VAIO AR520 - Installing Vista Ultimate

Hello ,
I've recently bought a SONY VAIO VGN-AR520E notebook which comes with Vista Home Premium installed .
At my work we have a global agreement with Microsoft to install and use Vista Ultimate on work's PCs and also on the personal computers at home ( only 1 installation per home is allowd ) .
I am considering to install Vista Premium on this laptop .
I would like to ask you if you know about any problems ( maybe missing drivers ) that I should expect after a such installation ?
Is Vista Ultimate overall a better choice than using Vista Home Premium ?

Thanks in advance !

 

As long as the bit assignment is the same, 32-bit/64-bit, it will be the same drivers.

 

Ultimate over Premium...Absolutely...

Windows Dreamscenes
Multi-Language support
Complete PC Backup (not just the file or drive)
Bitlocker to encrypt everything from a drive to the whole system and so on...

 

Thanks guys ,
I'm going to install the 32bit version although I may choice to use the 64 bit version but for now I don't have any need of it .
Are all the devices on the Vaio recognized automatically by the installation or should I be prepared for devices that won't be recognized after the installation ?
Thanks again !

 

my suggestion would be to use c system drivers folder (in your current vista install) as backup cd and use these drivers during installation.also post your experience .even i am in somewhat same situation of upgrading to vista ultimate.

 

dr.pratik ,
I almost forgot that there are two great softwares which check your hard drive for drivers and backup them all in a separate directory so it will be possible to create a driver directory vefore the new installation and to burn it on a DVD .
The first one is "Driver Genius" and the second "Driver Backup Pro " . Hope that I'm spelling the names right . For sure I've used one of them in the past .
I'll keep you updated !

 

I too am thinking about upgrading to Ultimate from Business, but I was told that there are other alternatives to the few extra features that you get from Ultimate (i.e. third-party media center, security encryption, backup, etc.).

If I were to purchase an Ultimate upgrade, would anything change as far as my Windows OS key, or would it stay the same and I could use my recovery discs (in the event I swapped HD's, reformatted, etc.) for Business? Do I have any way of returning to Ultimate if I did so?

I am really interested in the media center (I've heard that you can use it without fully booting up the computer?), BitLocker encryption and PC Backup...although Windows Dreamscenes sounds nice, lol. Let me know if anyone has any ideas as to our options. Thanks in advance.

 

OK guys - I've found this little software which is able to backup and restore (and also to update ) all your drivers . It is called Driver Genius Pro and it be found and downloaded here - free 15 days trial - http://www.driver-soft.com/
So , I'll backup my drivers by using it from the original Vista Premium and in the case Vista Ultimate won't find all the drivers , I'll use it as backup .

 

i went conventional way ,went to sony site.got all the stufff required.now ass back up went to the driver genius site.i am going to do(install of vista) it today night.

 

Good Luck !
Please keep us informed about how it passed .
I'll delay my installation for the next week since I don't have the time to it before .

 

for vista 64bit
sound driver will not work as it is in 32 (you need to manually change from speaker to headphone and you will not have HDMI support)
this is as far as i know
no card reader driver no motion eye driver and need modded graphic driver to work at native resolution
so i decided to keep using 32bit

and cheers for your new laptop hope you like it

 

Hear Ye Hear Ye Hear Ye,

All is not happy in paradise. I purchased the model less than a month ago and neither the seller nor the documentation stated that you should not upgrade. Upgrading is something that people normally wish to do if they can - so I consider this a serious problem with sales ethics by Sony and Best Buy. Here's the deal. There's a link on your desktop called Vaio Update - it comes installed and therefore cannot be altered according to the live Sony assistant I spoke with today. The link will stop working when you update to Ultimate. Not only that all the updates on the site (they will give you a new link to use: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNAR520E&UpdateType=Updates&Sorter=3&SelectOS=28) refer to Home Premium. If you can navigate the maze to find out Ultimate compatibility for the updates - few if any work with Ultimate - which means - you can no longer get updates for your machine. Microsoft is aware, since this already crashed my computer once and I had to back out some Microsoft updates after they helped me restore my files to before the updates. I managed to save my Ultimate upgrade (which cost a plenty) and are trying to make more changes. The Microsoft live assistant said they were trying to speed up Ultimate (so there are problems with Ultimate period). I find it not amusing that they widtheld usage of the faxmodem from Home Premium -but I am sure this was not small consideration in order to get people to upgrade. According to the assistant Sony is also working on it. I submitted a nasty letter and may still seek to exchange for a Sony that comes loaded with Ultimate or Business in the first place, especially if a solution does not occur while I am still a new purchaser at Best Buy. The main lack in Home Premium is the lack of the ability to use faxing with the faxmodem installed in 520E. This is also a nasty little oversite in sales ethics dealing with Microsoft's Home Premium's abilities. The lock in to Home Premium with Sony on this model could turn into a nightmare - and I am waiting hopefully, but doubtfully -knowing big companies as I do - for some satisfaction from one or both corporate parties.

Proceed at your own risk!

 

I wasn't able to understand if you use the Microsoft "UPGRADE" Disk from Premium to Ultimate or you performed a full installation from the beginning to the end of Vista Ultimate .

Are you completelly sure that the Sony Upgrades for Vista Premium are not working with Vista Ultimate ? It's a little strange since there is not a such big difference between Premium and Ultimate .

Do you know about any Vaio AR-VGN series laptop that come installed with anything but Vista Home Premium on it ?
And if not , why do you expect to see Sony support a different OS version than the one they supply with the product ?

 

Whats the difference between this and the backup in Premium or Business? A drive backup sounds the same to a complete pc backup to me...