Vaio Z VPCZ1 Clean Install

And how do you guys manage to Activate windows 7 after a fresh install using the same Key provided with Sony?

 

How many processes do you guys have running after a clean install? I checked my task manager and it still reports 80 processes running and this is with like 2 programs I installed afterwards.

 

I just wanna know something...I have a purhcased copy of Win7 Ultimate, should I use my serial or the serial that came with my Z??

 

Your serial from Win7 Ultimate

 

Thanks..but then I can't use the same serial on my desktop pc, right??

 

Right.....I believe in the Eula its stated for one desktop, and or one Notebook/Laptop.

 

Ok thanks for the reply Dio

 

I'm about to perform a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate on my new Z..what's the first thing I should do prior to that? Create the recovery discs? Also I want to partition my drive into C and D drives..do I just do that through the Windows 7 installer or using a certain tool?

 

Can I use my Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade DVD to do a clean install of Win7 Pro..? (My Vista DVD allows you to select a version if you don't enter the Key)

 

Guys, I need to know how to Repartition my SSD...and does re-partitioning reduce it's lifespan?? I want to make a clean install and have 2 partitions, C and D..Please someone help or guide me on what to do.

Thanks !

 

Never mind...found the guide by searching in the forums

 

Ok I have reinstalled from scratch three times and Every time while booting up my new z with (4 128gb ssd Raid 0) the boot process gets through the bios and then sticks with a blinking cursor on the upper left hand side of the screen for about 15 seconds before continuing to boot to the login screen. My 1 .5 year old z590 boots 22 seconds faster. Any ideas? This ne z is taking about a minute to get to the login screen.

 

I've been wondering about this too. Although mine doesn't stay at the blinking cursor as long as yours, it still kinda bothers me. It would be great if someone knows how to fix this!

 

Ok I'm having 2 problems now..All drivers seem to have been installed perfectly and I have no exclamation marks !!

First Problem, downloaded original graphics drivers from sony. After Installation I can't switch to stamina mode!!!

Second Problem, FN Keys don't work....! What sony app is used for those??

Thanks guys.

 

I think this is because system need to initialize RAID 0 configuration. Since you guys have 4x128 RAID it will take even longer then for example 4x64. So because of 4x128 RAID 0 your machine will boot slower but once up RAID will make it up for you

 

A question for the experts:

I have re-configured the factory raid configuration (4x64GB) to 2 119GB drives, C and D..If I want to recover to factory settings using the Recovery DVD's do I have to configure the Raid config as it was with factory or just keep my new configruation and it'll recover?

I don't like that one big C partition sony did...

 

Hi, Folks!

An important update on the occasional crashes I had following my clean install. After subsequently chasing down what I thought might have been bugs in a RAM module, and resorting to a lot of sleuthing with WinDbg and on the net, I've discovered that the cause of these lockups was Intel's wireless/WiFi drivers (I've caught them in the act half a dozen times).

The vast majority of folks will never encounter these, but they are real, and Intel has acknowledged the problem(s). It turns out that the drivers can get confused by some routers/router configurations/system configurations/traffic conditions, and when they do, they can generate blue screens, do an immediate reboot, or just crash - I've now seen two out of three of these symptoms.

This is such a weird problem because so few folks will ever run into these issues (perhaps more than 99.99% of people won't). However, something is unusual at my office. I'd seen a slightly different variant of this on an HP HDX-18 notebook about 18 months ago, and it was bad enough there that it debilitated that machine from using wireless at the office. Correspondingly, the only time the lockups occurred on my Vaio Z was also at the office, and via debugging, I've confirmed that this was indeed the origin in subsequent lockups, which typically occur only once or twice per day.

The good news is that it isn't a hardware problem on the Z, nor is it caused by Sony's software, but is purely due to Intel. The bad news? While Intel has acknowledged the problem, the next driver release from Intel, which was supposed to fix these issues, did not. Instead, folks have seen slightly different symptoms, but the net effect is essentially the same. As a result, we're waiting for another driver release from Intel, and keeping our fingers crossed. This is still serious when it occurs - to use my machine at work, I have to disable wireless completely and stick with wired Ethernet, while other notebooks run just fine.

I'm sorry for what wound up being a misleading belief that the cause of the lockups was driver issues related to dynamic graphics switching. That, indeed, was all that I had changed, but the reality was that it was this extremely rare problem with the wireless drivers that was the actual culprit. I've updated my original post to reflect this new discovery.

I hope this clears up this issue for now, and will certainly explain why the vast majority of Vaio Z owners have never encountered it. That's the latest state, and I'll obviously be posting once Intel gets their act together - or at least tries again - with a new release of their wireless drivers.

FYI!
Mark

P.S. One other source of lockups can occur, but would appear to be unrelated to this issue. Very occasionally, while playing streaming video like Hulu, I've seen lockups which appear to be due to nVidia's GT 330m drivers. I haven't yet caught them in the act in the debugger, but this seems pretty likely so far. However, given that these have occurred over WiFi, though in a completely different environment, does leave open the possibility that they're also caused by Intel's wireless drivers. When I learn more, I'll post updates.

 

Hi, HJacobs2000!

I, too, have seen this issue, though I have a 256GB SSD. Indeed, playing with BIOS parameters seems to have no effect on the delay, nor does telling the BIOS to reset to default parameters. It's clear that this delay is within the BIOS itself, since it's still possible to reboot while it's on-screen (as soon as Windows starts booting, it inhibits Ctrl-Alt-Del).

A mystery indeed!

FYI!
Mark

 

Does the new z have slic 2.1 support for win 7 activation?

 

Good work Mark - I've so far had one black screen crash, and it was also playing video over WiFi.

 

Ok this is really weird... After doing a clean install, I still have like 90+ processes running. Anyone else have a similar amount of processes running after a clean install?

 

Hi, Sunfox!

Thank you very much! Chasing kernel issues is indeed hard, but as an ex-BIOS programmer (now VP - sorry!), that's what I do. Some times, the gang will get frustrated with me because I'll post the current status, instead of holding off until I've reached the point of absolute certainty, but I'll continue to do my best to keep folks informed.

I sincerely appreciate your encouragement!

Very Best Wishes!
Mark

 

Hey guys, How did you get the Bluetooth to work? I see the BTTray.exe application running in the background but I don't see anything in the taskbar or any way of connecting via Bluetooth.

 

Solved. You need to install the SmartWi Connection Utility to turn on Bluetooth.

 

HELP..!!

After doing the clean install I am left with a few problems...

1) The graphics drivers wont install, moaning that I don't have compatible hardware..!! I was left with two "Standard VGA Graphics Adapters" (one of which magically turned into Intel HD when I did some Windows updates.

2) No lights on the Hybrid Graphics switch (probably coz no graphics drivers intalled yet)

3) In Vaio Control Center, the options to adjust backlit keys and screen automatically are missing.

4) Fn keys for sound and brightness don't work. (I have installed Sony shared library and event service, but neither show up in installed programs list, so not sure if that's correct)

It looks like I'm missing something else... Any ideas..?

Cheers.

ponx

 

Hey guys,

I own a VPCZ1 and I did a fresh install. Everything works and I have not encountered a problem yet, however I have just noticed my NVIDIA GT 330M graphics drivers have not been installed yet. So I went to the NVIDIA website to grab the latest drivers (197.13 64bit), and went to install them but I got a error message saying my hardware wasn't supported. So I then started to install the NVIDIA drivers that I downloaded on the Vaio site. It was half way through the installation and then it rebooted, and windows error upon start up said has recovered from a blue screen error.

It then rebooted one more time and I checked the device manager and saw that the NVIDIA drivers have been disabled and the Intel Graphic Drivers have been installed by default.

Any ideas?

 

Guys, make sure you do the installs in the same order as this guide. Also, keep the machine in Auto mode and plugged in.

 

I installed all the drivers in order, but got confused with "Sony Notebook Utilities"... What are these..??? And why is "Sony Event Service" not on the list..???

I have a UK model, with drivers downloaded from the European support site; perhaps there are some differences to the US drivers...

Also, does the nVidia graphics package install the Intel HD too....???

EDIT: Indeed the US driver downloads ARE different to the European ones, grrrr..

 

Sony Notebook Utilities (from SONY website) - This utility installs the originally shipped versions of the following Sony Notebook Utilities:
VAIO® Event Service 5.1.0.12290
VAIO Control Center 4.1.0.10160
Setting Utility Series 5.1.0.13070
Battery Checker 4.1.0.08270
VAIO Power Management 5.0.0.12280

Just use the drivers provided in this guide ..

 

Ok thanks... I will try things the American way...

 

Has anyone had problems with the NVIDIA drivers? I still cannot install them... Help!

 

Strangely, the US graphics download drivers are 121MB, whereas the European ones are only 55MB...!?!

funkhurst, which ones are you trying to install..? Is your Z a US unit, or from elsewhere..?

 

wow. seems so much complain on clean install. Are there really any different for clean install and removing bloatware one by one?

Im getting my Z soon. Is it wise to do a clean install? Is a huge performance different?

 

I have the AUS version. See here - http://www.sony.com.au/product/vpcz117gg

I could not install the drivers from the NVIDIA site which are 121MB as I got a error message saying my hardware was not supported. So I then downloaded it from the Vaio site which are smaller and my Vaio just doesn't complete the install and just reboots and automatically loads the default Intel Graphics drivers.

Can anyone recommend how to install the NVIDIA drivers? Or is there a known bug that any one is aware of?

 

Well I haven't tried the larger file yet, but I get the incompatible hardware complaint from the smaller one..!?

I suspect, since the drivers are probably modded by Sony to use the hybrid feature, that it requires that some Sony library is already installed...

I'm gonna try again when I get home from work...

bryan, it's up to you whether to choose clean install or not; personally, I think it's a tidier solution, but is certainly not the simplest...

 

Ok, I managed to fix my woes by installing Sony Notebook Utilities from the US support site, along with their graphics drivers. (The European graphics drivers still wouldn't install).

Has anyone with a European model successfully managed to do a complete clean install using only drivers provided on the European site..??

Also, is there a way to access the drivers from the recovery DVDs (I can't see them so they must be embedded in some restore files somewhere)..?

 

I've done a fresh reinstall and now theres a PCI Simple communcation controller not installed. I've download all the drivers but none installs this controller. Anyone got a suggestion , I've got the european HDD version without a Wireless module.

 

Did you make sure to download the drivers from the european sony site and not the U.S site?

 

Yep I downloaded them from the dutch sonystyle.

 

Hi,

I got my Z11 today and have the same problems. Are there some fixes? I installed all new drivers from sony.... (German Modell)

Thanks...

 

This is the sequence of installation for my Z (AUS version):

1. Windows 7
2. Audio (reboot)
3. Bluetooth
4. Ethernet
5. SD CPRM
6. SD Card
7. MS Card
8. Intel Chipset
9. Turbo Boost
10. RAID (RST 9.6 downloaded from Intel.com) (reboot)
11. Trackpad (reboot)
12. Intel Wireless
13. Sony Firmware Extension
14. Sony Shared Library (reboot)
15. VAIO Event Services (reboot)
16. VAIO Control Centre
17. Setting Utility Series
18. Battery Checker
19. VAIO Power Management (reboot)
20. VAIO Location Utility
21. VAIO Smart Network
22. VAIO Update
23. Intel ME Driver
24. Nvidia Graphics Driver (reboot)
25. Protector Suite
26. TPM Professional Package

NB. Some of the VAIO drivers are packaged as "Sony Notebook Utilities". Check the content and adjust the sequence accordingly.

 

Are you having any issuses with your install ?

 

Sony's naming convention always confuses me.

Not sure if it will help anyone, but here is a listing of the common name/file names.

 

Hi to ALL! I have no problems being clean installing on VAIO VPCZ11X9R. All FN buttons, video switch are working good. But disk data transfer rate in the Windows experience decreases after clean installing from 7.6 to 7.3.
I have 2x64 samsung raid 0, RST ver. 9.6.0.1014 from INTEL, write-back and disk data caches are enable.

Please help how to resolve this problem!!!!!!!!

 

Try running the WEI again and see if the transfer rate increases.

 

No issue with my install.

BTW, I notice Sony recommends the following installation sequence:

1. Windows 7
2. Intel Chipset
3. Nvidia Graphics
4. Audio
5. Ethernet
6. MS Card
7. SD Card
8. Pointing Device
9. Sony Firmware Extension
10. Bluetooth
11. Intel ME
12. Intel Wireless
13. Turbo Boost
14. TPM (if needed)
15. Setting Utility Series
16. Sony Shared Library
17. VAIO Event Services
18. VAIO Control Center
19. Battery Checker
20. VAIO Location Utility
21. VAIO Power Management
22. VAIO Smart Network
23. VAIO Update
24. Protector Suite

 

I had tried it-nothing changes

 

When did you get the 7.6 scores? Was it just after the clean install (no drivers loaded)?

 

I did get it(7.6) on Sony Factory system. I did not rate system without drivers. 7.3 - after all drivers are loaded and write-back and disk data caches are enabled.

 

So I presume the write-back and disk data caches weren't enabled when you have the 7.6 score?