Recovery, Backup and
Troubleshooting Guide
See the back side.
4-272-829-
11
(1) © 2011 Sony Corporation Printed in China
Introduction
4
Click
Recovery & restore
, select
Recovery
,
and then click
Create Recovery Media
.
5
Read the on-screen instructions carefully, and
then click
Next
.
6
Follow the on-screen instructions.
It may take some time to display the current
status of the procedure.
Do not eject or disconnect the media while
creating Recovery Media, as doing so may result
in a failure of the process.
Keep the Recovery Media in a secure place.
You may not be able to create Recovery Media
with a USB flash drive depending on the drive
you use. See the help file included with
VAIO Care
for more information.
To recover from the
recovery area
On models with the ASSIST button
1
Press the
ASSIST
button while your
computer is off to launch
VAIO Care Rescue
.
If the display language selection window
appears, select your desired language and
click
OK
.
2
Click
Start recovery wizard
.
To perform the custom recovery, select
Tools
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
screen disappears.
If the
Edit Boot Options
window is
displayed, press the
Enter
key.
If the display language selection window
appears, select your desired language and
click
OK
.
2
Select
Start recovery wizard
.
To perform the custom recovery, select
Tools
and click
Start advanced recovery wizard
.
3
Follow the on-screen instructions.
Creating Recovery Media
Recovering your computer
To recover from
Recovery Media
1
If you recover your computer from Recovery
Media (optical discs) on the model without a
built-in optical disc drive, connect an external
optical disc drive (not supplied) to the
computer and to an AC power source.
2
Insert the disc into the optical disc drive or
connect the USB flash drive to the USB port
on the computer while the computer is in
Normal mode.
3
Turn off the computer and turn it on once
again.
4
If you are using the external optical disc drive
or USB flash drive, press the
F11
key several
times before the VAIO logo screen disappears.
The
Windows Boot Manager
screen is
displayed.
5
Press the
or
key to select
Start VAIO Care Rescue
and press the
Enter
key.
If the display language selection window
appears, select your desired language and
click
OK
.
6
Select
Start recovery wizard
.
To perform the custom recovery, select
Tools
and click
Start advanced recovery wizard
.
7
Follow the on-screen instructions.
To restore your computer back to its original factory condition, follow one of the recovery methods
below.
Recovering your computer will delete all the data on the built-in storage device.
About recovery
What is recovery?
Recovery is the process of restoring your
computer back to its original factory condition.
There are two ways to recover your computer:
From Recovery Media
From the recovery area
When do I have to perform
recovery?
If your computer has been unstable
If your computer has been infected with a
computer virus
If your computer is experiencing problems
which cannot be solved through
troubleshooting
If you have formatted the C: drive by mistake
Which software should I use to
maintain and recover my
computer?
Use the following software.
VAIO Care
Creating Recovery Media
Checking your computer hardware
VAIO Care Rescue
Rescuing (backing up) your data
Recovering your computer
Erasing all the data on your built-in storage
device
See the help file included with
VAIO Care
and
VAIO Care Rescue
for more information.
What is a recovery area?
The recovery area on the built-in storage device
contains data for system and application
recovery. Typically, you cannot modify or delete
data in this area, however, there is commercially
available software designed for this purpose.
Why do I have to create Recovery
Media?
Recovery Media are used to restore your
computer back to its original factory condition.
If Windows does not start and you have deleted
the recovery area, you will need the Recovery
Media to perform recovery. Create the Recovery
Media immediately after the computer is ready
for use.
About backup
What is a backup process?
The backup process creates a backup copy of
your data stored on the built-in storage device
and saves it to another location.
Why do I have to back up my data?
Due to unexpected events or computer viruses,
you might lose various data stored on your built-
in storage device. To restore the lost data, its
backup copy is needed.
It is strongly recommended that you back up
your data regularly.
You cannot use Blu-ray Disc™ media,
DVD-RAM, CD-R, and CD-RW discs as
Recovery Media.
You can use optical discs and a USB flash drive as
Recovery Media. However, it is recommended
that you use optical discs, such as DVD-R, since
you may accidentally delete the data on the USB
flash drive.
The number of necessary discs, the types of
media you can use, and the capacity of the USB
flash drive you need will be displayed during the
Recovery Media creation process.
1
Connect your computer to the Internet,
download and install the latest updates using
VAIO Update
.
2
If you create Recovery Media (optical discs) on
the model without a built-in optical disc drive,
connect an external optical disc drive (not
supplied) to the computer and to an AC
power source.
3
Click
Start
,
All Programs
, and
VAIO Care
.
If the
User Account Control
window appears,
click
Yes
.
If you are currently logged onto your
computer as a standard user, you may be
prompted to enter an administrator name
and a password.
Please create your Recovery Media
immediately after setup.
