UPGRADING SONY VAIO VGN TXN15P FROM XP PROFESSIONAL TO VISTA BUSINESS.

[its_my_dime]

UPGRADING SONY VAIO VGN TXN15P FROM XP PROFESSIONAL TO VISTA BUSINESS.



I'm posting this to add to the Microsoft data base and with the wish that
the experts keep it in the back of their mind should similar issues arise
with another user.



My "Vista Ready" Sony Vaio, bought at the end of 2006, came with Windows XP
Professional installed but with an upgrade disk to Vista Business that
followed a few months later.



Having recently bought desktops with Vista, I decided finally to upgrade the
Vaio.



The upgrade was an extremely difficult, frustrating and time consuming
process. Essentially the user is on his own. Sony's warranty people won't
help because the computer was bought more than a year ago; the extended
warranty people won't deal with software issues.



Based on experience, before the upgrade, I highly recommend the following:



· Buy a 1 GB quality generic memory chip to replace one of the two x
1/2 GB chips in the computer. Should cost in the $25 range. Follow the
installation instructions in the Vaio manual. Restart the computer to
insure that the memory is recognized. Vista will theoretically run on the
existing 1 GB of memory but the extra 1/2 GB significantly speeds up the
process.



· Back up all data files and program downloads, and locate all
program disks. While the upgrade should maintain existing data and
programs, some may get lost or corrupted.



· Download and run CCClean or a similar program, or use a Microsoft
service to remove temporary files, cookies, clear the recycle bin and clean
the registry.



· CREATE A FULL SET OF RESTORE DISKS. Test the disks by loading disk
1 and then turning off and restarting the computer. The Vista installation
will replace the hard drive XP restore partition with a Vista partition so
the only way to go back is with XP restore disks.



· Uninstall UPHClean (if present). It is not compatible with Vista.



· IMPORTANT: Search for both ZCfgSvc.exe and ifrmewrk.exe. Change
the .exe to .xxx These files, which conflict with Vista, can usurp 100% of
the processor and slow the installation of Vista and software to a crawl.
Unfortunately, the upgrade disk left them active it took a lot of searching
to isolate the problem.



· Have another computer with web access standing by in case there are
additional downloads or questions.



· Since there will be a lot to download after the upgrade, it is
useful to have a wired internet connection available.



After the initial upgrade, go to the Microsoft site and download the several
dozen upgrades to Vista and Defender.



Then, set a restore point and run a registry cleaner. Mine removed almost
2500 bad or useless entries. Also run a disk defrag program. Check the
events viewer under Administrative tools and deal with the errors that may
appear.



Install an antivirus program. The one on the Vista disk is past its renewal
date.



After all of this was completed, I decided that, based on experience with
other computers, Vista just wasn't working to full efficiency on the Vaio
and I couldn't improve it. It was slow and would sometimes hang. There were
numerous and differing events errors. I suspect there were legacies from XP
still left on the hard drive. Perhaps if Sony had provided for a clean
install, the process might have worked better.



So I reinstalled XP.



That, of course, took may hours and had its own issues. The hard disk is
wiped clean so everything has to be reinstalled. Sony has an amazing amount
of bloatware that needs to be removed after installation. There are the
many downloads from the Microsoft web site; programs to reinstall; settings
to input; data to move back.



Therefore, I do NOT recommend this upgrade, and nobody without strong
computer experience with XP AND Vista (and a lot of patience) should, in my
opinion, even try.



I spoke with Sony customer service whose response was: Sorry you had a
problem; Microsoft said the computer was Vista ready; we are not responsible
for the upgrade process.



The Vaio was actually fine with XP Professional. It is even better now with
the extra memory.



FINAL RECOMMENDATION: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[its_my_dime]

Your problem(as you should have realised) is that you used a Sony
version of Vista. Just like you said About your XP reinstall. Tons of
bloat ware. Vista does not run well with this garbage in the works.

You should have done a clean install with a regular Vista DVD. No Sony
crap involved and simply installed the apps you needed after.

Now you have wasted roughly 2 days of your time foolishly and have a
serious misconception of how well Vista really is.

Just last Christmas a client of mine bought 2 Sony laptops with Vista
HP on both. He did'nt even open the boxes, he brought them straight to
me.

I dumped them and reinstalled Vista with a retail Vista DVD.

He only has a gig of RAM in each.

His lappies run great.

If you do the job right, you have better results.

1) In addition to the apps which are easy, there is the issue of drivers.
The Sony disk installed them automatically. Alternatively, I believe they
could be downloaded from the web but I'm not sure how to install them.

2) The processor is only a 1.20 GHz which is why the extra memory is so
helpful.

3) I like Vista. It has some really good features. I have it on my
desktops. There is a learning curve but I've been climbing that since my
Apple II with 128K of memory (extra 64K card) and only capital letters!

4) Would you believe parts of 4 days.

 

[Paul Montgomery]

Not suggesting they aren't genuine. Like I said in there have been
posts claiming a retail OEM disk is needed with an OEM product key and
a Retail disk is needed with a Retail product key. It's good to know you
can use any MS dvd and don't need to hunt for one of those "retail" OEM
disks. I suspected that was the case, but haven't been able to try it as
I don't have an OEM key and a Retail disk to try it on.

You keep using "OEM". Realize that's a system-builder version and not
a BRANDED OEM product that comes bundled with a brand-name computer.

 

[its_my_dime]

SIW2 I'm sorry if I worded that like that I did'nt think that as I
posted it.

But your right some people have confusion when it comes to product
keys. If its legit key, no matter what the source, it "will" work.

And to the guy with just a dime to his name. Drivers are easily
avalible seperatly online. You have no idea how to install drivers? Man!
I'm not sure how to respond to that other then this.

NEVER EVER ATTEMT TO DO ANY KIND OF SERIOUS COMPUTER WORK.

You lack of fundamental computer skills is scary. What are you 12?!

I misspoke.

Yes, I know how to install drivers...but I'm not sure about several dozen of
them and in what order when starting with nothing. That has always been
done for me by installation disks.

There is a huge file on the Sony site with what I believe are all the
original drivers for the computer. My assumption is that the computer can
run on Microsoft drivers sufficient to download the file with a wired
connection and click on it. What happens then is anybody's guess.

 

[Mick Murphy]

"Then, set a restore point and run a registry cleaner"

This jumps out at you as a glaring ERROR.
What do you want to run a Registry cleaner for?
You just finish an upgrade, so you want to screw it up, lol.

 

[its_my_dime]

"Then, set a restore point and run a registry cleaner"

This jumps out at you as a glaring ERROR.
What do you want to run a Registry cleaner for?
You just finish an upgrade, so you want to screw it up, lol.

REGISTRY CLEANUP -

Mad Mike - this was done at the end after the REMOVAL of the bloatware
(verious offerings) , the automatically installed programs I was replacing
(Microsoft Office Trial, old version of Quicken, expired Antivirus) and
many Sony features I don't need (Sonic Stage, entertainment stuff,
fingerprint software, etc.) They were left behind by Add-Remove software.
I cannot believe that the computer doesn't perform faster without 2,500
useless registry lines removed and the registry compacted.

 

[Peter Foldes]

Registry Tools are snake oil remedies. It does NOTHING aside from removing entries that were not supposed to be removed and cause more grief from some programs being disabled to not being able to boot.

Do NOT use any Registry Cleaning Tools. If you do not know what it is removing then you have no business using one.

 

[Not Even Me]

REGISTRY CLEANUP -
Mad Mike - this was done at the end after the REMOVAL of the bloatware
(verious offerings) , the automatically installed programs I was replacing
(Microsoft Office Trial, old version of Quicken, expired Antivirus) and
many Sony features I don't need (Sonic Stage, entertainment stuff,
fingerprint software, etc.) They were left behind by Add-Remove
software. I cannot believe that the computer doesn't perform faster
without 2,500 useless registry lines removed and the registry compacted.

I have yet to see a reg cleaner that actually does any good unless you have
a defective install anyway.
But I have fixed many machines that have been made unbootable by them.
I wouldn't 'compact' my registry any more than I would compress a HDD to
save space anymore.
Unless you're short on disk space (with the new cheap and huge HDDS, why
would you be??) a compressed (compacted) volume is actually slower than an
uncompressed one.
Orphaned entries basically do nothing.
Unless you are trying to run the associated program, they just sit there
(like the blank spaces around the print on the pages of books)
Does clipping off the margins help you read faster?