Clean install of Windows Vista from recovery disk

[Googol]

Hi All. I have been reading all the threads on ways of getting a clean XP install with some interest. I too like to have MY laptop setup the way I want, without all the superfluous junk Sony have to decided to populate my hard disk with. I have just received my new SZ4 with Windows Vista Business pre installed. Does anyone know how to do a clean install of Vista using the supplied recovery disks? Unlike Dell, Sony do not supply an oem Windows install disk.

I have created the 2 recovery DVDs and have extracted all the .pac files from them.I can find install routines for all the unwanted software as well as all the drivers so I am in a position to install just what I want. However I was hoping to find a nice Windows Vista install folder in amongst all the junk, but alas I have not. Obviously Vista is hidden somewhere on the disks as I have done 2 complete factory restores in the last 48 hours from them, but how do I install Vista just on it's own?

Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

[Thalamus.]

Hi Googol,

Welcome to Club vaio,

Have a look at this thread , there is a post on what you can do with the .pac files..

[Googol]

Hi Thalamus. Thanks for the link. I've had a good read through that and it is certainly helpful, but what I really want to do is a clean Vista install without using the recovery disks at all. In other words, I want to extract the complete Vista installation files form the recovery disks and either burn dvd or run the install from a second partition on the hard drive.

I did try an install from the recovery disks and when I got to the install applications part I hit Cancel. When the desktop appeared there was Norton Internet Security etc and lot of other stuff as well which I don't want on the machine at all. It would appear that a lot of stuff is installed or at least the disk is prepared for the installations during the install of Vista from the recovery disks. I just want a plain vanilla Vista installation.

Thanks for any more help you can offer.

[Thalamus.]

Hmmm is sounds like Sony may have changed Vaio recovery process on Vista models...

[Googol]

Perhaps, but I wouldn't know about that as the last laptop I had from Sony came with Windows 2000 with I upgraded to XP (retail). Here is the directory listing of the 1st recovery DVD. I am trying to compare it to a Vista DVD I have here (the Anytime Upgrade disc). So far the big difference are several megabytes of .sny files. Any idea what they might be?

Volume in drive E is RECOVERYDISC
Volume Serial Number is AEC1-2F8C

Directory of E:\

13/11/2006 03:01 50,744 autorun.exe
08/06/2002 05:18 49 Autorun.inf
16/02/2007 22:22

boot
01/11/2006 16:53 438,840 BOOTMGR
16/02/2007 22:21 0 DVD
16/02/2007 22:22 34 rcvdstat.ini
14/11/2006 14:25 117,282,816 rcvprt.wim
16/02/2007 22:21 0 RDVD1
21/12/2006 02:07 3,444 SNYHDRCV.INI
16/02/2007 22:22 Sony
21/12/2006 18:40 119,855,044 sony.sny
21/12/2006 18:40 670,789,766 sony2.sny
21/12/2006 18:40 671,008,632 sony3.sny
21/12/2006 18:39 663,634,571 sony4.sny
21/12/2006 18:39 670,772,997 sony5.sny
21/12/2006 18:39 671,004,971 sony6.sny
21/12/2006 18:38 267,996,219 sony7.sny
16/02/2007 22:22 SOURCES
15 File(s) 3,852,838,127 bytes
3 Dir(s) 0 bytes free

I am pretty sure this is the Windows Vista disk as the second recovery disk, when I unpack all the .pac files on it, contains all the drivers and Sony utilities and software etc.

Update: Just managed to get a Disk Hex Editor tool (Winhex) which has allowed me to poke around in the hidden recovery partition. Not good news. I was hoping to find the Windows Vista install unpacked there, but alas instead there are just lots of .sny files again amongst other things. Certainly nothing that looks like a Vista install directory