How to backup the recovery partition

Today was a happy day
Because i recieved my Sony SZ1XP!
But let's get down to business....

- How do i backup the recovery partition
I have created those 2 recovery dvd's, but i'm not satisfied with this and
would like to have a more reliable backup plan.
So my question is, would it be possible to copy the entire (7gb) recovery
partition to a removable 3.5" drive ?

- Clean install of Windows XP sp2 without the cr@p.
I saw the thread about partially installing clean windows, but is this the
best way and the furthest one can go to cleanly install windows on the SZ
without having problems with not-working functionalities and such ?

- Have read the threads about the metal case giving off current and this was
something i tried to test the moment i got the laptop running.
I dont feel any 'current' through my fingertips, but i tried putting the very
tip of my upperlip on the chassis and did notice a small small current tingling
my lip. But in overall, this doesnt bother me (yet) or haven't caused any
inconvenience while working on the laptop.

- Warranty.
Since i bought this laptop in The Netherlands i get a standard 1 year
warranty.
Problem is, is that i will be going to Asia within a few weeks and would love
to know if i can walk up to one of those Sony vaio stores and ask for an
extended warranty.
Is this even possible ?

 

Backing up recovery partition - don't know. An additional safeguard would be to burn multiple copies of the recovery DVDs onto different media on different drives. I'll be doing this when I get a chance.

Partial recovery is the best way for now, until some genius can figure out the driver issues. I fought for hours trying to get everything working, didn't quite get there, and eventually gave up.

Haven't felt a tingle from the case - although I didn't try tasting it like you did. At least on my US model, the PSU cord is only two pin - no earth. Any device with a metal case should have a true earth (three pin supply) otherwise there is no reference, and the "virtual" earth on the metal parts will fluctuate. This fluctuation is what people are feeling, I guess.

Warranty - don't know.

 

Yes, thats possible have your bill and other documents, such as proof of purchase ready.

 

Well i didn't actually TASTE the laptop
Its just that your lip is much more sensitive to such stuff then your fingertips.

 

I think tbh for now if you own a Sony notebook and would like a "cleaner" installation then your best and safest bet is to unistall the applications you don't need.

There's nothing worse than re-installing your system then realising that some devices won't work.

 

As far as I can tell, all the devices work fine with the partial restore. All you're doing is intervening partway through the install process - after Windows and standard devices, before optional devices and bundled applications, and configuring exactly how much of the latter is installed.

I don't want the Norton stuff ever coming near my machine - I don't trust their uninstaller any more than I trust their other software.

 

It would be good to get an "idiot" proof guide from someone who owns a SZ and who has done the reinstall.

 

BlackG35's instructions worked for me.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=44587

It looks like some bundled apps (some Roxio stuff for instance) are installed before the break in the install process - uninstalling these afterwards seems to have worked. It was Norton I was most interested in avoiding.

 

So here where i am right now
- did recovery with dvd's
- rebooted
- in windows right now and its asking for me to click [ok] to start the application recovery.

what should i do now ?

p.s. i notice that i have alot of other stuff installed now as well.
- yahoo messenger
- internet service providers for vaio
- windvd
- vaio promotions
and alot of other stuff, as well as NORTON !


Did i already go to far with the recovery ?

 

Sounds like it went too far. Did you delete the program in the startup folder as described in BlackG35's guide?

Or it's possible your recovery DVDs are different - mine's a US model. I had AIM on my system to start with, not Yahoo Messenger, so that may be the case.

 

yeah, i fear its different
I didn't have that program described in BlackG35's guide.

 

If you went too far, the program will not be in your start-up folder.

You have to delete that icon the very first time your computer boots into windows.

If you continue after that point, you will start to resume the restore process by installing the rest of the software.

 

Well that's the weird part.

I was doing the recovery, and the moment i got in Windows i did the routine first-steps-installation of Windows (stating passwords, workgroup, type of keyboard etc etc)
But right after i got in windows, it already had yahoo, norton, etc installed.
It asked me to press [ok] to complete the installation of all the other software (i found out it installed **** as well as necessary ones, like bluetooth stuff)

So i never even saw any screens that resembled your screenshots, nor did i find that program in the startup folder



this sux

 

did u UNcheck the "create a recovery partition" option at the very beginning? If you let the program to create a recovery partition, it won't ask you for the discs anymore because all the necessary files are copied to the recovery partition and it will just use the files there to complete the installation.

 

really? I didnt know that. I'll add that to my thread.