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Windows recovery without disk

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  • 07-09-2010 4:33am
    #1
    sarah+1
    Registered Users Posts: 105 ✭✭


    My Sony Vaio starts up with a series of barcode like red lines, followed by a black screen with small continuous white lines. It then takes me to a Windows Error Recovery screen which gives me the options of starting Windows normally, in safe mode, safe mode with networking or safe mode with command prompt or last known good configuration. I have tried all the options and it brings me back to the same screen each time.

    It says that a recent hardware or software change might be the cause and to fix the problem I should insert my windows installation disk. Therein lies my problem as I do not have a disk. I have tried completely restoring it to factory settings and it has made no difference. I really don't want to pay a lot to get it fixed. Could anyone recommend a solution?

    It is a Sony Vaio and runs off Vista.
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    #2
    docmol
    Closed Accounts Posts: 339 ✭✭docmol


    Hi Sarah, sometimes instead of giving you a disc they put the install files on a seperate partition on the hard-drive. To get at this you will have to get at the "boot options" menu. When you start the machine from cold you will probably see some white text on a black background with various pieces of information about the computer. At some stage during this you should be given an option to press a key for boot options. It can be called various things and it can be any key but it's usually an F key or Del/Ins/Esc. ie "Press F1 for boot menu" or something like that.
    You will have a very short time to press this key so be quick! You should then be presented with a list of places to boot from and you would be looking for something like "recovery partition" or "D:" It's hard to say exactly where but I'm sure you can get better instructions from the Sony website. Once you boot from the recovery partition it is the same as booting from a cd and you can use all the standard recovery options. This will definitely include an option to wipe and reinstall from scratch so be very careful if you have any data that hasn't been backed up! You should be given an option to repair your OS without losing data, though you will probably have to reinstall any programs you've added to the machine. Just take your time and if unsure stop and ask for assistance. BTW it would be easier if I knew what make/model of Sony Vaio you had. Best of luck.


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