Hi all.
I've recently set up my VAIO notebook to fully, 100%, support Windows Vista. Took me some time, but it was certainly worth it 
Okay, here's what you need:
- Drivers. Go to the VAIO Vista Upgrade web site to download these. What you'd want to grab from that page:
~ Setting Utility Series
~ Shared Library
~ Utilities
~ VAIO Event Service
These are the most required ones. You MUST download and install these.
-----
Further, the following aren't necessary, but very useful:
~ Alps Pointing-device for VAIO (for your touchpad to work properly)
~ FlashMedia (if you're using the media readers/writers)
~ MemoryStick Icon Registry patch (nothing important, just a nice icon for the MemoryStick to show up in Computer, like this: 
Also, if your VAIO notebook has built hardware such as a camera, bluetooth etc., grab the proper drivers for them as well.
Graphics driver are NOT necessary, as all versions of Vista supports the Intel GMA-chipset. I would neither recommend installing the VAIO Power Management, as Vista also has this built in.
-----
Hotkeys
Probably one of the biggest "losses" in Vista. I see lots of post asking how to get the hotkeys to work. Here's the SOLUTION with an official patch from Microsoft:
You MUST install the following:
~ Setting Utility Series
~ Shared Library
~ Utilities
~ VAIO Event Service
After installing, reboot your notebook. Then grab the Sony Notebook Control Device update from Microsoft at this link:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/v3-19990518/cabpool/7816_2_a5db7ce11f55024ce049b...
(sniffed by me, loathsome) edit, added; I've attached a mirror of the Sony NCD. Look at the bottom.
After you've downloaded, open up Device Manager and install them for "Unknown device". Your hotkeys should work immediately. If not, try rebooting.
Whine fix
Some users, included myself, notice a small, high pitched noise coming from the notebook. This is extremely annoying if you're in a silent enviroment. I've come up with a solution to this. Download RMClock, and under "Management" enable "Run HLT command when OS is idle". Restart the program and the sound is gone - for ever. You can also make it start with Windows, so you'll never have to bother with it again. This WILL shorten your batterylife, but only with 3-7%, according to my tests.
That's all, enjoy Windows Vista! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me,
loathsome+
I think that you have forgotten one thing... the problem with the lid..How to fix it and keeps all functions? 
I'll try to expalin better..
Some people have problem with the lid, when close the lid and reopen it the screen remain black, only fix for this is to change the driver for the ACPI lid with another one but in this way windows do not reconize the lid and we lost all functions about the lid I.E. standby when close the lid and others..
Another problem is with VAIO Power Management... In windows xp when VAIO Power Management was on, when someone disconnect the power supply screen reduced the light and other functions, on windows vista i can't see the effect of vaio power managment...of course i've installed VAIO Power Management and it seems installed well but dosen't work..
Some one have an idea?
Sorry for my english 
from italy 
Federico
So the power management of the CPU is different from XP ?! because under XP this wasn't so "immediate"....
Hi BlackDevil,
When the MS Team were working on VISTA one of there main aims were "Reducing Power Usage" They made changes to dramatically improve idle power consumption. There goal was to reduce power consumption by powering key components down more frequently and leaving them powered down for longer periods while still maintaining a great user experience.
For example,
While Windows XP did a great job of lowering CPU speed and voltage whenever possible, in Windows Vista they added enhanced capabilities to use power more efficiently on multi-core systems. They created new APIs so that driver and application developers can get notifications about the power scheme being used on the system and then adapt their behavior for the power scheme. Finally, all of the power management configurations parameters can be controlled by the IT department (on a PC-by-PC basis) using Group Policy if they want to tweak the defaults, making corporate deployment of these features easily manageable.
So it has changed & for the better too.
Yes but sadly this new power management has introduced the dreaded Vista cpu whine. RM Clock and other 3rd party utilities can get rid of this whine but in a heavy handed manner - they just crank the cpu to full power and leave it there. Your laptop's temp will increase, the fan will be on all the time and the battery life will reduce. That isn't a 'fix' in my book and until MS or SONY come up with a genuine solution to this problem, I'm sticking with XP.
So the power management of the CPU is different from XP ?! because under XP this wasn't so "immediate"....
Hi BlackDevil,
When the MS Team were working on VISTA one of there main aims were "Reducing Power Usage" They made changes to dramatically improve idle power consumption. There goal was to reduce power consumption by powering key components down more frequently and leaving them powered down for longer periods while still maintaining a great user experience.
For example,
While Windows XP did a great job of lowering CPU speed and voltage whenever possible, in Windows Vista they added enhanced capabilities to use power more efficiently on multi-core systems. They created new APIs so that driver and application developers can get notifications about the power scheme being used on the system and then adapt their behavior for the power scheme. Finally, all of the power management configurations parameters can be controlled by the IT department (on a PC-by-PC basis) using Group Policy if they want to tweak the defaults, making corporate deployment of these features easily manageable.
Yes but sadly this new power management has introduced the dreaded Vista cpu whine. RM Clock and other 3rd party utilities can get rid of this whine but in a heavy handed manner - they just crank the cpu to full power and leave it there. Your laptop's temp will increase, the fan will be on all the time and the battery life will reduce. That isn't a 'fix' in my book and until MS or SONY come up with a genuine solution to this problem, I'm sticking with XP.
I think you're misunderstanding - what RMClock does is to enable a technology called HLT. This tricks Windows to THINK that 100% of the CPU is used, but in fact - it's only using 1-2%. RMClock comes with a CPU-monitoring tool, and in that you can see that you're not using 100% of the CPU at all.
I'm running the RMClock 24/7, and I've not experienced that my VAIO runs hotter, the fans runs as they've always done - so basically, everything is as normal exept two things;
1) Windows Task Manager will not display correct CPU use (just use the RMClock one)
2) No whine :smileygrin:
Until some sort of official patch or something comes out, this is an absolutely accepted fix.
loathsome+
So the power management of the CPU is different from XP ?! because under XP this wasn't so "immediate"....
Hi BlackDevil,
When the MS Team were working on VISTA one of there main aims were "Reducing Power Usage" They made changes to dramatically improve idle power consumption. There goal was to reduce power consumption by powering key components down more frequently and leaving them powered down for longer periods while still maintaining a great user experience.
For example,
While Windows XP did a great job of lowering CPU speed and voltage whenever possible, in Windows Vista they added enhanced capabilities to use power more efficiently on multi-core systems. They created new APIs so that driver and application developers can get notifications about the power scheme being used on the system and then adapt their behavior for the power scheme. Finally, all of the power management configurations parameters can be controlled by the IT department (on a PC-by-PC basis) using Group Policy if they want to tweak the defaults, making corporate deployment of these features easily manageable.
Yes but sadly this new power management has introduced the dreaded Vista cpu whine. RM Clock and other 3rd party utilities can get rid of this whine but in a heavy handed manner - they just crank the cpu to full power and leave it there. Your laptop's temp will increase, the fan will be on all the time and the battery life will reduce. That isn't a 'fix' in my book and until MS or SONY come up with a genuine solution to this problem, I'm sticking with XP.
I think you're misunderstanding - what RMClock does is to enable a technology called HLT. This tricks Windows to THINK that 100% of the CPU is used, but in fact - it's only using 1-2%. RMClock comes with a CPU-monitoring tool, and in that you can see that you're not using 100% of the CPU at all.
I'm running the RMClock 24/7, and I've not experienced that my VAIO runs hotter, the fans runs as they've always done - so basically, everything is as normal exept two things;
1) Windows Task Manager will not display correct CPU use (just use the RMClock one)
2) No whine :smileygrin:
Until some sort of official patch or something comes out, this is an absolutely accepted fix.
loathsome+
No, you're misunderstanding it. If you have enabled 'Run HLT command when system is idle' check box, then task manager showing 100% usage is normal since RM Clock basically steals idle time from the OS and constantly sets the processor to a C1 sleep state. Many people have found setting this to C1 state solves the high pitch noise issue. The only drawback here is that doing this does not allow the processor to step down to deeper C2/C3 sleep states. Hence your cpu will be warmer at idle and using more power, thus affecting the battery. It is a cheap workaround, not a cure. Some pcs are hit harder than others with this whining. VAIOs are generally less hit than most brands, Toshiba being particularly affected.
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