The website was temporarily taken offline on October 21, 2026 due to a serious security issue with PHP, also known as PHP2Shell, identified by CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619.

The server has been updated to run a secure PHP version and there are no signs that VAIO UX Plaza has been hacked. The website and all downloads are available again.

~Arjan

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The browsers included with – or previously available to download for – computers older than Windows 10 are no longer able to open websites correctly (if showing anything at all). But there are enthousiasts who are solving this issue by creating and maintaining 3rd-party browser variants.

We’ve already covered MyPal, a continued effort to keep more modern Firefox versions available for older operating systems.
Today, we’ll be covering Supermium, which aims to bring Chromium (a variant of Google Chrome) to older operating systems.

What is Chromium?

If you’re not sure what Chromium is, don’t worry. You’re not the only one. Let me explain it:

You’ll most likely know Google Chrome. This is a browser made by Google, available to download for free. Besides being a web browser, Google Chrome comes with some extras, such as syncing your bookmarks with your Google account, support for streaming services that require DRM protection, a password manager for all your devices and AI Mode.

Google Chrome is fully made by Google, but cannot be modified by others. This is because it is what we call Closed Source software. Its programming code has not been made public, so it depends entirely on Google for what systems a new version is made available. Google currently supports Windows 10 and 11, so you’re out of luck on any older version.

But: Google Chrome is for a large part based on Chromium, which is what we call Open Source software. It’s programming code is made public and this means anyone can make modifications to it. This includes making newer versions that work with older operating systems. That’s exactly what Supermium is doing.

Chromium is not having all features of Chrome, but it still is a really complete web browser. You can view any sites, it has tabs, can search on various search sites and you can create local bookmarks. Only the online features, such as syncing your Google account and support for DRM protected streaming are missing.

A word of caution

While your old computer can get a modern-ish web browser, do not not use it for anything that requires logging in or providing personal information, such as online banking and shopping. Your old computer is not secure and hackers may easily be able to steal your data. Use a modern computer with the latest security updates for this.
A browser like this is mostly meant to download (older) games, programs and drivers for your old computer. As long as you don’t have to sign in on a site, or enter any personal information, you’ll most likely be fine.

How to install Supermium

Make sure your old computer meets the requirements of Supermium:

• Windows XP SP3 or later or Windows Server 2003 SP2 or later
• An Intel Pentium 4 processor or later that’s SSE2 capable. Hyper-threading or a dual-core processor is recommended.
• A minimum of 768 MB of RAM. 2 GB or greater is recommended for a smooth browsing experience.

How you install Supermium depends if you’re downloading it from your old computer or a modern computer.

Download on a modern computer

On a modern computer, go to https://www.supermium.net/ and download the version you want. If your old computer is running XP, go for the 32-bit installer. If you have Server 2003, Vista or newer, check if you are using a 64-bit operating system. If so, go for the 64-bit installer. Otherwise, the 32-bit installer is fine.

Copy the installer to your old computer using a USB flash drive or another storage medium of your choice.

On the old computer, run the installer by clicking on the .exe file.
First, click “Yes” when asked to install Supermium.
On the next screen, you can choose to create a shortcut on your desktop and to install for yourself or for all users.

That’s it. Confirm and the installer will do the rest.

Download directly from your old computer

If your old computer already has internet access, open Internet Explorer and go to http://www.supermium.net . It will load a special Legacy fallback site of Supermium that works with the really old version of IE that is already on your computer.

If you’re using XP, go for the 32-bit installer. If you’re using Server 2003, Vista or newer, check if you are using a 64-bit operating system.
If so, go for the 64-bit installer. Otherwise, the 32-bit installer is fine.

When the download is finished, run the installer.
First, click “Yes” when asked to install Supermium.
On the next screen, you can choose to create a shortcut on your desktop and to install for yourself or for all users.

That’s it. Confirm and the installer will do the rest.

Conclusion

Supermium is a great way to keep browsing from your old computer. It makes it a lot easier to download old games, drivers and other files, because you don’t have to copy everything over from a new computer.

It does not make your computer safe for everyday tasks, such as online banking or shopping. Use a supported operating system with the latest security updates for this!

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You will likely have seen error messages, or websites looked ugly / broken.
While it was very doable to browse the web on older computers a few years ago, most modern websites have become too complex and are using more secure connections, which the browsers on XP and Vista can’t handle. All well-known browsers have stopped getting updates on Windows XP or Vista, so you can’t update your browser to fix this issue.

With many people being interested in retrocomputing, a developer named Feodor has created a more up to date version of Firefox for Windows XP and Vista. This browser is called ‘Mypal 68’. You stil can use Mypal 68 to browse the modern web, as it still supports a lot of modern web technologies as well as more modern HTTPS security, which are needed to visit modern websites.

The author of this website is not affiliated with Mypal, but reccommends it to use on older computers.

Instructions Last updated: May 2nd, 2026
To get the Mypal browser, you’ll have to follow a few steps.
1. On your old computer, open Internet Explorer and go to http://www.mypal-browser.org/download.html This website is specifically designed for old browsers, so it should work, but If you don’t have internet set up right now, you can also download Mypal on a more modern computer and copy the installation file to your old computer, for example using a USB flash drive.
2. Download New version – 78.0.1.
Remember to use Save, not Open.
Edit 2026-05-02: The link currently gives a 404 not found error. You can still download the browser by going to the “releases directory” at the bottom of the page. On there, pick the most recent release.
3. Open the downloaded Mypal 78 .ZIP file and extract all files to a directory of your choice.
4. Open the File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files
5. Check if a directory named “Mypal” exists. If not, create it.
6. Go to the directory where you’ve extracted Mypal 78.
Copy all files inside the mypal directory (Ctrl+A) and paste them in C:\Program Files\Mypal).
[If upgrading from a previous version]: When asked to overwrite existing files and/or directories, say ‘Yes to all‘.

Copy all files from the installation directory (left) to destination directory (right). Overwrite any existing previous installation of Mypal if already present
7. When all files are copied, right-click on ‘mypal.exe’ and select “Send to” -> “Desktop (create shortcut)” to create a shortcut
8. Open Mypal using the shortcut that you’ve just created.

Voila, you should now have a Firefox 68 browser on your XP or Vista computer!

To verify that you have the latest version of Mypal, open it and check if looks like the picture below.

If the top bar looks different, like on the second picture below, you have not the latest version, but are still on Mypal 29.3.0. If you’ve previously installed this, make sure you copied the Mypal 68/78 installation files to the correct directory, overwriting the old Mypal 29 files.

The post Mypal 68 – A modern Firefox browser for Windows XP and Vista appeared first on VAIO UX Plaza.

Many thanks to user SonyGallery for sharing the disk after getting in contact with me about the VGN-UX90S!

You can download the recovery disk here:

Sony VAIO VGN-UX90S recovery disk

1 file(s) 4.0 GB

Go to download page

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@jasonnovak2121 has backed up and shared his recovery partition to the Internet Archive. He discussed installing an SSD into his system, mentioning VAIO UX plaza to download the drivers if using a different operating system. After installing a new SSD, he obviously needed to reinstall the operating system, so that was were the backup was taken for.

With his permission, I’ve mirrored the image and offered it on this website, so you can download it at a respectable speed (the Internet Archive is unfortunately pretty slow to download from.).

VGN-UX92NS Vista Recovery Partition Image (Japanese)

1 file(s) 5.2 GB

Download

In case you haven’t checked out his video, you can watch it below:

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A new method to update older versions of Windows is now available. This fixes the error 80072EFE, which you’ll likely see when trying to search for updates.

Named ‘Legacy Update’, it is a modification which restores installing Windows updates on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1. This has been confirmed working as of June, 2023.

Legacy Update is a free, open-source program, developed by kirb, with contributions from many people.
The way it works, is that it changes Windows Update and its ActiveX control to point to a different update server and update website. That server still has all the updates for older versions of Windows and supports the older encryption methods needed to download the updates.

In addition to updating, it will also download the most recent Service Pack and fixes some issues with Windows indefinitely searching for updates. This will greatly reduce the time and effort to update a newly installed copy of an old version of Windows.

In my opinion, it is the best way to update old computers as of 2023, and confirmed by my testing, it also works perfectly on the Vaio UX.

You can download the program for free from https://legacyupdate.net/. If you like it, consider giving a donation to the developers on their Patreon or Github sponsors page.

Upon installation, if you are not on the latest Service Pack, the installer will automatically download and install the service pack for you. Also, it may offer to install some updates which are needed to fix the indefinite ‘searching for updates’ issue. Once everyting the installer offers has been installed, you can use the regular Windows Update section in the Control Panel or the ‘legacy update’ shortcut to access and install updates for Windows.

This is not an affiliate post. The author of Vaio UX Plaza is not affiliated with Legacy Update in any way. The post has purely been created because I highly recommend using Legacy Update to update older versions of Windows.

This article was written in February, 2023, but has been revised in June 2023 to reflect that Windows 8 and 8.1 are now also supported and in December 2023 to describe how you should install Legacy Update.

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This has now been fixed. The Vista pack should now be available for download once again.

The post Vista drivers pack download link fixed appeared first on VAIO UX Plaza.

This also marks the end for the manual recovery disk service.

See the updated information about Recovery Disks

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Hello, folks!

Today, I’ve got some cool news for you! The Chinese company GPD, known for its handheld gaming PCs GPD WIN 2, GPD WIN Max and GPD XD, will be releasing a new product called the GPD WIN 3.

You may think, what the heck has this to do with this site, a site about legacy ultra-portable computers made by Sony? Well, the answer is the design of the new GPD computer! Take a look at the tweet from GPD below:

Yes, you’ve seen it correctly. The new WIN 3 will look very familiar for us UX lovers. It features a 5.5 inch screen that slides up to reveal a physical keyboard. A fingerprint scanner and joysticks are also included. In contrast to the UX series, this computer is more focused onto gaming. To facilitate this, various gaming controls have been added. These include a D-Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons and shoulder buttons. Basically a full game controller built-in.

This new computer will also be very performant. With its 11th gen i5-1135G7 or i7-1165G7 CPU, 16GB of rapid 4266MHZ DDR4 memory and a 500GB NVME SSD, it will beat any Vaio UX with ease. It should run most current PC games on moderate settings, the GPU being the limiting factor.

It’s interesting to see that a new product will be inspired on an old system’s design. With this computer featuring mostly the same layout as the past UX machines, it’s surely a nice step forward. The only 2 features you may be missing when compared to a Sony UX, are the cameras and cellular connectivity. But for the latter, you could always use your smartphone as a cellular hotspot.

GPD WIN 3 is expected to launch in January 2021 on Indiegogo and to be shipped around April / May of 2021. Are you getting a WIN 3? Leave a comment below!

The post Meet the upcoming GPD WIN 3 with Sony VAIO UX-inspired design! appeared first on VAIO UX Plaza.