Why no one should EVER buy Fresh Start

When I got my Vaio, I was looking for a machine that would run smoothly out of the box and not need a ton of uninstalling and configuring to run smoothly. For $50, Fresh Start seemed like a good option. Sure, I could do this myself, but in my business, time is money, and it's better for me to work for two more hours and pay an extra $50 for a computer than it is to spend two hours doing a fresh install.

The problem? Fresh Start doesn't deliver either on the promise--no bloatware--or the implication--that everything will run smoothly right out of the box. What I've manually had to do follows:

Webcam

The Vaio came with Arcsoft Webcam software meant to optimize the webcam quality and provide for manual adjustments of resolution, contrast, gamma, etc. Problem? No matter what settings you put it on, picture quality was miserable. So I uninstalled it, and picture quality was great.

EDIT: With ArcSoft uninstalled, picture quality was great, but ONLY in well-lit rooms. In more moderate light, it turned into a dark blur. I re-installed Arcsoft, left the settings at default, but activated low-light compensation (you have to dig through the menus to find it) and that's the best result so far.

Vaio Smart Network

I've posted about this recently. After about a month of ownership, the machine would randomly and frequently have the active window pop into the background. After digging around, I found the same issue with a Vaio Z2 owner. Turns out it's the "Vaio Smart Network" software, which does nothing besides give you a switch to turn on and off bluetooth. Yet if you don't "create a profile" in this software, it will go haywire and do this to you.

Audio quality

This wasn't an issue where I objected to the presence of third-party software, but more objected that I had to manually configure this. Sound quality out of the box was MISERABLE. Enable the "Dolby Home Theater" software and change the setting to music, and it's quite good. But without this third-party software enabled--and it's not enabled from the factory--audio quality from a desktop replacement is laughably bad.

Nvidia drivers

A big point of the "Vaio Care" software is to keep stuff updated, right? That's why it's always running in the background, right? I just found out, though, that it wasn't updating the Nvidia drivers for my 540M, which were vaaaaaaaastly out of date. Gaming performance has improved noticeably since I manually updated them (and a 540M needs all the help it can get).

Vaio Control Center--color mode

When the machine arrived, colors were vibrant, but had a yellowish cast to them. Upon every start-up, it would flash between this and an accurate-but-washed-out version a couple times before settling on the vibrant. In the Vaio Control Center, there's a "color mode" option. Turn it off and you get accurate-but-washed-out colors. Turn it on and you get vibrant-but-inaccurate colors (there are actually four modes it can be on when it's on, but they all look the same to me). I turned the Vaio Control Center's "color mode" off, and manually configured the color with the Windows color calibrator, using an Nvidia application to adjust contrast and brightness. Result? Vibrant AND accurate colors. Imagine that.

Conclusion

Do I regret I got the machine? No, not at all. It's a great desktop replacement. But I regret I paid an extra $50 for Fresh Start. I mean really, besides not getting Vaio Gate, Picture Motion Browser, and antivirus free trial software, what did I avoid by paying that $50? I still had to remove some software and reconfigure other software before the machine ran the way it should.

For me, this was annoying but easy to do. But what if my wife, who is not really computer literate, had gotten the machine under the belief that paying $50 extra for Fresh Start would ensure a "works just right, right out of the box" experience? What would she have done? The Vaio Smart Network issue alone probably would have resulted in the machine going out the window.

 

I'm confused. I used the Fresh Start option but it was free. It's on Sony's website now for free. And what's this about "Fresh Start would ensure a 'works just right, right out of the box' experience?" Where did that come from? The following is how Sony's website describes Fresh Start.

The above is with regard to a Z2. Is Sony using the term Fresh Start differently for different models?

 

for VAIO SA, you need to choose Windows 7 Professional instead of Windows 7 Home Premium ($50 price difference) in order to be able to select the Fresh Start option. i personally haven't had any problems with it though.

 

Yeah, it's "free" but requires a $50 upgrade to Win 7 Pro that I (and most people) wouldn't otherwise get.

As for what it does, yes, they are very careful with the current phrasing on the config so that it's literally correct. But the overall promise of "Fresh Start," since the option was debuted in 2008, was a bloatware-free PC that ran right, straight out of the box. That's the point of the option. Otherwise, why would you pay $50 just to have two programs not installed?

This is how Fresh Start's purpose has been generally understood ever since it was first introduced:

Sony's amazing crapware-free PC | ZDNet

 

OK, I misunderstood. I thought you paid for the Fresh Start not paid for an operating system upgrade you otherwise wouldn't have selected. I would have gotten the Pro version irrespective. Leaving that aside, I would never assume that a little less bloatware (btw, you're right, of course, there's still crap you gotta get rid of and do to get the machine ready for use that ideally you shouldn't have to do).means that a computer doesn't need set-up and tuning. But Sony never actually claimed that the machine would work right, right out of box if you upgraded to Pro . And, since the Fresh Start is offered as a free option if you buy Pro or Ultra, they're not even claiming it has any value. Just the opposite. Sony offers a variety of rather expensive in-home set-up options. That tells me right there they didn't position Fresh Start as a way to get a computer that works right out of the box.

Meanwhile, there are AppleHeads (rightfully) laughing their asses off about whether or not a premium option included the computer working right.

 

If that's not it's purpose, at least it's implied purpose, what IS it's purpose?

As someone who used Apples for seven years before returning to the PC world, I debated Fresh Start, Microsoft Signature (via the Microsoft Store), and Alienware as ways to get machines not burdened with bloatware issues that would work right the first time, straight out of the box. Of the three, I chose to go the Fresh Start route. I guess...



All that said, now that I've got it running right, I love the machine. Just wish I hadn't had to deal with the headaches listed in the original post.

 

Just giving you a bit less crap to remove, that's all.

Nonetheless, with respect to your basic point, that it should be possible to get an out-of-the-box machine that really is crap-free and working right without much of an extra charge, well of course you're right and I'd like to second the motion.

 

On my Vaio Z1 I upgraded to Windows pro (for $50)
and I checked the 'fresh start' option which came for free.
Win pro was worth it for Virtual PC which gives you virtualized
XP right out of the box w/no setup required. I use it all the time (yes and virtual box as well ).

I feel that fresh start option fulfilled it's promise of no bloat ware.

As far as spending a few hours or even days dialing in a computer
And setting it up to do exactly what I want and the way
That I want it, well I don't consider that to be a chore but rather
One of the pleasures of a new computer.

 

Thanks for your input on the fresh start option. I'm like your wife. I would've been lost and wanted to sling the damn thing out of the window.

 

Clean install FTW.

Don't consider the money spent for the Pro version of Windows to be a waste; I would go for that every time. Someone should sue Microsoft for not publishing a comprehensive list of what doesn't work in the pathetic Home Premium version. I once spent several hours trying to create a bootable USB drive (this was a few years ago, on Vista, I think) and it turned out I needed Pro or better to be able to do that. Never again have I touched a Home Premium version.

 

I was on Vista Business at the time and that feature came in handy many times as well as being able to create system images.

That's why I never hesitated to go for the fresh start on my S13A. $50 for 8 Pro and no added bloatware from Sony is worth it.