[Wolfeymole]

From what I have just researched it seems I was mistaken Seth, you have my apologies mate.

[Seth]

No worries Wolfey.

Well those disks should boot. Can you try the first disk in another computer?

Another option is this:

Put the old hard drive in and if the system boots, create new recovery disks.
If it doesn't boot, we might be able to repair the drive enough so it can.

[Spartan73]

Also they say only to be used with Sony Personal Computers and will not function on any other computer.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it is possible to change the hard drive, and these discs do have verify 4 things, heres the quote

The recovery process is locked to the specific model machine. This was done deliberately by Sony in order to keep the powers that be happy, and to also make it harder to use the disks on other machines. Now when you start the recovery process there are 4 pieces of information that the software looks for in the machines BIOS. There is the Model Name, the 8 digit model code, the 7 digit serial number and a country specific code. If any of these pieces of information are not within the necessary range then the recovery software will not work.
In Europe the machines are divided into country regions. The UK is designated by GB, Germany is DE and so on. Each model has a specific 8 digit model code. This is not to be confused with the 7 digit chassis code on the machines. For example the VGN FS215Z(UK) model has a model code of 28198260 and a chassis number of PCG 7A1M. Notice that I put the (UK) after the model name, this is because the model code changes with the country code. The FS215Z (ES) has a model code of 28198266 but it shares the same chassis code of PCG 7A1M
The machines have a specific serial number range. The FS215Z(UK) serial range is 5200001 to 5229999. The FS215Z(ES) serial range is 5260001 to 5269999.
If these 4 bits of information are within range then the recovery software will run. If not then you get the good old Please check your model error message

DOes this help?

The discs are deffinately for the correct machine!

[Spartan73]

Originally Posted by Seth

No worries Wolfey.

Well those disks should boot. Can you try the first disk in another computer?

Another option is this:

Put the old hard drive in and if the system boots, create new recovery disks.
If it doesn't boot, we might be able to repair the drive enough so it can.

Seth Yes I can Buddy as soon as i get back, have to pop out for an hour or 2, but I will get the boot disks upstairs to my desktop and try them there.

I will also put the old HDD in and see what happens try to boot with the CDs ( I think my friend tried that ) - Let you know.

Thanks LOADS!

[Seth]

Any recovery set will boot in any computer. However, if the set is used on a different computer, the disk will boot then say something similar to "This computer is not compatible with the Sony recovery disks". So, the process won't proceed, but at least you'll know the disk is bootable.

[Spartan73]

Originally Posted by Wolfeymole

From what I have just researched it seems I was mistaken Seth, you have my apologies mate.

Care to fill us in mate?

[Wolfeymole]

but at least you'll know the disk is bootable.

Well that's some consolation I suppose

[Wolfeymole]

It seems to me that Sony have it locked down tighter than a Camels arse in a sand storm Spartan mate.

You did save the settings in the bios before exiting yes?

[Spartan73]

Yes Wolfey matey I saved the settings.

Seth, The boot disk works a treat in an old compaq laptop I have here. Popped in the CD , restarted, and was prompted immediately that the Sony Recovery utility was starting. Just before i crapped myself that i was going to wipe all the data on the compaq and so speedily hit the eject button

Re installed Old HDD in Vaio, and tried using the discs that way ( even tried pressing F10 on logo screen as I read somewhere this might help ) and still no OS found.

[Seth]

Don't worry, it wasn't actually starting the recovery. It was just loading some stuff into memory, then it would check the computer and tell you it's a no go.

Anyway, I can't see how the Vista DVD will boot in the laptop, but the recovery dvd's won't (but will in the other computer)

Can you get the system to boot with the old drive so that you can make new recovery dvd's? If it doesn't boot to Normal Mode, then try Safe Mode. If it doesn't boot at all, then use (was it F10?) to perform the full recovery from the hidden partition. Then make the new recovery dvd's.