(help) Sony Vaio Vgn-u50 - Ugh!

Prior to the holidays, I bought a Sony Vaio VGN-U50 released in 2004. I love old UMPC's and handhelds, and I got this for a bargain. Surprisingly, it's meager 900mhz Intel Celeron processor is able to play Youtube videos at SD resolution. It feels a lot faster than some of my other UMPC's that have a beefier processor.

The problem is though, the previous owner totally reinstalled Windows XP "For Legacy Devices". All the software that came with the U50 when new is there, including most of the drivers. The problem is, I'd like to reinstall Windows XP (and also toy around with Linux), but Sony Japan doesn't have any drivers and software downloads for this device. I could leave Windows the way it is, but some of the drivers don't seem to be functioning correctly. (Like the foldable keyboard that comes with it can't be recognized no matter what I try.)

I was able to get some drivers from a random link online, but that leaves me without the extra programs that help control the external buttons like rotation control, zoom, and things like that.

I've found a nifty little program that will back up drivers, so I'm set there. I'm just curious if I could copy the Sony programs that are in their own little directory directly over to a new installation of Windows and have them work? Or would I need to copy the registry components too?

 

Realistically, this will not work. You'll have to register every file and folder. And while Windows XP is a lot simpler than newer versions of Windows, there are also files/folders in the Application Data folders. Furthermore, finding every registry key/value of every program will be an impossible task.

I suggest you do a Repair/Install of Windows XP. All the programs will be intact. But you'll have to re-download all the Windows updates.
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-perform-a-windows-xp-repair-install-2624915

 

That's the problem, previous owner wiped the entire hard drive.

 

You lost me...

 

The original owner installed a different version of Windows XP than what the device came with. When he did, he obviously deleted all partitions.

 

As long as your Windows XP disc is the same as the installed version, you can use it.
What makes you think all the partitions were deleted? What size is the HDD?

 

15GB total, there are no other partitions. Put in my XP install disk to check, there's only one partition with Windows. I need a way to be able to save the programs that control the external keys which aren't available online so I can reinstall them on a fresh install of Windows.

 

I don't know of any software to backup installed programs.
However, you can backup installed drivers.
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-back-up-drivers-in-windows-3634760/

 

Yep, got that already. Just spoke to the original owner. He said he might still have all the programs / drivers on his server so he's going to check that out for me and send them to me if he has. So fingers crossed!

 

Well, the previous owner did in fact have a copy of all the drivers and software (utilities) that came with the Vaio. They're now safely on my hard drive.

 

Great! Make a second backup.
Even Sony Japan's website has no drivers or software for the Vaio VGN-U50.
http://translate.google.com/transla...ony.jp/support/vaio/products/vgn/vgn-u50.html

 

I know, that was my first stop when I combed the web for drivers. I've grown so used to manufacturers having any and all drivers up for download. I mean, even my old NEC MobilePro's (and others) handhelds have their support pages still up with downloads.

 

I made a video about the Vaio U series including taking the thing apart and replacing the hard drive with a compact flash card, Then installing Windows XP Tablet Edition using a PXE netboot installation method. I have installed most of the drivers and Sony utilities except for the special button utility. The version I have does not seem to work with the hardware buttons so I'm looking for other versions.