Where are the XP drivers for SZ4xx series?

I have a Sony SZ480 and need to install XP but I don't see any XP drivers available?? please help.

Thanks,
kris

 

Hi Kris,

Seems like you're not alone.
I've been searching through the forums and I couldn't find a specific page which helps me either.
Vista breaks most of my apps and I can't even access my own wireless network.

I really need to get my computer up so I'm downgrading to my older version of XP. Now I'm stumped at the lack of drivers...
Quite shocked. I never knew I'd hit such a problem with Sony's stuff...

 

Sorry, so did Sony made the SZ3xx Series XP Driver not compatible with the SZ4xx?

 

Not sure.

I found another thread with some help for drivers but nobody's tested them yet.
It's quite appalling for Sony not to support XP for their machines. It's not as if XP has been thrown out the window by Microsoft like 9X or NT4.

Check out this link.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1788142#post1788142

Bogard has a very very helpful link to the drivers.
Yet to test them out though.

 

Hi whwtan,

Thanks for your reply. I am too having trouble running all my apps on XP, especially VPN not to mention it takes forever for it to boot up and get on the network. I figured I would install the XP drivers for the SZ3xx i'm guessing the hardware is the same. Not sure if anyone has tried this. I am too shocked Sony has only Vista drivers available for the SZ4xx. Vista is a long way from completely "replacing" XP. Personally I would wait until Vista SP1.

Kris

 

I downloaded and installed on SZ430N/B all XP drivers from

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/Vaio/Ori...Z3_Drivers.zip

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/Vaio/Ori..._Utilities.zip

But I still have 2 yellow marks in Device Manager: Mass Storage Controller, UGX.
My fingerprint stuff doesn't work as well. Camera doesn't work too.

Help with those devices please.
Thank you

vovan

 

I'm about to switch back to XP on my SZ450. It's not entirely Vista's fault. At this point, howver, it just doesn't run Quark or have drivers for my scanner, both of which I use on a daily basis.

Like the rest of the people on here, I am also dismayed that Sony would not have XP drivers for this system! Don't they understand that Vista genuinely CANNOT be used by some people??? If I can't run my applications and hardware, I can't get my work done. I have already wasted way too much time trying to get things to work in Vista, and now I know that I'm going to waste so much more time trying to get things to work in XP -- all thanks to Sony's reluctance to support an operating system still being used on the majority of computers.

For the record, I like Vista and think will probably be a fine OS in the end. If it ran everything that I need it to, I would be happy with it. However, it doesn't and I'm left with two choices: either put my new computer on the shelf for 6 months, until Quark and Microtek release Vista updates, or install XP. I'll try Vista again after they release SP1.

I'll keep my eye on this thread. I think quite a few SZ4 users like me may need to switch back to XP, so this could turn into a very valuable resource.

- Cliff

 

Hi Vovan,

I'm sorry I didn't come across your post earlier as I've been through the same problem myself.

What I wound up doing was that I used *MOST* of SZ4's drivers (found at the same exact place you downloaded your SZ3 drivers)

Your camera will not work for a good reason. If you look at the drivers for SZ3, the camera is <something>22, the SZ4 camera model is <something>55.

That helped me out a lot.

I wound up using SZ4 drivers for my fresh XP installation and reverted to SZ3 drivers whenever the system started kicking up a fuss. (I rolled back/uninstalled the drivers for the offending device and installed the SZ3 drivers instead.)

UGX is probably the bluetooth.
Your fingerprint reader requires you to install an application as well, have you done so? (If the SZ4 version doesn't work, revert to SZ3.)

Rule of the thumb I've been using is that I'd use SZ4 drivers over SZ3 *UNLESS* it's a problem. (i.e. They specifically made it Vista only) You'll find that the sound driver for SZ4 for example doesn't work, you'll need to install the SZ3 version. Also, the power management utility for SZ4 doesn't work, revert to SZ3 as well.

Good luck. My system's humming beautifully now with the exception of my brightness functions not working.

 

Hi Clifford,

It is for the very same reason which forced me to reinstall my system to XP again. Most of my programs died on me when I tried to install them on Vista.

Vista is only useful if you're using a couple of the most updated programs like Office and Firefox. Most of the other programs have been broken. The compatibility is so terrible I've never seen it happening before. (Even the migration of Win9X to WinNT/2k/XP wasn't so bad.)

 

whwtan,

Thanks for the helpful info. Are you saying you are totally unable to control screen brightness on the SZ4 running Windows XP?

Kris

 

Um,

Actually, my problems are bigger than I thought...
My power management isn't functioning although I don't see any error messages.

I've installed the SZ3 version of the NVidia driver. The brightness can be controlled using the driver's in built "auto dimmer" capability.

My function buttons aren't working though.

Your other issue is the mass storage controller. That means your memory card readers are not installed properly so you'd want to look into that as well.

 

AFAIK, European SZ4s have Vista pre-installed so you essentially attempted to install Vista drivers on your WinXP OS. I'd stick with the SZ3 drivers. It's not like Sony would provide newer XP drivers solely for the SZ4 anyway.

 

In that case, new buyers better wait for SZ5 for better tech support?

 

I'm typing this from my newly XP-ified SZ450. With the help from this thread, I've almost got everything working fine. I installed a hybrid of SZ4 and SZ3 drivers from the vaio-link FTP site. Basically, like whwtan suggested, anything that the SZ4 driver pack wouldn't install, I used from the SZ3 pack. After finishing that, I installed only from the SZ3 utilities. Now I've got everything working (haven't tested the camera) *EXCEPT* for sound (!!)...

This was the last thing that I was expecting to have problems with! How could this computer possibly use some "vista only" sound chip?? Has anyone else with an SZ4 XP installation gotten sound to work? Perhaps it because I have a Canadian model, but that shouldn't really make a difference.

Anyway, I removed Vista and set up XP on this computer so that I could run my business apps and hardware, not so that I could listen to music. With everything else working (including power managment, S buttons, bluetooth, Fn keys, etc.) I really can't complain all that much. However, if someone has a fix for the sound, I'd love to know about it! Right now my Device Manager shows: (?) Other devices > (?) PCI Device

 

^^Do this
Get the XP audio drivers for the SZ2
Whn you click on the installer, and when the first screen comes up, do this before clicking "next"
- Head to c:\Windows
- look for a file called model.txt
- This file would have some txt in quotes, like "SZ220P_B" (If the downloaded driver is for SZ220 P/B
- Edit this to read as "SZ450XY_Z" (substuitute X, Y, Z with whatever your exact model number on the bezel is...e.g. SZ450GH/W)
- Save the changes and close the file
- Click on next, and the install would proceed now

 

For audio drivers you should look inside a folder in AUDIO Sz3 folder, there is a fix you must install prior to the drivers at AUDIO. This will install also de MODEM.


I have all working fine, but the main problem is the bluetooh drivers doesnt work either the SZ3 or SZ4... I have downloaded it from toshiba and it work fine but is a 30 day trial...

HOW COULD THEY MAKE A DRIVERS FOR 30 DAYS???

 

Thanks abhi182 and nethawk. With abhi182's instructions, I managed to stumble in right direction until I did exactly what nethawk described and got everything working.

The way that I got bluetooth working was by using the files from the Bluetooth folder (sorry but I can't remember if it was the SZ3 or 4 pack). I just double-clicked on an executable file in the Bluetooth folder and the device installation went from there. I don't actually have any Bluetooth devices to test with (the technology is wasted on me...) but everything looks like it's properly installed (drivers working in Device Manager and a Bluetooth icon in my System Tray). The Bluetooth that got installed is by Toshiba (version 5.00.10(SO)), but it's not limited by a trial period.

On a general note, I wish that I had followed my gut instinct and installed XP as soon as I got this computer. I had a feeling that this machine would fly with XP and it really does. With XP, you get a sense of how fast this computer can really be without having a bloated OS weighing it down. I hadn't expected this night/morning to go nearly this well. I do not regret leaving Vista behind.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Great! I'm glad everything works now on XP now I thought my purchase was going to be a waste. My new 7k100 drive arrives today so it's my turn to install XP. I talked with Sony live support chat yesterday and they maintain any other OS than what is originally installed is not supported by Sony. I told him to pass this issue on to his management. I've always heard Sony support sucks but this is insane XP is still by far the top corporate desktop OS. My company has no plans to roll out Vista in the near future.

Anyway I hope everyone will continue to share their SZ4 XP experiences this thread has been a tremendous help.

Kris

 

plzz help me !!!

not %100 driver fingerprint,wireless, camera, bluetooth ...

 

who did you install xp driver full including bluetooth camera wireless .....

 

SONYYYYYYYY BİG S.............T


Where xp driver why not nowhere

 

off off

 

Vaio's aren't really meant for business.

The ugly, boring IBM thinkpads are for business lol.

sz has a great keyboard though and is made in Japan ^o^

 

Sorry that I haven't been on here more recently... I think that pretty much everything I installed came from the ftp.vaio-link.com site referenced earlier in this thread. I don't have an exact "play by play" of what I did, but I'll tell you that basically everything that I needed was in the SZ4 driver pack, SZ3 driver pack, and the SZ3 utility pack. I started with any driver that would install in the SZ4 pack, then went to the SZ3 pack, then I installed the SZ3utilities. The only thing that wasn't working after that was the sound, and all of the necessary files for that ended being in the SZ3 driver pack. I haven't actually installed the UPEK fingerprint software yet, but the driver appears to have installed just fine.

For the record, my SZ is purely business (which is why I wasn't able to stick with Vista). For a while it was a toss-up between the SZ and a Thinkpad X60. The SZ won out thanks to a widescreen LED backlit display and a touchpad (X60 only had a trackpoint... yikes!). I'm looking forward to having a wonderful business computer for the next couple of years.

 

I believe Clifford hit the nail pretty much on its head.

I'd say that I did everything similar to him.
Even my fingerprint reader is working.
The only problem which is annoying me is that my S1/S2 keys and the Fn keys are not working. (There are a couple of other negligible problems for me but they're being overlooked. And there are no pesky exclamation marks in device manager.)

 

Is there a reason why any of you installed the SZ4 Vista drivers and utilities on XP? I still don't get it.

 

Hi Bogart,

I raised it up in my earlier post hoping that we could all get together to put up an "all encompassing" guide for installing XP onto SZ4** machines.

The driver for the camera for example, will definitely not work if you used the SZ3 drivers. It's a different model (model number 5 instead of 2). My bluetooth didn't work when I used the SZ3 drivers too. I had to use the SZ4 drivers.

Power management (This is a utility though...so you're in better luck using SZ3 utils) on the other hand, refused to fire up when I used SZ4.

 

i have mimimal problem with my new SZ470N (vista)

now im starting to love this monster

 

I see, thanks. I'm still trying to figure out all the hardware differences of the newer SZs. I already knew about the camera version difference but not the bluetooth... I wonder what they changed. Have you tried using the Widcomm Bluetooth stack? I think most prefer that to the Toshiba one.

In an earlier thread I listed all the XP drivers and utilities required for the SZ to function properly. Did you install all of them in order and if you missed any, which ones?

 

Why did I install Vista SZ4 drivers on my the XP installation? I guess because someone earlier on this thread suggested that I should...

Anyway, I haven't been disappointed. As I mentioned before, everything that I want to work does work. I'm less sure about whether or not my video camera is installed. I didn't actually install a driver for it -- it installed automatically under Imaging Devices as "USB Video Device". I've never used a built-in camera in the past and can't picture using one in the near future, so I'm not too worried about whether or not that works.

The S1 and S2 buttons didn't work until I installed the necessary SZ3 utilities (which I did after all of my drivers were installed). Maybe I just got lucky with the order of installation. I started at the top of the SZ3 utilities directory and installed them in alphebetical order. I didn't install any SZ4 utilities.

 

A quick update...

One thing that I missed in my SZ4 XP installation was Wireless Switcher utility. Maybe it was in the SZ3 utility pack and I missed it. I wanted to disable Bluetooth because it was doing nothing but sucking battery life, so I downloaded the utility from the vaio-link FTP. It was actually from the SZ1 section, but it works fine on my computer.

 

camera bluetooth driver ? where

 

I've given up on the camera. On my computer it was recognized and installed as a USB video device, but it doesn't work from any applications. For me it's not a huge loss in exchange for blazing performance and complete compatibility.

My Bluetooth is the Toshiba stack either in the SZ3 or SZ4 driver pack. I didn't install it though device manager -- rather I clicked on the executable file within the Bluetooth directory, and it did the rest of the work of driving installing on its own.

 

Help, please? I can't seem to open the FTP link to access the sz3 drivers posted in one of the earlier threads (bogart?). I've never actually used an FTP site. Do I need to change a setting or something in my browser to access it? Thanks to everyone for all of their advice so far.

I'm trying to dual boot xp and vista on my sz450, and it has been such an ordeal (being that I am not tech savvy at all). I've gotten both OSs working, but can't get the drivers for xp. I tried downloading the sz4 and 3 drivers from sony support, but xp will not let me install sz4 drivers on xp because they are vista, and the sz3 drivers are "not intended for use with your computer model". Is there a way to circumvent this? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated =)!

 

loubadoo,

Yeah, the Sony American website is very unhelpful. They specifically lock the drivers to a PARTICULAR model even when they are generic for the whole family. e.g. SZ38 as opposed to SZ3X.

Bogart's link is in my opinion the best.

You don't need an FTP browser to access the link. Internet Explorer and Firefox/Mozilla should both access the site with relative ease.

The driver packages you can download from the link bogart provided is A LOT BETTER.

Solved a lot of headaches for many of us and left me wondering why Sony America chose to make the drivers so unhelpful in the first place.

 

Clifford,

The camera driver is the one for SZ4. I'm quite sure of it...
The SZ3 driver is for a different camera model. Have you tried to uninstall the drivers for the camera followed by installing the SZ4 drivers?

Also, did you clear out your .ini files in your system32 folder which has references to your current SZ3 camera drivers before installing the SZ4 drivers?

The bluetooth drivers are as you stated. Clicking on the installationg package in the SZ4 drivers did the job.

 

So you got the camera working in XP whwtan?

I have to admit that the camera is pretty far down on my list of things I need to work... I'm not in possession of a mug that I care to show off Someday I'll try what you suggest.

Actually, the problem that I'm having now is that my computer crashes every time I try to hibernate or standby. This is really bothering me because everything else about power management is working so wonderfully. Has anyone else with an XP installation on an SZ4 had this type of problem?

 

Thank you for the nice post!
Installed XP on a Vaio VGN-SZ4VWN/X with your help..

This is what is not running:
Camera
S1, S2 buttons
Brightness over Fn button (volume over Fn works)

Dont know if the HSDPA card is working. Have to check that later. Dont think I installed any drivers..

Standby is working. I had problems with the Power Management though. Here is what I did:
Reinstalled the SonyUtils DLL (SZ3 Utilities) ! Now its working. Maybe this solves your hibernation/standby problem?

Thank you !
Burnstone


Edit:
- After reinstalling the SonyUtils DLL the Brightness Fn buttons ARE working (reboot)!
- I can use the camera in window explorer: click on computer and have a look at the scanner and camera section... (this is how it is called in german - after translating of course )
The Camera Utility still doesnt work...

 

I ended up posting my Standby/Hibernation problem in it's own thread, as it seemed a little off topic for this one.

Actually, the culprit turned out to be the modem driver -- so maybe it wasn't as off topic for the SZ4 XP drivers thread after all... Anyway, I disabled the modem and it's been smooth sailing ever since.

Since getting this problem fixed, I've been very happy with the power features and battery life under XP. I choose the "VAIO Ultimate Battery" preset, modify it for the absolute maximum power savings, use the Fn key to adjust the brightness to where I want it, and I get about 4 hours with wifi turned on (bluetooh off) running non-intensive apps (web browser, Word, etc.) An extra bonus is that the machine runs really cool and quiet with these settings.

 

This is the uK site...but the xp drivers there can likely be extracted and used for the sz4xxx ...the hardware is similar and really no big change except minor things ....most of the things which you need drivers for are same...hope it helps along with the others posting early

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/down...voe_en_GB_cons&category=0&serie=VGN-SZ&m=2381 for sony sz3xxx series


http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/down...e=voe_en_GB_cons&category=0&serie=VGN-SZ&m=-1 here is the subroot webpage

 

Bluetooth And Camere Are Working Now On My Sz450n/c With Xp Pro.
Only Fingerprint Is Not Working. Now I'm Donwloading Utilities. After That I Suppose It Will Ork Out

 

Read this thread for all the answers "need XP camera driver for vcc5 sz440"
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=118375&page=3

 

Figure I might as well ask this question in this thread. I have everything working on a SZ450 except the volume buttons. the other Fn keys work, any ideas why the volume buttons will not?

 

Haven't read the entire thread (since I use an SZ110) but while I was looking around on that FTP site for the Power Management app, I found a file called SZ4_XP Driver disc.iso (or something like that) here:

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/Vaio/temp

Not sure if you've already tried this, but hopefully it's something useful

 

I got the bluetooth working by using the toshiba stack from ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/Vaio/original/sz4_drivers
I got the mass storage controller working using the files located withing the folder memory card the sz4 pack again.
I got the fingerprint working using the Protector Suite QL 5.3 located within the sz4 utilities pack

Thank you so much for all your precious help.
No more yellow dots

 

PLEASE HELP!

I did a clean install of Windows XP on my new Sony SZ440, and I realize now that I have no idea what I was doing. I have the intel chipset driver, both the video drivers, and the ethernet driver installed, but I'm having problems with the other things because I have no idea what they are. I have both the SZ4 and SZ3 drivers and utilities pack, and I'm sure everything I need is in here, except I'm not sure how to go about it. The remaining yellow icons in device manager are:

Biometric Coprocessor
UGX

Also, my Memory Stick ( E: ) drive shows no icon. Is this normal? When I boot up, my screen also flashes once. Is this normal as well?

In the drivers folder, what are SonyImgF, SonyNC, SonyPI, and TPM? Thanks.

UPDATE: Got the Mass Storage Controller working thanks to above poster!
UPDATE2: PCI Device is working now... was the modem
UPDATE3: Got some of the other things working...

 

I have a sz480 Sony VAIO and installed Xp Professional. I have read through these post and have found most of the drivers. This is still what I have left that is yellow in my control panel

Mass Storage Controller
Network Controller
PCI Controller
Sm Bus Controller
UGX

and these things don't work also
camera
blueooth
sound
brightness keys
the fingerprint reader

I got most of the drivers from the sz3
Please help!!!!!!!!!

 

I just join the club of downgrading to XP. The site is truely a time and life saver - I need XP to run my business app and I still can't figure why Sony makes our life so hard. Enough gumbling now and back to work....

My XP'd SZ48 is sort of working now, I got sound working (driver from: www.opendrivers.com/freeware/S11.html) but S buttons and Fn + buttons are not. I need to sent video to an external monitor and overhead project (via the Fn + to TV button), I really appreciate if someone can help.

Will

 

Thanks chops1221, I can confirm that the SZ4_XP Driver disc.iso does work. That's all I used to install all drivers. Works flawlessly. Even has directions to install drivers in certain order. I own a SZ460N/C US version by the way.

 

Can anyone else confirm this? I was planning on ordering a 440 tomorrow!