VAIO P XP install

vaio_p

Sony recently started to shipping the VAIO P don’t-call-it-a-netbook netbook. It comes stock with 2GB of RAM, which means it’s not eligible for Microsoft’s XP ultra low cost pc licensing. Hackers wanting to exorcise Vista have run into a few issues. After doing her unboxing photoshoot, [tnkgrl] wrote a guide for replacing Vista with XP on the Vaio P. She used the Universal Extractor to pop open the driver downloads and remove the Vista check. This got the WWAN radio and GPS working in XP. The only casualty was the volume and mute buttons are no longer working. You can see an annotated image verifying all the components here.

Comments [30]

tagged: gps, netbook, sony, sony vaio, sony vaio p, tnkgrl, unboxing, vaio, vaio p, vista, wwan, xp

Reader Comments

Put Linux… never worry with microsoft again…

Posted at 3:45 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by chicosoft

Wah, why? Why do people go to so much trouble to put proprietary software in difficult places? You’re not helping anyone. You’re not contributing to community-based software like Linux or the BSD’s. You’re just giving people another excuse to continue buying and using proprietary software. And when the next version of that closed-source software comes out, you’ll be back at square one. Congratulations, you’ve made no gains and people are still dependant on proprietary software. You’re actually working against the community.

/rant
Just install Linux, FFS.

Posted at 4:39 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by Imroy

how about you make linux compatible with winodows apps and solve the installer problems in linux. till then we are stuck with this

Posted at 4:59 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by werejag

I think I would have leapfrogged to Win7 given the machine’s specs.

Posted at 5:37 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by strider_mt2k

@Imroy
Linux is still more pain than its worth IMO.

Posted at 6:43 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by dudebro

mondolon

Posted at 8:02 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by jay

bah. linux, it’s a fun toy, but hardly useful in as many ways as XP, particularly in a Netbook.

Posted at 8:03 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by hum4n

With Linux it is the chicken-egg thing.

Personally I find that whatever devices I have won’t work in Linux.

E.G. : 3D stereoscopic gaming (dual LCD, beamsplitter, polarized glasses), gaming period, my ATSC tuner, my NTSC tuner.

Trust me, I have tried quite a few distro’s, but until the X server is fixed (why for F’s sake can’t I pick my resolution AND refresh rate? I DO NOT want to edit the config file, not that it ever works.), and there is some compatibility for hardware and software I am going to need XP/Windows.

Posted at 8:26 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by nubie

You bought something from Sony?

It is a darling device, but it’s unlikely that I will every by a computer from Sony.

Posted at 9:38 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by BrendaEM

Seriously, linux isn’t perfect but this is really one of those cases where it would have been a better choice then windows.

Posted at 10:36 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by Jack

“you’re just giving people another excuse to continue buying and using proprietary software”

If people will find any excuse they can, going to huge lengths, to get their proprietary software working, the open source equivalent is obviously not up to their expectations! pretty much anybody doing this level of tinkering will obviously have tried linux at some point in their computing career. it just isn’t for everyone yet.

Posted at 10:44 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by dan

jack, it would hardly be a better choice than windows if it means that your WLAN and GPS don’t work.

Posted at 10:44 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by dan

Why there always have to be an windoz VS
Linux discussion everywhere?

For those who are happy with Linux:
- I know what the feeling is :)

For those NOT happy with Linux:
- Then try something else. If you tried Linux
then you clearly are NOT happy with windowz
either.

For those who are not happy with Windoz:
- I know you want to game, I know you like
your apps. The best alternative I know is
either ubuntu or OSX.

For those who are happy with windoz:
- Good for you that you are happy with
half-year HDD formats, antivirus hassle
and all the other things it makes windoz
annoying. Believe me, I experienced all of
that too!

Posted at 11:24 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by n00bhunter

just admire the wrk put in to the hack and quiet bitching

Posted at 11:28 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by waca-waca

and i mean both camp i play with both they have there uses….but i have a few clients who want vista installed why idk i like xp/linux but what the client wants the client gets….this info here just made my job easyer so yea they are contributing to community

Posted at 11:37 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by waca-waca

What kind of hack was this? She downloaded a bunch of programs and it happened to work! Whoa big deal here. She didn’t even get everything working!

If i installed ubuntu on it and it magically worked (regardless of whether it actually would) can I have a cookie also?

jeeeezz

Posted at 11:40 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by theevocater

I would be happy if there are drivers for XP available. Insted they even try to intall M$ Vi$ta. Why to use a slower shittier and even more bloated OS if the better one already runs on it.

Why don’t they dejunk and reprogramm XP. Instead the bloat it.

Anyway Linux is already better than Win, so I stop complaining now.

Posted at 12:05 pm on Feb 10th, 2009 by Som3one

@n00bhunter:
You are quite the master baiter. ;)

@theevocater:
No, I already ate all the cookies. >:)

Posted at 12:13 pm on Feb 10th, 2009 by andBeans

@andBeans
sshhhh.. (we have to do it quietly :p)

Posted at 3:52 pm on Feb 10th, 2009 by n00bhunter

It has linux built in already via the xross quick boot stuff. I’d be more interested in seeing someone do something with that than the Windows install. I want a 5-second-boot snoop box/wardriver that can reboot clean into windows to prove to the cops I’m not up to anything sneaky.

Posted at 4:08 pm on Feb 10th, 2009 by osathiest

@theevocater you have no idea what you are talking about…

Sony does not support XP on the VAIO P – it’s not just a matter of installing drivers. For one thing, the Vista drivers don’t work with XP out of the box.

Most of it is trivial, but getting the WWAN and GPS radios working was tricky, because the radios are powered off by default and don’t even appear in the device manager!

There’s a lot more to it then just using Universal Extractor – including lots of trial and error and some registry hacking.

As for linux, I like Ubuntu a lot and use it on older systems. On newer systems (especially notebooks) , I prefer to use Windows XP because driver availability.

There’s some custom Sony hardware in the VAIO P – it’s not just another netbook based on a reference Atom motherboard design.

Posted at 5:08 pm on Feb 10th, 2009 by tnkgrl

Wah Wah its not Linux. Wah Wah its not open source. Wah Wah its a sony product. Wah Wah its proprietary.

Posted at 6:57 pm on Feb 10th, 2009 by Narf

@nubie

Try running
xrandr –help
in a terminal.
If you have a KDE installation, try running krandrtray

Posted at 6:24 pm on Feb 11th, 2009 by Simon C. Ion

Vista is way better than XP. Just keep Vista.

Posted at 2:18 pm on Feb 14th, 2009 by Free Bullets

“Vista is way better than XP. Just keep Vista.”

Obvious troll is obvious. 1/10

Posted at 2:38 am on Jun 1st, 2009 by Lolwjat

“Vista is way better than XP. Just keep Vista.”

Terrific Troll, would rage again A++++++!!

I have the Vaio P – runs Ubuntu really well, faster than Vista and everything works except brightness controls, zoom control and suspend/hibernate…. I use it to take notes at uni. Wifi works perfectly, my USB 3G key works perfectly…. IMO, this piece of hardware would be perfect if it just shipped with Linux. Oh, and if it didn’t have the accursed GMA500 Poulsbo graphics which still don’t have stable 3D support…. grrrrrrrrrr.

Posted at 9:19 pm on Jul 22nd, 2009 by richard

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. :) Cheers! Sandra. R.

Posted at 9:08 am on Sep 9th, 2009 by sandra407

Sign: umsun Hello!!! rcuwwymhyw and 920ssgfhphzye and 2068I like your blog. cool post!

Posted at 8:40 am on Sep 11th, 2009 by megan fox

We saw something like this in our corner of Michigan recently.

Can’t wait all these XP systems to start needing upgrades.

Thanks for the post.

Posted at 9:17 pm on Sep 17th, 2009 by Jeff Arbor

Sign: yyams Hello!!! punht and 843dhursyvpxd and 7004 My Comments: Cool!

Posted at 9:52 am on Sep 21st, 2009 by jenna

VAIO P XP install

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