Windows 7 Clean install Guide for Vaio FZ

elmerb, the Windows sound recorder works for me with the MS driver, but I don't hear anything that I record. I didn't increase the mic boost setting.

You can try installing the WinDVD program from FZ-290 support page.

Why would you want to install the Vaio recovery for Vista in Windows 7? We were talking about "Vaio Launcher", which is unrelated to the Vaio recovery launcher application.

 

coolguy.... for me the Sound Recorder doesn't work at all as it seems that it can't find an audio input device with the Windows sound driver. Switching between the internal microphone and external microphone also causes some issues in the switching. I did use another sound recorder (Free Sound Recorder) and the microphones worked. I had to reboot between mic switching however. Skype also worked with similar problems. The internal mic has noise in the background. The mike boost needs to about 30 db for the internal mike to work. It doesn't seem to maintain properly the initial mic volume and gain settings so sometimes you have to adjust the setting and return it back to the original setting and then it recognizes the settings. Notice also the level meter in Sound Playback tab doesn't seem to switch to the device being used. The mic inputs are a little flaky with this driver.

My goal with the launcher.exe was to be able to install the Sony application programs from off the recovery disk. I had done this in the past when I did my original Vista Clean install. In fact on my original vista install, I had made a shortcut to it at C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio recovery\Launcher.exe

From what Ive seen, many of the applications are not available via the Sony esupport website (thanks for info about the blue ray player!) If they are available online, maybe that is the better way. I was just going to install some of the recommended apps that I had installed when I had done the FZ Vista clean install instructions 2 years ago. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

Thanks
elmerb

 

elmerb,

Withe the Windows sound drivers on my FZ190 under Win7, the switching between internal and external mic is NOT automatic either. I have to set the one I want as the "default". However I do not have to reboot. What I DO have to do though is exit the app that needs the mic, make the default change and then restart the app.

Gary

 

Hello Gary and coolguy,

I started again from scratch and kept the default Microsoft audio driver and didn't even think of installing the Sony driver. I though maybe some left overs from the Sony driver may have been causing some issue.

Some things are better. I can switch back and forth using the set default button no problem. The level meter also now moves to the default device as it should. However the mike boost gain is not being reset properly when you switch between devices. So for example if I am using my external mike input, I need no mike boost so it is set at 0db. When I switch back to the internal mike, even though its default mike boost is set at 30db, I get very little input. If I move the pointer for mike boost from 30 to 20 and back to 30 and click OK, then everything is fine. The Windows sound recorder still reports there is no audio recording device. So it kind of works

NEW PROBLEM:
I have gone further and installed Sony Vaio Camera Capture Utility. Works fine with still pictures but when you switch to Movie, I get a blue picture preview screen with NO INPUT listed on the screen. If I close and reopen I get a message "An attempt to initialize the camera failed. Please check if another software is using the camera"... clicking OK and then clicking on Still brings up my video picture.... it seems there was an issue with Vista with this but there was a fix: On a Windows Vista-based computer, the Sony VAIO Camera Capture Utility (VCCU) may not work correctly until you restart it... I would think this would already be in Windows 7. Switching camera or microphone inputs doesn't seem to do anything... (interesting to note only 1 microphone input is shown)

Any thoughts? Does this work OK for you?

Elmer

 

elmerb,
The Camera capture utility worked fine in my FZ-190. Make sure you install the updated version for your model. You need to install the Sony image filter driver before installing the capture utility as mentioned in my guide.

 

Gary and coolguy,

Yes the Vaio Camera Capture Utility version for the FZ180 is the same as what you have posted. The Microsoft fix is also posted on the Sony site which replaces a MS file in Vista... The version of this file is newer in Win 7 so I am not really interested in downgrading.... The Camera Capture Utility does work in Still mode, just not in Movie mode.

I am going to try WebCam Companion to see what it is all about. I don't know if the Camera Filter has to be removed.... if so I have got back up alittle....

Thanks
Elmer

 

coolguy,
Can you check the information below on the usbvideo.sys file on your computer? This is the file that gets replaced in Vista with Hotfix from MS to fix the Vaio Camera Capture Utility problem in Vista... maybe you have a different one that came in a optional compatability upgrade....
My current as installed file (I am 32 bit so I may be different then you, but I think the version might be the same?):
usbvideo.sys version 6.1.7600.16385 size 146,176 date and time 13-July-2009 18:51
found in C:\Windows\System32\drivers

Version from MS Hotfix KB931812
Usbvideo.sys version 6.0.6000.20560 size 132,608 date and time 18-Mar-2007 22:42 for 32 bit
Usbvideo.sys version 6.0.6000.20560 size 166,784 date and time 18-Mar-2007 23:14 for 64 bit

Thanks
elmerb

 

elmerb,
I also have the same usbvideo.sys file. I don't have the VCCU and the MS update installed currently.

When I was using the latest VCCU in Win 7 RC with no MS update installed, it worked without any problems.

 

Cheers coolguy! I've been trying to make the camera on my VGN-FZ4000 for months now. Never occurred to me to extract the files from the Sony driver installer and use them as-is... I also got my S1 button working again, thanks to you guys.

Thanks a ton for writing this guide!

 

Thanks Coolguy fot this Tutorial, you have help me so mutch !!
But i have a problem, yesterday when i finished to install everything in my win7 x64 (VGN-FZ348e), when i put to shutdown appeared a blue screen and the problem is that:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1046

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 3b
BCP1: 00000000C0000046
BCP2: FFFFF80002B047F8
BCP3: FFFFF880079027C0
BCP4: 0000000000000000
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\091510-36987-01.dmp
C:\Users\Gustavo\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-2311856-0.sysdata.xml

Anyone knows what could be that ?

Thanks,

 

You can use Bluescreenview to get more information about the memory dump.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bluescreenview.zip

I did get some bluescreens with the same code like you got, but couldn't find out the exact culprit that caused it (tried Microsoft's Windows debugging tool too). Googling revealed that that possibly GPU might be the culprit for the BSOD with the error code : 3B.

 

just wanted to note these sigmatel drivers here worked great for me on my fz (unsigned of course). added my dev id's in inf's and pin inputs from sony sigmatel driver as the thread says. has nice equalizer control panel. bit better i think than microsoft default and sony driver...
Latest Sigmatel / IDT Modded Drivers for Win 7 and Vista - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

 

btw, mic does work with this driver (tested with sound recorder)

 

Thanks for the information. How better is the latest modded IDT driver? The default MS driver has more volume than the Sony provided IDT driver.

 

Updated Intel SATA/ AHCI driver to 9.6.4.1002. This is a recommended update, as it resolves several Blue Screen crashes with Windows 7.

 

Does it automatically switch when an external mic is plugged in, or do you have to manually switch like we do with the Microsoft one.

Gary

 

tested only with usb mic (all i had) and it does auto switch. there is an an option in the control panel to enable or disable jack monitoring, so i'm assuming the mic jack also auto switches. driver also has nice sound processing features that can be enabled for internal mic.

 

sound output is comparable with microsoft default for internal speakers. however external audio is much better. driver has dolby feature and srs sound adjustment.

 

im using latest driver from laptopvideotogo. but tested latest two. driver version 6.10.6263.0 is a bit easier to get going, just added pin configs to driver, dev id already there. modded driver version 6.10.0.6277 is incomplete and needs extracted unmodded driver of same version (can be found on the same forum) and wrt.ini (with pin config) from modded version 6.10.6263.0, along with dev ids to complete. not sure what the difference is between the two driver versions though. one's just harder to install. i'll post some modded ini's and inf's to make it easier when i get a chance.

 

Rajesh (aka coolguy), our resident inf modder guy contacted me earlier today and said he was going to play with this tonight. I epect he'll post his findings soon. Nice find loKEY!

Gary

 

Thanks for posting your findings. I will try modding the latest IDT driver from MS Update or Intel download center later.
Apart from adding the infs and copying the pin configuration, did you do anything else when modding the driver?

 

nothing special really done on my part. mobilenividia @ laptopvideo did all the modding to the drivers. not really sure what he did. i just added in ids and pin configs. drivers v10.0.6263 and v10.0.6277 were originally intended for hp's and dell's, repectively. havn't fooled around with adding audio filter settings to the drivers, but they work just fine with the id's & pins. again these drivers come with really nice configuration settings in the control panel, not sony oem certainly but its nice to have. one thing to note, i recently swapped my mobo from a fz240e to a 340e and managed to wreck my speakers in the process. replaced the speakers and noticed subsys ids were different when i tried to reinstall these modded drivers (installed just fine when i made the change). so fz's do ship with different subsys id's for the speakers....

 

Has there been any progress made on the 64bit Bluetooth then? I went thru a good portion of the thread and didn't see anything. Is anyone able to use their bluetooth w/64 bit???

btw, nice to see coolguy and Gary are still running the show here! It's been awhile.

 

Bluetooth works fine with 64-bit, both with the default MS driver and the Toshiba stack. It seems that you haven't looked at the updated first post. Broadcom driver should work fine too for the newer FZ's.

 

I'm sorry as I may have been a bit unclear about what my issue was. I have the bluetooth (broadcom) installed. I was under the impression that the Wireless Switch Setting/Utility needed to be installed in order to enable the bluetooth and/or 2.4/5ghz functionality. And unless I've read this wrong, that currently does not work on win7 64. Is this correct?

thanks

 

The WSSU is needed only to turn OFF the Bluetooth ( and the blue light) independent of the Wifi. The 2.4/ 5 Ghz setting can be changed from the Wireless card advanced properties.
The WSSU doesn't work with 64-bit. You can turn OFF the bluetooth from the device manager or the Broadcom stack (if option is available).

 

Just to let you know, I don't think the wifi links are updated. They still point to the old drivers. Thanks

 

Hi, Coolguy & guys,
I have a Z51 (hybrid video) and would reinstall Win7 x64 (ultimate) from scratch, but got quite confused among all those VERY DIFFERENT sequences explained in this forum.

I liked very much the updating of this thread and its first post, so do you think I could use this one instead of the older guides about Vaio Z ?

Many thanks for any hint

 

I'm not sure what the 'blue' light is but I don't have one. I am also unable to find anything bluetooth related in my device manager. I have tried to install the drivers from Sony and it appears to install correctly. As my sig states I have a FZ280. Is it possible your suggestions just won't work on my model?

thanks.

 

He means the Bluetooth Indicator Light that is on the front side of the laptop next to the Power, Battery, HDD, and WiFi indicator lights, to the left of the Wireless Switch. You definitely should have one, its probably not lit up.

EDIT: The Wireless switch must be on for the bluetooth device to show up in device manager and for the light to come on.

This guide is meant for Vaio FZ models and their hardware components. I am not sure what the Z's have but if your Z has the same hardware components, then you can use the drivers in this guide to install for those components only. However, you can't use these video drivers since you have Hybrid video and The Z might require a certain install order to have everything functioning properly.

I suggest that you compare and contrast the different sequences in the other guides and try out yourself to see what works for you. Install at your own risk.

 

I had double checked before posting the links. The driver links are the most recent from Intel.

 

Uninstall any older BT driver before installing the newer driver and restart. Install the driver from the Broadcom website, not from Sony support.

 

Hello, is there any info on Vaio FZ25GN? Or does the details provided at the first page suit all FZ models?

 

Hello CoolGuy,

This is regarding the point#3
3. Intel Rapid Storage Technology (SATA/AHCI) driver 9.6.4.1002:

Download link : Support Intel

From the device manager, right click the "Intel(R) ICH8M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller" and update the driver by browsing to the downloaded "RST_9.6.4.1002_Win_drivers_and_utils" folder. Reboot as required. You can also install the RST utility if you are interested, but this will add up two more unneeded processes at startup.

When I checked on my laptop - VAIO FZ25GN, it shows "INtel(R) ICH8M Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2850" and "Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controllers". Are these hardwares compatible with the ones you mentioned on the forum?
PLease give your response...

 

Harekrshn, the Intel RST driver should be compatible woth your FZ model.

 

I have a VGN-AR870, where can I find the MachineID for my model so I can edit the XML files to get the S buttons working?

thank you for this guide

 

You might have better luck in a AR thread this one is about the FZ model.

Gary

 

Found it, its 19000

Muchos gracias

 

You should share HOW you found it so other folks with different models might do the same.

Gary

 

I looked in the "%ProgramData%\Sony Corporation\VAIO Control Center\CurrentSettingProfileData.xml" file and found my current MachineID value of 19000

Created a M19000.xml for my PC based on M19763.xml (just copied/renamed it) and edited the other 3 files ( ModelConfigSKeyEu.xml, ModelConfigSUS.xml & ModelConfigVCC.xml) with 19000 wherever there was a similar 19763 entry

Thanks again for this gr8 guide

 

I want to thank you for posting the links and help. I have a question: Which specific driver do I need to install to get the volume control OSD back? And will I get back that 'beeping' sound if I press on the buttons (to change the volume)? I've read through the first few pages here and couldn't find the answer. I have FZ38M and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. Thanks for helping!!!

 

I am unable to locate a driver on Broadcoms website. Your link points to a software package but not a driver. I don't believe these instructions should be assumed correct for all FZ models.

 

You need the Sony shared library, SFEP driver & Vaio Event service for the volume OSD/ muting with the beeping sound.

 

The Broadcom update should install the necessary drivers, together with the stack, if the software updater finds a compatible Broadcom enabled BT chip. Why can't you use the default Microsoft bluetooth driver?

 

Why not???

Gary

 

My system doesn't even recognize there's a bluetooth device that doesn't have the correct driver. The broadcom stack doesn't appear to ever complete. I'm not trying to knock on the guide as I feel it will be/has been very helpful but it does appear there are enough differences between the models. To be sure I'm not speaking incorrectly..... what are the links to the exact drivers/software you're referring to?

thanks.

 

Thank you so much! It worked!! I forgot to ask about the webcam... How can I check which webcam version I got?

Because I don't know if I should install this Ricoh (Sony VGP-VCC4) camera driver 6.1008.207.0 or this Ricoh (Sony VGP-VCC8) camera driver 6.1004.211.0? Do I actually need to install it to get the webcam working?

Thanks in advance!

 

Wmod, you need to install the camera driver to get the web cam working. Install the VCC4 driver if your FZ's model no is 1XX.

 

Hey man, you're really cool. Thank you so much for the instructions and all the work for vgn fz win7 64bit update, especially for the nvidia driver and the inf file. best regards

 

So I have done some further research and it appears I do not have a bluetooth device showing in the device manager. Does anyone know why it wouldn't show up?