topic Re: Hi all......I have a problem. in PCs & Accessories

Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 12:30:54 GMT

Let me first say Hi to the Vaio community and now to the more depressing part.
I am hoping that someone here can help me as i have been in touch with sony and raised a ticket which both failed to produce any help but here goes.

I recently formatted my NR21z/s Vaio and installed xp as i got bored of seeing vista (to showy for me) to find that i could not find any xp drivers for most of my installed hardware devices like the 8400m grfx drivers needed to be custom and not from nvidia ect.

So after about 8 hours of trolling the web looking for drivers i give up and decide i want to put vista on for all it bells and whistles at least it had all the device drivers and tools ect.
OMG! to find i did not create any dvd's for a recovery....

So i then thought i could use the partition that i saved to recover my hard drive and all would be well yes ?......
NO!, I proceed to press F10 and go though the next.next,i undertstand ,next stuff to find out i get an error message and am now stuck with a £850 paper weight.

The error message i receive is,

ERROR: CompareSnyInitoPacIni, Error 92

Cannot use this recovery disk for this computer,
Confirm model type.

I mean come on.
Sony put it there and now it does not think it is a sony lol

please help!!!

rev

p.s

Thanks in advance

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

MattWilson — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:19:53 GMT

Welcome to ClubVAIO

I believe that you can use the Vista Upgrade Anytime disc that came with your laptop to install vista as it contains a full copy. You will need to enter the serial number located on the underside of the machine. Drivers are downloadable from this site.

Alternatively you will have to contact support for a recovery disc but it will cost you.

Good luck

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:32:38 GMT

I would love to use the anytime disc if i was supplied one.....
Thankyou for your reply but it looks like i will have to pay out even more for the comp.

Did i mention it is only 4 days old lol!!

cheers

rev

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

MattWilson — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:38:18 GMT

When you installed XP did u remove the recovery partition (or write over it)?

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:45:21 GMT

Sorry did i not say what Os i was running it is pre installed with Vista home prem and i installed xp like i said above but found no xp drivers for most of my hardware so i wanted to go back to vista but that the error i get when i go to recover using the partition.

I can get to the recovery util using F10 when you get the start splash screen no problem but when i follow the recover c: drive instructions this error shows.

Although i d have a product key on the underside of my laptop if i got someone else's vista home prem could i use my cd key and activate it for myself or would that not work ??

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

MattWilson — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:51:24 GMT

When you installed XP there is a set of blue screens that you navigate through to complete the installation. On one it asks you if you want to partition the drive and where you would like the operating system. On this screen you should have seen 3 entries.

1. The recovery partition of approx. 10GB
2. The main drive ( the rest of the space)
3. Unpartitioned space (1MB)

Did you install XP into the second slot or the 1st?

One way to tell is to open up XP (if it still works and see how big the hard drive is).

To your second edit - yes that should work.

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:33:40 GMT

The recovery partition is still there i have not deleted or re partitioned it.
I installed the xp os on the c: partion with the recovery partition left well alone for such as an occasion like this i want to install vista again.
But alas my computer thinks it is some other type of comp and not a sony go figure.

Just a quick q to add to this do you think drive letter on a system volume matters ?
As the xp installation i have has gave the drive a letter of e: for the boot /system volume

If there is a way to change this will it make any difference r do you think that is just what the os sees the drive and the recovery partition sees the Physical drive.

If that does not make any difference looks like a 45 min drive to a mate's with vista home premier....

Rev

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

MattWilson — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:53:07 GMT

It is possible to change the drive letter but it will not make any difference as the recovery partition is unnamed.

Was the copy of XP from other machine (OEM) or a Retail version?

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

Blencogo — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:55:54 GMT

Hi Rev an welcome,

It sound to me that the Recovery Partition is faulty and this is not your fault as the installation of XP will not have caused this.

First - Reset the BIOS defaults and try the F10 Recovery again.

To reset the BIOS Defaults: -

1. Turn on your VAIO.
2. When you see the Sony logo, press F2 several times. (If the Sony logo is disabled, press it several times right after booting.)
3. You will get the PhoenixBIOS Setup Utility window.
4. Press F9 to get default values and then press ENTER to confirm.
5. Press F10 to save changes and exit and then press ENTER to confirm.
6. You have restored the default values and your VAIO will now restart.

If it does not work, contact Sony Support here: -

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/contacts/contacts.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&tp=vaio

Explain that the Recovery Partition is faulty as it starts the recovery and then stalls. Ask them to send you a set of Recovery Discs FREE as the Recovery software is faulty.

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:59:48 GMT

You mean the xp i wanted to put on over vista ?
It was a shop bought retail i also have a legal corporate version which is my uncle's who works on many business computers but it does not have sp1 so i cannot install as the drive is sata and i do not own a usb floppy.

Although i can install xp i now have a problem like i have said above i want vista now becouse it is not working and if it is not working i need to solve the problem hopefully you know what i mean lol

I do not know if anyone here knows but if i get a copy of vista home premier and then proceed to install all the sony software from the support page can i then re-create a set of recovery dvd's so then i will have exactly the same os and products that came with the laptop when i opened the box ??

or

Do i have to troll the net anyway getting vista drivers for all my hardware and some stuff is not going to be there or cannot be downloaded without using the sony recovery dvd'd or partition ?

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:01:26 GMT

Hi Blencogo

Thanks for the links and instructions i will go and try that now,Fingers crossed!

Bios reset did not make a difference to the recovery program still get the same error behind the error there is a new one saying No OS installed on C: Drive but i dont think that will change anything.

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

Thalamus. — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:29:17 GMT

Hi Revenge,

just a long shot, but instead of selecting recover c: drive, try selecting Restore Complete System..

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:29:11 GMT

When using the recover method using the partition ( F10) i do not get an option for a compleate system recovery only recover c: ,recover using system restore and backup my files wizard.

man im already wishing i never bought this laptop over 2 days and 18 hours later of trolling the net and no answers.
Not that im saying no one has provided me with info here as you all are doing a great job and alot better than i have had from sony as i got told it was my fault as installing a non vista os would turn my lappy into a brick cheers sony lol

Really big thanks but it is looking like i will have to purchase my own vista software which should of been provided!!

Cheers

Rev

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:34:47 GMT

Just thinking as i cannot find a link to buy the dvd's from sony is there a site where they are available as i have only found usa sites that support recovery disk for sony laptops which are a little outdated.

Im looking for legal sources ofcourse this is not a plug for an illegal download source before someone states that it is illegal blah blah blah lol.

thx

rev

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

Thalamus. — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:42:54 GMT

Hi rev,

You have to contact Sony Vaio support for recovery disc's, as Blencogo mentioned above, you can do this either by phone or via e-Support, use the following link to find the contact details: Sony Vaio Support

I've escalated your problem so hopefully someone should be in contact with you soon..

Please check the registration contact details are correct (click here )..

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

Blencogo — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:56:43 GMT

Hi Rev,

The link is the same as the support link above. Here it is again: -

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/contacts/contacts.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&tp=vaio

I would explain that although you should have made a set of Recovery Discs, it is not your fault that the Recovery will not run from the HDDR. Because the HDDR is faulty, could they please let you have a set of Recovery Discs free of charge.

Getting the discs from Sony is the best option as this is the only way you will get the Preinstalled software applications back - these are not downloadable.

However, if all else fails and you have to buy an operating system, before you pay for Recovery Discs or a retail version of Vista, you may want to think about installing the legal copy of XP you own. You need to use the Drivers and Utilities from the Vaio VGN-N11S which was sold with XP installed and has the same devices as your NR21Z. The only device that needs a different driver is the nVidia 8400M GT graphics.

Download all the Original Drivers Package and the Original Utilities Package for the N11S from here: -

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/downloads/preinstalled/preinstalled.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&c=0&s=VGN-N&m=2392

The drivers and utilities will be in .ZIP files and will need to be extracted before use - right click on the .zip file and choose "Extract All". Choose to extract to C:\

Download the XP driver for your nVidia 8400M GT from here: -

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=14549

Good Luck

Re: Hi all......I have a problem.

revenge187 — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:36:57 GMT

@ Thalamus i have amended the ticket and updated the notes asking for free recovery disks and my information is all correct i only did it 3 days ago..... 😞

@Blencogo
Thanks so much for all the information i have now got my laptop to accept all the drivers and updated to sp3 so at least i do not have to use my main computer only which is not portable lol over 20KG/s

Thanks to all of you for giving your experiance and expertise helped alot!

thx

rev

p.s
Hopefully i can get recovery disks though missing vista a bit now plain xp is installed lol the irony of that hey.
next time i will learn the phrase if it aint broke dont fix it huh ?