Back to factory install on FZ with blank disk using Recovery DVDs?

Is it possible to get back to the factory install state on a Vaio FZ with a blank hard drive using only the 3 recovery DVDs?

I'm going to ebay my old FZ and perhaps prematurely wiped the hard drive thinking I could get back to the factory install using the recovery DVDs.

However, when I boot off the recovery DVDs it seems to expect to find an existing Vista install to repair.

I tried creating a C partition using Gparted, but when I run Startup Repair on it it, quite rightly, complains it cannot find Boot Manager.

Can I somehow get a MBR on the partition without Vista discs to allow recovery to run?
Am I trying to do something impossible?

(also posted on FZ Owners thread but seems quite quiet in there and may not be FZ specific)

Edit: I should mention I've tried booting to a command prompt and doing bootrec /fixmbr and /fixboot which completed ok. Obviously /scanos and /rebuildbcd didn't complete because no OS is installed.

 

I'm assuming from the lack of replies that recovering a Vaio with blank hard drives using the recovery disks is not possible without a copy of the OS (in this case Vista).

 

Any option for complete system recovery? Not repair - that will look for the old installation.

In any case, you will no longer have the recovery partition. Recovery discs do not restore the recovery partition if you have deleted it from your HDD.

 

i don't know about the FZ, but on my laptop, it's possible to use the recovery DVDs to revert the laptop back to the factory settings. it's kind of weird that you can't do the same on the FZ.

 

How would you do it on your non-FZ laptop via booting off the DVDs? I'm wondering which option I'm missing on my DVDs.

 

There is an option for complete system recovery but it wants you to supply a backup on DVD. I thought there might be a factory settings backup on the supplied DVDs but they don't seem to.

 

I think you are looking at the 'restore from backup' option. Can you list the choices that the recovery DVDs are offering you? Sorry, I have a much later model with Windows 7, so I can't be more specific.

 

I am assuming the recovery DVDs are for Windows Vista and not XP that requires the special SATA driver to work? If you booted from the recovery DVDs, you should be able to recover the full system even if your HDD is unformatted or unpartitioned. Make sure you are actually booting from the DVD instead of the hidden recovery partition.

There are a couple options that sounded very similar but do quite different things -- some of them sound like the full system recovery that you are looking for, but really are just Windows repair or restore, which will go into your hard drive to look for Windows to repair or revert to a Windows restore point.

I no longer have my FZ so I can't give any more specific. Try every single option, even if it doesn't sound like what you wanted.

 

Cheers for the replies...

OK so when I boot off the DVD (and it definitely is the DVD - it won't boot at all without the DVD in) the following happens:

I get a System Recovery Options window asking me to select language and keyboard layout.

Select Next>

I get System Recovery Options window saying "Select an operating system to repair and click Next". There is nothing to select.
I can click "Load Drivers" or "Next>"

- Load Drivers says "Insert the installation media for the device and click OK". If I click OK I get a file Open dialogue allowing me to select drivers... have tried loading any drivers sounding vaguely disky but it's never made any difference.
- Next> when I click Next I get the following options:

- Startup Repair
This says "attempting repairs" and fails.. the repair details say "Boot Manager is missing or corrupt" so I assume this is looking for an existing installation.
- System Restore
This gives me a popup saying "To perform an offline System Restore you must specify which Windows installations you would like to restore... eg rstrui.exe /OFFLINE:C:/Windows". This I think is a red herring since running that command gives "No restore points have been created on your computer's system disk..."
- Windows Complete PC Restore
Was hopeful about this. I immediately get "No valid backup locations could be found. [..] Attach the correct hard disk or insert the last backup DVD and then start the restore process again." I tried putting in the other recovery DVDs (both of them) and retrying but get the same result.
- Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool
Irrelevant (I think?)
- Command Prompt
- VAIO Recovery Center
This appears to do nothing at all. It says "Recovery Tools are being launched, Please Wait", this eventually disappears and nothing changes.

Refresh anyone's memories?

 

If memory serves:
VAIO Recovery Center. After text disappeared and appeared dead, wait for like 15-20 minutes and see if it thinks through and tells you to put 2nd DVD in. If not, open the tray and put the 2nd DVD in and press enter.

 

Keep an eye on the HDD and DVD activity LEDs. That should tell you that it is doing something.

 

Thanks very much for the help... turns out if I move the Recovery Options window after clicking VAIO Recovery Center there's a popup saying Copying of the Folder Failed. So it is trying to do something and failing.

I also notice at the top of the Recovery Options window is says "Operating System; Unknown on (Unknown) Local Disk".. which still makes me think it's expecting to find something on the disk.

 

So anyone got any ideas how I can get my OS back on this thing?

 

Sorry, it was just too long ago.

I knew I had to go through some twilight zone when I used recovery DVD after I got the new motherboard (8400GT issue) and readying it for trade-in. At one point I was thinking my recovery DVD was dead and tried XP SP3 clean install instead, but then some eureka/duh moment came and got the DVD to work.

I was really glad I traded it in for $300 and got a SA instead after the ordeal.

 

Can you try partitioning (optional) and formatting the HDD (NTFS) and then trying complete recovery?

Don't mean to be a wet blanket, but did you actually use those recovery discs before? Sometimes they don't get created properly and won't work at all.

Worst case, install Windows from a regular Windows setup DVD (Vista or 7, or even 8). You can get the drivers from Sony support site, or from the guides posted elsewhere in this forum. (You can download any of these OSs for free - they'll work for a while without a key, and buy the key later when you are sure everything works.

 

So I don't suppose it'd be as easy as installing Vista and using the key printed on the bottom on the laptop?

 

If you have a stand-alone Vista installation CD, then you can do that.

 

You'll probably need to go through Microsoft phone support in order to activate using the key on the bottom of the laptop, but I don't expect any other issues. Do pick the same flavour of Windows that your laptop originally came with - i.e. Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, otherwise they'll ask you to buy a new key.

 

Just to let you know what I did.. I downloaded Vista from, of all places, Dell: Dell Community

Got it installed using the laptop product key.. I then tried the recovery disks again but recovery Center still wouldn't run, so I've bitten the bullet and am just re installing all the drivers from the Sony website.

Thanks for all your help guys.