Windows XP on Sony Vaio GRV 550

Even if you cant help, thanks for trying and for having this forum.

I recently got a Sony Vaio GRV 550 with windows xp home. I never had a laptop or XP before and sony will not answer my questions because they are about "unauthorized usage ".

This computer didn't come with an installation disk for the os, it only has the "restore to original configuration disks ". I dont want to restore it to it's original configuration, I want to partition it and install the software the way i want it and I want to be able to reinstall the os without killing everything on the whole hard drive. Do you know if I can buy the normal windows xp and install it the normal way, on this computer? Will fdisk, format and the standard CD driver work on this computer? What about Partition Magic?Does this computer need other special drivers that would not be installed from a normal windows xp installation?

I'm starting to think I did a bad thing when I bought a laptop......

Thank you,
Bob

 

Hello Steve,
Thanks for replying.
The way the computer came from Sony, it has a C and a D partition and each are about 15 GB. It also has some preinstalled software that I dont want. I would like to format the drive and set up the partitions with C = 5 GB and D = 25 GB, keeping the C partition reserved for the os and the little parts of programs that automatically go there. Then I want to install the os without the xtra preinstalled software that I dont want. In the future, if the os becomes compromised, I can format just the C drive, reinstall the os and programs withought loosing all the data on the D partition.
I believe that if I use the "restore to original configuration disks" I will not have the freedom to do any of what I want.

I have heard that Compaq computers will not work correctly if you install windows with a regular windows installation CD because the Compaq requires drivers that are not included on the regular windows disk. Would I have a similar problem with my sony if I install windows xp with a regular installation cd?
Is there any reason that I cant run format and fdisk from an external floppy drive as long as the bios is set to boot from floppy first?

Thanks again,
Bob

 

If the laptop has the option to boot from a CD you'll save yourself some time and effort.

The issue with compaq is a small partition they place on there with some system utilities. Normally very small and always formatted FAT. Maybe even FAT16 - don't remember and too dang lazy to look it up right now. But if you copy that and when you set up again, make a partition the correct size and put their stuff in it, the PC is happy. Usually.

I've not heard of Sony doing this but they may have. Take a carefull look around before you blow things away. IBM does similar things on some of their servers but make it fairly easy to load their stuff to get the system running and then switch over to a normal install CD.

Otherwise what you want to do should work. Possibly some hardware in the laptop that is specialized and won't install properly from the regular XP CD. More likely with a laptop than a desktop in fact. But you can usually figure out what is causing the problem and get the proper drivers so things will work.

Worst case is you fail completely. If that happens, you still have the original thing from Sony to load your system and get it working again.

BTW - I feel the exact same way about the OEM "repair/recovery" CD things. Yuck. Blech.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience and giving me and the rest of us a free education. I appreciate it.

Bob

 

Just my two cents...

I bought an HP computer last spring and it did not come with a Windows disk, HP had all the restore information on a separate partition which you could burn to CD. I bought a 'full' copy of XP, formatted the HD and installed XP. Just make sure you know what hardware you have in case you need to find a specific driver. XP was pretty could about recognizing my hardware. BUT be WARNED... this will void your warranty. This was not a problem for me, because I didn't plan on using their tech support anyway, but if you have a hardware failure, be prepared, you may have to dig into your own pocket. HTH

B