Restart the computer and immediately begin tapping the F10 key until the Edit Boot Options screen is displayed. At the Edit Boot Options screen, press the Enter key. NOTE: The VAIO Care Rescue window will now be displayed. This indicates that you have accessed the hidden Recovery partition.

In the VAIO Care window, click Advanced Tools. Under Advanced Tools, click Restore and Recovery. In the Recovery window, click Recover computer. A confirmation window will pop up, click the Yes button.

1. Back-up all your data.

1. Back-up all your data.
2. Start VAIO Recovery Center.
3. Restore complete system menu.
4. Start button.
5. Select “Restore C: drive” and hit Next.
6. Read the information on this new window, select “I understand” and hit Start.

Make sure the computer is powered on and press the Assist button.

1. In the VAIO Care application, click Advanced Tools.
2. Click Restore and recovery.
3. Under Restore and Recovery, click Create Recovery Media.
4. Click Next.
5. Click the desired media type.
6. Insert a DVD or DVD-DL disc into the optical drive.

You can reboot the Vaio manually, if necessary.

1. Click Start and then hover your cursor over the arrow next to the “Shut Down” button. Select “Restart” from the menu.
2. Press “Ctrl-Alt-Delete” on your keyboard simultaneously.
3. Press and hold your computer’s “Power” button for several seconds until it shuts down completely.

Turn off the computer. Turn on the computer and then at the VAIO screen, press the F8 key. In the Advanced Boot Options screen, verify Repair Your Computer is selected and then press the Enter key. In the System Recovery Options window, click the Next button.

Error: Operating system not found or missing operating system.

1. Disconnect all external devices connected to the computer.
2. Remove all optical drive media (CD/DVD/BD) and USB Flash media from the computer.
3. Remove any additional hardware that was installed in the computer.
4. Reset the computer BIOS to the default values.

How to Restore a Sony Vaio Without a Disk

1. Click “Start,” then “All Programs.” Click the “VAIO Care” folder and then select “VAIO Care” from the list of applications.
2. Choose “Recovery & Restore” from the left pane.
3. Click “Yes,” when prompted, to restart the Sony VAIO.

How to reinstall the original software in the VAIO computer using VAIO Recovery Utility?

1. Click Start and select All Programs.
2. Select VAIO Recovery Tool and click VAIO Recovery Utility.
3. Select Options, select Recover specific applications that were preinstalled and click OK.
4. Click Yes twice to start Options Tool.

The model is VGN-NS330J, but the information I found seems to apply to all Sony VAIO laptops. Anyways, this machine was seriously messed up, and he just bought it. Since the system doesn’t ship with disks for recovering the Windows installation, I figured that there had to be a hotkey combination that brought up the appropriate menu.

Interestingly, this was put into the F8 Advanced Boot Options screen that is built into Windows. If you want to recover the system back to factory defaults, reboot the system, wait for the VAIO logo to appear, and then start pressing F8.

Since [VAIO rescue mode screen is displayed and choose boot from the USB memory or disk. 5. [Press any key to boot form CD or DVD …] and when it is displayed, press any key.

The hard drive may have failed. If this is the case, the drive will have to be replaced and the operating system installed from scratch. The operating system files may be corrupt or missing, thus preventing the system from loading properly. It may be possible to repair the installation depending on the OS.