Windows 7 Clean install Guide for Vaio FZ

Yes, I suspect your warranty is no longer in effect.

Gary

 

Hi all...regarding the Vaio Control Centre: That is exactly the problem - it does not show up in the program list or when I search for Vaio. What went wrong?

Cheers Carl

 

carlcash

How did you install Vaio Control center? You can try reinstalling it (Uninstall, then reinstall).

 

I was wondering why most of you guys with FZ's decided to jump to 64-bit? Ive stuck with 32-bit windows 7 since 64-bit applications are not that mainstream yet and in 64-bit windows, all of those 32-bit processes have to run under wow64 emulation.

I recently installed 4 gb of ram in my fz290 and decided to jump to 64-bit. But im having second thoughts and was thinking about still sticking with 32-bit. Since 3 gb is used for the OS and the other gig is for hardware, for me its really a toss up between 32 or 64-bit.

I was wondering, do 32-bit apps under wow64 suffer any performance loss with the core 2 duos in the FZ's? Do 32-bit apps run better natively under win7 32-bit? Ive researched a bit, but I heard it depends on the processor's architecture.

I just need a few answers, i dont mean to start a whole 32 vs 64 bit discussion. Thank You

 

no1uknow

You won't see any phenomenal performance increase with 64-bit. 32-bit apps run fine in 64-bit without any loss in performance.

True 64-bit applications run faster than their 32-bit counterparts. I see this with 64-bit 7-zip. The extraction is a bit faster with 64-bit.

If you have installed 4 GB of RAM, I don't see any reason to stick with 32-bit Windows.

 

Agreed, thank you. btw the IDT audio driver with your modified infs work great.

 

I did follow your guide for installing windows 7 - 64 bit ULTIMATE. however, i have several unresolved issues on my Sony VGN-FZ290E. I was able to fix the video driver problem after following a lot of other forums. However, i have not been able to fix problems with Audio and USB slots. I have tried every possible audio drivers modified or unmodified available on the internet but it doesnt work. Also, the USB ports on the right hand side of the laptop dont work. Webcam is also not working.

Its really frustrating after many hours of surfing different forms, searching and trying different methods of installing drivers.

PLEASE HELP!

 

tarunsharma1981

The audio and the USB ports should work in Windows 7 by default. You don't need any special drivers for these.

You must install the webcam driver for the webcam to work.

When did your USB ports stop working? Were they working in Vista?

 

It is not working by default. However, the HD audio definition controller is installed under sytem devices but it doesnt work. USB ports were working earlier. However, they are not working now.

 

tarunsharma,

You can try reinstalling the chipset driver. The audio device appears under "Sound, video and game controllers" in the device manager.

 

Hey guys anyone tell me please where i can find all 32 bit drivers, i did install 64bit on my fz21s using this topic, but it looks like 32bit would be better for my loppy, any help please...

 

Uh, did you even bother to look at this thread? The very first message, with the instructions also has links to all of the drivers, both 64 bit and 32 bit.

Gary

 

LOL I am really sorry Of course i did looked on it, i am running x64 right now using everything from here, thought it's only x64 sorry) I am moving to x86 coz i feel like my loppy cannot breath properly)

 

What do you mean by this? Do you have any issue with 64-bit?

 

Not really, but i am only got 2gb and don't wanna buy more, as i feel time for new laptop is coming Also some 32bit apps running slower on 64bit system.. It might be not so noticeable, but i personally think 32bit is still a bit better as it most usefull in a world, actually i am on it already, running smooth.)))

 

Why when i am downloading from here or from nvidia or anywhere else drivers i get 7-ZIP error, this is annoying now( please help...

 

Hmmm, since we are all telepathic here and can read the error messages from afar this should be easy...

Gary

 

Howdy!

So I'm working on my sister-in-law's laptop and trying to get this damn webcam working, which has been a major pain in the keester.

I found this site with a very good guide, though I had only to install the TI driver after installing Windows 7 x64. This guide directed me to the proper webcam driver for a VGN-FE880E and I had to force it to install as Windows only wanted to use the USB Video Device setup.

I can have video up to 320x240 on the Arcsoft software but Skype cannot start the camera at all. Is there a reason for this? Anyone else tried Skype with these laptops and Windows 7 x64?

 

Skype runs fine on my FZ290 with a VCC-8 camera.

Which camera driver did you install, VCC-4 or VCC-8? According to your model's driver download page, you should have a VCC-4. If the driver listed here does not work, download the original vista driver from your model's page here:

Sony eSupport - VGN-FE880E - Software Updates & Drivers

 

Coolguy, have you tried (or are you planning on) modifying the inf for the new 266.58 drivers? I am asking because i took a look myself and the sections are much different than before. I dont have much experience with this

 

no1uknow, Nvidia keeps changing section numbers in their newer infs. I have the 266.35 beta and didn't notice any difference.

The section number is 2 for our GPU in the 266.58 driver . I will make a modded inf and post it soon.

 

It wasn't just the section numbers, but the sections themselves had different values compared to the other ones. 002 was my best guess though, thanks!

 

Does anyone know where I can buy a replacement battery that is Win 7 64 compatible? Not having any luck.

 

Hello Guys,

I am following this thread for quite some time and luckyly I managed to get W7 x64 running on my FZ21M with all features I wanted (Fn Keys). Thanks for your great work!

Essential is the video driver! And for the new 266.58 the old inf (posted on page 1) is fully sufficiant. I took this file already on Tuesday changed it and installed the driver. Evereything runs well, so far. Please let me know if I am wrong.

Until the JK from Germany

 

Great ! I had to roll back to 258.96 because the latest WHQL set you kindly modded gave me trouble with BluRays.

 

Updated Nvidia driver to version 266.58. There are no major changes in this update.

 

I never expect any MAJOR changes ever with driver updates, since you can't fix what isn't broken.

That flicker on logoff is still present though (From 260.xx), so its really a toss up with installing this one or 258.96 which seems stable enough to keep for a while.

 

Hey man,

Thank you again for the excellent thread.

There's only one important driver which is missing - Conexant Modem Driver 7.62.0.50. Both 32 & 64 bit versions can be found on Sony US site and are working well, at least with my FZ31Z.

Of course, it would be fantastic to also have the Wireless Switch Setting Utility when available and that's it, we would get full support for W7.

Great job.

 

Rajesh,

In your update to Nvidia Verde 266.58 WHQL driver (Vaio FZ only), the two links for download

32-bit driver:
64-bit driver:
are the same and are for the 32-bit driver.

 

magnum10, thanks for letting me know. The link for 64-bit Nvidia driver is fixed now.

 

Thx Coolguy, so far no problems with the latest x64 nvidia driver.

Btw, I managed to fix my BR stuttering issues with PowerDVD10. I had to uninstall it, use the CLCleaner-PowerDVD10 utility provided by Cyberlink to get rid of some leftover registry entries and reinstall the proggy. Last time, I forgot about the reg utility.

 

Hello coolguy
i have done the clean install,thanks for your work of your guide,
but i have one issue; it's the size of desktop icons which are too big,
the resolution is however set to 1280X800,do you have any idee
to resolve it ?
Thanks.

 

Right click in an empty area on the desktop > View > Small icons.

The icon size could also be controlled by pressing Fn+F9 (decrease) or Fn+F10 (increase). Fn+F10 should be pressed first to achieve the size control.

 

Hi every one and thanks coolguy for the guide.I have FZ21M and my only problem is the Wireless Switch Switching Utility i can't get it to work.I all ready manage to get Bluetooth icon on the utility with the help of "Vadja73" but it doesn't do anything after check uncheck.I'm using the driver 6.3.0.5600 and the Wireless works on/off but i have both options enable.If i close the 2.4ghz and live the 5ghz still stays off.

Everything else tested and works.

Any help will be appreciate!!!!!!

 

neof1z, the WSSU doesn't work as expected in 64-bit. It should work in 32-bit if you have replaced the necessary dll files.

You don't need the utility at all. Everything it does (except turning OFF the blue BT light), could be done via the device manager.

 

Thanks for the response coolguy.Yes i have 32 bit.Is it more than 1 dll file?.Because i all ready do the trick with the SnyUttls.DLL 4.0.00.06270 and registry trick.

 

neof1z, I can't comment more on this issue, since I am running 64-bit.

Go back to the posts mentioned in the first page, and repeat all the steps needed to get the WSSU working.

 

Even better:
While viewing the desktop, press CTRL and use the scroll wheel (or scroll bar function of your pad) to adjust icon size

 

Wow, thanks man I didnt know about that till now.

 

One more question:

Is this necessary driver to install "Alps Touchpad driver"

 

If want to use the scrolling feature of your touchpad, you must install the Alps touchpad driver.

 

I'm trying to install Win7U x64 on a FZ11S. The link to the IDT/Sigmatel audio driver no longer points to a file you can extract. The new file is an executable ("IDT Audio Driver for All OS"). Is it safe to install this driver? Do I still need to modify it after installation?

 

First off thank you for the S1 button fix I have been pulling my hair out on win 7 64 bit clean install. I only have an issue with the AV Launcher program it keeps installing in Japanese, anyone know how to fix this. It's all I have left to get correctly working. This guide is working on my NR series.

 

You need to extract the downloaded exe file and replace the files as mentioned. I just checked the link, and it points to the exe file.

 

This is a known issue. You can still use the AV mode button to launch the program or other applications.

 

Hi all,

big thank you to Coolguy and all the others!

I installed Win7 Pro 64bit on my Swiss FZ 31Z after replacing the old HDD by a fast hybrid HDD 500 GB (Seagate) with 4GB flash memory. Timing for the ones who hesitate to do the clean install:
- Reading/Thinking it through, collecting product keys, and downloading/extracting/modding Coolguy's driver/utilities collection: 5h (you actually do not need to read the whole thread as Coolguy is always updating his first sticky note; but I noticed that at the end ...)
- Saving previous data (Windows Easy Transfer): 14h (depending on the amount of data to be transfered). If you exchange HDD like me you could also just plug the old HD after the installation to transfer the data which will put this time to zero
- Installation of Win 7 Pro (from DVD): 1h15 including installation of all updates (at that point in time reboot time was less than 30sec!)
- Installation of drivers according to Coolguy's script: 2h - it took so long because I did some mistakes (using the wrong extractor, Uniextract should be used throughout)
- Extracting WinDVD from recovery DVDs (with wim2mod http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/318134-guide-clean-vista-install-using-extracted-recovery-image-vaio-cs-others-3.html and Uniextract) and updating with patches from Sony support site in Europe): 30min
- Reinstalling most important programs: 2h (depending on what you want). Reboot time is now at c. 1min (from start to opening of Internet Explorer), I guess Norton is slowing down quite a bit
- Reinstalling data and user preferences: 14h (Windows Easy Transfer)

Now, the system is running smoothly so far (for 24h). Even the network drives are back without additional configuration. DOS programs do not run any more - here I need to check the WinXP mode when I have time again.

Thank you, thank you, thank you
---- Peter

 

Peter, two things:

Your boot time might be shortened a bit by defraging your boot files. Second, in order to run XP mode you will need to enable the VT bit in the BIOS. (For some unknown reason Sony disabled it.) There are pointers to threads on NBR for both of these topics in my signature line below. The VT bit enable can sound a bit daunting with all the warnings about "bricking" your machine. But since your particular BIOS has already been patched and verified by other users (I assume your Swiss BIOS is the same as the rest of us have on our FZ models, but an extensive list of BIOS versions and bytes to be patched is in that thread), as long as you carefully follow the directions and make sure your battery is fully charged before you start (in case of a power failure why you apply the BIOS patch), you should be fine.

Gary

 

Hi Cool Guy.
VGN-FZ4000. Just finished clean install of Win7 64 bit. I was using Sony's support drivers/download until I found your guide. Thank you so much. I don't understand why they don't do a more thorough job supporting their products. They should hire you to maintain there site. Everything is working pretty good and still working on a couple of things while also trying to learn.

1. I can't drag and drop files. Like on the desktop, I can't drag a file to another folder or move an icon to another position. This was like this before and after installing all drivers. I have to cut/copy and paste. Also, when i press left button on mouse pad I get a round icon with up and down arrows, which I never got in Vista. Drives me nuts when I am trying to highlight something to copy from a webpage. I was thinking it was related to Alps, and have uninstalled and re-installed pointing device and mouse several time so maybe not. I researched it and have already checked default status (context drag and drop is enabled) other than those 2 quirks touch pad works ok.

2. It would be nice to have a screen shot of device manager, expanded to compare for correct devices in correct places.

Thanks, Chris.

 

Hi, I have a new Z 13 and there is a think I dont understand.
In the Sony Update app and in the web of sony web I log in and go to see my updates , tell me that there is no update for my netbook , but in the first porst of this thread I see there are some newer.

Does Vaio Update check firmware?

 

This thread and that post are about the FZ series not the Z series.

Gary