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    First Laptop, my new sony a190

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by gamesbond, Sep 26, 2004.

  1. gamesbond

    gamesbond Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello guys,

    I finally got my first own laptop, and I'm glad to say its a Sony. I found the large screen awesome!!! it really rocks! Only thing I didn't like was the slow hard drive. Anyway, I have a question, I got this laptop from a friend and he told me that the only thing that came with the machine was the AC adapter and that the manual came in electronic format in the hard drive and when I askded him for the software and drivers he said that no CD's came with it. Is this true? Thanks
     
  2. dadkins

    dadkins Notebook Enthusiast

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    No disks come with the computer, however... when first run(and you can do this at any time) you will need some CD-Rs and DVD+/-Rs and you can burn recovery disks. Mine used two DVD-Rs and one CD-R for a complete System Recovery disk set.

    The "manual" that comes with it is merely a Getting Started booklet. anything you could ever want to know about the system is on the HDD and accessable through Help and Support and the "Welcome to VAIO Life" shortcut on the desktop.

    David
     
  3. gamesbond

    gamesbond Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks David for the help, just wondering, where do I find the serials for the programs that come pre-installed on the computer, like office, also, if I format the HDD and use the recovery disks, can get rid of the HDD partitions?, thanks

    Paul
     
  4. dadkins

    dadkins Notebook Enthusiast

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    A program called Belarc Advisor http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html Will open a window in IE(not sure about other browsers) and show you most of the "Important" license keys. Not sure if this will help for what you are looking for...

    As for the Recovery, I'm not sure(haven't done it yet) but I think it will put everything right back to Factory specs(partitions and all). However(not sure), when you run the Recovery, it may give you the option(s) of just replacing "C" drive or wiping out the whole HDD. I do know that there is a hidden recovery partition that has all Factory installed software stored.

    The Recovery Disks "may" just write it all back to as it was...[ :(] HTH

    David