System Restore Problem

hairyeyeballhairyeyeball
edited March 2005 in Hardware
Hi,

I'm trying to do a system restore on my vaio u3 (a japanesse model) I have custom restore disks (english version) but need to get into DOS to use them!

Here is the "read me" file on the disk so you know what I need to do:

Instuctions on using this Custom Recovery CD.

What you will need:
1. XP Home license number on bottom of your laptop. Please record this on another location.
2. Recovery CD license number = 'C738F05D628A' (0 is numeric ZERO)
3. CD-ROM
4. Boot Disk with CD-ROM Driver in DOS (This usually comes with CD-ROM Driver)

Installation Procedure:
1. Please use your own CD-ROM's boot disk to start up in DOS mode.
2. Please type '<cd drive>:\GHOST\GHOSTPE.EXE' and press 'ENTER' key.
3. This progam will run Norton Ghost 2002. Click 'OK' to continue.
4. Click on 'LOCAL' -> 'PARTITION' -> 'FROM IMAGE' and press 'ENTER' key.
5. Select folder 'RECOVERY' and highlight on 'U3V1.GHO' file then click on 'OPEN' button.
6. Type in 'C738F05D628A' for License Number and then click 'OK' to continue.
7. Accept default options and continuously click on 'OK' until final confirmation appears. Click 'YES' to start recovering.
8. Insert second disk and click 'OK' to continue.
9. Once recovery is completed, please remove your disk and click 'RESTART' to reboot.
10. Enter Microsoft XP home license number on bottom of your laptop to activate your Operating System and to complete.

The CD Drive I have is a VAIO PCGA-CRWD2 external drive (which is a bootable drive) but I dont know how to get into DOS

XP WONT BOOT at all so cant get into DOS through the start menu.

I do have a WIN98SE CD and tried doing it with that but it wont let me do it??? When I select "boot with CD-ROM support" it wont recognise my CD drive either GRRR

Does anyone have ANY suggestions at all????

Thank you for your time

Trevor

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2005
    Have you gone into the BIOS and set the cdrom drive as the first boot device? If that doesn't work, check the other boot options and see if one of them looks promising. If the external cdrom drive is USB see if there is an option along those lines. Some BIOS's have a choice of "Other" which works for external drives.

    If that fails, assuming you don't already have a floppy drive built in (the sites I checked out didn't mention one), you might try borrowing a USB floppy drive and getting a boot disk from Bootdisk. I'd recommend the Windows 98 SE Custom, No Ramdrive disk.
  • hairyeyeballhairyeyeball
    edited March 2005
    The drive will boot fine, i'm just having trouble getting into DOS and getting the "<drive>:\ghost\ghostpe.exe" to run! I've managed to get into DOS with the win98se cd but when I take it out to put the recovery disk in I get a message saying the drive is no longer valid??? The drive letter my CD ROM uses at boot up is "a" at least I think it is anyway!!!

    Would a USB floppy work without the OS working? On the BIOS I have set it to boot from CD ROM. The other boot sequence options it has are: Hard Drive, Network and Removable Device.

    Dont know anyone with a USB floppy so would have to buy one so need to know if it would work first before spending 30 quid on a drive I possibly wouldn't need!!!
  • botheredbothered Manchester UK
    edited March 2005
    Can't you get an ordinary floppy drive? You could get one for less than a tenner, or even borrow one off a mate.
  • hairyeyeballhairyeyeball
    edited March 2005
    bothered wrote:
    Can't you get an ordinary floppy drive? You could get one for less than a tenner, or even borrow one off a mate.
    Yeah but how would I connect it to my notebook??? they use IDE cables and I dont have IDE cables on it. Only ports I have are usb firewire (4pin) and network
  • botheredbothered Manchester UK
    edited March 2005
    Ah, sorry. Didn't know it was a notebook.
  • s0shs0sh
    edited March 2005
    Hi,

    Do you find a solution?

    I have had the same problem with my u3. :bawling: I am trying different methods. I have the same recovery disk with the image file ,I bought it in ebay, due to, my original recovery are lost: I have a copy of them, but I do not know why they do not boot, in my other vaio srx, they boot: could you believe it?: they are a copy of my originals u3, and they do not run in my u3 but do in my srx. :confused:

    Well, now I am waiting to receive a external usb case due to a friend of me told me that I could reinstall it from a pc with dos. Well, I am waiting to receive it. If it give me results, I will tell you.

    If you find a solution, please would you tell me? due to I am a bit desesperate, I love my mini computer, and....well, I could not use it. The final solution is to buy another 1.8 hdd with a image file in it (a store in internet sells it, but it is a little expensive, so I am waiting, to this usb solution).

    Well, if you find a solution...well you know. Thanks..
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2005
    Try the Bootdisk link I mentioned before, make a bootable DOS-based CD, then copy your restore files to that CD. If it works it will get you around the disc swapping problem.
  • s0shs0sh
    edited March 2005
    Hi,

    Thank you very much...but I have just resolved it. I cannot believe how much stupid I was: in my bios configuration I have got disabled the ilink, so it is normal, that the original disc does not work. Now, I could install all the o.s.
    Again, thank you very much for your answer, and hairyeyeball, please try if in your bios your cd is enable (maybe you have just had the same the problem that I had).
    Profdlp, again: thankyus for your quick answer!!!

    Un saludo!
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