Vaio Z Fastest/Easiest 32bit Vista Clean Install

This has got to be the easiest and quickest method of a Vaio Z 32 bit Vista Business install - without all the bloatware nonsense. So simple its perfect.

Just did this method and I couldn't be happier with it:

1. Create Recovery DVD

2. Recover System from DVD's

3. After Reboots when it is at the screen that says installing Vaio Recovery Centre.....WAIT!

4. When you see the middle bar changed to JAVA runtime install or if your slow and miss the Java, when u see Mcafee install.

5. Press CTRL-SHIFT-ESC

6. End all the tasks in The Task manager.

7. Machine will reboot into Vista

8. Install Intel wireless drivers from sony website (The only one required to install)

9. uninstall Mcafee from control panel if you were slow earlier

10. Select QUIT on the Preperation window you see.

11. Reboot.

Thats it you have a perfectly bloatware free all features working / drivers installed version of Vista.

 

I wish it was this easy for all laptops. Great information, has sticky potential for other Z users (and possibly others of the new Sony family).

 

Do you have the OnScreenDisplay of brightness and volume control function keys? Do you have Sony power mangement? If so this is a great way! If not, this may not be optimal for many folks.

Gary

 

hah, good, I ever had the same idea as yours, but I did not know to break off the installation process.

again, good,

congratulation !

 

yes everything is working perfectly on screen displays and Sony Vaio Power management.

If you use my method everything is installed apart from the bloatware...

and for some reason the intel wireless driver but that is easily fixed with the driver install.

done 3 machines with this method and all working perfectly.

 

Hi.
Does your Sony Z come with Mcafee anti virus?

 

I've tried that before, it is not a completely clean install. A clean install has much fewer programs running in the background.

 

cannot see any process in task manager extra over the default clean install of vista? Which ones do you have extra after doing the above process?

Just checked with a clean install from vista and using the above method task manager is identical. There are no additional things running in the background over the normal method. Because you are stopping the install at the point after driver install and essential vaio software such as control centre etc.

Only the bloatware to install from the above point.

yes in Singapore and Hong Kong they come with Mcafee - quickly uninstalled and replaced with NOD32.

 

What you have done is often called a semi clean install. It can work really well.

To establish the difference with a clean install you'll need to compare the amount of running processes with someone who has done the clean install.

 

how many processes does your Vista have after clean install?

I find mine has 74 processes after completely clean install + drivers and application software downloaded from sony, I mean I use other install method using ABR, not this new method.

 

Confirm it working with Z series .After install with this method and all driver working I got 72 processes and consume about 13 GB on C .

 

did you install the application softwares of sony?

I install all drivers and softwares dowloaded from sony.com

including: ArcSoft WebCam Companion, SmartWi Connection Utility, Infineon Trusted Platform Module Professional Package, Protector Suite QL, and so on.

 

I did install everything from Sony except Protector suite.Now it working like just out of the box but with out bloatware.

 

I have below 60 processes if i recall correctly. everything is working fine. including all fn keys and drivers.

 

Hi there got a problem here after I ended the installation the comp keep asking to restart saying "windows could not complete installation.Restart installation" message. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks

 

Will this process work for Z with Home Premium?

 

will work with any recovery disks you create on the Z.

Seen this once before. It maybe that if you end the tasks to early it does this i cannot quite pinpoint why it does that.

Try waiting until JAVA is installed then do it.

73 processes.

 

dekka007, thanks mate, very easy and straightforward method. I knew you could only use recovery DVDs, without much hustle.

Thanks again.

ps. mine is US version, also came with McAfee, and got replaced by Eset Smart Security

ps2. I have 74 processes running, but when I open Outlook, FF3, Opera, Skype it gets to 80/81. Funny thing is when I kill all mentioned, I'm down to 78, but never back to 74 (until I boot again).

 

Your welcome.

However if you really want to see the Vaio Z fly....Install XP SP3 and put a highspeed SD card in the internal slot and use eboostr 3.0 beta with the card - Not sure if this would be of benefit to a SSD model tho.

The machine is awesome under xp and that program.

Speaking of SSD's DV Nation will have 512gb and 250gb (High speed) 2.5" form which will go nicely in a Vaio Z. Apparently the price is suprisingly cheap as well in a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks dekka007 a second attempt fixed the problem. Upon login I have 62 processes running and it goes as high as 75 processes.

 

I am trying to do clean installation following this method for my FW290. I have tried a few times, but none are really successful. I tried to kill all the processes after the installation of drivers before it starts to install the bloatwares (AOL, etc). (I don't know how to kill all processes at one time, so, I did it one by one). I also tried to totally shut down the power, instead of killing them. I also tried to stop the applications, rather than the processes. However, all give me the "windows could not complete installation.Restart installation" message. Anyone has suggestions what should I do? (or how could I kill all the processes in one time?) Thanks.

 

what vaio recovery option do i use, do i go vaio recovery center in windows if so do i restore complete system or restore windows and drivers? or do i restart the comp with the dvd in the drive, and then what option do i select if i do that. I don't have a vista dvd and don't want to accidentally uninstall the os. I've done this on XP a ton of times, but am a little confused with vista...

 

Just make sure you use the create recovery CD Option before you try then no worries. I used the complete system recovery.

I am guessing the other option will work just as well as I believe it simply does nothing with the recovery partition.

 

Any idea if this would work with a Sony SR290 or TZ340?

 

So I never saw java and i don't have mcafee. the first thing i saw was smartwii, then some important looking drivers then mcrosoft works.... about at what % or other programs should i be ctrl shift deleting it?

 

I did it again to no avail.

this is whats going on, tell me what i am doing wrong?

I go through the vaio full recovery process, the first progress bar finishes, the comp restarts, starts second progress bar,
then starts copying program data to hdd
now it start installing stuff, here is the order and what is being installed:

Smartwi
Recovery center
Alps thingy
Some text utility
MS Works
OEM registry
Puma
Roxio crap
Set Auto Failover
Vaio help and support
Welcome center
click to disk and editer
protection suite
vaio dudmenu data?
vaio wallpaper
webcam
windvd
wireless lan driver
vaio hardware
something buisness
renew CPU
then some other vaio recovery center, think reminders?

So If i ctrl shift delete lets say after the alps driver or text utility thing will that work?
some of the other stuff after vaio recovery center seems kind of important, like the text utility, puma (graphics card?), auto failover, Renew CPU
then what is up with the other final vaio recovery center instalation, if i exit out before that will vaio recovery center work?
If i exit out after the vaio recovery center i can install the drivers and programs i want through the program?

 

you can stop wherever you want. And install the individual drivers and software that you wish to install later.

 

didn't work tried ending all tasks when it started installing ms works. but it wouldn't start vista said that the vista installation failed and needed to be restarted. guess i have the only z this doesn't work with...?

 

I had the same problem as you, all I did was end the recovery.exe, don't end the second one ("vista setup.exe" something like that). Once you end that process ("recovery.exe") two new one appears, end the two new one aswell it should automatically restart without those errors. Hope that made sense and helps haha.

 

I've just tried the method the OP posted for a few times on my new Z610. No luck at all. There isn't even a process called Launch.exe, Recovery.exe, or VistaSetup.exe. It could be that starting from the Z600 series, Sony has changed the way the system restore runs or maybe it is because my Vista OS is 64 bit...

 

Um.

Right now, running an antivirus scan (antivir) a malwarebytes scan, with google talk on, I only have 74 processes.

Plus, I didn't even clean install

 

It's called VAIORecv located Program Files>Sony>VAIO Recovery

 

For anyone interested in trying this, it does work if you follow the above advice. You can either kill each process as it begins to load, or you can kill the recovery.exe and the two other apps that subsequently load (leave the vista_setup.exe alone) and then the install will terminate without even trying to load the rest of the bloatware.

The problem seems to be that the various recovery disks seem to load the programs in varied ways. My recovery disk definitely does not load like the OP's.

But it does work, it may just need a bit of tweaking. For example, while Sony Recovery Center loaded and I can manually find it and use it by going to Program Files/Sony/Recovery Center, it does not appear in my Start/All Programs menu. Strange.

 

What I did was to semi-clean install by unchecking the "keep the Sony applications" partition (or what you call the Sony recovery partition). When it gets to the loading programs section, it will prompt for the recovery disc. At this point, I do not load the disc & just click the "cancel" button, it then proceed to automatically continue with the rest of the semi-clean install without installing anything, not even the required Sony utilities (that enables Fn, STAMINA/SPEED, S1, S2, & so on). What I get is an even "cleaner than semi-clean" Vista install. After getting Vista set up, I then proceeded to install all the Sony Utilities that can be found in this forum. Hope that helps.

 

OK. I did this semi-clean install method about a month ago and all has been well. However, I just realized that my keyboard shortcuts (FN and F5 and F6 keys) to adjust the screen brightness do not work.

What driver am I missing? I don't want to start indiscriminately installing all the Sony apps trying to find the right one...I'm afraid I will just end up with all the crapware I just got rid of.

Help!

 

Any help ?