or from recovery cd's please post back with the location of a folder on C or D drive labelled "Hotfix". It should contain a whole swag of windows xp updates. Since i'm on a clean install, and can't remember where this folder is, I can't accurately write a howto

 

01 - What you need and Prelim Stuff
- Windows XP Professional FULL INSTALL Cd
- 1x Blank CD's (Or one blank DVD)
- Sony recovery utility disk(s)
- nLite: Download from http://www.nliteos.com/
- CD Burning software (Nero Prefered)
- kcap Sony Extractor Utility: Download from http://xantaxnz.orcon.net.nz/sony/kcap.zip

NB: You need to have your sony recovery DVD(s) burnt beforehand! If you do not have this yet, you are a nutter. Make one using the utility in the start menu, which is only avaliable on an original sony install (Ie: From recovery disk, or preinstalled). Infact, it's probably a good idea to burn more than one of these, incase you loose one of them. And use a good media, such as Imation or Verbatim!

NB2: Make sure everything is backed up. If you don't realise that reformatting deletes everything on your hdd, stop now

NB3: This guide assumes that you have either the preinstalled version of Windows Xp Installed, or one from the recovery disk. If you are using a custom

install, (Partial Recovery Methods should be okay) you will need to recover using the Sony Recovery Disk, to the factory install.

NB4: This guide uses C drive for saving various files for the process. If you wish to change where tempory files are saved, do so, But I reccomend you keep the same directory structure in order to make things easier for yourself

NB5: Not sure how this will impact some Vaio models, but you may need to Download and install the latest Bios update for your laptop. I completed this process on an Asia Pacific FE, Bios R0072J3.

02 - Getting the Sony Hotfixes

If your recovery disk(s) has a folder somewhere on it labelled 'Hotfix', Ie: VAIO\Hotfix, copy all of the files in here to another location, such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kb

If this is not the case, do a windows file search for All files and folders, on C: Drive only, for "kb", ticking the boxes for finding in hidden and system locations. Once finished, sort the list by type, and locate all of the exe files, such as "WindowsXP-KB901190-x86-ENU.exe", or "kb54645.exe" Ie: You want all the hotfixes. Copy these all (Not shortcuts, the actual EXE's) to another location, such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kb

03 - Fetching Auxiliary Updates (Optional but HIGHLY reccomended!)

Now, since we are going to be slipstreaming all the hotfixes into a windows install, we might as well get other hotfixes. Goto http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?DisplayLang=en&nr=20&categoryid=7&sortCriteria=date and have a lookie for hotfixes that apply to you.

It's sometimes better to read the descriptions, because if the update is only recommended for specific problem fixes, they may affect the stability of your new windows install, and they CANNOT be removed from Add/Remove programs once your clean version of windows is installed!

Download these hotfixes to a location, such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kb. If a file already exists within the folder, DO NOT OVERWRITE! Keep the original one, as this could well be an update supplied by Sony

NB: By hotfixes, I don't mean things like WindowsMediaPlayer 10. The slipstreaming process will only accept files which are related to Windows XP Core updates.

UPDATE: Microsoft have released a fix for the USB power drain issue! I RECCOMEND that you download it from http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918005 to a location such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kb so that it can be integrated into your windows share in the steps to follow.

04 - Fetching Drivers

If your recovery disk(s) contains a folder, labelled "Drivers" (Usually Found in the VAIO folder) copy the "Drivers" folder from the Sony Recovery Disk, to another location such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Drivers.

If you do not have a drivers folder on your Recovery Disk(s), look for a folder on your C drive, labelled "Drivers". This is usually somewhere Vaio Related (Ie: C:\Program Files\VAIO\Drivers, or C:\Vaio\Drivers, Or C:\Drivers. It will not be the folder in C:\Windows\System32 However.). Copy the contents of this folder (And all it's subfolders) to another location, such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Drivers.

Next, check your Sony Support website for updated drivers, and download these to C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Drivers. Delete the old versions of drivers from these folders so that you do not get confused. Also, if any drivers are only downloadable in ZIP format, unzip them to this directory in their own subfolder.

05 - Fetching Applications

If your recovery disk(s) contains multiple EXE files in the root directory of the disk, then copy all of them to another location, such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Applications. Also, Check if there is a "Applications" Folder on the recovery disk(s), in the "VAIO" folder, and if so, copy the contents to another location, such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Applications.

If not, assuming you have downloaded the kcap zip file (If not, check Step 01), extract the contents to C:\Windows\. Now, create a folder in a location such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kcap. Next, fire up a command window (Start -> Run: cmd).

Firstly, we want to decompress the headers file, so we actually know what we are extracting! Sounds confusing, but you will find out soon In your command window, type the following. (Simply replace Z with the drive letter of your DVD/CD Drive)
> kcap Z:\sony.pac C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kcap
This will extract a bunch of files to the location above. Browse there, and look into the folders, and find a file called Apps.lst, and open it with notepad.
This will show a whole lot of lines such as " "Wireless Switch Setting Utility" SP-008423-07.apr ". This indicates to us which .pac file the mentioned application is hiding in.

Quickly check where your recovery CD puts it's .pac files. It should be either in a folder labelled "APR2" on your recovery disk(S).

Next, extract the files that you need. Take a look in the Apps.lst file, and use kcap to extract the contents. Ie: For the Wireless Switching Utility, It would be in the .pac file SP-008423-07.pac (Ie: Replace the .apr extension at the end of each line in the Apps.lst file with .pac)

IE: For my install, I only needed to extract the following:

"Wireless Switch Setting Utility" SP-008423-07.apr
"VAIO Camera Utility" SP-010994-03.apr
"Memory Stick Formatter" SP-005054-04.apr

Do this by typing the following in the command window (This is an example, replace the filename of the pac file with the one you need):
> kcap Z:\APR2\SP-008423-07.pac C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kcap

Give it a few moments, then check the folder (C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kcap). Look in the folder named the pac file that you decompressed, and rename the BIN folder to the name of the application you extracted. Move this folder to a location such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Applications.

If nothing happens or an OK box pops up, with something about kcap Version 2.00, you have typo'd something. Check all paths and try again.

Repeat this for all of the other pac'd applications that you need/want.

Once finished, close the command window, and delete the kcap folder. Browse to VAIO\Applications on your recovery disk(s). Copy the contents of this folder to another location such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Applications.

NB: If you already have a folder in your "Drivers" temp folder (Ie: C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Drivers) for bluetooth, you shouldn't need to extract the "Bluetooth(TM) Stack for Windows(R) by Toshiba". If you are paranoid, you can extract this, but make sure you put it in the "Drivers" folder with a different folder name.

Once finished, check your local Sony Support website for any Application updates, and download them to a location such as C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\Applications.

Delete the older versions to make things easier, and don't forget to extract any ZIP files.

06 - Creating The Windows Share

Next, pop your Windows Xp Pro FULL INSTALL cd into the drive. Copy the ENTIRE contents of the disk to a location such as C:\VaioInstall\

Once you have done this, browse to your i386 folder. This Should be in C:\Windows\i386. (May also be in C:\i386?). Copy the entire contents of this folder into your i386 folder in the windows share, Ie: C:\VaioInstall\i386. You want to OVERWRITE all files when prompted.

07 - Creating Your Windows Disk

Now, assuming you have downloaded and installed nLite, run it (It should be in the start Menu).

Click Next at the introduction screen.

Click the browse button, and select your Windows Share Folder (Ie: C:\VaioInstall\). nLite Will Scan the Windows Share Folder. Click Next.

Click Next at the presets window.

Now, Select The Following Items:
Hotfixes And Update Packs
Patches
Tweaks
Create a Bootable ISO
...And click next.

Click the Insert button at the Hotfixes and Update Packs, and select ALL FILES in the location you saved your Microsoft Hotfixes To (Ie: C:\VaioInstall\Vaio\kb). Click the Advanced button once finished adding, and ensure All 3 Tickboxes are ticked. Click Ok, and then click Next to continue.

I suggest that you leave the TCP/IP Patch and the USB Port Polling Frequency settings ALONE.

Ensure that there is a tickbox in the Uxtheme Patch and Windows File Protection tickboxes. Click Next.

Now, romp through the Tweaks section of nLite. This is where you can easily customise how windows acts and looks the moment it is installed. PLEASE READ the descriptions of each item (Hover over with mouse) BEFORE YOU CHANGE ANYTHING! Change all settings at your own discression! Once you have changed everything that you want to change, click the Next Button.

A Window will pop up asking if you want to begin the process. Be patient as this can take some time. A series of Hotfix messages may pop up:
If Hotfix Integration Fails, Click OK.
If a warning window pops up, saying that Direct Intergration for this hotfix is not supported, click NO
If A Newer file already present window pops up, click YES to keep the file.

Once all Hotfixes have been integrated, The Create a Bootable ISO window will show. Change the ISO Label to VRMPOEM_XX. Click the Explore button, and ensure that there is a folder labelled "Vaio" in there. If everything is correct and you are a happy chappy, click the Make ISO Button to begin the process.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE! MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERY DRIVER THAT YOU NEED. MAKE SURE THAT YOU INSTALL THE LATEST SONY PROVIDED CHIPSET DRIVERS ONLY! This should all be in the Vaio Folder!

Save the ISO file somewhere where there is enough space to save it. Depending on the size, you may need either a CD, or if the ISO is too large, a DVD.

To burn your customised Sony Windows Xp Professional Disk, open a CD Writing tool that supports Boot Disk creation (NERO RECCOMENDED), and burn the image file to disk.

If anything hasn't gone right throughout the process, post what happened here before you continue with reformatting, just to be safe

The Final Steps!

Write down the CD Key on the bottom of your Vaio. This is the key that will let you install Windows from this CD. ONLY THIS KEY WILL WORK. IF YOU HAVE REMOVED THE STICKER OFF THE BOTTOM OF YOUR LAPTOP YOU ARE A MUPPET.

Go through the Windows Install process, setting partitions etc. You can delete the Sony Recovery partition if you choose. Do the windows install with the wireless switch turned off.

Once your Windows has booted for the first time, You will need to install the drivers.

This is the driver install order for a FE Series Vaio. (SZ To Come!)

00 - Sony Chipset Drivers
01 - Sony Notebook Control Device Driver
02 - Sony Shared Library
03 - Sony Utilities DLL
04 - Sony Setting Utility Series
05 - Sony Flashmedia Controller
06 - Sony Flashmedia controller Patch
07 - Vaio Battery Checker
08 - Vaio Power Management
09 - Sony Nvidia Graphics Driver
10 - Vaio Sigmatel Audio Drivers
11 - Sony Modem Drivers
12 - Sony Network Drivers
13 - Sony Wireless Drivers
14 - Sony Camera Driver
15 - Sony Camera Utility
16 - Sony Memory Stick Formatter
17 - Sony Touchpad Driver
18 - Vaio Event Service
19 - Sony Wireless Switching Utility.
** - TURN ON THE WIRELESS SWITCH FOR THE NEXT STEP TO WORK CORRECTLY
20 - Sony Bluetooth Drivers (By Toshiba)
** - TURN OFF THE WIRELESS SWITCH FOR THE NEXT STEPS TO WORK CORRECTLY
21 - Vaio control Centre

Reboot between each install. Yes it does take a while, but the results are worth it.

If your Memory Stick Icon still does not show, download the fix from http://xantaxnz.orcon.net.nz/sony/memstickfix.zip and follow the instructions contained within (Thanks To Ronin.Archillies And Co!)

Optimising Startup using msconfig

Once you have everything installed and working Sweex, you can disable things from starting when windows starts using the msconfig utility. To use this, go Start -> Run: msconfig and click ok / press enter. Goto the startup tab.

The only SONY items that need to remain for proper functionality of the notebook (This is for an FE) Are SPMMgr, Apoint, and Switcher. Everything Else can go if you choose it to.

Thats it from me, hope everything goes as well for you as it went for me

If you have any concerns, queries, etc, feel free to post!

 

I have this same problem with my FE570G i lost my bluetooth function after complete system restore and now whenever i try to install Toshiba bluetooth stack, after halfway of installation, it will ask me to plug in the bluetooth device???? but i have an integrated bluetooth. And i dont see anymore the blue tooth icon on the system tray????? please help. I spent more than 1 hour with sony's tech support, but they can't help me, instead they told me to ship it to them. I just bought it a week ago.

 

Check you installed the correct Intel Chipset drivers.

The ones supplied by sony appear to contain an additional driver, which is for a system platform processor, which controls a few things.

Also, make sure you have the wireless switch utility installed, then in it's options select "Bluetooth", click okay, install bluetooth drivers, then flick the wireless switch when prompted.

 

XantaxNZ.... can you please explain in details???? i did everything with the the recovery DVDs not clean install. i have the wireless switch utility installed and i enable the bluetooth, i download toshiba bluetooth stack but can't fully install it because half way, it will ask me to plug in the bluetooth device and i download it from sony for FE570G. will it be that i have the wrong Intel Chipset drivers? what will i do? In device manager, there no conflicts...
Please help! ican't live without bluetooth and thats why i bought this notebook. and if am gonna take it back, i will have to pay restocking fee..... i love this notebook.

 

Using the recovery disks to fully recover the notebook results in bluetooth not working?

 

yes......... will it be that i have a faulty recovery CDs? or i made the recovery dvds when i already had a bluetooth problem? i orderd new recovery dvds from sony mmaybe that can solve my problem.

 

thanks for the guide but its a bit confusing. I do not have a sony.pac file on my recovery disc. There is some other pac file there and extracts a bunch of folders but I dont know which ones I will need.

I DO however have a bunch of exe files in the root of the recovery cd. Is that enough?

 

The exe files should be all you need, just check that everything is there before reformatting (The filenames are a bit obscure)

 

I tihnk the format of the 670g is different... Anyway I fixed th eproblem thanks

 

anyone had any luck with a FE690? It's a great guide, and I could see where it would work perfectly for a FE5xx, but there's something different about the FE6XX. Perhaps that the drivers on the web/recovery CD arent correct. The recovery CD has a GO7400 install and does not do anything when launched off the DVD. When you manually install, it sees a 7600 but leaves 4 'monitors' in the system panel and another thing or 2. weaksauce.

However, from the guide, I got further with it than without it. It did help me get the required HD audio MS patch, and build a great slipstreamed disk... but alas, I'm getting to the end with lots of question marks in device manager.

 

wow! that is so hot!!!!!!!!!

 

Hi to all. expecially to XantaxNZ, and congratulations, but...
Can I apply this procedure to different language versions?

 

Hi everyone.

That looks very well - it's certainly useful.

However, I don't about you, but I was quite dissappointed to see that a factory new VAIO (i have FS315M - I think it is safely close to FE series, didnt find separate topic) has to be run on no less than 65 procesess. After 6 months of usage the time of start-up is a killer (about 2-4 minutes to load up everything). So I am really eager to reinstall the whole C: partition. I am not really PC newbie, more like laptop newbie, so here I ask:
1. How to h... enter BIOS setup (del, F3 do not work) to change boot up options.
2. Why didn't I get Win XP install CD and What-I-Am-Going-To-Do-It-Now-So-It-Will-Be-Still-Legal?

 

Hi, nice tutorial, but after reinstalling windows my notebook keyboard doesnt work anylonger. any ideas why?

 

hello all,
I'm trying to install a fresh XP Pro on a Vaio FE690 that came with Home Edition.
After burning the dvd following XantaxNZ's indications when reeboting i'm getting the following message: please insert Microsoft Windows Xp Home Edition cd ... i quess it has to do with copying the old i386 folder that belonged to the original Home Edition factory install to the new slipstreamed dvd with Xp Pro.
If you could give an advice i would be more than greatfull.
Thanks in advance.

 

Hi,
I have sony VAIO VGN-430N/B, and It has came with windows vista business.
I'm trying to extract the software from the recovery disks using the ".pac" extractor, but It doesn't work.
It seems that the images in my discovery disks aren't ".pac" images (the software is some how included in ".mod" images)
Please, Does anyone know how to extract all the software from the recovery disk??

thanks in advance,
Roger Silva

 

You may need to update the Sigmatel Audio driver after clean install and driver install if your Audio still doesn't work.
1. I needed to install the kb888111.exe, & Windows automatically found the Sigmatel Device.
2. Restart machine
3. Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers
4. Right Click Sigmatel High Definition Audio CODEC > Update Driver...
5. Let Windows search for the driver automatically

Should install updated drivers automatically and restart the machine. Worked for me!