Hard drive failure, no recovery discs

[lynnewalker41]

My Vaio VPCY21X5E has had a hard drive failure after just 15 days and 12 months.

So having been directed to a third party repairer I took it in person to them and am now waiting on a price to fix it.

But one problem is that I have no recovery discs, as there is no DVD drive fitted I couldn't create the backups suggested at the time.

How can I resolve it, as even when a new hard drive is fitted I don't have the install discs for Windows or Office that were pre-installed, and even if I did I can't use them as I don't have a DVD drive?

Trying to contact Sony is very difficult, as soon as the 12 months are up you are cut off from any contact details other than the 35p minute premium line. Knowing how long these lines keep you on with long recorded messages and then on hold I am loathed to make the call. It just seems wrong to have to pay to complain about a product that has failed within days of the warranty ending. I know the warranty is for 12 months, but you do not expect a premuim price product to only last 12 months.

[rich912 · Accepted solution]

Hi lynnewalker41,

I understand your frustration, but assuming that the drive is dead and the repairer is unable to access the recovery partition using one of the following options, then as far as I am aware the only solution to your problem is to purchase a set of recovery media from Support and an external disk drive and follow the recover from Recovery Media procedure.

To recover from the recovery area

 On models with the ASSIST button

1 Press the ASSIST button while your

computer is off to launch the

VAIO Care Rescue.

2 Click Start recovery wizard.

To perform the custom recovery, select

Tools instead of Start recovery wizard

and click

Start advanced recovery wizard.

3 Follow the on-screen instructions.

 On models without the ASSIST button

1 Turn on your computer and press the F10

key several times before the VAIO logo

disappears.

If the Edit Boot Options window is

displayed, press the Enter key.

2 Select Start recovery wizard.

To perform the custom recovery, select

Tools instead of Start recovery wizard

and click

Start advanced recovery wizard.

3 Follow the on-screen instructions.

To recover from Recovery Media

1 If your computer is not equipped with a builtin

optical disc drive, connect an external

optical disc drive (not supplied) to the

computer and to an AC power source.

2 Insert a Recovery Media to the optical disc

drive while your computer is in Normal mode,

turn off the computer, and then turn it on

once again.

3 If you are using the external optical disc drive,

press the F11 key several times before the

VAIO logo disappears.

The Windows Boot Manager is displayed.

4 Press the  or  key to select

Start VAIO Care Rescue and press the Enter

key.

5 Select Start recovery wizard.

To perform the custom recovery, select Tools

instead of Start recovery wizard and click

Start advanced recovery wizard.

6 Follow the on-screen instructions.

Rich

[lynnewalker41]

So how much are the recovery discs and how do I order them without paying 35p minute?

If that's the only option how long do you estimete the phone call will last?

I know it sounds crazy to be quibling about 35p minute when I spent over £800 for the laptop, but having spent that much I expected it to last longer than 12 months. This is a premium product and it would be nice if the support was a bit more premium than if I bought it at a street market.

Sony should be providing a method of recovery in the event of hard drive failure, like a bootable USB stick with the recovery files on it like you get with a MacBook. One of the reasons for buying this model was that I don't need or want a DVD drive.

[rich912]

Hi lynnewalker41,

I have no idea of the current cost of recovery media or how long the phone call will last, but a recent member reported that the call was fairly quick and the disks arrived the next day. You cannot order the recovery media without calling Support on the premium ‘out of warranty’ number.

Sony does provide a method of recovery in the event of a hard disk failure - create recovery media via an external drive. This is in line with most PC manufacturers.

Whilst I agree that a bootable USB stick with recovery media would certainly be preferable you should have been aware, either before or after purchase, that this was not an option on your model.

Another option would be to contact one of the Sony Service Partners who may be able to replace the hard drive and also restore to factory settings.

http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/contacts/asc.aspx?l=en_GB&m=VPCY21C5E

Rich

[Thalamus.]

Hi lynnewalker41,

I have sent you a PM on the off chance that you do not recieve an email noticification please check your Private Messages using the following link - Your PM's

[lynnewalker41]

For future reference, I phoned the out of warranty support line and the call lasted 7 minitues and the price of the recovery discs was £49.84.

But I got a call from Sony after Thalamus mentioned it to a contact and they are now collecting it to repair it under warranty.

After a very frustrating few days it looks like my trust in Sony is returning.

[novi4ok]

After few days since i bought vaio I we got coplete demage of hard disc.

When i contact by e-mail Sony support center to help me with this problem, they told me that i need to buy new recovery DVD set. Why?????? I cant get any adequat support from Sony center........ I will never ever buy any Sony products.  My Vaio model VPCF12S1E may be some body have recovery DVD for this model. Many thanks.

Dmitrij.

Message was edited by: -Cass-

[SteffJay]

I purchased a set of DVD's to reinstall the operating system to a new hard drive. These disks do not let you install an operating system to a new hard drive. They just look for an existing installation.

The disks are very expensive and in my opinion a total rip off. Sony will not honour any hard drive replacement (even under waranty) as i have requested this to the waranty people and it was refused out right. They say that i should have made a back up of the original operating system. This i was unable to do because the hard drive was faulty from the outset.

I am now considering consulting Trading Standards and register a complaint with them because i believe the only thing Sony is interested in is making a profit at customers expense.