No Installation CD came with Sony vaio!

[sreedhav]

Dear friends,
The Laptop i bought came pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit(as can be seen in my system specs below) and a few other goodies.The Original installation CD was not included.:sarc:

I have cultivated the habit of taking regular BACKUPS, WHICH I CONSIDER AS LIFE SAVERS(very sorry for the bold type,it was purely for real emphasis)and i use and recommend the free version of Macrium Reflect(it has support for 64-bit).This will come in very handy,if i have to restore the system to a previous state.

I request your valuable opinions and firm answers in case something really drastic happens and i have to re-install the OS.
Thank you!

 

[stenzin]

Sony should have partitioned your hard drive for recovery. If you look in your start menu, there should be an option to create a recovery CD.

From what i know most OEMs do not ship with recovery CD anymore instead they create a partition on the harddrive for Users to create it themselves.

 

[alphanumeric]

If you haven't already, at some point you should Be prompted (nagged) to create a recovery disk set. You want to make the recovery disk(s) before something happens. You should also be able to access the recovery utility during boot up by pressing a certain key at the correct time. The owner manual should tell you how its done.

 

[periboob]

My approach is to purchase a new hard drive compatible with the computer I am backing up. Then I use USB adapter to attach that hard drive to the computer, then make a drive image (most drive manufacturers have free imaging software on their website), then swap in the new hard drive and use it for a while. This gives me a backup that I can test and have confidence in with little risk to my system configuration. Data I backup separately and more often.

 

[sreedhav]

Sony should have partitioned your hard drive for recovery. If you look in your start menu, there should be an option to create a recovery CD.

From what i know most OEMs do not ship with recovery CD anymore instead they create a partition on the harddrive for Users to create it themselves.

Dear stezin,
Thanks for the prompt reply!There is no partition on the HD for recovery.

 

[sreedhav]

If you haven't already, at some point you should Be prompted (nagged) to create a recovery disk set. You want to make the recovery disk(s) before something happens. You should also be able to access the recovery utility during boot up by pressing a certain key at the correct time. The owner manual should tell you how its done.

Dear alphanumeric,
Is there a guide to go about creating a "Recovery CD" and more importatly how to install the OS from the created disk? Thank you!

 

[stenzin]

Dear stezin,
Thanks for the prompt reply!There is no partition on the HD for recovery.

Is there a program called "Vaio Care" in your start menu or desktop?
This is used to create recovery CDs.

You can also use Windows Backup tool.

Go to Control Panel and change the view to "Small Icons" if it isn't already. and you should see "Backup and Restore". After opening that, you should have the option to create System image on the left column.

 

[gregrocker]

You can always clean reinstall using the Product Key on the COA sticker to get a leaner, superior install without the factory crapware and utlities which have better versions built into Win7: Clean Reinstall steps

Win7 Home Premium x64 SP1 English Official ISO download
Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool

But I would still try making your Recov Disks first so you have a path back to the factory install if needed, or save a Win7 backup image as it exists now which is the modern way to reimage your HD or its replacement in minutes: Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup

 

[alphanumeric]

Sony should have partitioned your hard drive for recovery. If you look in your start menu, there should be an option to create a recovery CD.

From what i know most OEMs do not ship with recovery CD anymore instead they create a partition on the harddrive for Users to create it themselves.

Dear stezin,
Thanks for the prompt reply!There is no partition on the HD for recovery.

I do believe its a hidden partition so it may only show up in Disk Management. I'd be very surprised if it isn't there, especially since no install media was included.

 

[alphanumeric]

If you haven't already, at some point you should Be prompted (nagged) to create a recovery disk set. You want to make the recovery disk(s) before something happens. You should also be able to access the recovery utility during boot up by pressing a certain key at the correct time. The owner manual should tell you how its done.

Dear alphanumeric,
Is there a guide to go about creating a "Recovery CD" and more importatly how to install the OS from the created disk? Thank you!

Where the utility is depends on the manufacturer. It should be in your start menu with other manufacturer installed utilities. To do the actual recovery from the disk set, you just boot the PC from the first disk and follow the prompts. The recovery utility just restores an image of the way your PC came from the factory. If you do the recovery it will erase what you have now and restore the saved factory image. Any documents, pictures etc will be lost if you don't back them up externally. Once the restore is done and you boot up it will be just like it was the first time you turned it on.

 

[sreedhav]

You can always clean reinstall using the Product Key on the COA sticker to get a leaner, superior install without the factory crapware and utlities which have better versions built into Win7: Clean Reinstall steps

Win7 Home Premium x64 SP1 English Official ISO download
Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool

But I would still try making your Recov Disks first so you have a path back to the factory install if needed, or save a Win7 backup image as it exists now which is the modern way to reimage your HD or its replacement in minutes: Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup

Dear gregrocker,
Hi! Thanks a lot for the practical advise. You are appropriately REPPED!

 

[rraod]

Try this link for further information in recovering the factory installed Windows 7 OS from your recovery partition.

How to Recover Factory Settings on Sony Vaio Computer with Windows 7

You have mentioned that there is no recovery partition on your hard disk. Can you post a image of your disk management showing partitions?

 

[marsmimar]

Your Vaio should have 3 buttons just above the keyboard on the top right. They should be labeled Assist, Web, and Vaio. If you have the Assist button: with the computer turned off, click the Assist button once and that should automatically start the computer and open the Sony/Vaio Recovery Wizard. From there you can follow the prompts to access the hidden recovery partition, make recovery disks, perform troubleshooting steps, etc.

 

[sreedhav]

Your Vaio should have 3 buttons just above the keyboard on the top right. They should be labeled Assist, Web, and Vaio. If you have the Assist button: with the computer turned off, click the Assist button once and that should automatically start the computer and open the Sony/Vaio Recovery Wizard. From there you can follow the prompts to access the hidden recovery partition, make recovery disks, perform troubleshooting steps, etc.

Dear marsmimar,
Thank you and will do! You deserve a rep.