How to restore factory settings in Vaio laptops?

I have a Vaio laptop (VGN-FZ250E) which had an installed original Windows Vista, and I changed the operating system (manually by a DVD) to Windows 7 and I changed the partitions of the hard disk.

Then I lost some drivers and I have taken no backups before that.

Can I restore factory settings?

I have tried Alt+F10 in boot and saw system restore but there where some errors which I couldn't resolve and I couldn't do anything.

If there is a way for restoring factory settings, can I then upgrade Vista to newer versions of Windows? (e.g. Windows 10)?

Mostafa

Posted 2016-07-30T05:02:09.187

Reputation: 41

Tap the [F10] key a few times at the VAIO logo a screen that states"Edit Boot Options" will appear simply press enter and the tools will launch once the tools load choose "C Drive Recovery" and everything will be wiped clean back to the original factory image. You can even use Rescue data to try and save any of your files before starting the Format. Once the unit is returned to the original image once you are at the desktop of windows, press [Assist] to open VAIO Care and create a set of recovery software. – SolveProblem – 2016-08-01T12:49:17.850

What were these errors you saw when you tried to do the factory reset with the laptop? It appears from the factory that it came with Vista, so I wanted to confirm that Vista is what you want to restore on it since that is what came from the factory and you want to do this with the restore functionality or partitions with that image on them from the laptop, correct? You question isn't about how to get Windows 7 reinstalled or anything reinstalled from a disk but to use whats built into the laptop disk for restoring from it, correct? – Pimp Juice IT – 2016-08-01T19:27:35.717

If you boot to gparted and look at the reserve or restore partitions from there and set the flag to BOOT, then it should start booting up to that partition and start the restore process from that factory image partition but whether or not that is possible may depend on what errors you're getting when you tried with the Alt+F10... I had to do this a few year back myself when the Alt+F10 or whatever hot keys were supposed to bring up those options didn't work but it'd be helpful to know what error message you get. If you have Upgrade media then you'll need a prior version of Windows installed. – Pimp Juice IT – 2016-08-01T19:30:58.297

@selah1936 In "C drive recovery" I encounter an error which looks like "C drive is repartitioned and there is no enough space, please insert recovery disk 1 and ...". What is the recovery disk 1 and what should I do? – Mostafa – 2016-08-02T14:14:17.073

@PIMP_JUICE_IT Yes, I want to restore Vista and then upgrade it. I can't understand your second comment, "gparted", "flag to boot", .... can you explain more as a complete answer? the error I see is what I written in the previous comment. – Mostafa – 2016-08-02T14:28:09.057

@selah1936 The error is: "your system drive is too small or may not exist. Insert recovery disk 1 and click OK to restart from media. Select the restore complete system option to perform a complete system recovery" – Mostafa – 2016-08-03T06:23:24.270

Please insert empty CD. It might work. – SolveProblem – 2016-08-03T06:28:26.650

@selah1936 what is "restart from media"? Is it the av-mode or something else? – Mostafa – 2016-08-03T07:46:37.043

@selah1936 I cannot find windows vista installat ion file in the recovery drive? Where is it? – Mostafa – 2016-08-03T07:52:16.700

I searched about your query.. and it is not possible as you don't have backup. So leave it. This is not possible. – SolveProblem – 2016-08-03T08:46:56.207

@selah1936 My laptop has an unchanged 7GB System recovery drive which is almost full and it seems it has an installed version of Vista. It seems that the recovery program dose not detect the system drive (almost 700 MB) or the system drive is really small. – Mostafa – 2016-08-03T10:23:14.340

Go through the link provided may be it will help you: https://community.sony.com/t5/VAIO-Upgrade-Backup-Recovery/Need-Help-to-Restore-computer-to-original-factory-settings/td-p/232813

– SolveProblem – 2016-08-03T10:51:11.810

@Mostafa I was saying to use gparted and boot to it to look at the HD partitions to mark the recovery partition as active Afterwards reboot it to actually boot to that partition, and if it's the recovery partition that installs the factory reset/default Vista image to the other disk partition, etc., then that may be a way to get it to work if the Alt+F10 doesn't get it for you for whatever you are selecting from there. – Pimp Juice IT – 2016-08-05T02:46:55.200

@Mostafa You should check out Marking a partition as active with Gparted.... and ....

How to set up a Live CD or USB with GParted? for further instruction on the correlated steps. If you find that this helps you solve your problem, I will gladly put all this together in an answer for you to accept....

– Pimp Juice IT – 2016-08-05T02:49:40.480

Answers

Question 1: Yes you can restore factory settings. Sony has restore media available. When I tried to restore my wife's Vaio, they were charging about 15 USD for it. That was about 5 years ago. I did not want to pay so I used a fresh install and her license key.

Question 2: Yes, you can upgrade to Windows 10, if your upgrade to Windows 7 is Genuine.

Get Genuine Windows 7 or 8.
- If the current Windows 7 is genuine, and boots, you're ready, go to step 2.
- If any of that previous part is not true, use recovery media from Sony (may require purchase) to restore Vista. Upgrade to 7 again. You're ready, go to step 2.
- If you cannot acquire recovery media but have a sticker on the computer with your Windows key, borrow a Vista installation disk and install it using that disk, and use your key to activate Vista. Upgrade to 7 again. You're ready, go to step 2.
Download, create, and use the installation media for Windows 10. Uses a 16 GB USB drive.

If you don't have one of the keys, there is no legit way to upgrade your system to Windows 10. Buy a full copy, choose another OS (thousands of Linux variants are free), or do something else that is not legitimate. This would not be a good forum if you elect the last.

Xalorous

Posted 2016-07-30T05:02:09.187

Reputation: 459

Thanks for the answer. I have reinstalled a genuine Vista on my laptop using the product key label. Then I installed a Windows 7 using a DVD under the "upgrade" option. but after the installation the system seems not activated and I see "3 day automatic activation. Activate windows now" under windows activation properties. What I can do to have an activated windows 7? – Mostafa – 2016-08-08T11:19:07.350

You may need to do a 'manual activation'. I forget the wording, but when it gives you an 800 number to call, you've found the right method. They'll ask why you're reactivating, and for a code that the system gives you on screen. In the past I've let them know that it is a reinstall. Whenever I did this it was a brief process, 10 minutes or so, with more time waiting for them to answer the phone than on the call. – Xalorous – 2016-08-08T13:18:50.850

Well, just try to activate it? Your comment doesn't seem to state a problem with the activation. If online activation is not possible follow Xalorous instructions, that way has worked for me a couple of times, but ordinarily is only nessecary when your hardware is changed, seems a little bit strange to me that you have to go through with it that way. Updating to Win10 is only possible by a trick right now. You can use this link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade

– Simmen – 2016-08-08T22:31:53.580

@Simmen Upgrading for free is only available through that trick. You can always buy a full version and use it to upgrade. – Xalorous – 2016-08-08T22:49:26.553

@Simmen "Your Honor, I was told by a kind stranger on the internet that upgrading under false pretenses was the only way to upgrade." I just threw the purchased upgrade out there as a reminder for the scrupulous amongst us. – Xalorous – 2016-08-08T23:06:44.427

@Xalorous guess in my part of the world you don't get sued that quickly xD – Simmen – 2016-08-08T23:57:10.857

@Simmen It's less about litigation and more about integrity. – Xalorous – 2016-08-09T14:38:50.403

So, you could either just download the newest Windows 7 drivers from this website (which you could have found with a quick google search if you really tried):

https://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-home.pl?mdl=VGNFZ250E&template_id=1&region_id=1&tab=download#/downloadTab

Or if you really really want the original Windows Vista Installation (I don't get why you'd want that, but okay) You could try the suggested gparted thingy. If you just want to do a clean Windows Vista Installation and are wondering about where to get the key from: Ordinarily there should be a sticker on the bottom of your laptop with a key, which you can use to install a clean windows Vista which you can download from the Microsoft website.

Simmen

Posted 2016-07-30T05:02:09.187

Reputation: 126

Answer was already given, – harrymc – 2016-08-05T12:11:22.017

@Simmen he wants Windows 10. To upgrade to 10, you need a Genuine Windows installation. This would explain the desire for a clean Vista install. Install vista, upgrade to 7, upgrade to 10 – Xalorous – 2016-08-05T21:57:42.643

Also, there is some question at this point as to whether the system even boots. – Xalorous – 2016-08-05T22:03:53.940

Thanks for the answer. Could you please answer the question I asked in as a comment to Xalorous's answer? – Mostafa – 2016-08-08T13:09:09.977

If you go the way of restoring a working Windows Vista, you could use Driver Magician Lite to backup the drivers. But there is no guarantee that they will work in Windows 7.

It would be safer to stay with your current Windows 7 setup and to update the non-functioning drivers with new and certified Windows 7 drivers from Sony.

harrymc

Posted 2016-07-30T05:02:09.187

Reputation: 306 093

I agree with harrymc. I'm not familiar with Sony Vaio laptops but I am with plenty of other laptops. It's highly unlikely that you will be able to restore anything from the previous installation unless you did up a dual boot or side by side installation. The windows installer does not re-partition an existing active partition so unless there was unused space on the drive that you were able to use for the new installation you would have over written whatever was there. If you used some third party or command line stuff before you installed W7 then its a different story. But either way I think getting the W7 drivers that you're missing is the better option.

Geabhrog

Posted 2016-07-30T05:02:09.187

Reputation: 11

This is really a comment and not an answer to the original question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post - you can always comment on your own posts, and once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post. Please read Why do I need 50 reputation to comment? What can I do instead?

– DavidPostill – 2016-08-07T10:14:58.560