Format my VGN-FW11L

[Newformz]

Hi,

I want to format my FW11L hardrive and install Vista Ultimate x64 since the laptop came with home premium x86 and my chipset supports x64 therefore wanting to upgrade because of all the crap that came with it.

After reading around the forums it seems this is not a simple process and after trying to install it could not detect my hardrive at all. This is my first branded laptop, normally built my own desktop and formatting was no issue.

So how do i go about wiping the drive and installing my new Vista? I get the impression if i delete the recovery partition and everything else that it may 'brick' my laptop and become unusable? The amount of people on here with so many problems just wanting to do a simple thing like format and run the laptop how they want it to seems very bad.

Could someone please just clarify that it is possible to format everything and install fresh Vista x64 without any problems? I have downloaded all the drivers for everything from the sony website and others.


Thanks.

[Blencogo]

Hi Newformz and welcome.

My advice would be to stay with the preinstalled system unless there is a particular feature of Ultimate you need. Sony does not support Vista Ultimate on your model and there have been several users who have run into trouble trying a clean install of Vista Ultimate. It seems that the drivers and utilities are not all compatible and they are not all available for download for your model. However, it should be possible to install 32-bit Ultimate with a bit of fiddling. Make sure you create at least two sets of recovery discs as these will be the only place you will find some drivers and utilities when you reinstall. When reinstalling Vista it should give you all the options you need to reformat.

Although Sony have made some 64-bit drivers they are not all available for your model and I doubt if you will get all the Vaio's functions working without 64-bit drivers and Utilities. Unless you are an expert - leave x64 well alone for a couple more years.

[Newformz]

I am a high end user my laptop is used mainly for graphic design and other demanding applications. It seems a bit silly to be only using the 32 and not 64bits that the chip is capable of especially since i do alot of multi-tasking.

And what drivers are you talking about? I don't care if some features are missing like the top audio buttons or the function keys. I am sure i can get drivers or alternatives for other components, how can Sony expect all it's customers to use a factory default system and not have the choice to format?

If there are no alternatives i better be able to get a refund!

[Blencogo]

You will find the available 64-bit drivers here: -

http://www.vaio-link.com/os/vista/64bit/

There are drivers for your model there. You may have to hunt the web for a full set. It is likely that not all the Utilities will work as these are only available as 32-bit. Some will but I am not sure how many. These control things like screen brightness and external screen switching.

You say you cannot format the disc. What software are you using to do this? As the disc is SATA you cannot use an XP disc because XP does not support SATA and the drivers need to be loaded seperately. You should be able to use a Vista disc as it should include a generic SATA driver.

I think if it was me, I would use the Vista disc and just format the Windows partition and keep the Recovery Partition until you are sure the Vaio is usable with x64.

[Newformz]

Sorry yeah i used XP first to try install and that would not see the drive, my Vista does. Thanks for the info and help, much appreciated.