SZ2XP/C update

[skykit84]

HI all,

Well, just an update.
I had major problems with this laptop... got it on a friday, and by Monday I had enough!
I had it picked up on Thursday and now have a refund today so back to re-ordering.
The issue was initially creating the restore package... I just could not do it. After 10 dvds, I formatted it and installed my own version of windows.
Problem was, none of the windows would accept the serial number under the laptop
I then decided to install a Dell version which DID accept the sony serial number, but I had 1 or 2 Dell logos around...no biggie compared to the Sony Junk !

Anyway, went to ghost the image for backup and it failed writing to dvds... in the end, nero gave more information - power calibration failure.
Phoned Sony UK up, and they explained that I should return it and get a replacement.

Well... thats what I did.
I now need to order another unit as they only refund and not replace!
Wish me luck but for those out there...
If you cannot burn to DVDs... think about it being faulty. I cant remember the model of my drive but its the matshishtu one?

Sony service was good on the phone and the guy realised I knew what I was talking about so he skipped all the "basic babble"
At the same time, he was prepared to start basic if needed and he offered good advice.

I dont WANT to be back here with any more problems with the new sony i order on Monday but if anyone has any queries regarding this issue... do let me know and I will help as much as I Can.

I just need to find out what XP OEM disc actually accepts the sony serial number!

Thanks.

[Blencogo]

Hi Akash84,

Thanks for the information. This will certainly be of use to members here.

The Sony OEM version of XP does not need activation and you will never have to enter the License Key when Recovering your Vaio from the Recovery Discs or the hard drive Recovery Partition.

If you look closely, you will find that the XP Key held within the OEM Vaio system does not match the Key on the bottom of the Vaio!

I think the System Key is common to all Sony OEM XP installations and the license Key on the bottom of your Vaio is provided as a unique identifier should you need to approach Microsoft for support.

I am not sure how Microsoft view this but it does mean that any activation using the Key on the bottom of the Vaio cannot be genuine!

[skykit84]

You are totally correct there.
I used a sniffer to take out the image key and found it to be different to the one under the laptop

The pre-installed key started with Q9RV4
and the sticker started with jkb7c
(note, I am not listing the entire key for forum rules)

But neither of the keys would install using a genuine retail XP Pro, genuine OEM (shrinkwrapped) or a corperate edition.
Only the Dell OEM cd worked.

I did some real deep research and found a setupp.ini identifies what serial number a CD is to use.
Putting the dell setupp.ini (in the i386) folder into the genuine Retail CD accepted the key under the laptop during install.

However, when it was time to log into the acocunt created during setup, it failed to get activation information and logged off. So part success but part failure.

I am in the process of trying out to see how to get a clean version of windows to accept the genuine serial number under the laptop using VMWare.
I will keep you guys updated.

Once I installed the clean dell with the sony s/n, every piece of hardware worked from sound to camera etc so it is 100% possible for a clean install.

I then unpacked the sony image PAC files and found all the software Sony install within it... I could if I wanted to, install what I wanted from the Sony install, i DID install all sony utilities (camera, vaio update etc) and all drivers again from these image PAC files.

I've had real fun with this this week so i think the final straw is to get an fresh genuine XP CD to accept the s/n under the laptop!

Back soon