Windows 7 Clean Install Instructions for CW Series

I swear the first time I ran this pc (new CW) I could see the recovery partition in windows and now I can no longer see it. I want to try and replace the recovery partition with splashtop installer and see if I cant get the assist button to boot up splashtop

 

Please let us know your progress, as I know several people in this thread that would really like to know if this is possible. BTW... SplashTop runs from inside the Windows NTFS partition. It doesn't use it's own. I found that out when I had to re-install mine.

 

Ok so i found out whats going on, when you are creating the recovery disks the vaio care program unhides the partition so windows can copy the files. I must have seen it when I was doing the recovery disks. I then used the diskpart program to unhide the partition so I have full control over it. I copied all the files out and onto my c: drive.

I then tried to install the sony vaio quick access onto the recovery partition but when I tried to boot from the assist button I get a bootmanager file is missing or something to that affect.

I was trying to find some instructions on how to install splastop of chromium os but nothing i can find is helpfull since everything is about using usb keys and not partitions.

The recovery partition uses autoron.inf and a whole bunchs of boot folders to control this stuff. I am a little stumped and could use some help getting one of these operating systems onto this partition.

I think it can actually work rather well if everything goes right. The only down side would be the 8 gigs being dedicated to your quickboot but with 500gb who cares I will wait for replies before I just reinstall windows and erase everything since I read that the assist button looks for certain sectors on the harddisk to load.

 

Tried installing asus expressgate but same issue. BOOTMGR missing. I think I just need to find a way to create a masterboot record for this partition so it points to the right files to boot the smaller OS but I am afraid I can't seem to figure out how to do this. I will keep looking.

 

lol.. You must not have seen my addendum to my post.. I did post it later.. But SpashTop runs from within the Windows NTFS partition. Originally I thought the same as you, but it can't have it's own partition. Maybe if you installed the notebook utilities or one of the driver files for the CW17fx with SplashTop originally installed you can get the "assist" (?) button remapped to the instant on OS. See I don't have that button.. all I have are these three... check the pic...

 

Well from more digging I found out that the partition has its own boot bcd file. That gives you options to boot into the VAIO recovery partition or the windows 7 repair disk. I am trying to modify this BCD file so that it will recognize a linux boot mapped to the H: Drive (the recovery partition) Where I already have the splashtop installed. Its just not liking what I am trying to do. I am very close to saying screw it and just proceed with my reformat heh

 

Quick update, I was able to boot into a version of grub using the asisst button of the new CW. Just need to figure out now how to get it to launch the splashtop files from the ntfs partition. I can see them there I wish played around with linux more when I was younger now heh

 

At the root of C is where the SplashTop files reside... if that helps..

 

I have the same setup on my partition I can even see the files with the grub loader i just dont know how to get the kernel going

 

Hey if my machine comes with Win7 Home Premium, can I use a Win7 Pro install disk but use the Home Premium license found on the sticker of my machine?

 

Thanks for this, I'm going to use it tmrw as soon as I receive my CW.

I think all win7 discs are the same... I think if you install with this disc and use your home premium key, it will just install the home premium license and it's going to be legit.

 

Quick Question.

I'm looking at the drivers and I see that the gpu is for the 330... here in canada the CW only comes with G211M GPU (too bad, but anyway, gpu was not my priority)

Here's my config.

Component: Intel® Core™ i5-540M processor (2.53GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.06GHz
Component: NVIDIA® GeForce® G211M GPU (256MB VRAM)
Component: No Engraving
Component: 14" VAIO Display (1366x768)
Component: Standard Capacity Battery
Component: 320 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm]
Component: DVD +/- R DL / DVD +/- RW / DVD-RAM Drive
Component: Icy White
Component: Microsoft® Works
Component: Microsoft Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Component: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066

Can I use the G330M driver?

 

Yes. That's interesting that Sony lists it like that. I'd almost say it's a typo. It's supposed to be the G310m. Which is just a rebadged 210m with faster clock speeds. But actually, try my instructions *here*. Those drivers will give you better performance than the stock Sony drivers.

 

I just bought one of these also, and did a fresh install (Windows 7 Pro). It was pretty succesful (minus a few heart stopping errors that have been mentioned on this thread already). But everything is running great now.

I'm having one annoying/persistent problem though, and I didn't see it mentioned anywhere else.

First off, this is the i5 model (VPCCCW27FX). Sometimes when I boot up, or wake up from hibernate, it takes longer than it should. When it comes up finally, it pops up a balloon saying a USB device is unknown. I open device manager and it's there, "Unknown Device". I believe it is the webcam, it is not listed in device manager anywhere else, and the Arcsoft software can't find the webcam either. I've tried reinstalling the driver (well, the software that includes the driver presumably) with no luck.. The maddening thing is, it's not doing this every time. I can reboot, and it will come up fine, the webcam is then listed in device manager. Not always though, it is sporadic.

I hate to say it, but it almost sounds like a hardware issue. Like something is getting disconnected inside the laptop or something. Has anyone else seen this?

 

Ohh thank you very much.

I already installed the 330m driver from the first page.. but I'll give your driver a try.

 

Well, the MotionEye webcam is on the USB bus, so try updating your chipset drivers *here*. After doing that, try uninstalling it through the device manager, reboot, and let it re-detect and re-install the driver for it. The driver for the MotionEye is provided by Microsoft with Windows 7. If you want to install it your self by selecting it from a list, use Microsoft as the vendor, and then select "USB Video Device".

 

Thx for the tips. I don't see USB Video Device as an option under MS.

Also, on that chipset download page it says "The Intel Chipset Device Software does not install drivers for AGP or USB. DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS UTILITY IF YOUR DEVICE MANUFACTURER IS RECOMMENDING IT TO CORRECT AN "AGP DRIVER," "AGP GART," OR "USB DRIVER" ISSUE; IT WILL NOT CORRECT YOUR ISSUE."

I could still try it, but it sounds like it won't fix the issue. (oh, and the caps were an exact quote from the download page, I really do appreciate any help or pointers)

 

Try manually installing this driver. Extract the folder to your desktop, then you have to do the "Have Disk" method and point to the INF in this folder. This is the generic Windows 7 USB Video Device Driver from my own Windows 7 Installation of Win7 64-bit. Download **Here**

If you have trouble downloading it, let me know and I'll post it somewhere other than SkyDrive.

 

Thanks. I just gave it a shot, but got a message when choosing the inf file: The folder you specified does not contain a compatible software driver for your device. If the folder contains a driver, make sure it is designed to work with Windows for x64-based systems.

 

Hi You.
- I have Sony VPC-CW28.
- With the option as follows: Core i5 and 520m VGA 330M GT.
- Now I want to install 32 bit operating system for computer CW28 but no 32 bit VGA driver GT 330M in support of the sony.
- When I install Windows 7 Pro 32 Bit windows themselves to the GT 330M VGA default "Standard VGA". I have tried update driver from Device Manage, but after rebooting Windows 7 Pro Left received a "Standard VGA" 8bit.
* You can help me 32 bit driver for VGA GT330M ( OS : windows 7 )
Thanks

 

Try my guide *here*, just make sure to download from the 32-bit link.

 

I did follow your instructions and the installation is complete. Thank you

 

No problem! Post back if you need anything else.

 

Hey XGX or anyone else. I am going to do a clean install on my new CW26 with i5. I have all the drivers downloaded and ready to go. I have not made any recovery discs since those are useless. I am sitting at the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen after clicking on the "Custom" install. And now am confused about what partitions to remove???

I have 3 of them...I searched the thread and others only have 2 partitions. Here are mine:

- Disk 0 Partition 1: Recovery 8.4gb/843.0mb free OEM (Reserved)
- Disk 0 Partition 2: System Reserved 100.00mb/71.0mb free System
- Disk 0 Partition 3: 457.2GB/424.7GB Primary

I want to keep the Recovery partition in case this gets screwed up. So I know I need to keep Partition 1: Recovery.

Now, what about Partition 2 and 3? I believe partition 3 is where Windows is currently installed and needs to be removed. What is partition 2 for>>>Edited since it didn't like a shortened version of W!!?

Please advise...Thanks!

EDIT: Forget it, I searched and found that 100mb partition is something Win7 makes when installing for boot files. I did keep the recovery partition though. Installing now...

 

Yea, Partition 2 & 3 are the Windows partitions. And you're correct. The 100mb partition is the partition Windows 7 makes to keep the boot files "sandboxed" from the other active files.

 

Did a clean install today. Everything is good so far. Had a few errors on some of the drivers when installing them. They installed, but had that "The driver may not have installed properly" or something.

Not sure what that is all about. My FN keys even work. One question I have, in the Device Manager...where do I check for the Intel Chipset driver? That is one that had an error. I just don't know which one to check.

Also, does anyone have an updated NVIDIA driver? Newer than the Sony one? The NVIDIA drivers page doesn't even list the GeForce GT 330M...

Oh, and Thanks for the writeup!

 

If you can look in the Device Manager and not see any Yellow Yield signs or Unknown Devices, then the driver installations went fine. I'm not quite sure why Windows 7 is asking people that, because every time it works just fine.

You're welcome! Look at the first post on this page for my reply to haga3010. I posted a link to a guide I wrote up to install the latest NVIDIA drivers... Just make sure to get the right drivers for whatever version of Windows 7 you installed (32 or 64-bit). The drivers and the modified INF are all in there.

 

Any benefit from installing the newer NVIDIA driver from the link above?

I don't have any problems listed in my Device Manager. I was just wondering what the Intel Chipset is named and what category it is listed under to verify the Driver version?

After clean install, I have 61 processes and 26% memory used. Before, I had 75 processes and 35% memory used at startup.

There is one issue I have. After windows loads, I hear the USB device or new hardware found sound. Not sure what that is about???

Also, I thought I read back a few pages of someone installing a different sound driver to get better sound. I can't find that. I do know that before I installed the Realtek driver, my sound was louder.

 

Believe it or not, yes! I can tell a huge difference in games like Crysis, Spore, and Borderlands. With the latest drivers (196.34) and my overclocks in place, even my lowly G210m can play Crysis at Medium settings with Shaders set on High at about 25FPS. Also they seem to be more stable than the Sony supplied drivers.

And yea, if you just stick with the Microsoft supplied HD Audio Driver, it tends to be louder. I don't know why.

 

Thanks a bunch Swanner! I held off on doing a clean install because I read some users were running into this problem. Created recovery disks before doing a clean install, downloaded vaio care, and reinstalled corel windvd. Great advise!

 

Thanks for the instructions, worked like a charm.

 

Edited for i3/i5 CW, changed a few instruction for activation and install process.

EDIT: A clean install is also possible by booting into the Recovery Partition (by mashing F10 during bootup), then selecting the second recovery option on the menu on the left. Eventually it will get to a Windows based installation screen where you can (as fast as possible) open task manager with CTRL+ALT+DEL and end the process called: VAIORecv.exe

 

hi everybody, I've seen all around here have put all kinds of anwers about a new fresh windows 7 installation on sony vaio cw series,,, thanks a lot for that,,, but, in my case I've a new vaio vpccw13fx and I made a new installation of windows 7 ultimate, the problem is when I'm trying to install the drivers from sony site http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VPCCW13FX&LOC=3, windows 7 always shows me the warning windows "this program might not have installed correctly" this happens with almost all drivers except video and sound, thanks to windows 7, it has recognized other ones devices but the memory stick card reader has been impossible,,, any way,,, I've wanted install again all the drivers using the original sony drivers and I got just that message "this program might not have installed correctly". I know this is the compatibility assistant, but, I've read before in this thread that that is nothing, but , when I try to install again, for instance, the atheros 9285 wireless driver the process start fine, it shows me the final screen telling me all is ok, but in few seconds comes the fatal message of compatibility assistant, then, I go to "admin devices" screen and I can see on wirelees device properties tab that the provider controller is microsoft still!!!, that is, the driver was not installed or updated,,, I've tried selecting "reinstalling using recommmended settings" and "this program installed correctly" and not sucess yet!!!

I'd appreciatte your help in this case,,, the laptop is not useless but I need all devices are working fine with all their original drivers

 

Try right clicking on the File and "Run as Administrator". And most of the time the error that you get afterwards usually doesn't mean anything, but I guess sometimes it can.

 

hi, looking to do a clean install on my vpccw22fx and i was wondering if anyone tried to do a clean install by using the recovery partition + cancelling vaiorecv.exe. its sounds like it would be less of a hassle then burning a copy of win 7 and installing all the drivers, but i'm worried that it might not be as effective or clean as doing it by win 7 dvd. thanks in advance guys.

 

Does anyone know if it's possible to use a retail disk for the clean install, then use the ABR to recover activation info? It would just save the step requiring a download of an ISO.

 

Sure! The downloaded image from the first post is the Home Premium 64-bit retail disk image... so it would be exactly the same.

 

Cool, thanks!

 

Anyone know how to get the brightness function keys to work again after clean install??

 

Hi,
I got my new sony vaio CW26FG 3 days back.
first thing i did was created recovery disk, now if i want to do clean install and having few questions:
1. Can I perform clean insatall using recovery partition(installing windows 7)?
2. Can I install drivers using recovery partition or recovery disks that i have created?
Please help..

 

If you've installed all the drivers from the initial post in the order they were posted in, then all your functions keys should be working.

You should be able to install the drivers from the recovery partition/dvd's, but some of the drivers have been updated from Sony, so by installing the ones from the recovery media, you'd be installing out-of-date drivers. They would still work, but some are out-of-date. -->

Quoted from aan310:

 

I really need urgent help here with clean installation. I posted this question once and everyone seemed to ignore it since around that period, nobody had tried a clean install.

Restate my question, my recovery disc set refuses to work on new windows as well as the drivers i downloaded off sony asis support. Can anyone know why?
My model is VPCCW16FG

 

Try the drivers for your specific model from Sony, and install them with administrator privileges. if this doesn't work i'm not sure what else you can do. Why don't your recovery discs work? (maybe order new ones from sony?)

 

Really thank for early reply, it is really weird how recovery discs wouldnt work. I burnt them myself and been keeping them in mint condition. But it only works after installed by recovery or one burnt windows disc my friend gave it to me which he bought from some kind of illegal market oversea.

About the drivers, regarding the instruction, those drivers work fine but the ones downloaded corresponding to me system absolutely eluded working. i am stumped.

 

I am almost done with Clean Install of Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit on my new VPCCW27FX.
One driver is not recognizable. It is appeared as Base System Device with the yellow exclamation point error.
While I was looking through Sony eSupport for driver, I came across with this driver

-----
"Original - Ricoh® PCIe Memory Stick® Host Controller Driver"

"This utility installs the originally shipped version of the Ricoh PCIe Memory Stick Host Controller driver"

"This driver also resolves the yellow exclamation point error Device Manager Exclaimation Point Error that may appear in Device Manager next to "Base System Device" which indicates that a driver is not installed for that device"
-----

The odd thing is I just installed this driver while I followed the sequence posted on this thread. I reinstalled it by running as administrator, but the yellow error mark was still there in device manager.

Does anyone know the solution for this problem?

 

If you have an i5, then the base system device is usually the "TurboBoost" function. Either that or something equally low level HW wise.

 

I follow these steps but not working the function keys do not work, I want to change the version of the operating system doing a clean install of Home Premium to Ultimate, I have a problem to install sony shared library, I get an error message when you install and if after I install the sony notebook utilities begin to show a message that the battery is not installed, should be removed and re-set or changed for another.

I do?, you can change the OS version of windows 7 home premium to win 7 Ultimate?, you can install the sony shared library manually?.

someone who can help me.

 

my did not work, I did a clean install but change the version of windows 7 home premium to windows 7 ultimate.

apparently the sony shared library only work for premium home and without them the notebook utilities not working well, try 6 or 7 times but not work.

I can do?, anyone know?

 

With me it just as a ps2cho, also have a vpccw27fx / b, that the battery has a problem and I have to hibernate, that happens after installing the sony notebook utilities.

the problem seems to be with the Sony Shared Library not installed correctly, I want to install on a Windows 7 Ultimate but I do not work, the sony site says they are only compatible with Home Premium.

You can install another way?, I can not change the version of OS??, what do you think?

 

All I can say about the function keys is something had to have happened that strayed from the order above. That is a proven install order, as I've installed Windows 7 on 4 of the i5 models so far with no problems. I would recommend you try wiping and re-installing once more, just to simplify things. And about the driver compatibility between Windows 7 Home Premium and Ultimate are none. The only difference in what drivers you would use, are if you've got a 32bit Windows 7 Ultimate installation, then you'd have to get the 32bit driver packages, because the ones above are ONLY for 64bit. For instance a 64bit graphics driver from NVIDIA will work with Home Premium, Pro, and Ultimate 64bit all the same way.