Month: December 2012

Installing Microsoft Windows 8 Professional on a Sony VAIO SB Series (VPCSB19GG)

/ Craig Smith / 18 Comments

Sony Vaio SB19

I have just gone through the experience of upgrading a Sony VAIO SB Series laptop (model VPCSB19GG) from Windows 7 Professional 64-bit to Windows 8 Pro 64-bit. There are a bunch of threads on how to do this on various websites, but this is how I got a clean install working for this model with all of the features of the laptop working (including the troublesome function keys for brightness and Bluetooth functionality).

The core page on the Sony Australia website for this model is: http://www.sony.com.au/support/product/vpcsb19gg

The order of the steps is important:

  1. Do a clean install of Windows 8 Pro (I left the restore partitions on the machine and installed from a USB key – you may need to adjust the BIOS which you can access by pressing F2 at boot)
  2. Once installed, Windows 8 pro will activate automatically
  3. Install the AMD Graphics driver (Graphics Driver (AMD) version 9.1.0.0 for Windows 8 Upgrade – EP0000278443.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-bit > Software Patches
  4. Install the Fingerprint Driver (FingerPrint (Authentic) – AUDFPD-80275394-0082.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-bit > OS Upgrade / Downgrade
  5. Install the ALPS Pointing Driver (Pointing Driver (Alps) – ALDOTH-80275593-0082.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-bit > OS Upgrade / Downgrade
  6. Install the Sony Shared Library (Sony Shared Library – SOASSL-00240000-0040.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Original Driver
  7. Restart the PC
  8. Install the SFEP Driver (SFEP Driver – SFEPDriver.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Original Driver
  9. Restart the PC
  10. Install the Sony Notebook Utilities (Notebook Utilities – SOAOTH-55800000-0042.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Original Driver
  11. The Sony Notebook Utilities will restart the PC once and then restart after completion
  12. Install the VAIO Power Management Updater (VAIO Power Management Updater – SOAVPM-80270503-0082.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-bit > OS Upgrade / Downgrade
  13. Restart the PC
  14. Install the VAIO Smart Network (VAIO Smart Network – SOASNW-00242468-0042.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Original Driver. To install this particular software you need to use Uniextract to extract the files and then run the setup file in Windows 7 compatibility mode as well as an Administrator. This makes the Bluetooth work properly
  15. Restart the PC
  16. Install the Sony Vaio Control Centre (VAIO Control Center version 6.0.5.10150 for Windows 8 Upgrade – EP0000278194.exe) which can be found in Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-bit > Software Patches
  17. Restart the PC

You should check that the Notebook Utilities are still working at this point. You can then proceed to install the rest of the applications and Windows updates.

The Next Chapter

/ Craig Smith / 1 Comment

YOW! AustraliaI had hinted on Twitter and Facebook that it was time for the next chapter in my career. After almost 18 years with Suncorp and a myriad of roles in that time from software development, technical leadership and Agile coaching, it was time for a change.

Dave Thomas has always been a leader in the software development arena that I have always respected. We met in 2008 through a presentation and he gave at QUT and Suncorp and then through the international Agile conferences and the Brisbane JAOO / YOW! conferences.

When the opportunity came to work with Dave on YOW! Australia, it was an opportunity too good to pass up. So now I have put my contractor shoes on and will be working with YOW! Australia as their Director of Conferences and Workshops.

As for Agile Coaching, it is still very much my passion to help teams deliver great products, so I will be continuing to work in the Agile community as well.

Here is the post from the YOW! blog on my appointment.

We are very pleased to announce Craig Smith has joined the YOW! Team as its Director of Conferences and Workshops. Craig’s experience as a speaker, instructor, developer, workshop and conference organizer makes him the ideal person to work with the YOW! community, user groups and the technical community. Craig will be working closely with Dave, the YOW! Planning Committee and the global speaker network to ensure YOW! brings the right speakers to Australia. Craig will be at our final YOW! Night of 2012 with Greg Young, so please say hello. See you at YOW! 2012!

Dave Thomas

(This post was designed to come out in mid-November, but the workload in pulling off a conference like YOW! delayed it a little!)