Hmm, no USB booting???

[clash-city-rocker]

Well, perhaps my overjoyment with the hardware in my FS-295XP was premature.

Got my system setup perfectly, and am going to make a Norton Ghost backup of the system. My usual method involves a bootable USB memory key. Every PC I have owned in the last 5 years has been capable of booting from it, including my 3yr old Dell laptop.

Can I get this Vaio to boot from it? Nope.. Looks like USB booting is not supported (unless someone knows different).

Can this really be true?? If so, I may consider returning it, as I cannot function without bootable removable storage, and this laptop has no floppy.

[kee-lo_]

The only thing the VAIO will boot from on the USB is their own FDD

[robpaxton]

Could use a bootable CD.

[tonybeard]

Warning: Do not use Norton Ghost!
It is not compatable with the vaio system recovery. There is a warning at Vaio Link which explains that ghost is scripted to assess the size of the Vaio partitions differently to the way the Vaio Recovery is structured and is in conflict. Use Acronis instead or the xpPro BackUp facility.:smileyhappy:

[kee-lo_]

Thanks for pointing that out Tony, I nearly forgot!

[clash-city-rocker]

Warning: Do not use Norton Ghost! 
It is not compatable with the vaio system recovery. There is a warning at Vaio Link which explains that ghost is scripted to assess the size of the Vaio partitions differently to the way the Vaio Recovery is structured and is in conflict. Use Acronis instead or the xpPro BackUp facility.:smileyhappy:

I ditched the Vaio System Recovery partition already, it was full of trialware and rubbish that Sony seemed to think I needed...

I assume without the the System Recovery partition, Ghost works OK?

So the lack of USB booting is real. I thought my Vaio was cutting edge technology, instead it's 1990's technology... Poor show Sony...

[tonybeard]

What 'trialware' are you refering too dude. The Sony Software bundle is all standalone complete. I admit that Sony has a non open source platform mandate but no one else supplies the adobe package and Vaio Zone which is if anything superior to MS Media Edtion. Booting from USB? Just copy the boot up FDisk files to a rewritable CD and change the bios to boot up from F drive. Who cares about booting off the USB?

[kee-lo_]

I do, I think it would be very handy to boot from USB

[clash-city-rocker]

What 'trialware' are you refering too dude. 

My Vaio was crammed full of 60 day trial software.

Trial version of Norton GoSlow (AKA Norton Internet Security)
Trial version of some partition encryption software
Trial version of MS Orifice SBE
Trial version of Norton AV

Plus loads of other crap. Adobe bulltshit I don't want, messengers I don't want, IE toolbars I don't want.

All this before I even start on the Sony crap software they put on there, Memory stick formatters (what ever happened to using explorer?), Image converters, some crappy hifi stack audio program, sonic stage useless stuff. SQL Server (for some bizzare reason, my laptop requires SQL server!!!), ClickToDVD (what's wrong with Nero??)

Honestly, the preloaded software is the most dis-jointed incoherent mismash I have ever seen. The driving factor being how much Sony can cream in from Licencing deals with these software vendors, rather than what users actually want.

I would have preferred the following:

1/ Copy of XP Pro SP2, with media
2/ Copy of MS Works (with Office SBS Trial on CD, not installed)
3/ Copy of Ahead Nero Suite (Burning/Recode etc).

That would have provided all the software required to utilise all the hardware features, and still be suitable for the majority of users, without annoying the power users who know what software they want..

[kee-lo_]

Yeah would have been nice if some of the software was more useful.