Vista clean Install without a vista DVD

I just did a clean install on my Vaio SZ6 using the WAU-folder and creating a disc with vLite. Problem is that I dont seem to be able to install the swedish language now. The system is pure english. My factory install has swedish language pack installed and I dont know how to achieve it now.

When I did the clean install i could only choose english as language. Any ideas?

Edit: I did a Sony Recovery to factory install to create a new disc from WAU, I thought maybe I did something wrong with the language but now I cant find the WAU directory. Maybe it was just there BEFORE i did the recovery?

 

Hello!

Hi, and thanks for a great guide!

Thought I already posted this here but maybe I didn't press the "post" button or else this exact post might be found in totally other forum

Anyway my questions / thoughts:

1)

When trying to create a ISO with vLite (v.1.1.1) on my AR51J after choosing the source (C:\WAUUPGRD) and my operating system (Vista Home Premium), the "ISO" button is greyed out.

Not untill I go into "Tasks" and then choose "Bootable ISO" THEN the "ISO" button lit up and I can create a ISO or burn it directly to disk.

This might be common knowledge to you guys but it dosn't say in the guide at page 1, it might be because in an earlier version of vLite you didn't have to do this, just wondering if I have done the right thing?

2)

vLite v.1.1 is reported as a virus so I can only use the latest v.1.1.1, any idea's on why? I am downloading it from the official homepage so I hardly think its a virus?

3)

Another fellow who recommended this guide said I should "backup my activation key" before attempting this, I havn't seen this step or procedure in the guide, where can I find my activation key and how do I back it up (just write it down or do I need to copy files etc.)?

The Vista license key printed at the bottom of my VIAO, that isn't the activation key but the serial, or is it?

Once again, thank you for a great guide!

Thanks in advance - TheSwede86

 

I don't know about the language pack. Once you did a clean install you have no chance of getting back the WAU folder. You can buy a windows anytime upgrade dvd in swedish language and then try a clean install. But as far as I know the WAU dvd is available only in the U.S. currently.

 

You didn't read the first post fully. I had mentioned about the acitivation method and clean install instructions.

 

Ok I've read the very first post which is the guide and I can't seem to find what you mean.

The only thing I can see that is relevant is this:

"I had referred Scuderia's (Gary) clean install guide for the sony driver/software installation and Orev's(Clean install guide in HP section) method for activation of windows vista."

But there are no links there etc. so I should go into the HP forum and look for the guide there to be able to learn how to recover the activation key?

I would really appreciate if you could clarify this for me and explain it so I can't misunderstand it.

Best Regards - TheSwede86

 

O.k I just posted the links.

 

Thank you very much

 

You are welcome.

 

Hi coolguy,

I don't have the folder on my Vaio, do you know that is because I had done Semi-clean install, which is run recovery then stop the Launch.exe application from Sony ??

 

Yes that might be the reason. You can get a WAU DVD from microsoft for $7.

 

Guys,

I have a folder named 'WAU_Reg'

And i DONT have WAU folder.

Can i burn Vista DVD?

 

The size of that folder should be 2.52GB if that's the right WAU folder.

 

After a clean or semi-clean install the WAU folder goes way. But if you did the Sony recovery set of DVD and recovery the Vista to out of the box original installation, the WAU folder will come back again, isnt't it?

 

Hi folks,

Q1: Does Coolguy method work for For "Systems that have Vista with SP1" ... I guess not?

Q2: If not ... is there instruction on to make "Back-Up" Recovery Disk for Vista SP1?

Thanks,

G!

 

This thread should help you.

 

Yes there is no way of getting the WAU folder back after a semi-clean install. I am not sure about the recovery process

 

Ok! I'm just waiting my new FZ350AE arrives, probably next week, to try these procedures. I will post the results here as soon as I did it.

 

THANKS Coolguy.

G!

 

Thanks for the guide!!

 

You are always welcome.

 

I would not count on having a WAU folder on your FZ, I don't think they are doing that any longer. Any upgrades are done online now. I did not have a WAU folder and had to get a Vista disk elsewhere (I used the method in the thread coolguy posted above in post #115). But I did have SP1 as a seperate item on my Restore partition and after I did a clean install, I used the Recovery Center to update back to SP1.

 

You can't Upgrade online. You can only buy an upgrade license. MS will send you the upgrade DVD and the product key by mail.

 

Sure you can - I have clicked through Control Panel > Windows Anytime Upgrade to see (link takes you to the Windows Marketplace) and you get a digital locker with your license key and you download the software. They even tell you HERE to "...write down your new 25-character Windows Vista license key before beginning the upgrade or you will not be able to activate Windows Vista."

This page I have linked is the instruction page for UPGRADING ONLINE and DOWNLOADING the software - no mention of mailing anything to you.

 

Weird, when I do the same, it says that "A DVD will be mailed". I think it's different for the newer sony's. I got a different message before doing the clean install.

 

Exactly, I believe the change came when SP1 came out because obviously the WAU folder would not have SP1 in it. And around the middle of April, you could not even order DVDs/CDs for about 2 weeks. They are driving as much as they can online now.

 

Hey! Im a new Sony AR user and I've just went through this thread - great job! I will give the clean installation a go, I only hope it will work for AR as well as for other VAIO models.

Btw, does BluRay require any supporting drivers to be installed when Im done with the clean installation of Vista?

 

I am sure it does - there are specific drivers for the Blu-Ray drive for the FZ, so I am sure it is the same for the AR.

 

Hi

I dunno if this is been brought up already! ITS BEEN MOVED!

but the wauupgrd folder is still on a FZ31s the lastest model from sony its hidden on the drive at C:\wauugrd just go into folder options and click show system files then go to drive C: I created a Vista DVD clean install DVD perfectly using Vlite final 1.6 FINAL the beta would not work!

 

Cool - there goes my theory!

 

Thanks for the information Aibo82. This directory was mentioned in my original post.

 

Does it actually speed your system up doing it though?

 

There is not much performance difference between clean installing and uninstalling/defragmenting/disabling excess start up programs.

 

GUys, I don't have that folder on my CR11, it's got Home Basic.

 

Hello, I'm not finding a WAU or WAUUPGRD folder on my machine. I followed these steps to see whether my laptop is pre-configured with the WAU content:

> 1. Click start and then enter "windows anytime upgrade"
> 2. Go to windows anytime upgrade and then select the "upgrade to option".
> 3. Now in the "then upgrade option" it will be clearly stated whether your computer is pre-configured for an upgrade by the manufacturer. If it says so, then you can burn your own Vista install dvd using the method given below.

When I do those steps, in the "Then upgrade..." option it says "You do not need to purchase a Windows Anytime Upgrade disc, because your computer has already been configured for the upgrade by the manufacturer." That sounds promising, so I downloaded vLite and got started.

HOWEVER, I'm not finding any WAU or WAUUPGRD folder, even when I specify "Show hidden files and folders" in my browsing, or "Include non-indexed, hidden, and system files" in my advanced searching.

Is there some other name that this folder could have? I have a Sony Vaio VGN-TZ130N, 32-bit, Vista Business, no SP1.

Thanks for any help!

 

Aha. I did a semi-clean install when I first bought my machine, so maybe that's why I have no WAU folder. I did make recovery dvds before my semi-clean install, so I will try those and see what happens....

 

Well,not quite "less than ten bucks".

They charge I think more than ten bucks ($12 or so, thought don't recall for sure) for "shipping", which is absolutely ridiculous, since their actual cost for sending a CD through the mail is less than $1. So, the actual price is more than $20.

I don't like to do business with dishonest companies such as the one listed, that lists one price, then adds a fake "shipping charge" to inflate the price more than double!

The actual cost to the vendor for these disks, sent to them by Microsoft, is probably the grand price of $00.00!

I'm looking for one of these Vista upgrade disks now too, but am not inclined to buy from that vendor. Anyone else know of any sources for it?

 

Hey to all and a BIG thanks to coolguy for this thread and ScuderiaConchiglia for all the effort. Also to others who contributed to this very helpful thread.

I have an FZ-31Z which I did a clean install on. I thought I should let you know that the order of driver installation is not necessary at all and you can actually cut down installation time and amount of restarts by installing everything at once and then just restarting Vista once everything is installed.

After the restart, open up device manager and you should have 2-3 exclamations. Just right click on them and update drivers, point to your Windows folder, make sure subfolders are ticked aswell.

Windows should find the driver for the specific device and install it without any restarts needed! This should work for FZ11 and FZ21 users aswell, but I'm not 100% sure.

I hope this helps some of you out there to speed things up a bit; the recovery disc startup and the restarts are really annoying and time consuming.
Just my small contribution. Thanks again coolguy & ScuderiaConchiglia!

/Hotan

 

That is not 100% correct. While you are most likely right that the drivers themselves can be installed in any order, there are some dependencies on the LIBRARIES that require them to be installed first. Likewise with the apps that control the function keys and power management. While these are not technically drivers, they too have certain dependencies that require a specific order of installation.

Regarding the single restart, again that is probably OK for the actual drivers, but when installing the libraries and auxiliary apps, a reboot MIGHT need to be done for the libraries to be correctly registered. I can't verify that, but better to be safe than sorry.

Gary

 

Hey Gary,

Well, not sure how earlier versions of Recovery Center look, but in the FZ31's case, there are 2 tabs, one with programs and one with drivers. I was referring to the driver tab, where only drivers are listed. I actually wrote the "driver" text in bold in my last post just to show what I meant

This is the actual process I just went through so I am 100% sure it works! Just select all of the items listed in the drivers tab and you're good to go. I just remembered something though. There is a Intel WLAN driver listed on the program tab which I also ticked.

/Hotan

 

I realized that you were talking only about the drivers. But many folks here (especially folks not too familiar with such technicalities) call the libraries and auxiliary apps that control the function keys, OSD and power management "drivers" as well. I know it's wrong, but nevertheless a common mis perception.

I am glad the process worked for you, but want to caution folks that Sony has always insisted that the libraries should be installed before the drivers. I am on my third Sony dating back 10 years and every one of them has had this same warning when doing a clean install. The implication was that one or more of the drivers had a dependency on the libraries. Your experiment seems to belie that, at least on your particular model. And since most of the drivers are third party one, there is little chance that those would have ANY such dependency. Who knows why SONY has always suggested this order. It may be some legacy thing, dating back to when Sony provided many of their own drivers, rather than mostly third party ones.

Like I said, I do know that if you use the more commonly extended definition of "drivers" to include some of the other stuff that Sony requires to make the hardware fully functional, i.e. the function keys, OSD, power management etc, then the sequence is VERY important.

I do think your suggestion of a single reboot after all TRUE drivers are installed is spot on and a real time saver.

Gary

 

Hi, i have read the hole 14 pages so far on this thread, and guess what, I don't have the WAU hidden folder either.

Does anyone know if some of the FZ 180E owners had the same issue?

On the other hand, i don't know if there still is a Windows Anytime Upgrade to purchase.

regards

PS. I have already enable the show hidden folders option

 

I have the sony Z11 WN and cannot find the folder anywhere (Have shown hidden files and searched). When I check for Windows Anytime Upgrade I do not get any of the messages that are mentioned in this thread, all I get is the pushed to Microsoft website to purchase and upgrade.

No Vista DVD with pc, so no way of doing a clean install. Anyone else in UK had this problem and how did you get around it?

Thanks
TC

 

Is there a way to download this from somewhere and install?

 

Anyone here tried Vista clean install in VAIO VGN-CS series? My laptop model is VGN-CS16GQ. Im planning to do clean install but im hesitant if the procedures mentioned in other VAIO models are applicable for VGN-CS model.

Im desperate to do clean install since my laptop is so slow when it boots-up. It took 2mins from power on until showing the vista side bar. The normal operation is also slow. I've tried everything (defrag, Ccleaner, Change MS-Config & etc) to speed-up vista performance but it did not change.

The spec of my laptop below;

CPU : Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz)*1*2
Main Memory : 3 GB
System Bus : 1066 Mhz
Memory Bus : 800Mhz
Cache Mem : 3MB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300M GS notebook (128MB dedicated)
Hard Disk : 250GB

 

This method will work for Sony laptops released prior to Vista SP1.

 

Removing unnecessary start up programs, services would yield the same performance as a clean install. I tested this myself.