Installing Windows XP on Sony Vaio NS12M/S Solved

Question

Good evening,

I just bought a Sony Vaio NS12M/S. The beast was delivered obviously without any installation CDs (so no driver CD or Vista install CD). I do not want to use this Vista crap, for a whole bunch of reasons, notably because I want maximum performance and compatibility to run games, both modern and older. That’s why I want to install XP in its place.

First observation: the AMI BIOS is heavily locked down, no options besides changing date/time and boot priorities...

When I try to install XP without doing anything else first, this is what happens:

- The CD starts up normally, then loads all the drivers built into the CD.
- Once all drivers are loaded, BSOD telling me I should check my hard drive with CHKDSK /F, run it through antivirus, or remove the newly installed disks.

So there’s clearly a hard drive issue (my XP CD works and installs perfectly on several other machines), which the Parted Magic software confirmed to me (for partitioning hard drives). This software never even starts, unable to recognize the hard drive... Problem with recognition in Parted Magic + XP install crash... SATA drivers???

Before posting, I carefully read a lot of forums about downgrading Vista to XP on Vaio, and I know most of the problems and much of the procedure with nLite to inject drivers directly into an XP installation CD. I also searched for the chipset drivers for this laptop, which is an Intel PM45 (Northbridge), so I assume the Southbridge is an ICH9. I did indeed find drivers in a zip archive titled INF Update Utility, containing all the .INF and .CAT files related to PM45 NB and ICH9 SB. The only problem: there is an installation wizard and no sign of a .sys or DLL file... I still tried to inject the .INF and .CAT (not sure if useful but might as well include them) with nLite. Result: no change, still the same BSOD.

I checked Sony’s FTP page for drivers to downgrade from Vista to XP and retrieved the TT Series SATA drivers as well as the non-RAID SATA drivers, battery drivers, etc., but I couldn’t find XP drivers for the Intel PM45/ICH9 or simply XP drivers for the NS12M/S.

I should note that I managed to install Ubuntu 8.10 without a hitch on this laptop, but XP is what interests me, to maximize performance (gaming and LAN gaming, even if this machine is far from ideal for that) and for obvious compatibility reasons. I’m convinced it’s possible to install XP on this Vaio model. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible—after all, a PC is a PC...

Has anyone among you ever owned a Vaio NS12M/S and managed to install XP correctly on it? If yes, could you explain how you accomplished this miracle?

Thanks in advance :)

Configuration: Windows XP, Firefox 3.0.4

khelgar · Accepted Answer

So I tested about twenty times integrating the drivers for the PM45/ICH9 chipset as well as the SP3 and the required SATA driver, into an XP install with nLite, only to realize that I was missing something.

I was finally able to solve my problem: the Sony SNC driver was missing, whose version 6.0B can be found on their FTP: ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/OS/XPDOWNGRADE/

For people who are also trying to install XP on the NS12M/S, you need to integrate 3 drivers with nLite:

- Intel PM45/ICH9 driver (http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?ProductID=2991&DwnldID=16026&lang=fra) Unzip then insert the entire "All" directory into the XP install via nLite.
- SATA DRIVER INTEL NON-RAID 8.0C _ 8.0.0.1039.ZIP on Sony's FTP.
- SNC SONY 6.0B driver on Sony's FTP.

Finally, after a successful install, you should grab at least one Ethernet driver, for example here: ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/OS/XPDOWNGRADE/SR1_WITHOUT_DISC/DRIVERS/
That will let you connect to the internet and go to the site https://www.touslesdrivers.com/ and use their utility "MyDrivers" to identify all your hardware as well as download most of the missing drivers for the NS12M/S.

You can find the touchpad driver on Sony's FTP (ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/OS/XPDOWNGRADE/SR1/DRIVERS/), titled: POINTING DRIVER SYNAPTICS 10.2B. Finally, for the webcam, it’s on the same page and the driver is called CAMERA DRIVER RICOH 6.215Q.

The only remaining issue to fix is the graphics card. The Radeon Mobility HD3430 is not supported by the latest ATI Catalyst driver. The steps are described on this page: http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php

It's in English, though it shouldn't pose any problems if you get this far.

In the end, all hardware works and has up-to-date drivers.

azerty unscf · Answer

you formatted avan de maitre xp, and it’s not very legal to install it on multiple PCs.
anyway, note that Vista SP2 will soon be here!!! with XP backward compatibility, still to be seen...
but you have a real Vista license, so I advise you to keep it, it works better than a pirated Windows.

sincerely

khelgar · Answer

"it works better than a pirated Windows."

What do you know about whether I have a pirated Windows XP? It is true, however, that I have never purchased an Windows installation CD BY ITSELF, but I have bought a few PCs in my life... One thing I know from experience is that an unmodified Windows XP just fresh out of the box does not stay stable for long, and besides it is full of flaws... There is nothing illegal in injecting drivers and SP3 into an XP installation CD, unless proven otherwise.

On the other hand, I do not think it is illegal to install the same OS on multiple machines (that belong to me), especially for testing, and when the license has been properly paid.

Anyway, I see that you are extremely interested in the root of my problem... I suppose you don't have a Sony Vaio NS12M/S?

Someone who is SERIOUS and COMPETENT here could help me solve my problem?

THANK YOU

azerty unscf · Answer

but it is true that it’s also a license for a PC and it’s the same as the condom, it’s just once...
and no you’re right, no vaio and nothing is perfect in computing.
moreover quickly, what did you test to install Windows?

piezo11 · Answer

Hello,

really thank you for sharing this successful install with us
I just received my vgn ns12M and it's impossible to install (stop message 0x0000007B 0XF78D2524 ..etc....)

I swapped it with a hard drive from another laptop where XP is already installed and still the same problem....
I will therefore try your step-by-step procedure

small detail: does the Fn key to adjust brightness work?

thanks in advance for your response:)

jeremy

khelgar · Answer

I had exactly the same blue screen piezo11. I suppose it also mentioned hard drive integrity.

To answer you S16, if you managed to install XP properly, go to the URL provided by azerty unscf, then download the small MyDrivers plugin. It will list your WiFi hardware as well as a link to download the correct driver.

khelgar · Answer

Regarding the keyboard shortcuts for brightness, they work, just like "volume + / volume -".

piezo11 · Answer

kelgar,

could you describe how you installed the graphics driver?
i’m really stuck with that:(

the graphics driver works perfectly, i even ran gta to check if it was working fine and it’s perfect

but those damned Fn keys to adjust brightness are nonfunctional and brightness is locked at maximum:(
i can adjust brightness via the catalyst control center, but that’s just a software brightness reduction.

on the other hand, the Fn key for sound works perfectly.....

a big thanks in advance for your help .....

khelgar · Answer

Regarding the graphics card driver, everything is explained on the Drivers Heaven site page. The patch simply adds support for newer graphics chipsets, especially laptop chipsets. The list is also on the same Drivers Heaven page, which I’m giving you again: http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php

Strange for the brightness adjustment. As soon as you have installed the right drivers (on SONY's FTP, try the driver called "Sony shared libraries" or something similar) everything should work.

It seems my explanations weren't very clear. But I'm not going to explain the mouse-click-by-mouse-click procedure anyway.

psuedopseudo · Answer

I can’t find the Intel PM45/ICH9 driver on the link that was provided above. How to proceed? Thank you.

psuedopseudo · Answer

Thank you Pizeo, I was a bit stupid about that one!

pseudopseudo · Answer

Hi, I just did the procedure and everything seems to work roughly, except for those same FN keys. Has anyone found which file to download from Sony's ftp?

Also, when I go to my Device Manager it says it can't find drivers for:
- Network Controller
- Graphics Controller (VGA compatible)
- Modem Device on High Definition Audio Bus
- Base System Device

I'm a bit of a computer novice, so if someone could kindly explain a bit more precisely that would be really nice.
Thanks

pseudopseudo · Answer

Well I’ve fixed the video controller thing, but for the others it’s still the same.

pseudopseudo · Answer

well i installed all the drivers they mention but i still have the drivers missing for the following things:
- network controller
- modem device on high definition audio bus
- base system device

and regarding the sound and brightness keys they don’t work either. i downloaded the vaio control utility thinking that would solve it but it gives me an error message.

another problem is that on mydrivers it tells me i’m missing the Intel Chipset Device Software driver (drivers 9.0.0.1008 WHQL)
i download it, then i open:
infinst_autol.
everything seems to run correctly but it keeps telling me that it doesn’t recognize the driver

pseudopseudo · Answer

oh wow that would be super cool!

khelgar · Answer

Sorry for the delay in my reply. For the brightness shortcuts I really can’t help you any further. On my end it works, but I didn’t do anything special besides installing ALL the drivers from the SONY FTP that aren’t in directories.

Regarding the graphics driver, no particular steps there either. As the English tutorial says: Double-click the downloaded file, let it decompress entirely into C:\ATI\... then CANCEL at the ATI Catalyst driver installation screen. Then run modtool and point it to the directory (C:\ATI...). Nothing else to do.

For the network controller it’s another story. If you were able to connect to the Internet with your Vaio, that means you don’t have any network controller issues in Device Manager. The Wifi driver will be available if you download the MyDrivers module from www.touslesdrivers.com

Regarding the Infinst_autol you mentioned, if you managed to install XP all the way, it means you don’t have a chipset driver problem.

Listen guys, I don’t want to come across as rude or offend you but use your brains a bit!!! At worst, start from scratch, a fresh install and follow the steps step by step. Make sure you’ve placed what’s needed on the XP CD (contents of the Infinst_Autol\All directory + SATA DRIVER INTEL NON-RAID 8.0C _ 8.0.0.1039.ZIP + SONY SNC Driver). Then once the installation succeeds, don’t forget the network driver ( ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/OS/XPDOWNGRADE/SR1_WITHOUT_DISC/DRIVERS/ ) then go to www.touslesdrivers.com and download the MyDrivers module, install the available drivers. Then decompress the Catalyst 8.11 driver archive and patch the directory. Install the patched Catalyst driver. Finally, if there are still question marks in Device Manager, look for them on Sony’s FTP.

I can’t help you any further, guys. And if the brightness keyboard shortcuts still don’t work, you’re not going to drown the forum with it for so little, right???

khelgar · Answer

" Sorry I'm not very skilled, but we do what we can to remedy it :) "

It's not a question of being good or not at computers, but a question of common sense, logic, observation, etc... Still, I notice that many people around me are "paralyzed" in front of a computer, while they accomplish every day things much more complicated than installing an OS or making software/game or hardware work. It baffles me but that's how it is.

To answer your question: The SATA driver installs in text mode during XP installation. Which probably means it applies particular settings to the Windows installation, probably specific to the hardware (thus Sony Vaio NS12M/S). You must absolutely select the text mode installation option in nLite.

Indeed, that's something I had forgotten to mention. I remain at your disposal if you have other questions.

Good luck

teuung · Answer

Uh... About n-lite...

I have 2 types of issues:

1) My WIRLESS SWITCH and TOUCH PAD drivers have 2 .ini files (setup and ESD.ini for WIRLESS and setup and SynUnst.ini). When I try to import these 4 files, I have a problem because I cannot import 2 files with the same name. Can I rename the SETUP.INI files?

2) My infinst_autol (Intel PM45 Driver), Sony 6.0b SNC Driver, non-Raid INTEL SATA Driver, and Ethernet don’t have .ini files but .inf files. Should I rename the .inf files to .ini?

Ahlala... I must be a dumbass, it’s not possible! ++

khelgar · Answer

Hello there teuung   Happy to have been able to help. To answer your questions:  "1st Question: Do we do this maneuver only because Windows XP doesn't handle SATA hard drives?"  If you integrate SP3 into your XP installation CD with nLite, the issue remains the same. I’m just guessing here: It could be a proprietary SATA driver, or simply specific to Sony hardware, which wouldn’t surprise me. It could explain why the GENERIC SATA drivers that XP installation loads don’t work.   "2nd Question: I used the original VAIO RESTORATION CENTER software to burn the 2 restoration DVDs, just in case... Do you think after installing WIN XP on the NS12M, it is still possible to restore VISTA as it came from the factory? I’m noting that I didn’t delete the hidden partition on the NS12M. And I’m thinking of creating a 3rd partition to store backup data such as a GHOST image of my future new Windows XP..."  Since you didn’t remove the hidden partition (about 8GB if I remember correctly) where the factory GHOST is present, no problem. You’ll be able to restore VISTA later, perhaps with an extra step (format your old XP partition with a liveCD Ubuntu if your DVDs won’t allow it). It would be better not to create another partition for the XP GHOST, just for clarity. Now, if you feel up to having 2 GHOST partitions, for 2 different systems, and you think you can manage restoring your XP or original VISTA when the time comes, you do as you wish.    For the issues you have: 1. When you see *.ini files, those are script files, basically command sequences that run when you launch an application or an installer. You can notice this by right-clicking the *.ini file and editing it in Windows Explorer. However, the *.inf files are files that Windows will recognize as "Infrastructure Information" and they can be considered as drivers. In fact, these files only inform the system on how the hardware should be configured to work.  2. What you risk by trying to integrate all drivers into your XP install CD is screwing everything up. The best is to limit to the 3 drivers (chipset, SATA and SNC) plus SP3, if you want everything to go correctly. You can very well make another CD with the remaining drivers, to install AFTER the system.   In short, it’s better to stick to the strict minimum, especially when you know you’ll face problems. If you’re doing this for a friend (or a client???), make sure all the hardware works and that the installation is as clean as possible.

mohsen001 · Answer

Hi my friend, I have a Sony Vaio NS12M/S laptop with Windows Vista originally. I couldn't install XP at first, and after Khelgar's tutorial I finally managed to install it; thanks a lot, my friend. But what I'm missing are 4 drivers:

- IEEE 1394 controller (I think that's the FireWire port)
- floppy1 (I don't know what this is because I don't have a floppy drive)
- Sony Visual Communication Camera (Motion Eye)
- Modem Device on High Definition Audio Bus

I searched and downloaded the drivers from the FTP link Sony gave earlier and from www.touslesdrivers.com, but they didn't provide these drivers. Please help me, and thanks in advance.

khelgar · Answer

Hi :)  Mohsen001, for your question ----> https://www.touslesdrivers.com/ then download/install the MyDrivers module, you run it... as I say several times in my explanation, as well as the repetition you thank me a lot for clarifying the points I did not explain properly.  For the webcam, look in one of my previous messages, you will find your answer and the associated link... For the modem (56kbps probably) same thing...  Regarding the card reader, I think there is nothing more to install, since most of these peripherals are "plug n' play" today. That said, I did not test this card reader before placing one of the memory card drivers located in one of the FTP folders (try the SR1 or SR1_WITHOUT_DISC folder). So you should test first without installing a memory card driver and if it doesn't work, download one of the drivers from the FTP. If you follow the steps correctly and not trying to go faster than the music, ALL hardware works, without exception, and by following a standard procedure that involves logic, common sense and observation, knowing what you are looking for, etc...  If by any chance there remains a question/exclamation mark in the device manager regarding a "floppy1" or something else that doesn't correspond to any identifiable hardware, you have probably made a mistake somewhere, installed the wrong drivers for example. As for the Wifi, the software is what it is. Does it work for you teuung? And for others? For me, it works very well, as soon as I managed to deal with the Freebox configuration...  Finally, I see that we always fight with the Fn keys to adjust brightness, I’ve been asleep on that for a long time... Is it really necessary to waste time for a miserable keyboard shortcut?????? It reminds me of mice that obsess over a piece of cheese fixed on a trap, when a whole cheese is planted right in the middle of the table above...  I think people who come to read this thread do it to be able to install Windows XP and all the Sony Vaio NS12M/S hardware, and not to see repeated posts dealing with vain attempts to make a key combination work...  For me, the problem is solved. I hope that for many it is the case, I imagine there are still some for whom it remains a bit unclear. In that case, the best would be to start from the beginning, and post a final message with the clearest possible step-by-step instructions for everyone, including beginners. Maybe you could explain in your own words, teuung, how you proceeded with the complete installation? Maybe after that I could consider this topic resolved.  My apologies, my strong suit is not communication. I still hope I was able to help a few people.

gyronimo · Answer

Hello, I’m straying a bit from the topic because I’m very interested in this laptop and I understood that some (like khelgar) had installed Ubuntu on it. I’d like to know if there’s a specific procedure to follow to install Ubuntu + Vista in dual boot (tattooed PC or whatever else) and if under Ubuntu all the features (brightness shortcuts, AV key, webcam, etc.) are available under Linux. Thanks in advance.

khelgar · Answer

Ubuntu 8.10 + XP fine. As for Ubuntu + VISTA on this model:  http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/installation/multiboot_tatoo

fabien · Answer

Thank you for this forum which allowed me to install XP on my Vaio NS12 without any problem.  However, I couldn't find the drivers for the modem and for the basic system devices.  If someone could provide the links for these two drivers, that would be very kind.  Thanks to everyone.  Fabien

fabien · Answer

Good evening everyone!  I've found the drivers I was missing.  Thank you anyway for creating this forum... because it's true that Vista ...  Have a good evening

khelgar · Answer

Piezzo11, the slowness of VISTA with the Vaio NS12 has an explanation: the culprit is AERO, the graphical interface of VISTA so pretty with its animations and transparency effect. A performance test under VISTA would almost be enough to force every owner of the Vaio NS12M/S to migrate to XP.  It's a shame but we find a lot of PCs (especially branded) sold with VISTA but which are much worse than the NS12M/S, whether in terms of graphics card, CPU or memory. And when you see all the problems that causes when you want to switch the PC in question to XP, just to have it run correctly, it might be clever to offer either an XP license or a VISTA license at the time of purchase, or even an XP license offered, and at the same time avoid "branding" the hard drives and the BIOS as with cattle. Many beginners are already frightened at the slightest spyware or anti-virus alert, so do you think they are perfectly capable of handling the BIOS SATA disk management in shadow, pressing F6 to "load a third-party file from a floppy" or for example F3 or F4 to select a multiprocessor/NoACPI mode, apart from taking a closer look at computing and consulting tutorials like for the installation of the Sony Vaio??? No, unfortunately we are not all geeks :D  I hope this can help. On the site "Dépannes ton PC" it is explained that it is possible to remove the tattoo from a hard drive or BIOS, what it actually consists of:  http://www.depannetonpc.net/...  The article is a bit old but we see which brands began to "mine" their PCs, desktops or laptops... And the 50€ extra to pay to...buy your freedom in a way.

khelgar · Answer

I don’t think the performances have specifically regressed. On the contrary, they’ve increased quite a bit. But to fully enjoy them, particularly for gaming, we’re forced to deal with VISTA, the only OS supporting DirectX 10.

But this one apparently consumes a lot of resources, added to the consumption of AERO. The PC could run much better in DirectX 9 and without AERO, and without all the quiet nuisances that run under VISTA, especially since a game running in DirectX 9 can already be superbly rendered. It’s enough to go to benchmark sites comparing DX9/DX10 to realize the difference in performance for the little quality gained between DX9 and DX10.

In the end, it’s purely commercial. When you run XP with DX9, you realize that two big graphics cards in SLI are almost useless, the available resources being much greater than under VISTA. Unfortunately, Microsoft and the computer manufacturers, especially for laptops, hype up increased performance, better usability with VISTA, but it’s all bluff... Frankly, when you want to run demanding applications with maximum performance, the logic would be for the OS to eat as little as possible.

“that said, on my ‘old’ Acer (it’s only 4 months old) shipped with Vista and which has a SATA hard drive, I didn’t get a blue screen and everything went smoothly... go figure......”

Fortunately, not all brand-name PCs are marked. These practices stem from Microsoft’s desire to combat the piracy of their OS. A few years ago, there was talk of possible trackers directly embedded in hardware (like the motherboard) to report to Microsoft a possible fraud situation by the PC user (back at the launch of Windows Genuine Advantage). The tattoo, for its part, does not solve the piracy problem, while drastically reducing the user’s experience and freedom (modifications, optimization, etc...).

Regarding the Vaio NS12M/S, this protection is bypassable, proven by the installation of Ubuntu 8.10 and XP SP3 on it. If there are still questions or things unclear regarding the installation of XP on this machine, let me know so I can close the topic.

If any of you have a bit of time to spare, could someone find a way to get all the special keys and keyboard shortcuts mentioned in the topic to work?

Orange12 · Answer

Hi I just bought a Sony VGN NS 12M and I can’t connect to the internet. I’m not very good with computers, so if someone could help me. Thanks [PS: it shows that I’m connected but I’m limited]

khalid0080 · Answer

Hello everyone  I’ve been looking for two days for the drivers for the Intel PM45 chipset and I can’t find them on the link provided by Khelgar.... I’m a novice in IT... on the link given by Khelgar I find a ranking of the best downloads and a ton of other stuff and I didn’t know where to download the right chipset? Thanks

khelgar · Answer

I feel like I’m going to make someone happy, or even several...  The shortcuts for brightness and others should work for everyone, as long as you do a little tinkering:  For those who don’t have "Administrative Tools" visible in the Start menu: click the Start button, then right-click/properties in the middle of the Start menu, where nothing is labeled. Then click the "Customize..." button and click the Advanced tab. In the box there are plenty of options. Scroll down using the arrows on the right of the box until you find the "Administrative Tools" option and select "Show in All Programs and Start Menu". Apply the changes and close the properties window. You should now see "Administrative Tools" when you click Start.  So: Start > Administrative Tools > Services. Look for an entry called "HID Input Service" and right-click Properties. Read the service description, then in the "Startup type" dropdown choose "Automatic" and then Apply. Finally, click the "Start" button (to the left of "Stop") which is now available. Then click Apply and OK. Close the Services window and try your shortcut keys.  This service was disabled on my XP installation; after doing this, shortcuts other than volume +/- work.

khalid0080 · Answer

thank you for everything yes I had searched on Google by typing intel pm45 and not the file name as you said, it shows me lots of stuff, thanks you’re saving me

sofiti · Answer

Hi, I’m new here. I just signed up. I bought a Sony Vaio NS12M/S this week, but I can’t install Windows XP and I don’t know much about creating CDs with NLite, and I really need your help. I’ve tried everything (technicians, teachers, classmates) but to no avail, and I can’t work with Vista because I use software that isn’t compatible with it. So I’m asking you to help me as soon as possible. Either you detail the steps for me in detail, or you give me your email so I can contact you—your choice. But please help me, because you’ve been through this and I think you understand me. I’m waiting for your reply. Thanks in advance.

khelgar · Answer

To answer your question Lagoaclubber,  On Tom's Hardware, there is a benchmark of The Sims 2, on older generation graphics cards. The Vaio NS12M/S graphics card being a Radeon HD, therefore newer generation, I think you’ll be able to run it on Vista, to be verified. In any case, with a Radeon X800XT, the game runs at nearly 90 frames per second, under XP obviously, with graphics settings at max and no anti-aliasing.  For those interested, Medal of Honor Airborne runs not too badly under XP, with graphics settings at minimum. Even Call of Duty 5 runs, again with graphics at minimum, but it lags a bit.  Happy holidays to everyone :)

kawashi-matt · Answer

Hello everyone,

a quick post to clarify to any VAIO NS11 owners that the procedure described here also works with this model (the components are almost identical). With the same minor hassles regarding the keys associated with Fn.
I’d also like to thank people who take the trouble to detail their experiences ;-)
I’ve sent an email to Sony asking them to extend their "XP downgrade" support to all their models, you never know... It would still be easier and legitimate to have support from the moment you own a legal copy of XP.

Happy end-of-year holidays to everyone!

khelgar · Answer

Hi s4ha  You’re right to revive the topic with this particular point about the tattoo.  I’ve heard some additional technical info from people around me on this subject. What you need to know is that even if I’ve used the word tattoo several times in this topic, I’m not 100% sure that the Sony Vaio NS12 M/S is actually tattooed, at least if we take the exact definition. It’s probably an abuse of language on my part, but the nature of the problems encountered on this laptop really makes you think of that kind of lock.  In fact, it would seem that the tattoo is done at the EEPROM module on the motherboard. It’s a form of ROM that is reprogrammable electrically. Basically, it would contain information about all the hardware of a given computer, in the form of serial numbers for example. The BIOS would inject these infos into the MBR of your hard drive. Each time you try to install an OS, a comparison is made between the hardware info copied into the MBR and the hardware info, from the manufacturer, etc., contained in the OS provided with the PC. So, your Sony Vaio (assuming it’s tattooed) or a tattooed-brand PC will only be able to accept the OS provided, linked to such and such a computer. I hope I’m explaining this clearly :)  You’re asking if we took any special measures regarding the tattoo, if there is one. If you go back to the topic until my 2nd post, where I roughly explain how I solved the XP install problem, I talk about a specific driver for Sony computers, called "Sony Shared Libraries". I realized that by following XP install tutorials on other Sony Vaio models, I still had crashes, until I injected this driver with nLite. There must be a particular reason why this driver is necessary...  So you’re probably right that if this laptop in question is indeed tattooed in the literal sense, you couldn’t install anything other than the original Vista, unless something disrupts the injection of tattoo data from the EEPROM to the MBR. Why not this "Sony Shared Libraries" driver? It probably contains the hardware info of most Sony laptops after all. If the OS you want to install on your NS12 has hardware info corresponding to the data in the EEPROM copied into the MBR, the PC has no reason to lock down!  From your side, how do you explain the fact that other Sony Vaio models only need the SATA driver during XP install, whereas for the NS12M/S, you need to inject this "Sony Shared Libraries" driver via nLite? There is indeed a need to install this driver on the other Vaio models (per Sony’s explanations about downgrade from Vista to XP on certain models) but if I’m not mistaken, this driver is installed once the OS is installed. Furthermore, Ubuntu installs without needing anything else besides booting the PC with the install CD in… If there are Linux pros among you, could someone please provide an explanation?  As for your fears about the warranty. If I understand correctly, you’re afraid the warranty will void because your MBR was erased by an OS installation. Each time you install an OS, it systematically overwrites the MBR and inserts its boot manager. If the NS12 is indeed tattooed, the hardware info remains in the EEPROM, and you don’t change much of your PC in essence, apart from a different OS than the original. In fact, even if you manage to bypass the issue once, when you want to reinstall another Microsoft OS, there’s a good chance we’ll encounter the same problems as during the first XP install on this machine, implying that the EEPROM might copy the hardware info to the MBR again. I see only one way to be sure: call Sony’s technical support and ask them for clarifications about the consequences of the operations described in this topic. At the same time, we could really know if it’s a tattoo or another form of lock, on the Sony Vaio NS12M/S. That said, I did see a post on a Ubuntu community forum saying that once the MBR is erased and rewritten by an OS, it automatically voids the warranty, something to verify.  In any case, your contribution to this post is more than useful, as it prompts us to dig a bit deeper into this tattoo issue, and raises the question of whether the Vaio NS12M/S is properly tattooed. It’s been 3 weeks now that I’ve been brainstorming a way to systematically bypass the problems encountered on this laptop, without the user necessarily having to go through the whole tutorial explained here. If you have any ideas on this, I suppose they would be welcome in this post ;)  I almost forgot: On the firewire topic, I can’t help you, I unfortunately don’t have equipment using a FireWire connection. Maybe if someone has a digital camcorder to connect to the laptop, they could tell us if it works :)

khelgar · Answer

Oh man, 2 seconds s4h4a. I’m stopping you right there, I don’t see why when you overwrite an MBR the motherboard doesn’t recognize the HDD anymore. But go ahead, try tossing your hard drive out the window, reconnect it and tell me if your motherboard still recognizes it! :D  I reassure you about your XP OEM, I tried the same thing with the Vista DVD from my other DELL laptop to put it on my desktop PC. It managed to install, laboriously but it got there. But bad surprise: at every driver installation and Windows Update, my system became more and more unstable, until it wouldn’t boot anymore.  If you want to install an XP OEM supplied with a laptop or a desktop, it’s not surprising that you can’t install it on the Vaio. Exactly like some unattended versions with “pre-filled” license numbers and customized all over the place. It’s so hacked, optimized in every direction, that if you touch anything in the install, it collapses like a house of cards :P On the other hand, it’s much more stable and higher performing than a boxed XP SP2 version installed on a machine without protection.  To be sure of your move, you should use an XP boxed CD, bare, without any gadget or applications, bought in store or downloaded, that’s up to you to decide... From what I could observe, that’s the best way to avoid screwing up, and to avoid screwing up the PC at the same time.  Otherwise, you should try as much as possible to properly read the other replies in the thread, to avoid everyone repeating themselves. If the links become invalid after some time, do a Google search, since you know exactly what to look for (hardware, file name, manufacturer name, etc...).

khelgar · Answer

Darn... I was sure that a corporate OS was an OS reserved for businesses, as its name suggests... Has someone lied to me???  I don’t think it’s MANDATORY to use Intel’s wifi configuration software in order to connect to the net. And NO ONE said that here, if you read correctly what has been posted by the various participants. However, without the Intel driver, I don’t see how that’s possible... It is indeed possible to make the XP config utility take priority over Intel’s, but NEVER can we do without the driver.  Here’s a question that’s been nagging me... How can one assert with certainty how a tattoo works, when you don’t even know how to distinguish between a software for wifi connection management and a wifi driver, or even differentiate a corporate XP from an OEM or from the boxed version???

khelgar · Answer

This is what Teuung said in his message. He used the word "impossible" which isn’t quite the right word, as you’ve noticed. And indeed, Teuung didn’t say that using the Intel WiFi manager was mandatory, just that he couldn’t do otherwise. However, by digging a little, one can see that it is possible.

There is a difference between reading between the lines and regurgitating a quote verbatim. But as far as I recall, the aim of this post isn’t semantics but solving problems related to installing Windows XP on the Sony Vaio. There is also a huge difference between being the originator of a solution (and the research work that made it possible), and arriving like a hair on the soup long after the battle, with intentions and statements that aren’t always very clear, and systematically devoid of argument, except for regurgitation. And if I look closely at the current state of the topic, it’s marked as "resolved," given that a substantial number of people have managed to solve the problem thanks to contributions from a handful of people.

By dredging up this topic as you said, if your intention was indeed to steer the discussion toward a problem more related to tattoos in order to imagine more systematic solutions, I don’t think we’d be at “arguing over details.” I’m afraid I’m not the one who’s looking for minor irritants here. And I have no intention of sabotaging my own topic with that kind of crap. If that’s your real intention, I think you have no place in this topic.

And I’m tired of hearing a parrot who repeats exactly the same thing that’s explained to him, just by changing a few words… I do have other things to do in life than playing the one who’s the most intelligent, or in this case, the one who speaks French the best…

When you want to participate in solving a problem, or in this case, to arrive at a solution that allows any user to install XP on this Vaio, as one would with any copy of XP and without resorting to this tutorial, well, you have to put your arrogance aside and start thinking about the problem seriously.

Have a good evening.

mssipa · Answer

I had a similar problem with a Vaio, and I simply want to thank Khelgar!!! which could also be a solution for other PC brands.

el_aaroubi · Answer

Hello and a big thank you to everyone who participated in this excellent discussion, especially khelgar.
I would just like to ask if someone can upload for us the following:
- SATA DRIVER INTEL NON-RAID 8.0C _ 8.0.0.1039.ZIP .
- SNC DRIVER SONY 6.0B
I assure you I struggled for 2 days without results.
Maybe it's due to my internet connection or the unavailability on Sony's FTP.
I would be very grateful, thank you.

Ju59 · Answer

Hello everyone.  I have the same issue, I can't download the drivers:  - SATA DRIVER INTEL NON-RAID 8.0C _ 8.0.0.1039.ZIP . - SNC DRIVER SONY 6.0B  I can't access Sony's ftp. If someone could send them by email...that would be great :) Thanks in advance. Have a good evening

sympa · Answer

Indeed this link doesn't work [URL]http://downloadcenter.intel.com/NotFound.aspx?NotAvail=Y[/URL] Download Not Available  This download is no longer available.

khelgar · Answer

SATA DRIVER INTEL NON-RAID 8.0C  https://www.google.fr/search?source=ig&hl=fr&rlz=1G1GGLQ_FRFR263&=&q=SATA+DRIVER+INTEL+NON-RAID+8.0C&btnG=Recherche+Google&lr=&aq=&gws_rd=ssl    SNC DRIVER SONY 6.0B  https://www.google.fr/search?source=ig&hl=fr&rlz=1G1GGLQ_FRFR263&=&q=SNC+DRIVER+SONY+6.0B&btnG=Recherche+Google&lr=&aq=&gws_rd=ssl   Peu importe le modèle, et Google est votre ami, on ne le répétera jamais assez...

jojobar53 · Answer

Hi everyone, I completely agree with Khelgar that we can manage to do very complex installations in some areas while staying with a simple XP installation.  However, I’ll once again ask for your guidance: You stated in your last post that: "The SATA driver is installed in text mode during the XP installation. This probably means it applies specific parameters to the Windows installation, likely hardware-specific (so Sony Vaio NS12M/S). It is imperative to select the text mode installation option in nLite."  - At what moment and where is this option in the Nlite process? - If it keeps asking for the SATA driver disk, what else might I have forgotten?? Another question: in the "Task Selection" of Nlite, what should be done with the "Automation" checkbox?  Sorry for my ignorance but I’m trying to learn. Thank you all.

khelgar · Answer

Here is translation:

That should help quite a few people:  SPECIFICATIONS SONY VAIO NS12MS https://forum.touslesdrivers.com/configuration.php?v_code=99580  Motherboard: Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T5800, 2000 MHz (10 x 200) Motherboard name Sony VGN-NS12M_S Motherboard chipset Intel Cantiga PM45 System memory :  DIMM1: Hynix HYMP125S64CP8-S6 2 Go DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  DIMM3: Power Quotient MECEG421PA0101 BIOS type AMI (05/09/08)  Automatically detected hardware configuration:  Plugin version 3.5.0 build 0  Detection date 28/05/2009 14:07  Operating system Windows XP Professional (build 2600) Service Pack 2  Processor Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T5800 Merom Socket P (478) (@65 nm) 2000MHz  ( L1I: 2 x 32 KB, L1D: 2 x 32 KB, L2: 2048 KB )  SMBios version 2.4  Sony Corporation VAIO N/A Bios: American Megatrends Inc. R0190Y3 07/09/2008 size: 2048Kb  Northbridge chipset: Intel PM45 Southbridge chipset: Intel 82801IM (ICH9-M)  Memory Total physical memory: 3072 MB DDR2 Hyundai Electronics HYMP125S64CP8-S6 2048 MB PC2-6400 (400 Mhz) (6.0-6-6-18) DDR2 PQI CORP. MECEG421PA0101 1024 MB PC2-6400 (400 Mhz) (6.0-6-6-18)  Hard drive TOSHIBA MK2552GSX (232.88GB)  ATA/Serial ATA Devices TOSHIBA MK2552GSX LV010A (SATA, 232.89 GB, buffer: 8 MB)  Storage Intel Corporation:ICH9M/M-E SATA AHCI Controller  Network Marvell Technology Group Ltd.:88E8055 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller  Intel Corporation:Wireless WiFi Link 5100  Display ATI Technologies Inc:ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3430  (Engineering Sample ? WDDM v1.1)  Multimedia Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller  chipsets Intel Corporation:Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory Controller Hub Intel Corporation:Mobile 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Graphics Port: Mobile 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Graphics Port Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1: 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2: 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 3: 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 3 Intel Corporation:82801 Mobile PCI Bridge: 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge Intel Corporation:ICH9M LPC Interface Controller  Système Ricoh Co Ltd:R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter  Ricoh Co Ltd:R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter  Bus Series Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 Intel Corporation:82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller Ricoh Co Ltd:R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller  USB Peripherals Ricoh Co., Ltd USB Composite Device Ricoh Co., Ltd USB Video Device  Optiarc DVD RW AD-7560S SS02 (DVD-RAM Recorder)  Synaptics PS/2 Port Pointing Device  Keyboard Standard 101/102-key keyboard  Service performed in partnership with Ma-Config.com  From there, we should be able to find everything we need. In bold and underlined is the main reason for our common problem, namely the AHCI mode for SATA storage. This mode is enabled by default under Vista, and as such it is impossible to install anything else EXCEPT Linux. Therefore you must ensure you have the correct Intel PM45 package whose southbridge is mentioned in the motherboard list and/or compatible models.  That requires minimum research, certes, but it is within everyone's reach. Regarding nLite, there is a very well-made tutorial at www.commentçamarche.net   Good luck

Tims · Answer

A big THANK YOU to Khelgar for the solution (AT LAST!) And AZERTY, we appreciate your zeal but we know the law. If we had a problem in that regard, we would have addressed it to lawyers!!  It's not cool to suspect us of being illegal to earn points with the moderators!

PIEZO · Answer

Yes indeed, we can't say it enough: thank you :)  A year with the VAIO running XP, and a year of happiness! Computers sold today at 900 euros that I see circulating among friends with Windows 7 are incredibly slow compared to mine!! It was as if we skipped a generation backwards!

Tom · Answer

Hello, A colleague called for help with his personal Sony Vaio VGN-NS12M running original VISTA.  The computer won’t start anymore. I’ve looked at it briefly. Windows recovery offered by Windows doesn’t work. The radical regeneration with the F10 key loops indefinitely. I decided to install Windows XP SP3 - the setup does not give a choice to activate / deactivate AHCI - During the installation, I connected a USB floppy drive; hoping that by F6 I could provide the Intel AHCI driver. But the installation process, via F6, ignores the USB floppy.  I don’t have time to do NLite, so I would like to ask one of you all for the ISO image of a Win-XP-SP3-VAIO-VGN-NS12M installation CD. Sony does not offer it!  I just realized the license number will be an issue.  What do you recommend? Thanks in advance. Tom.

piezo11 · Answer

Good evening,

Nothing understood, too technical.

One single and unique thing: you have to make an XP copy using nlite and include the hard drive driver as described at the beginning of the post, and that’s all!

All your technical terms, I don’t understand them, or rather I don’t want to understand them because they’re useless for the XP installation procedure.

My VGN NS12M runs perfectly under XP thanks to this tiny file, and it’s a rocket compared to Vista, and I’m not exaggerating! And nlite is so easy to handle... in 15 minutes, it’s done!

In short, your solution: the hard drive driver and that’s all.

On the other hand, afterwards, you need to know the method to install the video controller, because it’s true that with only the indications from people who post here, it’s impossible: you have to tinker a bit... I spent a whole day before I understood how the modder works.

And since I still have the opportunity, I thank Khelgar for his help. He came with a question and ultimately provided an answer. The brightness keys under XP still don’t work, and no one has the solution, but through Catalyst software it’s nevertheless possible to lower it.

khelgar · Answer

Hi Tom.  As piezo said, your only option to install XP on your Vaio, without spending nights on it, is to create an XP installation CD with nLite.  You’ll need to use another computer to create and burn the CD, following the steps mentioned in this thread.  No point banging your head over AHCI issues or other BIOS setup things, you’ll just end up frustrated. It’ll be easier to go through nLite, and you’ll spend barely 1 hour, at most an hour and a half.  Good luck :)

Tom · Answer

to Piezo11,  Sorry, I meant that the regeneration process by F10 stopped abruptly with an error message, and then the system rebooted itself. I think a track of partition 1 is also faulty, but the consequence does not seem to be serious. I handed the VAIO back to its owner yesterday.  In hindsight, I would think it wasn’t a question of AHCI, (wink to Khelgar), but the target partition that was in poor shape. It’s not XP that I planned to put on it for the reason you know, but Seven. The owner yesterday wanted Seven: I told him it would work with original regenerated Vista, as before. It’s voluntary, during working hours, so we had to move on. Somewhere that also helps the company move forward!  see you later

Installing Windows XP on Sony Vaio NS12M/S

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