Problems using System Recovery CD's on new HD

[RKelly]

I recently had to switch out Hard Drive's on my PC after the original started failing. When I try to use the recovery discs (These are Sony XP System and Application Recovery discs) I get the following message: "Cannot normally execute the initial setting of partition information. This utility exits and your computer is rebooted." Origianlly I had a 120 gb HD partitioned into a 20 gb and 100 gb HD. I switched out to a new 120 HD (Both are Western Digital) but do not have it partitioned. Does this mean that I cannot use the recovery discs on my new HD? I have to buy a new copy of XP and cannot recover any of the programs that came with my computer? Anyone with some advice is much appreciated, thanks!

[gitreel]

You are pretty much out of luck.


A portion of the original hard drive was set aside for hd settings.

The cd cannot restore the settings on the new drive because it is not the same drive.

You should have transferred the files and settings to the other drive.

If you are running xp, there is a migration wizard that would have transferred things.

[808smokey]

You are pretty much out of luck.


A portion of the original hard drive was set aside for hp settings.

The cd cannot restore the settings on the new drive because it is not the same drive.

You should have transferred the files and settings to the other drive.

If you are running xp, there is a migration wizard that would have transferred things.

wut he said

[tekkieman]

That doesn't make sense. Dells are the same way, and I have done a full format and deleted that partition. The recovery cds are keyed to the OEM bios, not the added partition. Those are usually just for diag tools.

I could be wrong, just my $0.02....

[gitreel]

Think about it though...


That is no longer the same system.
It no longer has the same drive.

Actually the second partition has an image of the original install.

If that image is gone, you cannot restore.

The restore cd was tied to the original hardware.

It is the same thing as trying to use a dell restore on a non-dell computer.

It just won't work.

I suggest contacting Sony support and explain the situation; They might be able to assist you.

[tekkieman]

Think about it though...


That is no longer the same system.
It no longer has the same drive.

Agreed.

Actually the second partition has an image of the original install.
If that image is gone, you cannot restore.

If true, agreed. Not all manufacturers do that. Dell doesn't.

The restore cd was tied to the original hardware.


It is the same thing as trying to use a dell restore on a non-dell computer.

Not the same thing. It is tied to the OEM bios. That is why you can't use a dell restore on a non-dell computer. Think about this: I changed my hard drive, removed both CD-R and CD-RW, added DVD-R and DVD-RW, took out 256M RAM, added 512M RAM. Recovery CD still works fine. You may have trouble with your XP activation with that many hardware changes, but the recovery still works.

I suggest contacting Hp support and explain the situation; They might be able to assist you.

Agreed.

[ViRaL1]

If you still have the original drive and it's functioning. Try restoring to the old drive, then run a disk to disk copy with Ghost (TruImage will probably do the same).

Where'd you get HP from? I thought he said it was Sony.

[gitreel]

You are right.

He did say sony.

Sorry

Contact sony support, and see what they say.

Alot of oems use nonstandard offmarket parts

[thecoalman]

I completely reformatted my drive including the recovery partition, different manufacturer though. There should be a full copy of windows on your CD. Have you examined it? Try and run the windows setup file instead of going through the recovery software.

[RKelly]

Thanks guys, I talked with a few friends and they have mentioned similar ideas. I appreciate the feedback.

[RKelly]

Turns out there is a solution to this problem after all. Basically if one needs to switch out hard drives on a Vaio system, that is fine. The problem I was getting was "Cannot normally execute the initial setting of partition information. This utility exits and your computer is rebooted" when trying to reinstall. The solution is to unplug everything from your computer except the basics: Keyboard, mouse, monitor and speakers. I had a printer plugged in via the USB port and that was enough to cause the problem. After unplugging everything except the basics, I was able to reinstall no problem. I talked to Sony support about this and they say this is a common problem with their recovery software.

[smearbrick1]

You may want to try and salvage what you can from the recovery disks (if in fact, it is a recovery disc). You may be able to pull some of the driver files that you wouldn't normally be able to find.

On a side note:

If the sony is like the current HPs, there was invisible (to windows) second partition used for recovery. Which, would render your recovery CD useless.

[silentlyamong]

There is something you can do about that. The seven dics that come with the Sony VIAO recovery seystem work very well if you remove all external hardware before running the utility. These include external hard drives, printers, scanners and magic jack. After running into that screen that said "cannot normally execute to partition" 15 times I did remove it all and the next time there it was. I recover my system twice a year just to refresh it. The first time I was forced to recover because my 80gb hard drive went out. I replaced it with an old 30gb until I could get a new 750gb hard drive. I formated each one before use. There is no image in the bios, on drive d or the original hard drive that prevents you from recovering your system. This is not magic, it's logic. Irf you want you do not have to use drive d. It;s only to to store media from the Giga Packet system. Giga packet will not work without drive d. As far as your updates are concerned windows will install alll updates you've lost in about a week, including security and service pak 2 & 3. Hope this helps. If all else fails try Ubuntu by Linux.

[Nelson37]

Have done this many dozens if not hundreds of times, though rarely on a Sony.

Why would you have a USB peripheral needing drivers attached to a system undergoing a reformat and re-install? Why that would interfere with a partition operation is another question, but it clearly should not be there in the first place.

The recovery CDs are a REPLACEMENT for the info on the recovery partition. I have Never, EVER, had a problem doing this on a new drive with no recovery partition present.

Think about it, folks, why would you be reformatting the drive if, in most cases, it was not a replacement drive?

[usually_quiet]

There is something you can do about that. The seven dics that come with the Sony VIAO recovery seystem work very well if you remove all external hardware before running the utility. These include external hard drives, printers, scanners and magic jack. After running into that screen that said "cannot normally execute to partition" 15 times I did remove it all and the next time there it was. I recover my system twice a year just to refresh it. The first time I was forced to recover because my 80gb hard drive went out. I replaced it with an old 30gb until I could get a new 750gb hard drive. I formated each one before use. There is no image in the bios, on drive d or the original hard drive that prevents you from recovering your system. This is not magic, it's logic. Irf you want you do not have to use drive d. It;s only to to store media from the Giga Packet system. Giga packet will not work without drive d. As far as your updates are concerned windows will install alll updates you've lost in about a week, including security and service pak 2 & 3. Hope this helps. If all else fails try Ubuntu by Linux.

This thread originally ended in 2004. Posting a reply now makes no sense whatsoever.

[Nelson37]

Jeez, I gotta start looking two or three posts up.