SVF15A1C5E - Downgrade to Windows 7

[RBMLT3]

One of the reasons I bought this Sony VAIO laptop - SVF15A1C5E was on the basis that it could be "downgraded" to Windows 7.

I have dowloaded all the drivers etc. required for this task, but have a few questions.

Is there any know loss of funtionality with this machine post "downgrade" ?

It is unclear whether a BIOS change is required prior to starting the "downgrade" process, what is the situation ?

Is there any particular order that the Sony drivers should be applied post "downgrade" ?

Any other tips / pitfalls / warnings / advice on this subject ?

Thanks.

[Blencogo]

Hi RBMLT3 and welcome to the Sony Users' Community.

I presume the correct Product Model name for your Vaio is SVF1521C5E and this is the identification you will need to use on the Support website here:
http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/svf1521c5e

Is this where you downloaded the Preinstalled Windows 7 drivers from?

I am out and on my phone at the moment but I think if you click on "Tips and Solutions" Tab on that Support Page, you will find a link to "Windows 7 Downgrade Support" which should answer your questions. If not I'll have a look when I get home.

Downgrading to Windows 7 will need you to turn off Secure Boot.

As it is a clean installation of Windows 7, any third party Preinstalled software will be lost and you will be left with a bare Windows 7 OS plus what can be downloaded from the support website. I don't know what is preinstalled on your model but I guess there will be some non-Sony programs that you will lose.

[Blencogo]

I've had a very quick look and yes, you must change the BIOS to Legacy Mode.

You will lose Blu-Ray playback as PowerDVD will be removed.

If there is not full instructions and cautions under that link to Windows 7 Downgrade Support, let me know and I will send instructions to you some other way.

[RBMLT3]

Hi

Yes, your quoted location is where I got all the drivers from.

I'm not worried about losing third party pre-installed software, in fact I'll be glad not to have some of it !!!

More worried that I might lose some basic machine functionality.

[RBMLT3]

The "Windows 7 Downgrade Support" page that you quoted is what introduces an element of doubt, rather than clarifying things !!

Specific to "SVF14, SVF15 series"

This page says :

• Non-ClearAudio+-compliant
• Non-Touch Panel-compliant
• Non-RapidWake-compliant

Does this mean that these things won't work, or that they will work with generic drivers ?

Most concerning - Will the touch panel work ?

• It is necessary to install OS by changing the setting to Legacy Mode.

This is not a problem.

• Boot Mode returns to UEFI from Legacy at Get Default Value

I presume that this is not a problem, and just something that occurs at some stage after Win7 installation ?

• Non-BD playback-support (not supplied PowerDVD)

Not a problem for me.

I was rather hoping someone might have done this already, and could provide first hand feedback, but the full instructions you offer would be very welcome.

Thanks.

[Blencogo]

Your model (SVF) is the only Vaio with a touchscreen for which Sony support a downgrade to Windows 7.  This downgrade is not offered for other touchscreen models

It looks from the support notes like it uses the touchscreen support that is a part of the Windows 8 operating system (there are no touchscreen drivers listed for W8 or W7) and so it seems likely that it will not work with W7.  As your model is so new, nobody may have tried this yet and you may need to speak to Vaio Support to confirm.

Similarly, NFC and Rapid-Wake are part of Windows 8.

The only instructions I have are for non-touchscreen models and are much older than the Windows 7 Downgrade Support notes.

[RBMLT3]

Thanks for your reply. It made me realise that I should engage brain before posting !!!

Since I planned to downgrade to Win7 (and don't want fingerprints all over my screen) I ordered the "non touch screen" version. I was concerned that the touch PAD might not work, wasn't thinking of the touch SCREEN at all !!! . . . . . so that particular issue is not a problem.

NFC and Rapid wake we can live without, so the plan is to give this "downgrade" a go after I've imaged the SSD in it's delivery condition.

Would still appreciate your instruction info to read through though, it is always useful to see the approach that someone else has taken, even if not an absolute hand holding step by step guide.

[RBMLT3]

Having now turned this laptop into a Win7 64 machine, I thought the following log notes might help anyone else wanting to do the same.

The biggest hurdle for most people is probably going to be turning a GPT disk into an MBR disk - see notes.

So far the only things found to be not working are the Sony "special" function keys, but I'll start another thread on that one.

==========
03/07/2013
==========
Delivery - Windows 8 64 pre-installed

512 GB SATA Flash SSD configured as a GPT disk

==========
05/07/2013
==========
Power on with "Assist" to access BIOS

Boot Priority - changed to bring DVD drive to top
External Device Boot - changed to enabled
Boot Mode - changed to Legacy

Paragon 8.5 can't read GPT disk
Acronis TrueImage 9.1 can't read GPT disk

Need to change GPT disk into a MBR disk.

Boot from Ubuntu Live Disk
 
Open Terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T)
sudo fdisk -l
   /dev/sda1 (GPT)

sudo gparted

Existing Disc Partitions:

? Hidden 260MB FAT32  24MB used - SONYSYS (info from gparted)
0 Prim   404GB "Unallocated"
1 Prim   301MB FAT32 28MB  Used - Boot Partition (EFI)
2 Prim   38GB NTFS  30.52 Used - Win8 Drive C
3 Prim   34GB "Unallocated" (Recovery ?)

Delete Partition 1 and 2

Re-Boot from Ubuntu Live Disk
Open Terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T)
sudo gparted
   Device|Create Partition Table
   Partition Table Type - msdos
     (this deletes the hidden SONYSYS partition and leaves a blank MBR disk)

   Partition|New - Primary NTFS 100GB (For OS Software)
   Partition|New - Primary NTFS 300GB (For Local Data)
   Partition|New - Primary NTFS 86GB  (For DiskIm)

Reboot - Windows 7 Boot Disk
   Select Windows x64 Ultimate
   Install on first partition.

Reboot -

==========
06/07/2013
==========
Enable Administrator account :
   Run command prompt as administrator
   net user administrator /active:yes
Administrator account enabled, and password set.

Screen resolution changed to 1920x1080.
Mouse :
   Pointer speed increased
   Pointer trails enabled
   Show position on Ctrl enabled
   Windows Black (extra large) (system scheme) selected.

Windows Explorer | Organise | Folder and Search Options
   View
      Display the full path in the title bar (Classic theme only)
      Show Hidden Files, folders, and drives
      Hide extensions for know file types (unticked)
   Set for C, D, E.

Hard Drives assigned Drive letters C, D, E.
DVD drives assigned Drive letter W

Workgroup set to ***

Control Panel - System - System protection - System Restore switched off on all drives.
Control Panel - System - Advanced - Environment Variables - NUMLOCK - ON
Control Panel - System - Windows Update - Switched off.

Control Panel - Power Options
   Balanced Plan selected

Control Panel - Power Options - System Settings
   Power button on Battery - Shut Down
   Power button on Plugged In - Shut Down
   Close lid on Battery - Hibernate
   Close lid on Plugged In - Hibernate

Control Panel - Power Options - Edit Plan Settings
   Turn off display on battery - 5 minutes
   Turn off display on plugged in - 5 hours

Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Local Security Policy
   Local Policies - Security Options
      Interactive Logon - Do not display last user name
      Interactive Logon - Do not require CTR+ALT+DEL

Control Panel - Notification Area Icons
   Action Centre - Hide Icon and Notifications

Control Panel - Region and Language
   First Day of Week - Sunday
   Administrative - Language for non unicode programs
   set to English(UK) - This sets code page to 850,
   (Therefore for example, allows dBASE DOS to run with a code page of 850)

Installation time - default user - ***M changed from Administrator to User

Device Manager Shows "Other Devices" (missing drivers) for :
   3D Video Controller
   BCM43142A0
   Ethernet Controller
   Network Conrtroller
   PCI Device
   PCI Simple Communications Controller
   SM Bus COntroller
   Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller
   Unknown Device

FastStone Image Viewer v4.6 Installed. (for screen grabs)

Sony Supplied Drivers & Utils Installation

Most installers can be run from Windows Explorer browsed to zip without extracting.

Reboot after each installation, whether required or not.

Drivers & Utils Installed :
01 - Intel Chipset Driver
02 - Intel 7 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller
03 - Sony Firmware Extension Parser Device
      ACPI\SNY5001
      Is the "Sony Notebook Control Driver" which is part of the driver called
      "SFEP" - Sony Firmware Extension Parser
      Batch file does not work from zip, or extracted, so . . .
      Extract files to temp directory.
      From Device Manager, Select "Unknown Device (ACPI\SNY5001)" from "Other Devices"
      and update driver by browsing to aforesaid temp directory.
      Success = Sony Firmware Extension Parser Device in Human Interface Devices
04 - Realtek High Definition Audio
05 - BCM43142 Bluetooth Adapter
06 - Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
07 - Intel(R) HD Graphics - Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
08 - NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 740M
09 - Intel® Management Engine Interface
10 - Realtek PCIE CardReader
11 - Synaptics SMBus ClickPad
12 - Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller
13 - Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
      Extract files to temp directory.
      From Device Manager, Select "Network Controller" from "Other Devices"
      and update driver by browsing to aforesaid temp directory.
14 - Sony Shared Library
15 - VAIO Location Utility
16 - VAIO CPU Fan Diagnostic
17 - VAIO Control Center
18 - VAIO Hardware Diagnostics
19 - VAIO Power Management
20 - VAIO Smart Network
21 - VAIO Update
22 - VAIO Care

At this point the Sony "Special Keys" do not work.
   Fn + F1 Touchpad Disable ?
   Fn + F2 Mute
   Fn + F3 Decrease Volume
   Fn + F4 Increase Volume
   Fn + F5 Decrease Screen Brightness
   Fn + F6 Increase Screen Brightness
   Fn + F7 Monitor Switching

[martinsmith]

Hi

Thanks for the really useful guide.

I've just bought the same model, and I need to go through this process.  Could you tell me if you needed the VAIO Windows (8) Product Key at any point during the installation of Windows 7?  I have read elsewhere that I can use a Windows 7 Disk and licence from another PC to perform the installation, then I would have to register it by phone using the Product Key that came with the VAIO.  Only problem is I don't have the VAIO product key - it isn't anywhere with the packaging, and Sony said it should be.

Thanks