What are the procedures and guidelines when performing a clean install of the Windows XP Professional operating system on a computer supplied with the Windows XP Home Edition operating system?

IMPORTANT:

• Specific instructions for performing a clean install are available for selected models on the Sony® eSupport Web site.
• Upgrading from Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Service Pack 2 (SP2) to the Professional Edition without SP1 or SP2 is not supported.
• The upgraded operating system must have the same Service Pack or higher included as the original Operating System on the computer.
• VAIO® computers bundled with the Windows XP Home Edition operating system may utilize the original Sony® drivers and applications with the Windows XP Professional Edition operating system. Due to the common core between the two operating systems, the same drivers and applications will work in both versions. Sony will continue to support the drivers and applications, but will not support the operating system in these cases.

NOTES:

• Issues may occur when installing a different language version of the operating system with the Sony drivers or software.
• Sony does not support dual boot configurations.

1. If the computer was not supplied with Recovery CDs/DVDs, ensure the Recovery Media Kit has been created before proceeding.

   IMPORTANT:

   • If the hard drive has been formatted, but the recovery partition is still available, perform a system recovery on the computer, create the Recovery Media Kit, and then continue the clean install process.
   • If the Recovery Media Kit cannot be created, please contact Best Buy for VAIO PC repair and recovery options at 1-800-433-5778.
2. Remove any external peripheral devices, such as game controllers, cameras, printers, or docking stations.

   NOTES:

   • These devices can then be installed one at a time after the operating system has been fully upgraded.
   • Ensure the computer is turned off and unplugged prior to removing any external peripheral devices.
3. Download and install any available BIOS updates .
4. Download all available Device Drivers, Sony Software Libraries, and Sony Applications and Utilities  in advance and save them for later installation.
5. Perform the clean install of the Windows XP Professional operating system.

   IMPORTANT: The Windows XP Professional operating system must be installed in the C:\Windows\ folder.

6. Install all available Sony Software Libraries, Sony Applications and Utilities,and Device Drivers.

   IMPORTANT:

   • Those computers that use Recovery CDs must use the Driver Recovery CD (DRCD) to reinstall the original drivers and the Application Recovery CD (ARCD) to reinstall the applications.
   • On some models the Sony Shared library must be installed before the Application Recovery CD (ARCD) can be started.
   • Those computers that use the VAIO Recovery Wizard must use Recovery Media Kit CD/DVD #1 to reinstall applications and original drivers. The option to reinstall applications and drivers will not be available when the Recovery Media Kit is started using the Startup CD.
   • When a clean install of the Windows XP Professional Edition operating system is installed on a VAIO computer, all the original drivers, including the Sony Shared Library, must be installed before the bundled applications are reinstalled.
7. If available, Download and install all critical Microsoft updates, including Service Pack 2 (SP2).