Sony SVE14A1S6EP Troubleshooting Manual

4-297-283-11 (1)
Recovery,
Backup and
Troubleshooting
Guide
Printed in China
© 2011 Sony Corporation
Introduction
About recovery
What is a recovery area?
The recovery area on the built-in storage device
What is recovery?
contains data for system and application
recovery. Typically, you cannot modify or delete
Recovery is the process of restoring your
data in this area, however, there is commercially
computer back to its original factory condition.
available software designed for this purpose.
There are two ways to recover your computer:
Why do I have to create Recovery
From Recovery Media

From the recovery area 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
When do I have to perform
Media to perform recovery. Create the Recovery
recovery?
Media immediately after the computer is ready
If your computer has been unstable for use.

If your computer has been infected with a

About backup
computer virus
If your computer is experiencing problems

which cannot be solved through
What is a backup process?
troubleshooting
The backup process creates a backup copy of
If you have formatted the C: drive by mistake

your data stored on the built-in storage device
Which software should I use to
and saves it to another location.
maintain and recover my
computer?
Use the following software.
VAIO Care
Why do I have to back up my data?
Creating Recovery Media

Checking your computer hardware

Due to unexpected events or computer viruses,
you might lose various data stored on your built-
VAIO Care Rescue
Rescuing (backing up) your data in storage device. To restore the lost data, its

backup copy is needed.
Recovering your computer

It is strongly recommended that you back up
Erasing all the data on your built-in storage

your data regularly.
device
See the help file included with VAIO Care and
VAIO Care Rescue for more information.
Creating Recovery Media
It may take some time to display the current
You cannot use Blu-ray Disc™ media,
status of the procedure.
DVD-RAM, CD-R, and CD-RW discs as
Do not eject or disconnect the media while
Recovery Media.
creating Recovery Media, as doing so may result
in a failure of the process.
Keep the Recovery Media in a secure place.
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 not be able to create Recovery Media
you may accidentally delete the data on the USB
with a USB flash drive depending on the drive
flash drive.
you use. See the help file included with
VAIO Care for more information.
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) or the Docking Station with a
built-in optical disc drive (supplied with
selected models) 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.
4
Click Advanced Tools, Restore and recovery,
and Create Recovery Media.
5
Read the on-screen instructions carefully, and
then click Next.
6
Follow the on-screen instructions.
Recovering your computer
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.
To recover from the To recover from
recovery area Recovery Media
1 1
Press the ASSIST button while your computer If you recover your computer from Recovery
is off to launch VAIO Care Rescue. Media (optical discs) on the model without a
built-in optical disc drive, connect an external
optical disc drive (not supplied) or the
If the language selection window appears,
Docking Station with a built-in optical disc
select your desired language and click OK.
drive (supplied with selected models) to the
2
Click Start recovery wizard.
computer and to an AC power source.
2
Insert the disc into the optical disc drive or
To perform the custom recovery, select Tools
connect the USB flash drive to the USB port
and click Start advanced recovery wizard.
on the computer while the computer is in
3 Normal mode.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
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
repeatedly until the VAIO logo 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 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.
See the back side.