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Hi again Lara - just keeping an eye on how you are getting on!
You will have to make a decision by balancing the pros and cons of each method. I don't think we can do that for you.
The cheapest route is to borrow a Vista HP installation disc and do a 'clean install'. Although it is not guaranteed, it is likely that Microsoft will activate Vista HP for free over the phone if you explain the circumstances. You can then install the 'Preinstalled Drivers and Utilities' from the Support website for your Vaio. This is likely to be a Zero Cost option. The only cost may come from replacing any preinstalled software that your friend relies on such as WinDVD BD for Blu-Ray playback etc..
The simplest route is to buy a replacement Recovery Disc set from Sony Support. The advantage of this is that everything is automatically installed including OS, Drivers and original software. All you will need to do is update the system using Vaio and Microsoft Updates. The cost will be about £50 (this was the cost the last time I heard).
The best route is to clean install Windows 7 (as sgdavies suggests above) but this will be both the most expensive and the most time consuming. You will need to buy a License Key for Windows 7 which will cost about £80 for OEM or £120 for the full version. When providing Windows 7 drivers for your model, Sony assumes that you will already have Vista installed and that you will be installing Windows 7 as an UPGRADE in place. This uses the already installed Vista drivers and only provides upgrades for W7 so you will need to install Vista drivers where W7 drivers do not exist or just upgrades to existing drivers are provided. I notice Sony do not provide a W7 nVidia graphics driver, which may be a problem. You may have to search for some missing W7 drivers as well as any replacement software.
As I said, all these choices have ups and downs so you will have to take these into account when making the final choice.
Good Luck!!
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I think I would start by findng the exact Vaio Model. You should see it in the BIOS Main screen as 'Model Name' or similar.
When you boot from the Revcovery Discs, what are the error messages you get? If you need to install all the original software, it will be necessary to use Recovery Discs as most of the software is not available for download. A replacement set is available from Sony Support - at a price!!
It sounds like you have now reformatted the hard drive and erased all data but it is strange that the HDD model is not listed in the BIOS.
Sony do not support a downgrade to XP on this model, so there are no drivers available. The reason you are getting 'HDD not found' is because XP cannot natively recognise SATA HDDs and requires the SATA drivers to be slipstreamed or loaded from a floppy drive using F6 during XP installation.
If you find the Vaio Model, you can check which software was originally installed and make a decision on the way forward. We can also see what size HDD was fitted to try to resolve the differences. Sony use a hidden partition for the Recovery Software, which may still be there. The difference between 320GB and 290GB is too large to be explained by the HDD manufacturer counting a GB as 1000MB where Windows counts a GB as 1024MB.
ok, I did have a similar problem a long time ago, however it was not a Sony System, but regardless it sounds similar, As I recall, I copied the OS installation onto a USB Stick, and booted from USB, and performed a clean installation, at the time I was also experimenting with "Umbuntu" and I installed that also from the USB Stick, so, what I am trying to say is, if the 1) options fails with the USB Stick with a clean install, try 2) umbuntu install, if that works , I am not saying keep umbuntu, but then retry back a clean install from Windows....
ok thats my 2 bobs worth... 
P.S. It sounds a wacky solution and cant think why it worked, but it did work for me.
Hi, and thankyou for your time, it may help if I try and detail my steps more methodically for you, so here goes......
I haven't contacted Sony directly yet but have registered on the Sony UK support site. I have read forum reports that Sony Support are far from helpful due to the fact that they want you to be able to do as little as possible, they play their cards very close to their chest and as such really want you to rely on them for all the solutions, of which all come with a hefty price tag !! I await to see if that transpires to be true.
I created 2 DL DVD+R recovery discs, albeit with a bit of a hassle due to continual crashing during the process but finally managed it but feel that I can't verify the quality of the discs.
I do not have the OEM Win Vista Disc to try and attempt to re-install the OS, although I do have a OEM Product Key sticker on the reverse side of the PC.
Have now discovered the model : VGC-LM1M - Funny tho that Sony UK list it in their support pages and provide downloads for it via http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/VGC-LM1M/updates BUT it does NOT list it when I try to register my product with them ???????
BIOS Settings :
BIOS Version : R0250W5
Machine Name : VGC-LM1M
Serial No. : 2*******-5******
UUID : 2485f7a0-862c-11dc-8169-001a801ee57b
RAM : 2048Mb
Hard Disk Drive 0 : 320Gb
Hard Disk Drive 1 : 0Gb
Factory Installed OS : Windows Vista Home Premium OEMAct Sony Corporation 32Bit
Factory Installed HDD : Seagate Baracuda 7200.10 320Gb
Due to PC having encryption virus, I ran the Sony Main Recovery Centre and selected the "Wipe & Erase" feature that gave me 3 or 4 options of erase, of which i selected the recomended option of putting a 0 over the HDD segments ??? I think that's what it said
Then I removed the HDD and partioned it into 2 partions, (I use MiniTool Partition Wizard Professional Edition to do my partion tasks, and I think I'm doing it correctly within there.) 290GB partition and 8GB partition because it told me the HDD capacity was 298Gb and NOT 320Gb as per the BIOS ?????????
Stage 1 : I boot from the recovery discs into the Sony Main Recovery Centre and choose the "Restore Drive C:" option but it tells me that the C: Drive is too small ?? (see next stage ref C: being too small????)
Stage 2: So I try the total system recovery option and it shows that there is no OS present which is correct due to the HDD having been already formatted. It asks to browse for hard disk drivers and the explorer window shows Drive C: 290GB / Drive F: 8GB and Boot Drive 80mb, upon navigating to the "inf" folder within the Boot Drive Windows folder and selecting ulsata1 & ulsata2 setup info files and then applying. It then proceeds with a Restore Complete System recovery attempt.
Unfortunately it only gets as far as 26% each time I try and produces 5 error windows in turn.....
Error : 305:69
Press OK
Error : 319
Press OK
Error : 320
Press OK
Error : 330
Press OK
Task failed with error : -1
I then tried to do the Sony Hardware Diagnostic feature via the Main Recovery Centre, and noticed that when it scanned and verified C: and F: drives as ok, it took much longer to scan F: drive than it did C: drive - this suggested to me that despite the drive space allocation as per explorer window in Stage 2, it seemed in fact that the C: & F: drives were actually the other way round.
Also when I entered the cmd prompt, I could access C: drive and run a dir cmd but it said the F: drive did not exist. Also I noted that when I ran the dir cmd at the C: prompt it showed the drive capacity at around 8Gb which i feel confirmed my suspicions that the drive letters were in fact the wrong way round and is responsible for the error message i get when trying to do the stage 1 recovery option. All this even contradicts the BIOS settings of the HDD 0 & 1 parameters ????
Am I able to aquire a OEM Vista ISO download to burn to disc to enable me to re-install OS using my existing Product Key or will the following support page at Sony UK be the way to go ?
http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/VGC-LM1M/updates
Update :
I have now managed to use my Partition software to swop the drives around, so now the smaller 8Gb HDD is lettered & labeled as "G:Recovery" and I chose to letter the larger drive as F: - logic being that when the PC looked at both drives in cronological order it would assign the C: to the F:, then I re-ran the "Restore C: Drive" option and this time I got further with it but at the point where it wanted to start the operation, it came back with a message error saying it could not "assign drive letter" or "validate drive letter" or something to that effect sorry 
I should have written it down first !!
So I'm thinking that I'm slowly getting somewhere albeit in a round about fashion 
I'm sure I'm missing something, my partition software has a function of Partition Recovery, so I'm thinking maybe I should try that as the next stage, but will wait for your advice first
There has to be a way through this without being at the total mercy of Sony.
Once again, thanks so much for offering your support, as I'm really stuck with this one 
Kind regards
Lara (yes that is my real first name :smileytongue:)
Edit: removed the serial number from the post..
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Hi Lara.
Here is an article listing Sony's error codes during a system recovery: -
https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/30300
Errors 305.64, 320 and 330 when booting from Recovery Discs would seem to indicate either faulty Recovery Discs or a faulty optical drive.
The Recovery Discs should format the HDD and then create the required partitions. They should create a hidden EISA Recovery Partition with NO DRIVE LETTER (I think this is about 12GB for Vista) and a single NTFS formatted Drive C: primary partition with the system and boot on it. I do wonder if playing with a partition manager is causing the problems - you should not need to do anything with the partitions. Booting will look for the OS on the second partition as the hidden Recovery Partition counts as the first partition.
You now have three alternatives: -
1. Try running the Full Recovery again by booting from Recovery Disc 1. Choose 'Recover Complete System' followed by 'Skip'. An error will occur if you choose anything except 'Recover Complete System'.
2. If the discs are corrupt, you can buy a replacement set from Sony Support for about £50. This includes an activated Vista OS and both Sony and third party software. You will need to use the 'out of warranty' premium telephone number 0905 0310006 (35p/min).
3. Install a retail version of Vista by download or by borrowing an installation disc. The COI Product Key on the back of the Vaio is not a valid activation code for Vista but you may be able to persuade Microsoft to activate your installation by telephone if you explain the circumstances. Officially Microsoft only recognise that you own a Sony OEM version of Vista and this should only be activated by Sony's Recovery discs. You will then need to install the drivers from the support website for the VGC-LM1M. You will also have to source replacement software for things like a BD Player and adobe software which is not downloadable for copyright reasons.
I presume you have confirmed the HDD is not faulty?
I think Sony remove Vaio models from the Registration process once the Sony Warranty has expired.
Hi again,
Thanks for the info, I'm assuming the HDD is ok cos when I run the Hardware Diagnostic tool in the recovery centre, it states that both drives are functioning correctly.
Let's assume then that my recovery discs are corrupt as I did have awful problems creating them before I tried to do a system restore to factory default. In which case the discs from Sony for £50 which I can accept is not as bad as I imagined 
am I right in thinking that the discs will restore the original HDD back to where it was with all partitions including hidden, intact with Vista OS and Sony drivers, utilities etc etc.
I take it that the additional "Freeware" software that comes with these shop purchased PC's, you know, the software nobody really wants and deletes the moment they switch it on out from the box 
will also be re-instated ? I assume uninstalling these additional progs shouldn't cause any issues.
Looking at your other alternatives, if i aquire a genuine Vista or even Windows 7 install disc, can i do a fresh install on to the original HDD without having to format it first, and I suppose with this method I will avoid all the "Freeware", but will have to download all the drivers and utilities from the support link on Sony UK and install them manually in addition.
Or, could I install a completeley new, formatted, SATA HDD and then install Vista or Win 7 prior to installing the Sony drivers etc.......... and then my pc will work like I want it to
I guess that if I'm grasping this correctly and the above options are all feasible and viable, I will be weighing up the pro's and con's of cost, labour, time and inconvenience as to which is better in the long run 
seriously, this is frying my brain, but hey the hard way is always the best way
Kindest Regards
Lara
The Latest :
I won't get to speak to Sony Support until Monday Am, so I looked at the link you suggested
https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/30300
and tried the option of using F10 instead of the recovery discs. F10 booted into the recovery tools page but interestingly enough, the "Complete System Recovery" option is not listed as it is when I boot from the recovery discs......only the following options are available :
Windows System Restore - No Good As I'm Missing The OS
VAIO Hardware Diagnostics - See Note Below *
Restore C: Drive - See Note Below **
Rescue Data - See Note Below ***
NO OPTION FOR "COMPLETE SYSTEM RECOVERY" ???????
* I ran the diagnostics option and did a "quick test" first - CPU, Memory & HDD - ALL PASSED OK
Then I ran the "tools" option which did a full "HDD Verify & Repair" Scan of both the C: and F: Drives - BOTH PASSED OK
** So I tried the Restore C: Drive option, it started and i selected skip and acknowledged the fact it would format the C: Drive, and then as soon as it tried to start the restore process, the following messages came up in turn :
"Cannot use this recovery disc for this computer. Confirm the model type"
Press OK
Error : CompareSnyIniToPacIni, Error : 92
Press OK
Could not load Restore C: Drive
Press OK
*** So then I tried the "Rescue Data" option and that failed miserably too !! 
Used the Recovery Disc one more time and the "Complete System Recovery" option became available so I tried it and yet again, at 26% it failed with the same error codes as the previous attempts.
I'm still weighing up the options as I described in my previous message and wondering what your thoughts are about those before I make my mind up and contact Sony if I choose the Recovery Discs option over a fresh install.
It will all turn out in the end, I'm sure
Lara
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