The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Vaio Z Windows 7 -> XP -> 7, possible??

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by spystalker, Nov 9, 2009.

  1. spystalker

    spystalker Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hi everyone
    I'm planning to buy Vaio Z soon.
    But I really wonder if this is possible:

    Vaio Z originally windows 7 then use the supplied downgrade XP disc to downgrade to windows XP, and then upgrade back to windows 7

    Thanks guys. ;)
     
    spystalker, Nov 9, 2009
    #1
  2. Numer0bis

    Numer0bis Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    44
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    may I ask why you would like to do that?
    Anyway windows 7 does not support upgrading from windows xp. You need to make a clean install. So no, it won't be possible.
     
    Numer0bis, Nov 10, 2009
    #2
  3. spystalker

    spystalker Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hi numer0bis,
    Just in case that i don't like the XP in the laptop, so i can change back to windows 7
     
    spystalker, Nov 10, 2009
    #3
  4. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    4,843
    Messages:
    8,389
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    205
    XP is in over 90% of all cases a pointless OS nowadays - I just suggest you stick with Win7.

    (outdated, doesn't utilize the hardware very well, overpatched - every system patch slows it down a bit)
     
    DetlevCM, Nov 10, 2009
    #4
  5. ShadowFlare

    ShadowFlare Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    6
    Messages:
    98
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    If Windows 7 comes pre-installed, then you should have a Windows 7 hidden recovery partition. Create the Win 7 Recovery Disks before downgrading to XP, if after downgrading to Win XP and want to come back to Win 7, just use the Recovery Disks.

    Or I think you can press F10 while your Vaio Z is booting, right on that first screen it displays when you just switched on the Z. You can restore to its original factory Win 7 from the hidden partition this way too without having to make the Recovery Disks.
     
    ShadowFlare, Nov 10, 2009
    #5
  6. Steve78

    Steve78 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    39
    Messages:
    591
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Why would you want to downgrade to XP from 7? From Vista I could almost understand, but to downgrade from 7 is madness. Even simple things like better power management make Windows 7 essential.
     
    Steve78, Nov 10, 2009
    #6
  7. dLo GSR

    dLo GSR Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    while the Z works perfectly fine under sony-provided XP (minus on-the-fly switching between STAMINA and SPEED), as someone who went from the XP "downgrade" up to windows 7, i see no reason for me to turn back. while W7 has a very slight learning curve for XP users with no vista experience, it's not that hard, and if you really really really need XP for some reason, there is a built-in virtual machine for it (although i've heard Sony's OEM W7 disables it).

    bottom line... as someone who used XP on their Z for 10 months... don't bother trying to down to XP and back to W7. just stay with W7. you're going to have to eventually anyway.
     
    dLo GSR, Nov 10, 2009
    #7
  8. spystalker

    spystalker Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Woaah...
    I really appreciate advices from you guys.
    I guess later on I will stick with windows 7 then.

    Thanks a lot!!!!! :D
     
    spystalker, Nov 10, 2009
    #8
  9. WillysJeepMan

    WillysJeepMan Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I purchased a 2nd harddrive for my Vaio NW and installed XP on it. (still tracking down a few drivers). For raw horsepower processing and compatibility XP is still king. Win7-64 still has the incompatibilities that Vista-64 had.

    The difference in performance is quite noticeable. The NW handles Win7 very nicely... it is a pleasant experience, but XP on it flies.
     
    WillysJeepMan, Nov 10, 2009
    #9
  10. Steve78

    Steve78 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    39
    Messages:
    591
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    31
    It's not all about raw speed though. XP will be very fast because it's very basic compared to Windows 7. But I find Windows 7 on my Z series to be extremely quick. Personally speaking, Windows 7 gives me a better computing experience. Even if it was slower than Vista I'd stick with it!
     
    Steve78, Nov 10, 2009
    #10
  11. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    4,843
    Messages:
    8,389
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    205
    What you are forgetting - yes XP may load quicker - but is it actually better when you do CPU/GPU intensive stuff?
    In XP all windows are drawn by the CPU at all times.

    Since Vista its the GPU - and a fullscreen mode shuts that down - hence the slower change from full screen.
     
    DetlevCM, Nov 10, 2009
    #11