Help with Viao VGN FS115E Please

[chieflx]

Hi all,

I have been given an old FS115E that has had it's entire hard drive wiped so it does not have an operating system installed. I have an copy of Windows ME that I would like to install so that I can use the laptop for family history research. I have tried to install it via the CD but it does not seem to work properly. The resoultion can not be changed so I only get a small central area of the screen and the right half of the keyboard produces numbers rather than the letters I am trying to enter. Using the Fn button does change the entry back to the right letter but obviously trying to type a document where you have to use the fn button all the time is not practical.

Is it actually possible to install Windows ME on this particular model and if it is have/am I doing something wrong with the installation? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Rob

[rich912 · Accepted solution]

Hi Rob,

There is no Sony support or drivers/utilities available for this model with Windows ME.

You could try the original XP graphics driver to resolve the screen resolution problem but I have no idea as to whether this driver will work.

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/VGN-FS115E/updates

For the other problem of some keys (presumably u, i, o, j, k, l, m.) producing numbers try turning off the NumLk as with this on you activate the numeric keys.

Rich

[chieflx]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for the information, it was a numlk key problem (didn't occur to me to check that) and for the info about the drivers. I have downloaded the drivers to CD but can you tell me how I install them to the laptop? I'm afraid I am a bit non technical and am not sure how to get them installed on the system.

Once again thank you for your help,

Cheers,

Rob

[rich912]

Hi Rob,

According to the specifications for your model it has an Intel graphics chip although the download also includes an nVidia driver for some reason.

First you need to extract the files from the downloaded Zip file to a known location by right clicking the file (FS1_Video.zip) and select ‘Extract to...’ – the Desktop would be a good location and easy to find.

Then follow these instructions to install the driver:

Click Start > Control Panel.
Double-click the System icon. Note: Select Switch to classic view if the system icon is not visible.
Click the Hardware tab.
Click Device Manager.
Click the + symbol in front Device Category (Display Adapters) to expand the section.
Right-click the Device and click Properties.
Click the Driver tab.
Click Update Driver.
Click No, not this time and click Next.
Click Install from a list or specified location and click Next.
Click Don't search. I will choose the driver to install and click Next.
Click Have Disk....
Click Browse and navigate to the folder where you placed the extracted files (Video 1Intel) – this will hopefully locate ialmnt5.inf and recognise the hardware on your computer.
Click OK.
Click Next.
Click Finish.
Reboot your system if requested.

As stated previously I have no idea whether this will be recognised and install under ME.

If all else fails I suggest you try to get hold of a legal copy of XP, install and then download and install all drivers and utilities from the Sony support site.

Rich

[chieflx]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the driver instal information. Unfortunately it didn't work so I'll have to find a legal copy of XP. Thankfully a quick search shows that XP can be purchased cheaply so it looks like it might be worth doing.

Once again thank you for all you help and advice.

Regards

Rob

[rich912]

You’re welcome Rob:smileyhappy: