Windows XP to 7 Clean Install- XL100 tips/issues?

[Wheeker]

Hey, I am going to upgrade my XL100 to W7 from the original XP. Having read about various forums, I am still unclear on a few XL-100 specific issues:

•Pre-installation I need to download & save to separate drive all Sony Vista drivers (as well as Internet Explorer v8). Are there any Sony W7 drivers yet?
•Currently running XP 32-bit, can I install W7 64-bit or can I only install W7 32-bit? Is it worth doing this or will I just run into driver issues? Sorry, I'm not that clear on the whole 32-bit/64-bit differences.
•Does 64-bit require more RAM? Currently have 2Gb RAM, is this the XL-100 max or can I install more? Is it worth it?
•Once W7 is installed I need to reinstall all of my bundled software (i.e. I do not have original software discs). Do I do this from the Sony Application Recovery discs/Hidden Partition or is it easier to use the Windows Easy-Transfer software?
•Does ALL the bundled software still work in W7? Sonicstage MS/Vaio Information Flow/Adobe Premiere Elements etc....
•I am also running Norton Ghost v12, am I better to use this to reinstall applications & data?


Known Issues:

•Standby/Resume issues which can be resolved by disabling the Firewire in the BIOS. Not quite sure how to do this, is it easy enough?
•Eject button not functioning- is there a solution to this?
•Audio issues with Sigmatel HD driver- uninstall/reinstall to resolve?
•Any others?


If anyone could advise me it would be much appreciated.

[Wheeker]

OK, 302 views but no replies

Has no-one else done a W7 clean install on a VGX-XL? Anyhow, I went ahead with the W7 install & thought I would update.

All went surprisingly smoothly, I'm totally loving the huge advances from XP, esp. in Media Center. I went for 32-bit to be safe. Sony are focusing all support on their newer machines (Vaio upgrade) & as soon as you install W7 yourself you're on your own. So there are no W7 drivers on the Sony site for my XL100 . As there was a Windows update, it is hard to know what drivers I needed to manually install, so I did the obvious Sony Vista ones (TV Tuner, Sigmatel etc.) & so far all seems to be working fine.....

The main issue I am having is I cannot run the Sony Appications Recovery Disc, even in XP compatibility mode. So this means I have lost ALL of the Sony bundled software Not the end-of-the-world I thought, though I would have liked Sonicstage Mastering Studio & Vaio Information Flow. I can't get Vaio update to run in W7 either.

However, now I realise that DVD's are not playing properly in Media Center(stuttering). Do I need the WinDVD DVD decoder for this to work properly? However I can't install WinDVD as I can't run my applications Receovery disc. What can I do, do I have to buy a new one?

I have Symantec Ghost v14, but Symantec don't seem to have provided a W7 update to this yet.

I did indeed disable the Firewire in the BIOS as throughout the install it would hang on restarts, this resolved it. :smileygrin:

I found on the AVS Forum AVS Forums VGX-XL3 that (in theory) if I installed all the Sony Utilities from the on-line Original utilities file the Eject button SHOULD work again. This didn't work for me though.

[gibo65]

Hey, I am going to upgrade my XL100 to W7 from the original XP. Having read about various forums, I am still unclear on a few XL-100 specific issues:

•Pre-installation I need to download & save to separate drive all Sony Vista drivers (as well as Internet Explorer v8). Are there any Sony W7 drivers yet?
•Currently running XP 32-bit, can I install W7 64-bit or can I only install W7 32-bit? Is it worth doing this or will I just run into driver issues? Sorry, I'm not that clear on the whole 32-bit/64-bit differences.
•Does 64-bit require more RAM? Currently have 2Gb RAM, is this the XL-100 max or can I install more? Is it worth it?
•Once W7 is installed I need to reinstall all of my bundled software (i.e. I do not have original software discs). Do I do this from the Sony Application Recovery discs/Hidden Partition or is it easier to use the Windows Easy-Transfer software?
•Does ALL the bundled software still work in W7? Sonicstage MS/Vaio Information Flow/Adobe Premiere Elements etc....
•I am also running Norton Ghost v12, am I better to use this to reinstall applications & data?


Known Issues:

•Standby/Resume issues which can be resolved by disabling the Firewire in the BIOS. Not quite sure how to do this, is it easy enough?
•Eject button not functioning- is there a solution to this?
•Audio issues with Sigmatel HD driver- uninstall/reinstall to resolve?
•Any others?


If anyone could advise me it would be much appreciated.

[ChalkyWhite71]

Hey Wheeker, i find Win7 a huge improvement too, but not without the problems you mention. I am resorting to opening explorer, then right-clicking the DVD drive, then eject. Plus the firewire hack did the trick for my restarts too

I don't remember whether i've tried DVDs since RC1 of Win7, but will try. I guess i can always rip to hdd first if this proves a problem i can't fix, but hardly ideal. I'd use DVDFab-Plus for this.

I was playing with the Sky player plug-in (which added itself automagically), and as i am nolonger a Sky member it was almost pointless, but good to know i can hire films for less than Blockbuster prices.

Considering a Blu-ray upgrade, but with only a 720p screen, i don't think the noticeable difference over DVD will be worth it?

Cheers, Tony

[olistone4]

Yes it is possible to upgrade all vgx-xl systems to Windows 7, you can either do a clean install or a upgrade install.

Both upgrades should work well once any minor bugs are ironed out.

For more infomation see...

http://www.vgx-xl.com/software-upgrades/windows-7

Best of luck,

Oliver

[hayley88]

Windows 7 Boot Splash Screen Freeze

FOR ALL VAIO VGX-XL DIGITAL LIVING SYSTEM MODELS

IEEE-1394 iLink / Fire-wire support driver conflict.

Note: Create a "System Restore point" to allow for easily returning to your current system status, if necessary. Before proceeding, enter the system BIOS by pressing the 'F2' key during boot, and enable the IEEE 1394 iLink ("Fire-wire") support so that "IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controllers" node will show-up in 'Device Manager'. Also enable the "VAIO" Logo boot splash screen in the BIOS. Exit the BIOS (saving your settings changes), and allow the system to fully boot. When you are back in Windows, proceed with the following steps:

1. Click the Start Button, navigate to “Device Manager” (or if you do not know the path to Device Manager type “devmgmt.msc” in the “Start Menu Search” box and press Enter).
   
   
2. When “Device Manager” opens, expand the device tree and look for the "IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controllers" node.
   
   
3. Right click the host controller shown in that node and then select "Update driver software ...".
   
   
4. Select "Browse my computer for driver software".
   
   
5. Select "let me pick from a list of device driver on my computer ..." and add a check in the box before “Show compatible hardware”.
   
   
6. Choose the option "1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)", and click next to update the driver.
   
   Note: Depending on your version of Windows 7 it may be called "1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Old)" rather than "(Legacy)".
   
   
7. Exit the Device Manager utility.

You're done!

Reboot the computer and you should no longer encounter the Windows 7 boot splash screen freeze, and system support for the front and rear I/O panel iLink (Fire-wire) ports should be restored and available for use for your VAIO Disc Changers and iLink or Fire-wire peripheral devices.