Windows 7 on Sony Z

Nice work kazin, that there is the explanation for why it didn't work on my system. I don't quite understand why that works though, was it trial and error or is there explainable logic. I.e. why does creating a small partition allow the next partition to be GPT (or whatever?).
By the way, how is the experience of Win 7 64bit vs 32bit. I've also got 4GB of RAM you see as that's what the UK models come with.

 

Guys- Been following this thread and while all drivers are installed and seem to be working (except the Fn keys) under Windows 7 x64, I cannot seem to get the Stamina/Speed button to work. The light doesnt come up on it and nothing happens if I try to switch.

What did I miss?

 

I came across this a long time ago trying to get vista 64 to work on my Z, after upgrading the hard drive. I tried all manner of things, mostly from the vista 64 on z thread (including trying to do it by making the partitions myself as has been suggested in the current thread) but what ultimately ended up working was to use recovery discs to get the laptop back to factory. Then to run the vista installer, choose a clean install and delete my windows partition in the installer, and then just use the newly scuttled partition to install windows to. This may have already been mentioned in this thread so if i'm being redundant i apologize.

 

Haven't seen this one, but for those who are looking to use Gadgets with UAC disabled, make these registry changes:

1. Open Regedit
2. Browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sidebar\Setting
3. Create new DWORD value: AllowElevatedProcess
4. Set value to: 1
5. Reboot

Worked great for me.

 

ZoinksS2k, thanks for the trick!

 

No problem.

Here are a few more I found useful
Get Quick Launch back (make sure you lock the taskbar when done)
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-7/add-the-quick-launch-bar-to-the-taskbar-in-windows-7/

Remove "Send Feedback" link in all windows:
Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Set "FeedbackToolEnabled" to "0"

 

ZoinksS2k,
may be you also know where to get working, switchable and "awakeable" video drivers pack for win7 based on wddm 1.1 drivers

 

I'm actually not too worried about using the WDDM video drivers. Well, at least to have spent any time looking at changing them. I practically never game on the Z, except for some Peggle now and again. Video performance isn't a huge deal for me on the lappy. I'm content having the ability to switch modes and reliable Sleep/Hibernation operation. Lastly, the Sony versions play Blueray in either mode. If it ain't broke, don't fix t, yadda-yadda

What I do know is that the nVidia WDDM drivers perform poorly on my big box running with a GTX 295. I use the latest driver packs as they come available. www.guru3d.com's download area is a great way to stay on top of nVidia's almost weekly driver distros.

It has been mentioned before, but this thread is good:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4448732#post4448732

Sorg knows what he is doing.

 

i see, but based on w7 score wddm dirver for intel beats non wddm 1624 from latest Sorg's pack in 3d: 3.4/4.9 - significant advantage isn't it? And i hope 9300 must be faster at least, but it's still at 4.4/4.4..

 

Run a true benchmark (3dmark06, etc) to compare the results. The Windows ratings aren't a great way to get a performance baseline.

For example, I have 4x300GB vRaptors in RAID 0 on a Accusys 61010 caching controller (1gb) in my PC. It claims that the Seagate 7200 I have in the laptop is faster. Atto, HDTach and HDTune all tell a different story.

The Desktop also has a GTX 295 and was given a 6.0 rating. I don't recall what it was with the 1.1 drivers, but games were 10's of frames slower with that driver compared to the 181.22 driver pack in about everything I ran.

 

agreed, i mean i have the same hardware and the same measure instrument - only driver is different - so we could track a tendency..?

 

Run a pass with the 1.1 driver with 3dmark06, then one with the Sony flavor. Should tell a story pretty quickly.

What I'm trying to say is that the windows assessment tool isn't valuable as a benchmarking tool

 

i used to try it probably, but it refuse to start tests coz minimum screen resolution was not supported or something like that..

 

I have the 1600x900 screen and can run 3dmark06 perfectly. The 2,236 result is truely sad, but the Z isn't a 3d powerhouse

 

The same screen size, thanks i'll try once more later, build 70** is now downloading..

 

I'd recommend against talking about non-public builds. The admins frown on it.

 

For the last couple of days, when I resume from Sleep, it takes forever with the HS chugging and then Windows gives me "A USB Drive device cannot be recognized"

I can see the "Unknown Device" under the USB Controllers list. What could it possibly be?

 

new BIOS: R3052M3
This utility updates the BIOS to version R3052M3 to resolve an issue where the computer resumes from sleep mode when the lid is closed quickly

 

Nice, loves me some new BIOS

 

This utility installs the USB Registry Patch to resolve an issue where the USB ports, Bluetooth®, or Finger Print devices may not work when resuming from hibernation, standby, or sleep modes.

 

Any comments on battery life?

 

BTW, Build 7022 is leaked and can be obtained through various channels at this time.

 

I can't say I notice a difference. I do, however, love the auto display dimmer

 

ZoinksS2k, how come?

 

Those who cannot study history are doomed to repeat it

 

nice, possibly ad**n is on **22 as well

 

I have a problem. I want to install Win 7 (64bit) on my Vaio ZWN/B but. My Z runs on Vista buissnes 32bit but if I insert the Win7 64bit DVD I cant install it. I tryed to install Win7 with a new startup... I foramted my HDD (where Vista was installed) and try to install Win7 on this HDD. But it doesnt work X_x
It says something with GPT and EFI.
Now I installing vista 64 bit and hope that I can install after that Win7 64bit X_x

Anyone some solutions? xD





sry for my bad english <.<

 

in Win7 installer delete all partitions, then close all - do not click "next" and let notebook to reboot itself. It will automatically start from dvd again and this time do create new disk on full disk size on free space you have already clear. You will see that installer create 2 (two!) partitions: 1 - system (200M) and 2 - main ... if so - click next and enjoy!

 

Windows 7 is GREAT.

I wasn't a Vista hater by any means - I actually rather liked it once I got used to it - but Windows 7 is far and away a better experience.

My only issue is my battery life doesn't seem to be as good (completely anecdotal).

 

Thx for your help :>
The most of the notebook features works finde, brightness, sound, eject button.
The brightness and soundkeys only work in stamina mode.
And the S1 and S2 key dont work really well <.<
But I love Win7, much better than Vista :>


Ah I installed the 64bit Version

 

Here are the 32-bit drivers that come with the Z690 in the US.


http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VGNZ690&SelectOS=29

Does anyone know if they are more recent that those we have been using so far.
I looked at the firmware parser and it still has v8.0.0.1, although the date is more recent.
I was wondering if they would offer a way to improve the functionality of the S1/2 buttons or brightness and vol controls in Speed mode under Win 7.

I don't want to waste time experimenting if someone has already worked through them

 

Which wifi driver are you all using on Win7 with your Z? I'm having issues with mine :\

 

here, if x64 - just disable "allow the computer..." at the Power management tab in driver properties - will work after sleep or hibernation

 

cool, thx a lot, i'll try those out

 

So has no one been able to crack the brightness / nvidia issue yet?

 

Sorry to bump this as well but I'm also wondering if there's been any progress with regards to Win7 and the issues mentioned here. I'd really like to be using that instead but I feel like the laptop's just stunted without that stuff working correctly.

 

2 newbie questions here.. can I install win 7 on a portable hard drive, boot from it and not affect the C drive at all?? for testing i don;t want it to interfere with the original os.
the other question is: would I be able to use the sony recovery or stored drivers and programs which are located on the protected part of the drive C in case i install win 7 on the C drive?

 

Hi all,
I have z570. I just installed W 7.
I have 2 problems:

1) My cd/dvd does not work. I mean I cannot see it through the Start->Computer.
2) When my laptop wants to boot up, I just get a message : "Error: HDD protection feature failed. Press ESC to continue ..." When I press ESC it just boots up and everything works great"

I must add that I didnt install in the order William said. Is that the problem?
Please guide me.
Cheers,

 

Did you install the Sony Notebook Utilities?

Sony's power saving features turn off the cd/dvd drive, are you sure that's not what's going on? Check the power settings to see if the drive is being turned off. In the system tray click the little up arrow, there should be a drive icon that tells you if it's on or off.

did you also install the Sony HDD Protection Driver?

 

Hey, I've been trying to install Windows 7 RC (x64) on my Z690 but I'm getting a blue screen of death before Windows 7 even has a chance to fully install! I'm installing it as my primary operating system (no dual boot) on a 80GB Intel X25-M SSD. The BSOD sometimes mentions a .sys (driver) error but I don't even have a chance to boot up Windows to install new drivers. I've installed Windows 7 about 3 times now and I get random blue screens every time. Does anyone have an idea as to what I should try? Faulty RAM? The SSD seems to work fine up until Windows tries to boot for the first time.

 

So guys, any major changes with the RC? I hear that there is native fingerprint now? Still 7077 but don't really think it's worth going to RC?

Thanks
Rico

 

I had a very hard time with Win7 x64 bit on my Z with an X25-M as well. I had the same problem you had, but eventually I got it to work after reinstalling a second time.

However, I constantly get blue screen errors, and it got significantly slower, especially in Sleep resume after installing the sony drivers.

Today it took 5-6 restarts to get it to book properly and when it did, it was very slow, the audio sounded distorted, and the trackpad barely worked.

I don't know is going on with this x64 build...I plan to install x86 today.

 

Interesting, is this a problem with all SSDs running Windows 7 x64 or just the X25-M drives? Please post how the x86 install runs; until then I'll hold off from installing Windows 7.

 

I installed x86, which went very fast and uneventful. So far absolutely no problem at all, knock on wood. I've performed all the updates (note: a May-released Intel chipset driver was found). I installed a few programs as well.

The only thing I haven't installed yet is the Sony utilities.

 

So far, I've installed Windows 7 x64 successfully on my old Z11WN (the first revision of the Z-series ) with a Vertex SSD.

1. Do one of the following two sub-steps
   1. Since Vista SP1 x64, Windows wants a new GPT formatted hard drive if it finds a EFI-compliant "BIOS". This is what caused the problems (BSODs on install, BSODs on bootup, BSODs while scratching the nose etc...) for me with the x64 editions of windows (speaking of Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64). Reading through the threads I've found a solution here, which involves creating a bootable DVD without the EFI detection stuff (thanks to Zinthar).
      
      
   2. Insert the Windows 7 x64 DVD and wait for "Press any key to continue setup...". Don't press a key yet, wait until the text disappears and appears again afterwards. Now press any key to start setup. The font of the text slightly changes from the first to the second appearance. (Thanks to Markeh)
2. Burn the new iso image found in "c:\efi-iso\win7rc_x64_noefi.iso" and start Windows 7 installation. This time, it shouldn't complain about the hard drive being MBR (and not GPT) formatted, so you should be able to install it to the first partition on your drive (eg. Drive 0 Partition 1 as far as I remember).
   
3. After installing W7x64 I installed all the drivers and tools in the following order (I've taken the Vista x64 driver releases from the Sony sites). Don't know if it matters, but my graphics switch was set to speed all the time. The system was also rebooted when asked to.
   1. Intel Chipset Drivers (INF Installer) - 9.0.0.1008 (taken from intel.com)
   2. Graphics Drivers - official x64 driver from sony
   3. Sony Programmable I/O Control Device - 8.0.0.1
   4. Sony Firmware Extension Parser Device - 8.0.0.1
   5. Sony Shared Library - 5.2.0.08220
   6. Sony Settings Utility - 4.2.0.10150
   7. Sony Vaio Event Service - 4.2.1.12090
   8. Sony Vaio Control Center - 3.2.0.09120
   9. Sony Vaio Power Management - 3.2.1.12240
   10. Sony Vaio ISB Utility - 3.1.0.08280
   11. Sony HDD Protection Driver - 1.3.8.8220 (I didn't need that - got an SSD)
   12. Ricoh Memory Stick Controller - 6.3.0.56 (it's the "Base System Device")
   13. Ricoh SD Card Controller - 6.3.2.23
   14. Upek Fingerprint Driver - 1.9.2.118
   15. Broadcom Bluetooth Driver - 6.2.0.5800
   16. Sony Vaio Smark Network - 2.2.0.12040
   17. Start the Smart Network utility to enable the WWAN module
   18. Globetrotter/Option WWAN Driver - 4.0.3.1
   19. Alps Touchpad - 7.102.505.201
   I did not install the Realtek Audio Driver as I'm fine with the one Windows 7 got on-board. Also, the Intel Wireless driver that comes with Win7 is newer than the one found on the Intel website. Didn't install that either.
   
4. I switched to stamina mode to test if it worked.
5. For me, the standard nVidia UI for switching graphic cards was active - it did interfere withh the sony hardware switch so I disable the nVidia UI with the registry file found here (thanks to Nautis).
   
6. Basically, that's it.
   

There are a few glitches I've encountered so far:

• The Vaio Power Management I've installed doesn't work properly. First, it screws up the Power Options of Windows by displaying some nonsens in the labels. Secondly, this thing caused "SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION" BSODs. I've uninstalled it afterwards and everything seems to be fine now. The Vaio specific power options like disabling the dvd drive are gone though (didn't test if disabling the dvd worked anyway)
• Seems like Windows 7 doesn't like the docking station (DS)
  • Black screen when booting off the DS when the login should appear (graphics switch position doesn't matter)
  • Black screen when putting the Z on the DS while in stamina mode
  • Black screen when changing the monitor's (extend, clone etc) through the Windows tool (nVidia control panel works though)
• Brightness control (FN keys and through the power options) doesn't work at all when in speed mode

All in all, W7x64 works really smooth except for the things mentioned above. Maybe those are not present on newer revisions (Z31...). Also don't know if the docking station was revised too.

 

I have almost everything working well enough dual booting windows 7 RC and vista.

One annoying problem is that windows 7 recognizes my fingerprint reader and can use it to log into the computer but the upek protection suite doesn't recognize it anymore. so i can't use it to log on to web pages

Also, the brightness control really doesn't work to well

Overall i really like Windows 7

 

I have found that when you boot the x64 CD at startup when it says "Press any key to continue setup..." if you wait for this to dissapear, it will appear once again but in slightly different bold font, at this point press any key.

What happens is the BIOS tries to boot the CD using EFI and when it can't it reverts to MBR. You can tell when it's under EFI as the "Press and key to continue..." font is really fine.

I have successfuly installed x64 vista and 7 using this method without getting the dreaded BSOD's (usually from ecache.sys) and am able to install on normal MBR partitions without the need to mess about with EFI.

 

Thanks Markeh, added your tip to my post

 

windows 7 x64 RC is awsome.
Installed it keeping my recovery partition (had to press esc several times to sort out the EFI / GPT issue) and everything working in 10 minutes excepting 3 devices: Sony Firmware Extension Parser Device, Sony Programmable I/O Control Device, Ricoh SD Card Controller. Installed the drivers and...perfect!.
Battery life is way better (stamina) and I am so happy I will never go back to Vista again.
Vaio Z / P9600 / SSD 128 / 1366x768 / CTO european

 

Great post yuuma, thanks for your time. I'm going to switch from 32bit W7 to 64 this weekend on my Z once I get my ram and new HD in, will def look at your post if i have any issues

+1