smokie36 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I'm using a Vaio VGN-FW21M. Now mostly everything has been wiped from the desktop...including wifi and most of the touchpad controls Is there any way to restore what I'd like to have on there (minus the Vaio crap) without resorting to the original recovery disks (Vista) then an upgrade? Cheers. I'm seriously thinking about that new Ipad right now I must admit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forkinhades Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 You will need the Sony vaio drivers, then everything will work again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 I've looked on their page forkinhades...its like gobbledegook to me I must admit. There is a long list of available drivers and stuff available to install. But which ones do I really need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Since you did a clean install (i..e, reformated the hard drive and laid down the new operating system) there are no restore point before the clean install....those earlier restorre points were nuked/formatted over. Laptops can be very picky about their drivers, especially wifi and sometimes touchpads as you have found out. I don't think I would punt back to that nightmare called Vista (I lived through that nightmare myself); I think I would just continue to try to get the wifi & touchpad working...somehow get those laptop specific drivers/utilities reloaded (maybe you have a friend who can download them for you) then I think things will get much smoother for you and you can continue to reload your general applications/software. Win7 is super stable, but laptops are very picky about some of their drivers....the manufacturer-specific drivers like for the chipset, wifi, touchpad, etc., are many times needed....I know they sure were on my two Toshiba laptops but my laptops had no problem using the ATI video chip driver that came with Win7 versus having to have the Toshiba specific ATI video driver. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I've looked on their page forkinhades...its like gobbledegook to me I must admit. There is a long list of available drivers and stuff available to install. But which ones do I really need? Don't download drivers from a website that don't specifically say the drivers will work with your "specific model number." Go to the Sony web site where I assume you can narrow down your search to your specific model number where the specific drivers for your laptop will be. Just because there is a driver available for Sony Vaio model ABC, that does not mean it will work on Sony Vaio Model DEF, etc. Model numbers make all the difference. Go to your laptop's manufacturer's support web site, find your specific model, and download the drivers from there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) Thanks guys but I have the official Sony page up on my screen. I don't know whether to simply run these programs or save them. From the original Vista option or Win 7 section? Also which ones? Looking for some advanced help here..... Where is JiuJitsu when you need him? I notice the @ on my laptop is even working from above the 2 button instead of above '. Help!! Edited March 25, 2012 by smokie36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 If the web site identified Win7 drivers/utilities for your model, download and install those since you are now using Win7. There also may be some instructions on the website that tell you the order the drivers/utilities should be loaded in when using/switching to Win7. If no instructions, load the drivers/utilities that appear the most basic first....that is, drivers/utilities that are for your laptop's hardware compared to those programs which may be just nice-to-use/have applications. If no Win7 drivers/utilities, use the Vista drivers/utilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 If the web site identified Win7 drivers/utilities for your model, download and install those since you are now using Win7. There also may be some instructions on the website that tell you the order the drivers/utilities should be loaded in when using/switching to Win7. If no instructions, load the drivers/utilities that appear the most basic first....that is, drivers/utilities that are for your laptop's hardware compared to those programs which may be just nice-to-use/have applications. If no Win7 drivers/utilities, use the Vista drivers/utilities. So I tried to download the pointing device...press run and its on my laptop. Do I need to extract it or somehow run it or what? Bit confused here...sorry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 If the web site identified Win7 drivers/utilities for your model, download and install those since you are now using Win7. There also may be some instructions on the website that tell you the order the drivers/utilities should be loaded in when using/switching to Win7. If no instructions, load the drivers/utilities that appear the most basic first....that is, drivers/utilities that are for your laptop's hardware compared to those programs which may be just nice-to-use/have applications. If no Win7 drivers/utilities, use the Vista drivers/utilities. So I tried to download the pointing device...press run and its on my laptop. Do I need to extract it or somehow run it or what? Bit confused here...sorry... Since you said you pressed "Run" that usually means "install" the problem. However, it not uncommon for file to first be downloaded and then you need to click on the download file and it goes through the install process. It should have been apparent if it "installed" itself by the initial screens, what words appeared, etc. Some drivers/utilities install fast and may not even show up in your Program list. Go into Control Panel and see if it showed the program loading, see if it's listed in your All Programs start menu, and remember, basic drivers are not full fledged programs which may show up as a separated loaded program...they just load and cause device XYZ like a touchpad, USB port, chipset, etc., to start working properly...you may need to look in Device Manager under Control panel to see if the new driver loaded for the device. But usually Touchpads will at least have an icon show up usually in the right hand lower corner of your screen where you can "right" click on to change settings, status of the touchpad, etc...it all depends on how "fancy" your touchpad driver/program is. I would also recommend you "do not" Run any programs from the web/Sony web site because you are effectively running/installing the program from that far away Sony server versus first downloading the file to a folder of your choosing on your hard drive and then clicking the install file...plus you will have the file on your hard drive to reload again if necessary. Plus when running from that faraway server versus your hard drive the install/run process could be impacted by a communications glitch/disconnect/etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 OK thanks Pib. I saved it to my computer then tried double clicking it but all it does is open up a series of files. Same if I right click and then run. No icon and still not working after restarting my laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Save yourself a headache and restore the original disk, then delete what you don't want. Just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Save yourself a headache and restore the original disk, then delete what you don't want. Just sayin' That's the back up plan.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelJohn Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I would suggest you create a directory called Drivers. Download (from Sony) the Win 7 drivers for your specific make and model - save them to this folder. When you double click each driver, some will extract, some will list files - you need to look for the exe files; these will install the drivers. If not, in Control Panel, System, Device Manager, select update driver and browse to the folder you created. It's a time consuming job, but your laptop will be far better when you've installed just the drivers you need rather than all the useless stuff you get with a Vaio. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 I would suggest you create a directory called Drivers. Download (from Sony) the Win 7 drivers for your specific make and model - save them to this folder. When you double click each driver, some will extract, some will list files - you need to look for the exe files; these will install the drivers. If not, in Control Panel, System, Device Manager, select update driver and browse to the folder you created. It's a time consuming job, but your laptop will be far better when you've installed just the drivers you need rather than all the useless stuff you get with a Vaio. Good luck. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 The @ is in the wrong place, because you have the wrong keyboard language set. Try a window update, that may put your drivers or some of them back in order. if the wi fi isn't working, use a cable for the internet connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 I'll try an update first. Anyhow I've saved all the driver programs from the Sony site for Win 7. II'm wondering which utility programs to download. If anyone has any idea...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHJ Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 www.touslesdrivers.com will list you all latest driver for your devices(the use of the website and update is free and without reigstration). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elshaheen Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I've looked on their page forkinhades...its like gobbledegook to me I must admit. There is a long list of available drivers and stuff available to install. But which ones do I really need? Don't download drivers from a website that don't specifically say the drivers will work with your "specific model number." Go to the Sony web site where I assume you can narrow down your search to your specific model number where the specific drivers for your laptop will be. Just because there is a driver available for Sony Vaio model ABC, that does not mean it will work on Sony Vaio Model DEF, etc. Model numbers make all the difference. Go to your laptop's manufacturer's support web site, find your specific model, and download the drivers from there. Don't forget to save the drivers to a disk, encase something else goes wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forkinhades Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I've looked on their page forkinhades...its like gobbledegook to me I must admit. There is a long list of available drivers and stuff available to install. But which ones do I really need? Don't download drivers from a website that don't specifically say the drivers will work with your "specific model number." Go to the Sony web site where I assume you can narrow down your search to your specific model number where the specific drivers for your laptop will be. Just because there is a driver available for Sony Vaio model ABC, that does not mean it will work on Sony Vaio Model DEF, etc. Model numbers make all the difference. Go to your laptop's manufacturer's support web site, find your specific model, and download the drivers from there. Don't forget to save the drivers to a disk, encase something else goes wrong. better still save them to a cloud somewhere with regards to the keyboard, you can change the layout in control panel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 I've looked on their page forkinhades...its like gobbledegook to me I must admit. There is a long list of available drivers and stuff available to install. But which ones do I really need? Don't download drivers from a website that don't specifically say the drivers will work with your "specific model number." Go to the Sony web site where I assume you can narrow down your search to your specific model number where the specific drivers for your laptop will be. Just because there is a driver available for Sony Vaio model ABC, that does not mean it will work on Sony Vaio Model DEF, etc. Model numbers make all the difference. Go to your laptop's manufacturer's support web site, find your specific model, and download the drivers from there. Don't forget to save the drivers to a disk, encase something else goes wrong. I have the recovery disks anyway so if this doesn't work I'll just use those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I couldnt find your model on Sony site but often close ebnough is good enough. There is an option on this page to use win 7 auto upgrade to install the drivers http://www.sony.com.au/support/product/vgn-fw23g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 I couldnt find your model on Sony site but often close ebnough is good enough. There is an option on this page to use win 7 auto upgrade to install the drivers http://www.sony.com....oduct/vgn-fw23g Not possible for this model I'm afraid using that option. http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/VGN-FW21M/updates is the link for my model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I couldnt find your model on Sony site but often close ebnough is good enough. There is an option on this page to use win 7 auto upgrade to install the drivers http://www.sony.com....oduct/vgn-fw23g Not possible for this model I'm afraid using that option. http://www.sony.co.u...N-FW21M/updates is the link for my model. Ok then as suggested above. Download all to a folder then use device manager to update the drivers for any device that has an X or ! I did this same thing after updating my HP to win 7. I left off all the Apps and jsut got the hardware working. didn't take long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 I couldnt find your model on Sony site but often close ebnough is good enough. There is an option on this page to use win 7 auto upgrade to install the drivers http://www.sony.com....oduct/vgn-fw23g Not possible for this model I'm afraid using that option. http://www.sony.co.u...N-FW21M/updates is the link for my model. then use device manager to update the drivers for any device that has an X or ! Can you give me an idiots guide to doing this please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necronx99 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I couldnt find your model on Sony site but often close ebnough is good enough. There is an option on this page to use win 7 auto upgrade to install the drivers http://www.sony.com....oduct/vgn-fw23g Not possible for this model I'm afraid using that option. http://www.sony.co.u...N-FW21M/updates is the link for my model. then use device manager to update the drivers for any device that has an X or ! Can you give me an idiots guide to doing this please? I'm at work at present on XP!! So here's some help from the web. The link here is pretty good at expaining device manager. it shows you how to start DM, open, navigate and disable or update devices in the list. In the manager find your WIFi and later the touchpad. They will likely have a Red or Yellow warning icon next to them to tell you there is a problem. Open it and got to properties and choose to update the driver. (The link shows how to do this) Navigate it to the folder where you saved all the drivers you copied from the Sony site. It will find the right ones. If it doesnt, choose them yourself (I remember seeing the wifi drivers in the list on your sony link.) If that doesn't work you can try letting it search the web for the correct drivers, this can be a bit hit or miss. As they arre curently not working you can't bugger them up any more so don't worry about choosing the wrong one. You can always redo it. In this I'm assuming you have connected your laptop by cable to your modem so you are online on that machine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiu-Jitsu Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 So, where are we now? How did you install Windows 7(as you mentioned that you had an upgrade disc)? Is it activated or on the 30 day trial? Which version of Windows 7? 32 or 64bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 So, where are we now? How did you install Windows 7(as you mentioned that you had an upgrade disc)? Is it activated or on the 30 day trial? Which version of Windows 7? 32 or 64bit? Where we are is I have Windows 7 32 bit installed and activated and have run all of the Windows updates. I've saved the drivers on the Sony link on to the laptop. What next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) An update. I have installed all of the drivers with the exception of... Graphics Driver Intel type 32. The computer won't support it. (probably need a better graphics card I guess) Wireless Lan Driver Intel 32 Ethernet Driver Marvell 32 These have a document which when opened I believe give installation instructions for different machines and versions but I've no idea how to utilise them. Edit: I haven't installed any of the applications yet as I'm not sure which ones to install. Also for any other drivers do I need to get them from the Vista section on the Sony website? The pointer not working properly is a pain! Edited March 26, 2012 by smokie36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 Seems like you might be right Phil...just starting from scratch and loading the original Vista recovery disks then upgrading to Win 7 might well be easier. I'm giving up until tomorrow anyway.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hmmm I put recovery disk 1 (of 3) in the drive and restarted my laptop. Nothing happened.....Windows 7 started normally. How do I get this to begin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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