HDD issue when recovery attempted.

[Iusedtolovesony]

Guys,

I am unable to recover factory settings from the disks, receiving error 332.

From google I see its related to HDD and appears a common problem.

My IT guy replaced the HDD as it crashed and would like to know what I must do to get through this obstacle please.

Thanks.

[rich912]

Hi Iusedtolovesony,

Which model Vaio do you have? If it was manufactured prior to 2011 you may find that the original HDD had 512 bytes per sector and the new drive has 4K per sector (Advanced Format disk).

Attempting to restore from recovery disks created from a 512 byte sector disk to a 4K disk will not work as the recovery disks will not be AF aware and will produce this error code.  I suggest you go back to your IT guy and explain this.

If my assumptions are correct, and you cannot exchange the HDD,your only other option is to install Windows from a retail copy and then install all drivers and utilities available from the support site. Note that the original software that came bundled with your computer is not available for download so you will lose this.

Rich

[Iusedtolovesony]

Many thanks for the reply.

The PC is a LV3sj all in one purchased 09 or 10.

It was Spanish in Vista Home.

Upgraded to Win 7.

Along the way the Sony programs were lost.

HDD was replaced as it crashed.

PC was working OK for ages and then No operating system found.

The IT guy reinstaklled Windows, but it crashed after a weeks use.

Tried to recover from my disks and the error came, so ordered new from Sony. Same error 332.

Triem myself to reinstall Widows from Disc-2 of the upgrade set and after many hours windows updates it was fine for a day..

Next day starting up it had to be restored to its last update and it worked. It is playing up with No op system (once) and a few quirky issues.

Sony called (surprised) to ask if disks arrived and to e-mail if there were any issues.

Of course the OEM ones did not work and I have written to Sony twice and no reply yet.

I would like to recover to factory settings which were Spanish and Vista, them get back all Sony utilities.

Then upgrade with Win-7 where I can select English for the operating system.

Sony utilities in Spanish I can suffer, but at least the PC is standard removing mistakes that may have been made by the IT work.

From what I have read, I am not confident the issue is the 512 and 4k one, but I would be pleased if it was.

Some sites differ with their opinions so hoping I can get the correct line of approach and pass that to the IT guy and solve once and for all.

Thanks.

[rich912]

Hi Iusedtolovesony

Assuming that you have not been able to install the OEM OS at all on the new drive I suggest you do find out from your IT department whether it is an Advanced Format drive.

Rich

[Iusedtolovesony]

I am requesting the HD values.
Maybe I took too much time explains details, so to clarify.
The recovery OEM disks gave error 332.
I did load the OEM Win-7 op system from Disk-2 of the upgrade set.
My problem remains I need to recover factory settings and get the PC to a known state that I can move forward with the upgrade to Win-7 and have all the utilities back again.
If I leave as is, I keep receiving a message the op system is counterfeit, it isn't, so the problem needs resolving.

[kee-lo_]

Someone asked this over at Tom's Hardware (forum post) and as Rich pointed out, this is done at manufacturing stages.  Reformatting with 512k / sector will slow down your system.  

Your best bet is to source an older HDD from places like eBuyer and avoid advanced formatting tehcniques.  Or as Rich pointed out, buy a copy of Win7, which I suspect is cheaper and less hassle; and install that and use the drivers from the support site.  You might not get all the software that the VAIO has in the first place, but believe me you don't need all of it and you can find good open source alternatives.

It just shows you Sony's CDs are a sector by sector copy.  

Hope that does help, sorry if I am intervening Rich

[Iusedtolovesony]

Not at all my friend, this is what forums are for, tap into everyones experience.

This is the reply from Sony.

Thank you for contacting Sony.

We are sorry to read that the recovery DVDs are not working with your Sony VAIO.

We would like to inform you that the recovery DVDs will not be working with your Sony VAIO as you have replaced the hard drive due to copyrights issues.

We deem it necessary for your VAIO to visit our repair centre for diagnosis and repair. We hope we can provide you with assistance.

I hope you guys can help with a way round this.

As I keep stating, I have used the Win 7 disk to reinstall the op sytem, but not happy with the setup.

Is it possible to locate and buy a replacement disk and install on your own machine?

[jan2011]

Hi there.

Summary about clusters and sectors. 

- Sector’s size manufactured by HDD producer and it’s not possible change.

- Cluster’s size (one or more sectors) can be change by HDD formatting.

I think, as even Rich and kee-lo said, “Recovery Media” depends on sectors. If made with HDD with 512b/sector, on a HDD with 4kb/sector won’t work. Reformatting HDD with 512b/cluster is useless.

But this issue is only about Recovery Media.

A “clean” Windows installation not depends on sector size, and I don’t know what exactly happens with HDD cloning.

Anyway, there are too many users that have replaced theirs HDD without problems.

A Copyright issue?

I don’t know…

[rich912]

No problem Lee-Lo:smileyhappy:

Iusedtolovesony,

I wish support would stop spouting this nonsense about copyright issues as it is complete drivel!  The only issue here would seem to be that you have had a 4K Advanced Format drive fitted. It would seem that the Windows 7 upgrade disk is AF aware and therefore installs the OS without problem this is not the case with the recovery disks you created nor will it be with a set of replacement recovery disks from Sony.

If you can’t have a 512 byte disk fitted then the only alternatives I know of is what you have already done with the Win 7 upgrade disk or alternatively a retail copy of Windows, but this is not what you are trying to achieve.

Back to your IT guys I’m afraid!

Rich

EDIT: To check the size of sectors on the replacement drive click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information > Expand ‘Components’ > Expand ‘Storage’ > Disks > Bytes/Sector.

[kee-lo_]

[quote]I wish support would stop spouting this nonsense about copyright issues as it is complete drivel!  The only issue here would seem to be that you have had a 4K Advanced Format drive fitted. It would seem that the Windows 7 upgrade disk is AF aware and therefore installs the OS without problem this is not the case with the recovery disks you created nor will it be with a set of replacement recovery disks from Sony.[/quote]

You're right Rich, but I think Sony are probably worried that you'll "share" the disks and install them on say, a DeLL machine and use that Windows.  I don't see why you would - if you're a pirate you'd download the MS disk, not a Sony disk!

So to clarify, you are using a bought Windows 7 disk now?