Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi everyone -

Through a conversation with Quaoar some time back in this group (many thanks
Q!), I have succeeded at performing a clean install of Windows XP Pro on a
machine originally shipping with Windows XP Home, maintaining the ability to
use the Recovery CD set to install any or all of the pre-installed Sony and
3rd party applications. And it isn't dependent upon the presence of the
Recovery Partition that Sony places on the hard drive (this can also be
blown away to free up the disk space).

Previously, when Application Recovery CD's were shipped with VAIO's, it was
possible to simply load the CD and the Application Recovery program would
start and you'd be good to go.

However, with more recent VAIO's with no Recovery CD's shipped and embedded
Recovery Partitions, it was not possible.

As a result of my conversation with Quaoar, I figured it out... BUT... some
advance planning is necessary.

Create the entire Recovery CD set using Sony's wizard.

Go to C:\Windows\System32 and save the file Snyinst.oem. This is a text
file which contains two lines. The first line appears to be some sort of
Sony part number starting with UCG (this number is verified against the one
contained in a text file on the Recovery CD containing the Application
Recovery Wizard). The second line appears to be a software build number (I
could not find where this number is matched... but it is the key to the
Wizard actually being able to run). Write down the exact contents of this
file and/or save it external to the computer.

The file will contain something to the effect:

UCGxxxxxxx
Buildnnn

Then you can clean install and partition as you desire.

After XP Pro is installed, replace Snyinst.oem to C:\Windows\System32 and
you're good to go.

You'll have to scan through the contents of your Recovery CD set for the one
containing a folder named ART. In fact, when you insert the right one the
Application Recovery Wizard will auto-start. Select all the drivers,
libraries and applications you wish to install and follow the on-screen
prompts. The Wizard will install them in the proper order so you don't even
need to worry about that detail.

I was able to install Drivers, Sony Utilities DLL, Sony Shared Library, Sony
Notebook Setup, Hotkey, PowerPanel, WinDVD, Works, etc., using this program
with nary a hiccup.

If, at some point in the future, you decide to sell your VAIO, the Recovery
CD set is bootable even when the Recovery Partition has been deleted. This
will "free up" your Windows XP Pro license for a new computer (assuming you
have a transferable license key). Boot with your Recovery Startup CD and
then choose the option for a complete recovery of the C: and D: partitions
and the entire hard disk will be restored to it's factory state (well...
almost). The Recovery Partition will be recreated. Windows XP will be
installed to the C: partition and the D: partition will be recreated empty.
I say "well... almost" because the application program installation files
will be recovered... and, when you first boot the computer afterward, you'll
go through a rather lengthy process of reinstalling all the 3rd party
applications.

I'll be waiting for Sony's Signature Black Helicopter now..

Jef

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi Jef -- You may have just indirectly answered my post just below
yours.

A quick question: Don't the Vaio laptops need a special partition in
order to hibernate properly? How have you gotten around this with
your WinXP Pro setup?



"Jef Norton" <jefn_REMOVE_YOUR_SHORTS_@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message news:<2jm0kjF12tubaU1@uni-berlin.de>...
> Hi everyone -
>
> Through a conversation with Quaoar some time back in this group (many thanks
> Q!), I have succeeded at performing a clean install of Windows XP Pro on a
> machine originally shipping with Windows XP Home, maintaining the ability to
> use the Recovery CD set to install any or all of the pre-installed Sony and
> 3rd party applications. And it isn't dependent upon the presence of the
> Recovery Partition that Sony places on the hard drive (this can also be
> blown away to free up the disk space).
>
> Previously, when Application Recovery CD's were shipped with VAIO's, it was
> possible to simply load the CD and the Application Recovery program would
> start and you'd be good to go.
>
> However, with more recent VAIO's with no Recovery CD's shipped and embedded
> Recovery Partitions, it was not possible.
>
> As a result of my conversation with Quaoar, I figured it out... BUT... some
> advance planning is necessary.
>
> Create the entire Recovery CD set using Sony's wizard.
>
> Go to C:\Windows\System32 and save the file Snyinst.oem. This is a text
> file which contains two lines. The first line appears to be some sort of
> Sony part number starting with UCG (this number is verified against the one
> contained in a text file on the Recovery CD containing the Application
> Recovery Wizard). The second line appears to be a software build number (I
> could not find where this number is matched... but it is the key to the
> Wizard actually being able to run). Write down the exact contents of this
> file and/or save it external to the computer.
>
> The file will contain something to the effect:
>
> UCGxxxxxxx
> Buildnnn
>
> Then you can clean install and partition as you desire.
>
> After XP Pro is installed, replace Snyinst.oem to C:\Windows\System32 and
> you're good to go.
>
> You'll have to scan through the contents of your Recovery CD set for the one
> containing a folder named ART. In fact, when you insert the right one the
> Application Recovery Wizard will auto-start. Select all the drivers,
> libraries and applications you wish to install and follow the on-screen
> prompts. The Wizard will install them in the proper order so you don't even
> need to worry about that detail.
>
> I was able to install Drivers, Sony Utilities DLL, Sony Shared Library, Sony
> Notebook Setup, Hotkey, PowerPanel, WinDVD, Works, etc., using this program
> with nary a hiccup.
>
> If, at some point in the future, you decide to sell your VAIO, the Recovery
> CD set is bootable even when the Recovery Partition has been deleted. This
> will "free up" your Windows XP Pro license for a new computer (assuming you
> have a transferable license key). Boot with your Recovery Startup CD and
> then choose the option for a complete recovery of the C: and D: partitions
> and the entire hard disk will be restored to it's factory state (well...
> almost). The Recovery Partition will be recreated. Windows XP will be
> installed to the C: partition and the D: partition will be recreated empty.
> I say "well... almost" because the application program installation files
> will be recovered... and, when you first boot the computer afterward, you'll
> go through a rather lengthy process of reinstalling all the 3rd party
> applications.
>
> I'll be waiting for Sony's Signature Black Helicopter now..
>
> Jef

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"raj" <gshabada@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:92a6eb4.0407061859.d8bdc54@posting.google.com...
| Hello Jeff,
| I have a coupla questions for you regd XP Pro install on Vaio. I
| installed XP Pro on my Vaio Z1-A laptop, but at that time I didnt have
| my recovery cds with me. So I just went ahead and installed XP Pro on
| my laptop, I guess it formatted the C drive because I noticed my D
| drive is intact. So I came back home and tried to install SONY
| relevant drivers like HOTKEY, SONY apps etc., using the Application
| Recovery CDs and it fails to recognize the cds. I have 3 App recovery
| cds and it gives me this little window sayng "This program cannot run
| on this machine". Do you know what is the reason. I installed some
| drivers from SONY website for wireless etc., after installing XP Pro.
| But I want to install all the SONY relevant apps too..Please advise me
| what to do now.
|
| Thanks in advance
|
| Gnan


Hi Gnan -

I can offer three approaches. The first is relatively simple - but you have
to be a bit sneaky and the second two involve a bit of work.

There's a little text file called Snyinst.oem in C:\Windows\System32 on the
original Windows XP Home installation that came with your computer. The
format of this file is:
UCGxxxXEUM
Buildnnn

.... where xxx and nnn are alphanumeric strings.

This file consists of two lines. The first appears to be a recovery set
identifier of some sort, which matches to a string in the file Blids.ini,
which is in the root folder of the Application Recovery CD that contains the
ART (Application Recovery Tool) program.

The second line consists of a software build number that appears to be
hard-coded in the BIOS.

Fortunately the first line is easy to find (as above). Unfortunately, the
Buildnnn line is impossible to find on your recovery media.

There are two ways to go about dealing with this: the Sneaky approach and
the Hard approach.

The Sneaky approach: go to a local computer dealer and "try out" the exact
same model that you have. It must be EXACTLY the same model and build or
this won't work. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32
and copy down the exact contents of Snyinst.oem (you can open it with
Notepad - it's a text file). Replace this file in your own
C:\Windows\System32 and the ART program will function properly.

The Hard approach: using a disk imaging program such as Ghost or Partition
Magic, create a full backup of your system to removable media. Perform a
full system recovery (both C:\ and D:\ partitions -- and the recovery
partition, if your computer had one). Harvest
C:\Windows\System32\Snyinst.oem to external media or copy it's exact
contents. Restore your original disk images and replace Snyinst.oem in
C:\Windows\System32.

If you don't want to go through the Hard approach and cannot find your model
at a local computer dealer for the Easy approach, and all you wish to do is
restore Sony's drivers and their proprietary applications (the 3rd party
applications, such as Word Processing and DVD won't work), you can try the
following:

Recovery CD "Fake-Out" approach:

After clean-install upgrading most recent Vaio's from Windows XP Home to
Windows XP Pro, you'll have to jump through hoops in order to reinstall
Sony's proprietary drivers and utilities. You'll probably find many of the
drivers available as stand-alone setup files on Sony's support website (and
this would be a good place to go looking after performing the following, as
drivers do frequently get updated after a model is released).

You'll find that the 3rd party applications (such as Word Processing, DVD,
etc.) applications will not reinstall in this manner, but Sony's proprietary
stuff, as well as the "free from their original developers" utilities (Adobe
Reader, Real Player, etc.) will.

To restore the proprietary drivers, Hotkey Utility, Sony Notebook Setup
Utility and PowerPanel Utility from your recovery CD's on newer Sony
installations, you'll need to download a small utility called KCAP.EXE - you
can pick it up (zipped) here: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/jefn/kcap.zip

You'll then need to work through your Restore CD's one-by-one, looking for
the following items:

Sony Drivers installer
Sony Utilities Library/Sony Shared Library installer *
Sony Utilities DLL installer *
Hotkey Utility installer
Sony Notebook Setup Utility installer
Power Panel Utility installer

* One or both of these items may be found. If you find both, you'll need to
install both. If you find only one, you'll need only one.


All of the above are stored in proprietary archive files that need to be
unpacked to your hard disk.

Begin by creating a folder on your hard disk (suggest D:\Sony) and then
unpack KCAP.EXE from the above download into that folder.

Then, working one-by-one with your Restore CD's:

1. Insert each restore CD in your computer.

2. You'll get a warning that the CD was not designed to be run on your
computer or from within Windows - click the OK button.

3. Look for a file called SONYxxxxxxxxx.PAC - be sure to look through any
sub-folders on the CD before giving up on it - if you find one, continue
below - if you don't, start this process with the next CD.

4. Copy SONYxxxxxxxx.PAC to D:\Sony. Be patient - this will take some time.

5. From a command prompt, navigate to D:\Sony and type the command:

KCAP SONYxxxxxxxx.PAC D:\Sony

6. KCAP will unpack a bunch of sub-folders to D:\Sony, each containing a
different application - be patient - this will take some time. The
sub-folders will appear to have gibberish names - don't worry - we'll get to
deciphering all the gibberish once all the SONYxxxxxxxx.PAC files are
decompressed.

7. Delete SONYxxxxxxxx.PAC from D:\Sony.

8. Repeat steps 1 - 7 for each of your Restore CD's.

9. In Windows Explorer, step through each of the sub-folders, viewing each
xxxxxxxx.INF file (right-click and then select OPEN) to determine what the
installer in the folder installs. If you don't see a xxxxxxxx.INF file, look
at the other items in the sub-folder (and any sub-folders below it) to
determine what the folder contains. Clues can be icon files (xxxxxxxx.ICO),
readme.txt files, or even the name of the installer itself. Alternatively,
look at the file Appinfo.ini on the Application Recovery CD that contains
the ART program. This file contains a listing of the applications that
originally shipped with your computer, along the name of the folder that
gets decompressed from the SONYxxxxx.PAC file.

For example:

[Sony Shared Library]
text=Sony Shared Library
desc=Utility for Sony applications.
cmd=0207001.snc\setup.exe
prompt=
icon=305
compress=1
pacfilenumber=1
volume=D1
PromptBefore=
PromptAfter=
hide=off
dependencies=
installorder=2

Tells us that the Sony Shared Library is in the folder 0207001.snc and it
should be installed as the second application, after the Sony Drivers.

10. If you find an application you want in a sub-folder, rename the
sub-folder to something more appropriate (like D:\Sony\Hotkey) to avoid
confusion.

11. Delete sub-folders for applications you don't want.

12. When finished with steps 9 - 11, click on Start | Run and navigate to
each of the applications you wish to install, keeping in mind that you want
to preserve the following order of execution:

.. Sony Drivers installer
.. Sony Utilities Library/Sony Shared Library installer (if found)
.. Sony Utilities DLL installer (if found)
.. Hotkey Utility installer
.. Sony Notebook Setup Utility installer
.. Power Panel Utility installer
.. any other Sony proprietary utilities you wish to install

13. When finished, you can burn D:\Sony to a CD and you'll have a backup of
your installers for future restore, if needed.


The above worked with my V505DC2 and V505EX (as did the Snyinst.oem, once I
learned that from Quaoar on this newsgroup... thanks Q!) and I've heard
reports from other users that the approach works with many other more recent
models. Earlier models, such as my R505TL and R505EL allowed me to run the
Application Recovery CD's after clean-installing Windows XP. The originator
of this thread, Steve Haubner, has been in communication with me and he
reports that this approach has worked for him as well.

Good luck and feel free to ask any additional questions - I'll help where I
can.

Jef