Cannot recover from recovery media (new hard disc installed)

[Endlessdeep01]

Hi all! I have a VAIO VPCEE3Z0E in which I have just had to replace the hard drive due to a disk failure. When the laptop was new I made a full set of recovery discs and I have attempted to use these to recover Windows 7. I am following the guide given on this page https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/32751/~/how-to-perform-a-custom-recovery-using-the... Being a new disk (fully formatted and recognised by the system) I have to recover the O/S via the "Start VAIO Care Rescue" option on the Boot Manager screen. This is method C in the guide. I do this, the system reads the backup dvd and the VAIO Care Rescue Welcome screen appears. I go into the 'Tools' menu (as this is a fresh install) and select 'Start advanced recovery wizard'. I have no data to save so I 'Skip Rescue' (As per the note after step 4) I'm expecting to see the screen shot shown in step 10 but as soon as i click on 'Skip rescue' the window disappears and all I'm left with is the mouse pointer (which I can still move) on the blue Windows background. There is no further action. The dvd doesn't spin up and there's no HDD led activity. I'm stuck in limbo. It appears no files are being loaded and nothing is happening. I left it like this for about 10mins (I would have left it longer if I knew there was some disc activity). Does anyone have any suggestions as to what's wrong?

[rich912]

Hi Enllessdeep01,

Do you know whether the replacement hard drive has 512-byte segments or is it an Advanced Format drive having 4096-byte structure?

Basically if it is an Advanced Format drive the recovery media you created will not work as it will not be AF aware. A retail copy of Windows 7 will work but you will then need to download and install all Sony Drivers and Utilities – the preinstalled application software is not available for download.

If the replacement drive is of 512-byte structure then there is the possibility that the recovery disks are corrupted. Replacements are available from Support at an approx. cost of £50.

Rich

[Endlessdeep01]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your reply.

fsutil shows 512 bytes per sector and 4096 bytes per cluster. Were you referring to the sector or cluster size?

Paul

[rich912]

Hi Paul,

If the Fsutil fsinfo ntfsinfo x: (where x: represents the drive that you are checking) command reports 512 Bytes per logical sector and 512 Bytes per physical sector then it is a native 512-byte drive. See screen shot of 512-byte native drive.Bytes per cluster will be 4096.

The following link will throw more light on this:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2510009

Rich

[Endlessdeep01]

Hi Jeff,

My drive is as per the screenshot you provided so has 512 byte segments. It looks as though the recovery disks are corrupted (though I'm sure they were verified when I created them).

I have installed Win 7 onto the drive from scratch but the product key is so faded that I can't read the last 12 digits in order to activate it. I used Magical Jellybean Keyfinder to extract the key prior to swapping out the drive but the product key it produced wasn't recognised by Windows, nor did it match the key printed under the laptop???

[rich912]

Hi Paul,

Yes it would seem that maybe your recovery media is corrupt.

If not already tried a clean of the disks sometimes makes a difference. Also you could try copying the disks on another machine. This route has occasionally fixed the problem.

As previously suggested, as you have Windows 7 already installed, you can download and install all drivers and utilities from the support site, assuming that you are not too bothered about the Sony pre-installed software.

Unfortunately the Windows reference both on the underside of notebook and reported by most key finders is a Sony specific code and will not activate Windows. Usual advice is to give Microsoft a call to explain the situation. Depending on the representative you speak to they may provide a code.

If all else fails then £50 will purchase a set of recovery media.

Rich