The Ultimate Squeaky Clean Install Instruction for SZ3xx with Win XP

I have compiled and tested a clean install Windows XP instruction for Sony SZ-300 series. If you follow my instruction, you should have a very clean system without any bloatware whatsover. I have tested everything and all functionalities seem to be working perfectly including the HotKeys, STAMINA/SPEED switch, Camera Utilities etc. I have ensured that every link posted in this instruction points to the most up to date drivers and utilities you could find.

I have tested this instruction with SZ-381P. But it should work with all SZ-300 models without any modification. The instruction for other SZ models are similar but you have to download the drivers for the respective models.

What to do before installation:
1. Disconnect all external peripherals, including Sony own Memory Card Adapter VGP-MCA20. Remove the adapter from the Express Card slot of your notebook. You can reconnect the adapter later after you install the OS.
2. Make sure the Performance Selector Switch is set to SPEED and Wireless Switch is set to ON.
3. Backup all your data files and other files that you can't afford to lost.
4. Your notebook should run from the Power Adapter but make sure that the Battery is also installed. The battery need to be in place when installing Cingular Wireless modem and utilities. Not needed if your model doesn't come with Cingular WWAN module.
5. Some installations require the use of a 3rd party extractor utility called Universal Extractor. Download and install Universal Extractor. To manually extract a program, right click on the program and click "UniExtract to Subdir".
6. Some installations require Recovery DVD. Please have your Recovery DVD ready. Please note that your DVD drive letter must be set as D: drive. If your DVD drive is not set as D: drive, you have to change it. To change the drive letter, go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management. Right click on the DVD drive and click Change Drive Letter and Paths. You should see a list of drive letters and you need to choose the letter D. If drive D: is not available in the list, you have to change the current drive that use D: to something else.

Installation Sequence:
During the following drivers and programs installation, you may see "Found New Hardware" Pop-Up Window. Please ignore it. The Pop-Up Window should disappear once all the programs and drivers have been installed.
You should install everything in the exact order. If you do it in the wrong order, it is possible that some of the programs may not work.
01. Latest BIOS from Sony website. This should be done before installing the OS.
02. Windows XP with SP2. If your XP CD doesn't come with SP2, it is highly recommended that you slipstream (combine) XP CD with SP2 before installing the OS.
03.
Intel 945GM Chipset driver.
04. Microsoft KB909667. This will fix a problem when the notebook stops responding during standby or hibernation operations or when you try to use the Shut Down command.
05. Sony Notebook Control Device Driver.
06. Sony Programmable I/O Control Device Driver Utility.
07. Sony Shared Library.
08. Nvidia GeForce Go 7400 driver. You need to manually extract the driver with Universal Extractor. After you extract the driver, you should see "TEMPEXEFOLDER". Go to Device Manager -> Other Devices -> Video Controller (VGA Compatible) -> Reinstall Driver and point the directory to "TEMPEXEFOLDER".
09. Set the Performance Selector Switch to STAMINA. Reboot the notebook. After rebooting, you may notice "Found New Hardware" Pop-Up Window. Please click Cancel to close the box and install Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver. Set the Switch back to SPEED and reboot after you are done.
10. SigmaTel Soundcard Device Driver.
11. Conexant Modem Device Driver.
12. Marvell Yukon Ethernet Card Device Driver.
13. Sony Visual Communication Camera Device Driver.
14. Intel PROWireless 3945ABG Network Connection.
15. TI Flash Media Controller Driver.
16. Toshiba BlueTooth Device Driver and Utility.
17. Fingerprint Sensor Device Driver.
18. "TPM driver" from Recovery DVD.
19. Wireless Modem Device Driver. Not needed if your model doesn't come with Cingular WWAN module.
20. Sony Notebook Utilities.
21. "Sony Image Filter Driver" from Recovery DVD.
22. "Wireless Connection Utility" from Recovery DVD.
23. "VAIO Wireless LAN Setup Utility" from Recovery DVD.
24. UPEK Protected Suite QL. Use Universal Extractor to manually extract and install the software. This new version is compatible with IE 7 and FireFox 2.x.
25. Touchpad Driver and Utilities.
26. "VAIO Power Management" from Recovery DVD. Before you install, you have to temporarily disable VAIO Event Services. To do this, click the Start button -> Run... Type services.msc and click OK. Right click on "VAIO Event Service" on the list and click "Stop".
27. HDD Protection Driver.
28. VAIO HDD Protection Software. You must disable VAIO Event Service first.
29. VAIO Central.
30. Adobe Reader 7.09.
31. Activate Windows XP and install all the security updates and patches from Windows Update.
32. Microsoft KB896256. This will fix problem with computers with Power Management Features that may experience decreased performance.
33. Roxio Easy Media Creator. Not needed if you want to install your own CD/DVD burner software.

That's it folks. You now have a perfectly clean and functional SZ notebook without any bloatware whatsoever. You should notice that your laptop boots much quicker and most programs run faster because the laptop doesn't have all those bloatware floating around and steal system resources.

Good luck and have fun