FZ31Z enable restore partition access

[utsy_123]

Hi there. I have just bought an FZ31Z and loving it. After recieving my laptop I made a partition to install Ubuntu on as I needed Linux which meant that the default boot loader was the grub loader that is installed when Ubuntu is installed.

I hadn't made any recovery DVDs and soon found myself without access to Vista as I had messed up the BCD because I wanted the Windows bootloader back as the default. I lost access to my Vista partition but could run ubuntu. In Ubuntu I could see my hidden partition as a normal one and had full access to it so I backed up the whole 10.2GB onto my iPod.

Is there any way I can restore the use of my hidden partion as I cannot load the recovery using the F10 function or any other way I could think of as I need some of the pre-installed apps such as WinDVD, InstantOn etc. The recovery partition is still on my harddrive but I cannot initiate the recovery I do not want to purchase a set of recovery disks as I have already spent £1300 on a laptop and have the data but no way of using it, to my knowledge.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Utsav.

PS. In the mean time I am using a fresh install of vista without any sony software which renders some of the feature on this laptop useless.

[utsy_123]

Hello everybody. I managed to make a set of recovery DVDs but when I try to boot using disk 1 I get CDBOOT: Could not find BOOTMGR just after the VAIO bios screen. Any idea what my next step would be?

This laptop just keeps wanting to annoy me with glitch after glitch 😞

[riashto46]

You shouldn't blame the laptop for this. If you have a basic vista installatio, go to the download section of the support site and grab 5he drivers and utilities packs. After spending a few hours loading them, use the VAIO recovery tool. It will have access to the hidden partition.

As soon as the recovery is over, Make A Proper Set Of Recovery Discs!!

Nice as Ubuntu is, it won't give you full access to all this laptop's features.

[utsy_123]

Ive downloaded and installed all the available components and drivers from the VAIO-LINK website for this model and I still cant access the restoration partition. Ive managed to restore all the programs using the DVDs Ive made apart from the WINDVD BD which I can live without as I have a PS3. I can use the blueray drive to back things up though which is still quite handy.