Sony Vaio Z590 Recovery/Restore Disks

Hello, sorry in advance for a possibly stupid question. I have a Sony Vaio Z590 and I want to make restore/recovery disks. I didn't make the disks when I first bought the computer (not sure why not) but I want to make disks for just in case I need to reformat in the future. What are the steps I need to take to do so? I am using Windows Vista Business.

 

1) Click START > ALL PROGRAMS > SONY RECOVERY (or something like that)
2) you should find the sony recovery disc creator there.
3) insert the first blank DVD and label it DISC 1, keep clicking next until it starts burning.
4) when prompted, insert the 2nd DVD and label it DISC 2.

 

Follow the instructions that came with the system; the recovery disk process is usually somewhat OEM-specific, so you should follow the guidance .Sony gave you.

Beyond that, as a good standard operating procedure, you should take this time to start the process of making regular backups of your documents as well.

Lastly, since the recovery disks are likely to be based on the original factory image, keep a list of updates you've put onto the system since you first got it - and keep track of what's been rolled up into a service pack, no sense in installing 100+ individual updates if they've all been rolled up into one package; just cut out the middleman (so to speak) and download a copy of the service pack(s) and keep them chillin' on a backup CD/DVD.

 

Go to the Recovery Center and click CREATE RECOVERY DISKS.

 

Go to the VAIO recovery center. There should be an option to create recovery discs.

 

More detailed instrux>>

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/..._1_1&dialogID=101818124&stateId=0 0 101822028

 

Is there a way to know all the different Windows updates I've installed since I got the computer? Where do I download the service packs?

What will the recovery disks restore? Will all of the Sony drivers be restored if I were to perform a system restore? Will I need to redownload/reinstall any updates afterwards?

 

What will the recovery disks restore? Will all of the Sony drivers be restored if I were to perform a system restore? Will I need to redownload/reinstall any updates afterwards?

 

It restores your notebok to the condition you first received it from the shop. You won't have to download anything - except for software updates.

 

If you go Control Panel > Programs and Features > Installed Updates, you'll get a list of all the Microsoft updates that have been installed on your system (that page doesn't seem to list updates to the OEM's proprietary stuff, like drivers - however, my system is new enough that it isn't a good guide to whether the OEM updates show up there or not).

To get a list of the updates for drivers and whatnot, go to the Sony .esupport webpage for your model; from there you can get a list of all of the available downloads for your system, which will include the original software packages, plus all of the updates that have been issued to-date for your system. That list shouldn't be too long, so you could just copy and paste it into a notepad document to keep handy.

A system restore from the recovery disks should put the system back in the same state it was in when it was first imaged at the factory. That should include all of the drivers and other OEM stuff that was preinstalled on the system (which would probably also include the prepackaged bloatware, unfortunately). Thus, you should get your original drivers restored as well.

That being said, by definition none of the post-release updates will be included because those weren't available when the factory image was made. Consequently, you will have to download and install all of the subsequent updates.

This is where keeping a basic list of updates can be handy, because you can check to see which stand-alone updates have since been rolled up into a service pack, and then just install the service packs instead of each individual update (going that second route can literally take several nights - I know, I did it twice before I got smart enough to keep a copy of the service pack installers handy along with my backups).

The OS service packs can be downloaded from Microsoft's website - just go to http://download.microsoft.com/ and search for them by name (most likely, you'll only find service packs for the OS itself; I don't recall ever seeing a service pack for an OEM's drivers - not enough substantive changes to make it worth the effort of putting everything together into a service pack).

 

roycer....I merged your threads. Cross posting in multiple forums is not allowed per forum rules.