[dovepair]

I have a Sony Vaio that runs Windows XP. Upon booting we receive the error message "missing operating system." On checking the sony site it recommended checking the BIOS to see if the hard drive was being detected. It is. I saw in another place on this site that I should run a diagnostic on the hard drive. However, when trying to get to the menu (F14) I get the following error "missing partition table." I'm at a loss as to how to proceed. I'd really like to get my pictures off of the hard drive if at all possible. My computer did not come with a recovery disk. I do have a Toshiba laptop that does have the recovery disk and runs Windows XP as well, but I'm not sure if I can use it on my Sony.

[Macboatmaster]

Welcome to GeekstoGo


Is the drive seen in the BIOS. Keep tapping F2 or dlete to get there it may well tell you on first post screen to enter setup press ?


Very unlikely the Toshiba disc will assist it most likley will NOT include Recovery Console which is what you need.

See if that drive is seen in the BIOS.

Sorry seen it now as pointed out to me by skifxr on his post below.

Quote

On checking the sony site it recommended checking the BIOS to see if the hard drive was being detected. It is.

Post back and I will send you a program which HOPEFULLY will allow you to recover your data

See my next post please - post 4.

[skifxr]

dovepair, on 08 November 2011 - 02:08 PM, said:

On checking the sony site it recommended checking the BIOS to see if the hard drive was being detected. It is.

[Macboatmaster]

skifxr
Thank you - read it as he was keying F14 - did not spot - It is - my error I am obliged to you.

dovepair

Try this -
http://www.geekstogo...over-your-data/

I think the Sony Vaio does have a CD drive.
I have to say that you may NOT recover from this easily.
However try and get your data first.

Then we can explore the possibility of recovery console and commands to see if we can get you back into Windows.
If the drive itself is OK and the problem is the MBR - Master Boot record, Puppy will get you your data.
If Puppy itself fails to load or your drive cannot even be opened with Puppy, then we may be looking at a drive failure, as against
file corruption.

[dovepair]

Thanks. I'll give this a try and let you know what happens.

[Macboatmaster]

Good luck with it, hope you get your data.

Please post the exact model of Sony Vaio and then I will wait to hear from you.

[dovepair]

I was able to burn the CD and get to my data. It all seems to be there but I don't have enough room on my existing USB device so I need to purchase a new one and move my data. It may take a few days. The model # of my Sony Vaio is PCV RS720G.

[Macboatmaster]

Can you not copy the data of the flash pen to another hard drive., preferably a non system drive on another computer.

Quote

My computer did not come with a recovery disk

The computer which is a desktop model came with a program installed that is to be used to make the recovery disc.
Your Sony® VAIO® computer comes installed with the VAIO Recovery Wizard Utility. This utility can be used to create system recovery disks that enable you to format and recover your computer to the original configuration.

However that is NOT a lot of help of course if you never made the discs.
After you have your data, please post and we will proceed with an attempt to solve the problem,.
The good news is that the hard drive must be mechanically sound in respect of the read/write heads etc otherwise you could not have accessed it with Puppy.

Whether or not we can solve the problem without a format and reinstall, and of course you need the install media, we will only establish when we proceed to the next stage.

[dovepair]

Macboatmaster, on 09 November 2011 - 07:13 AM, said:

Can you not copy the data of the flash pen to another hard drive., preferably a non system drive on another computer.

Yes I've been moving the data to my laptop. But the flash pen I was using has so little room that it's taking forever. This is the one the kids refused to take with them when they moved out of the house because it didn't have enough memory. The good news is that I did find my newer one that has 1GB memory on it so it should take a lot less time. I'll continue working on it tonight when I get home.

[Macboatmaster]

OK, I thought you were intending to keep data on the flash pen.
It is still going to take forever with a 1Gb depending of course on how much you have.
Oh well the joys of computers.

If the other had less than 1Gb - the kids made a wise decision
../../public/style_emoticons/default/laughing.gif

ONLY joking

[dovepair]

Macboatmaster - Well, my DH took pity on me and bought me a portable drive. Sooo much easier. LOL. Anyway, I've retreived all my data now. What should I do next?

[Macboatmaster]

Download this, see if you can get a boot on the CD

Recovery Console Disc Image
http://www.thecomput...om/files/rc.iso

It is an ISO image use this to make the CD
Here is the ISO burning program
http://sites.google....-console-for-xp

When you have the CD, you may not need to enter BIOS to boot from it,. depending on how it is setup - use the same procedure you did to boot from Puppy.

When and if you get a boot from CD see if it detects a Windows installation, most likely it will say
1. C:\Windows.
Which Windows installation would you like to log into.

You key 1.
Then if that works start with the command

chkdsk /r

[dovepair]

Okay, so I burned the CD and got it to boot. I went into Repair and typed in chkdsk and got the following error: The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.

[Macboatmaster]

Go back to the recovery console and type

fixboot
and key enter

then type
fixmbr

and key enter

[dovepair]

Okay, I tried that and got the message that the master boot record had been re-written. When I tried booting the computer I get the message "invalid partition table."