VAIO FW Clean Windows 7 Install Guide

Hello I have just installed windows 7 home premium x64 in a FW11J

There is no drivers for that,in sony support but FW21J and FW41Z are very similar, (I take the drivers from these models x64 Vista and Windows 7)

All is OK fn,brightness,S1 ,volume ,BUT AVmode is NOt working
Nothing happens when I push button


I think the problem is that I dont have installed "sony notebook utilities"
or "vaio av mode launcher",

I have tried with vaio avmode launcher utility but after that ,nothing work

The main problem is ,where is "sony notebook utilities" in VAIO European support? I dont have found them in a model no preinstalled no updating.
Is this utility ready for a x64 Windows 7?
Please help,what I have to do for make AVmode button working?

 

hi im trying to extract the set ups from the drivers, i extract the rar's into a folder and in that folder every time i click uni extract files on the .exe and choose the directory i wanna save them and when is asks how to extract and doesnt give me the option of E_Wise unpacker i get three others ive tried all three and i just get error messages what am i doin wrong?

 

hi every body,

How can I reinstall photoshop, Dolby control center, webcam companion and sony picture utility among others after a clean win7 installation?

 

Is the Intel matrix storage driver needed on the FW490 (Windows 7 Pro x64)?

I can find it on the american driver site but it won't install on my FW45V (almost the same as a FW490). On the european site I couldn't find the driver in the Windows 7-section but on the FTP-server there is a new version (8.9) of the driver including the storage matrix console:
ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/VAIO/ORIGINAL/SATA_DRIVER_INTEL_NON_RAID_8.9X64_B_8.9.0.1023.ZIP

Best regards,
Jens

 

Sony Notebook Untilities is a package of Battery Checker, Event Service, Power Management, Setting Utilities, and Control Center.
In Europe, I think they don't have this package. However they have all seperate utility for download.

 

I don't think you'll be able to get Photoshop and the other Sony software applications that were originally installed. They are certainly not available on the Sony site.

I think you can get the webcam companion from the drivers page of the new FW590

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about the other software, as I would really like back the Sony Movie maker (can't remember what it was called) that came with my previous Vista install, as it had a very good function of creating movies from video and pictures, that changed perfectly to the beat of the music track you added.

There is a link somewhere to download the Intervideo BluRay player, but I couldnt get it to install.

 

They may not be, but they ARE on the DVD recovery sets we all made when we first got our machines. I haven't played with it, but I suspect that compatability mode might be able to trick the Vaio Recovery Launcher into allowing for an install of some of this stuff.

Gary

 

I found this link some where, is this what you tried out?

http://anebg.net/2009/09/20/intervideo-windvd-bd-for-vaio/

and this is a thread that deals with Windvd-bd as well

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=362898

 

Yes! That's the link

I'll try the suggestions in the 2nd link tomorrow.

Thanks very much for your help!

 

thank you for your response. in Vaio support Europe doesnt exist "sony notebook utilities" but I have installed all the programs you have written

Is it necesary avmode launcher utilitity?
I think this is not compatible with windows 7 x64

To make the avmode button works will be really difficult

 

Hi there, i have a FE41M (running on 7 ultimate x32 for a month now and it's great but a few very annoying bugs drive me crazy...)

I have a few questions about what you did:

2a) why is it important not to allow vista to download updates?
2b) I guess I shouldn't allow to update the sony things as well, but in that case I'll have the bugous versions of software-s and mostly drivers which have been fixed, updated since my original vista install (2 years now)... How to get the fixed versions later? Will it be possible to install them to a different op system?
4) maybe I'm just stupid, but ask it anyway: how to upgrade from vista to 7? What do I have to have to do that? I had vista home premium x32 and I'd like to upgrade to 7 ultimate...

Thanks!

 

Hi
I have a FW 140E, and I am going to install the final w7 version.

Should I follow the p #1 instructions?
What drivers should I use? My vista drivers?
My biggest concerns are the graphic (intel 4500mhd) and fn keys. Do these cause any problem? Or they will work fine?

Thanks in advance!

 

That's a very interesting idea! I've always been so hell-bent on performing a clean install only, it never occurred to me to do this.

I'm sure all the purists will say a clean install is the way to go (and they are right), but for the sake of keeping all the Sony software utilities, and the time saved in installing the correct drivers, let alone the time and headaches resolving all the subsequent glitches and issues, I say the slight performance hit (if any) from doing an upgrade may be worthwhile.

 

Not this purist! I wrote the original clean install guide for Vista on FZ models. But when it came time to install Win7, I chose the upgrade path. I did this for three reasons.

1. The lack of drivers on the Sony support site for Win7 on an FZ (they can all be found but its a pain)
2. Win7 is based on the same architecture as Vista so the need for a clean install was not as important as going from XP to Vista. (Architecture wise I consider Win7 to be a Vista Service pack.)
3. I have a TON of software installed that would require weeks of work to inventory, locate install media, install the apps, configure the apps etc.

A inplace upgrade just made sense for me given those three points. It went VERY smoothly. All function keys, S key, brightness and volume on screen display work.

I am documenting this inplace upgrade in another thread.

Gary

 

Guys I'm waiting.
Sony does not support my FW, so I'm really not sure what to do.
I asked the above question because I don't know whether the ones who successfully installed w7 have supported laptops for w7 or they are just like me.

 

I have a small problem here, I just got back to my laptop after leaving it for a bit, and the screen had faded a lot, I could only just see the windows I had open.

It wasn't the Windows 7 feature, as it was a lot darker than would have done and it didn't go back when I moved the mouse or pressed a key.

I pressed the sleep key and then brought it back up, but it did it again slightly after. I also noticed a slight flickering on the screen before it did it.

Any ideas guys?

 

*** UPDATE ***
Windows 7 FINAL Home Premium x64 Clean Install.

Hi Guys!, has been a while since my last update.

OK, I got Windows 7 Home Premium x64 Final with 90% Off Thanks to Microsoft Student discounts! .

Funny thing: Sony says that my FW doesn't have any support or drivers compatibility for Windows 7: http://twitpic.com/mhmw9 . Sony solution? : buy a NEW VAIO LAPTOP! LOL! . As we all know that is FALSE.

OK this is my VGN-FW160FE Hardware:
Chipset PM45
VidCard ATI HD 3470
CPU: Centrino 2 C2D P8400 2.26 3MB Cache L2
RAM: 3GB (4GB soon, thats why I bought the x64 version)
Wireless: WiFi Link 5100 AGN / Bluetooth: Broadcom
Modem: conexant
bla, bla, bla - yara, yara, yara.

Drivers:
I use the VGN-FW590 Windows 7 Home Premium x64 drivers; because it uses the same chipset (PM45) if you FW has intel graphics go for the GM45.

Before begining: I extract all drivers using Uniextract. Why?, because some of the installers complains about the FW Model. So if you extract the installers you can skip this. In addition I prefer install only a few things from VAIO utilites, I hate VAIO Media, but if you liked you need install ALL VAIO Components in order to have AV Mode button funtionality... meh The KMPlayer ROCKS!.

Installation Order. It's exactly the same than my last guide. Actually I'm now sure that this order works for others VAIO models and enables the Fn Keys.

1. Download lastest Windows Updates
2. Install Sony Shared Library from the Notebook Utilities Installer.
3. SUS Setting Utilty Series from the Notebook Utilities Installer.
4. VCC Vaio Control Center from the Notebook Utilities Installer.
5. BC Battery Care (optional) from the Notebook Utilities Installer.
6. Chipset Intel Driver.
7. HardDisk Update.
8. Video: ATI Driver or Intel.
9. Realtek Audio HD - Sound Card Driver.
10. Realtek Audio HDMI for Ati - Driver.
11. Intel Wireless LAN driver, from Intel site or Sony.
12. Modem driver.
13. Bluetooth Broadcom driver.
14. Touch Pad Synaptics driver for VAIO.
15. Memory Stick Driver. Is the “Base System Device” in the Unknown Device section, do [manual] install.
16. Memory SD host driver. go to devmgmt.msc and update the driver manually using the extracted installer.
17. ATTENTION: Go to Power Options in Control Panel, check if the brightness control slide is working OK.
Now, at this point you have:

• Multimedia Audio controls (Vol +/-, Mute, etc) working OK through Windows Native device handler, (no process needed)
• Brightness Control working OK, using the brightness control slide in Power Options.

You can leave it here, and don’t install VAIO Event Service saving about 15MB of Memory, that this process use. BUT if you want the Fn Key functionality Mute, Vol+/- and Brightness +/- , etc, do the following:
18. Install VES2 (VAIO Event Service) from the Notebook Utilities Installer.
19. Install Sony Firmware extensión Parser running the Installer.
20. Install VPM (VAIO Power Manager) from the Notebook Utilities Installer.
21. Install SmartWi it's very useful to manage(enable/disable) the wireless devices: WiFi, Bluetooth.
22. get Acronis True Image Home 2009 and made a Backup, so the next time you don’t need to do this all over again. Only takes about 4 min to create the backup file, and about 3.8GB, recovery from backup takes only a few minutes!.

THAT's ALL FOLKS!

I hope it works for you too.

Greetings!

-Greg.

 

It seems to be possible to recover some programs like Acrobat Standard 8.0, Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premiere and Nero. The following post from another thread is the answer to my question!! I own the same laptop. I will finally be able to recover CCC which by the way stoped working.

I can not wait until the weekend to do my clean istallation of Win7 x64, which by the way I got for free form my University.

 

If I want to install Win 7 Pro and use VT for XP, how did you guys work around Sony's crippled Intel VT support?

I was thinking of using this guide:
http://www.linux.com/community/blogs/sonys-crippled-intel-vt-support.html

Would I do this before or after installing Windows 7?

 

They released a BIOS update to enable it. Look under driver downloads on Sony's website under Windows Vista. There should be a BIOS tab. Download this update. For me, when I first ran it, it said Model not supported. I then used Universal Extractor to extract the actual BIOS update out of the Sony installer. Then it worked and I had a VT option in the BIOS.

 

I don't think it matters if you run it before or after you install Windows 7.

 

It's available on newer models - Have the 200 series, not on that sony support site. What model do you have and what version did you download?
Thanks much

Disregard - BIOS update posted on Sony Support site for the 200 Series

 

I've got a separate question though, have you guys found out how to get around the battery drain problem Vaio users have been experiencing?

Many thanks.

 

Before I'd start a clean install, I'd like to ask something. My vaio asked me to burn recovery dvd-s for the first time I used it. How could I know if these two dvd-s are the full system recovery (= the same thing that is on the recovery partition) or just something to make the recovery partition work?

Many thanks.

 

Actually for most models they are BOTH. Typically there is an option to restore the entire drive (this includes recreating the hidden partition) and there is an option to restore the C: partition back to its "out of the box" state directly from the DVD's.

BTW unless you have a compelling NEED to do a clean install, you might want to look at this thread. There is a lively discussion there on the merits of an in place upgrade from Vista to Win7. The in place upgrade, unlike any other OS transition in the past, is actually working quite well ONLY because the underlying architecture of Win7 has not changed from Vista. The code has, but the architecture has not. This makes for a very smooth transition. But read the thread and decide for yourself.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=430700

Gary

 

Thank you man,

actually I'd really do the upgrade, because i'm having issues with the clean 7 install (bluetooth ang wifi drivers and softwares...) and because I really need one of the sony softwares (sonicstage mastering sudio) and the upgrade would be the perfect solution for me to have the new operating system with some of the old softwares. Thank you!

 

About a month ago I purchased a VGN-FW480J/T. I only installed one program that I use and only have a dozen files which I've already backed up.

My question is If I perform a clean install(what I prefer) with the upgrade kit that I expect any day now, what functionality may/will I lose. And what programs that sony originally installed will I lose??

Then regarding the companion disk....are you able to pick and choose programs/utilities you want installed?? I do want some of the items...but would love it if I didnt have to install everything..and then remove/delete all the "trials" or useless items.

Also, after a clean Install will the hidden partition still be on the laptop?

 

Hello guys,
maybe anybody knows why i can't install vaio update? When i run setup.exe install window is shown and the installation finishes very(read veryyyyyy) fast.
When i look up in the program files folder there are in vaio udate folder only few files...

 

Anyone else having problems installing 7 with update disk?? Any time I try to install either Update or clean install I get a window popping up saying file(s) could not be written. I tried multiple times in each manner....same thing each time.

Why a disk wasnt sent that would give someone the same type of install as when you purchase a laptop I have no idea.....

 

Hello all,

I bought Sony Vaio FW510d with Windows 7, yesterday I deleted original Windows 7 and installed clean one. The system found all drivers and I have a few questions about drivers.

Should I download the new drivers from Sony site or vendor's pages and install them to the clean system or the system can properly works with original Microsoft buil-in drivers?

Second question is how can I install drivers for Sony keys, I meant S1, volume control, AV mode etc? I downloaded Sony parset driver, Sony library driver and Sony functional setting utility but nothing ((( may be I should install first utility and then Sony parser and sharing library driver. Somebody can help me...

And last one question, in case if I need drivers which drivers are better to download, original from Sony's support page or from device vendor's page. Because Sony offer Realtek HD driver from July 2009 but on Realtek's page latest version is 2.36 from 28 October 2009. Or better check all vendor's pages and download latest version of drivers from their pages, not from sony's support page.

Thank you very much for the help guys!!!

 

Thanks mcgregor,
I followed your instructions, and everything works perfect.
Only issues I had was Win7 program compatibility problems.
Ex - had to upgrade Kaspersky '09 to 2010 version, luckily my '09 serial works on it.
Thanks very much.

PS -Im using a VGN-FW21L
I did the clean install using a USB pendrive,Win7 complete installation took only about 12 mins.
It took a very long time instaling the drivers, all downloaded from the Sony site,
Thinking about installing an OSX86 on another partition
Oh yeah , before i forget, this is very very very important- I really f*%ked up during my backing up process.

I had the official Vista which came pre installed on my vaio.
I have a 40Gb 2.5 HDD which I use with a USB case for backing up.
What happened was, I COPIED the 'My Videos' and 'My Documents' Folders onto the external HDD, then deleted the 2 folders on my hard drive.
Then when I wanted to transfer the 'My Pictures' folder - the documents and videos folders were missing from the portable HDD.
During my deletion process, the portable HDD folders had got deleted aswell.
I dont know how it happened but I was bloody well pissed about it.
I had to use a recovery program , bcoz I had emptied the recycle bin.
Luckily all my important docs got recovered, only a few Movies I had downloaded were lost.
I still cannot understand how this could happen, it has never happened to me when i was backing up before.
Well just beware of this.
Take care,
Kaush J

 

Hi guys,

I have an issue upgrading my FW11M to Windows 7.
All works fine except my Blue ray drive.

It is /seems to be reconized by Windows : Optiarc BD 5500A
but I am unable to play a blue ray disk.
Divx works fine, DVD the same.
I try to use VLC and PowerDVD ==> NOK !!!
I try to find the lastest driver, I do not succeed

any idea ??

Regards

 

I have a Vaio FW 139E and am looking to upgrade to 7. As i see here most people are keeping their current HDD. I would like to do a clean install on a totally clean HDD. Is it possible for me to shut down my comp, uninstall current OEM HDD, install new one and boot off of windows 7 CD? I have all drivers dowloaded and saved to a Disc along with 2 recovery discs in case the whole thing goes wrong. But is this possible to do and more over will it automatically recognize my drivers or will i have to install from disk? And if so how much of a pain is that?

 

Also as an unrelated topic but if have a link of info would greatly appreciate, can i upgrade my CD/DVD rw optical drive to Blu-Ray, preferbly one that came with a higher end sony FW comp because the form factor would be great

 

Forgot 2 more things. It is windows 7 ultimate 64-bit and will also be installing two 4gb ddr2 200 pin modules (prob shouldn't be much prob with compability there). Would like to install the HDD and RAM at same time then install windows 7 so as if a totally fresh computer

 

Hi

I've followed some procedures described in this thread for my Sony Vaio VPCCWW1S1E but I'm having some issues when I try to setup the brightness level from the Fn+F5/6 buttons, it only displays 3 levels out of 8.

I set up the High performance power plan and the screen is clear and bright and dim the image using Fn+F5. When I try to make it brighter by pressing Fn+F6 it only goes up 3 bars maximum.

What can I do now ?

 

Hi everyone.

I purchased a Sony Vaio VGN-FW520D/T which is currently sitting in its box...not opened yet/not used.

I'm VERY tempted to start using it, however, I thought I should wait and do a clean install of Windows 7.

I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping our FW forum brothers can answer:

1) When mcgregor suggests to use a Stand Alone copy of Windows 7, will the Windows 7 DVD that came with my Sony FW, be considered a stand alone copy? ...This is of course assuming that my Sony FW came with this Windows 7 DVD copy, because I haven't opened the box yet.

2) Because I have not opened/used my Sony Vaio FW, do I or should I still make a restore DVD(s) using VAIO recovery center?

3) Is it safe to assume that all of the Sony Vaio drivers for my VGN-FW520D/T should be downloaded from the following Sony site? http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNFW520DT&LOC=3

Thanks for your help!

 

Hi
I search in this thread but it look like i'm the only one with this problem... UNIEXTRACT 1.6 don't want to extract Installers (.exe) I download...

Am I doing somethings wrong ?

Uniextract Say:
" REDAUD245.....exe could not be extracted. It appears to be a(n) Wise Installer package, wich is supported, but extraction failed..."

I use E_wise like describe...

Thanks a lot !

 

Happy Holidays everyone!

So I went ahead and did a clean install on my FW520. Success! But...I just noticed that Windows 7 is telling me that the product key which came with my new FW520 is not a valid product key and that it will expire in 2 days!!!

Just a bit of history...I downloaded a standalone ISO copy of Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit from My Digital Life, as my Vaio did not come with any Windows 7 DVD.

During the clean when Windows asked for the product key, it had no issue with the product key that I entered. I wish it would have told me this right from the begininig, as this would have saved me time and I would have not gone ahead and completed all of those driver installs.

Any suggestions on what I should do to get this key made valid? I'm not going to shell out money to Microsoft for a new key.

Thanks.

 

Everything is ok with clean W7 Enterprise64 install on my Vaio FW21Z, thanks for all of you!

The only problem is with the MC and SD cards. I only see the Memory Stick (F:\), and cannot see the SD card.
For FW21Z Sony has not upgrade drivers, I used the Ricoh drivers (MS 6.3, SD 6.3) they gave for FW31.
In DeviceManager I cannot see new device, only the F: (MC). How can I handle the SD card?

 

Hello everyone,

I really need some help here..
I installed windows 7 on my FW-21M however there is a base system device with no driver and i lost all my sony original software!!

So can anyone please guide me on how to download the driver properly ( provide a link and steps) and how can i retrieve my lost software..

Step by step since i m not that experienced
thanks in advance

 

Hmmmm, you MIGHT want to start by reading the thread you just posted in. It contains the info you seek.

Gary

 

Don't know if it has been mentioned before, I just installed Windows 7 x64 on my Sony VAIO VGN-FW190E.

You can find a proper working Broadcom Bluetooth driver here:
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNFW590&upd_id=4871&os_id=49

It is for VGN-FW590 but it will probably work for all older models since it seems to be unified.

You can also find other drivers like this.

Base system device is Ricoh Memory Stick -- you can use Vista 64-bit driver for that if you cannot find newer one for Windows 7.

 

Please someone help,

i downloaded the missed driver from the sony website but it doesnt contain a setup file?!
i just dont know how to install the driver can anyone please help me on this????
its the base system device

 

problem Solved

 

So i i did a clean install of windows 7, installed everything successfully except Alps Pointing Device and Arcsoft Webcam companion 3. i have a FW41M/H, if anyone could help me it would be great. arcsoft charges money on their site and there is no information available for sony vaio laptops

 

hi there i saw in the post that u are reaaly pro in controling notebook instalation so i came to this post to post my question
i have a vgn tx92ps i have iformatted it and installed on it a custom version of xp called windows xp sweet 5.1 verry cool and complete mod of xp
and now i cant use the av button or the fn shortkeys of this awesome notebook and i dont have the software thaqt came with this conputer anyone can help me to find these software and driver to make work the fn shortkeys and the av button mode please ? i really need some help on that i found a website about this computer but its in japanese and i dont understand this language i am french (thats why i am so bad at english ) i was wandering if there is a possibility to install the driver of the equivalent of this computer in usa or europe but i couldnt find it any one can help me please with my problem pleaaaase

 

ah yes btwjust need them on anyworking system win xp win vista or win 7 i just need the fn key with the shortcut working and especially the av ;ode button working the driver for wifi sound and graphics will be recongnized automaticly by any windows thats why i am not asking over them if any one ave the solution for my problem please let me know thank you

 

redius,

Please don't hijack a thread that has nothing to do with the question you are asking. This thread is about a different model and different OS than your question. Find an appropriate thread or start a new one.

Also are your shift keys and period key broken? A gigantic run on sentence like that is rather hard to read. I am pretty sure French uses punctuation too, non?

 

i tryed to instal the notebook utilities for tx series it stops and says this instalation is not adapted or suitable for your configuration pleasee tell me what to do what to install to get this notebook work again with all the shortcut and software that came with it