DVDRW emulator for making Recovery DVD

Hi guys,

I'm not sure if I can explain this correctly but I just bought an S260 and I am wondering if there is anyway I can burn the VAIO Recovery disc to a DVD image so that I can burn it on my DVDR drive from my desktop PC instead of using the S260's 7 - CDRs to create the computer recovery disc. I hope it can be done and if there is freeware that would be even better. Thanks a lot!

--Trevor--

 

The only issue I can think of is that you may have to remaster the ISOs to change the names of directory locations so the recovery app knows where to look for the files. May not even be needed and/or possible.

The easiest way you can start this process, IMO, is to get a copy of UltraISO or similar app. This will let you 'explore' ISO images and remaster them by adding or removing files from the image.

Alot of CD burning apps have options for making a recovery image. Instead of saving it directly to CD, save it to the HD as one big image and burn it as a bootable DVD.

 

Rovert,

I have a S260 and plan to use Norton Ghost to make a bootable recovery DVD. As soon as drivers are available I will install XPpro and create the DVD. If you work in a large office your IT department should be using ghost and could help you make the recovery DVD.

 

Do I really need the recovery CDs? What can I not get online? I've been to the S260 driver site and I see the audio and video drivers for Windows XP. I even helped a friend do a clean install of XP Pro on their S150 with Home in it and installed all the drivers fine. I really don't care for the software that came with my VAIO since I have my own software. If I keep that partition on the harddrive can I still make the recovery CDs if needed at a later date even if I have my own fresh installation of Windows XP Pro on it? Thanks!

--Trevor--

 

Whether or not you need the recovery discs are up to you. If there was original software that you liked or like to be able to have access to, then you may want to create them. Otherwise, it may be best to wait until you configure the system to the way you want it and then make a recovery set.

Sometimes Sony doesn't release all of their drivers to their website. I have an older VAIO that I can't get the function keys working correctly because not all of the drivers used are available on Sonys site. In that respect, it is good to keep a recovery set. What I've also found is that Sony usually hides a directory with the driver files that can be installed. Explore your drive and see if you can locate them. If so, you could probably just archive the files and then you don't have to worry so much about recovery discs. One thing to be weary of is that some device drivers on Sony machines need to be installed in a certain order. That, you'd have to search the net for specific information.

I have a v505 that never came with recovery discs and I've never been a big fan of all the software included on Vaios. I installed a fresh copy of XP and loaded it with the basic essentials (ZIP, RAR, E-Mail, Usenet, Partition Magic, Etc.) Once I had that setup, I used Ghost to create a bootable set of discs that I could use to restore that base image. It's all a matter of what you need.