I recently re-installed my operating system on my Sony Vaio laptop. I did not use the old system recovery CDs because the software was very old. Instead I just used a slipstreamed XP SP3 disk. That all went fine. The only thing is that now I need one piece of software - WinDVD - so that I can view DVDs in my CD-DVD drive. Apparently, from what Sony says, all I need to do is to put the recovery CD in the drive, and it will start, and I can choose the software I want to install. But when I put the CD in the drive, it just sits there. It doesn't autostart. So how do I access the files?

Here's what's on the CD:
bootcat.bin
bootimg.bin
Sony (folder)
blitter.lng
makentfs.exe
restorer.exe
vssver.scc
Image (folder)
sony.img
sonyd.img
sonydnt.img
sonyim~1.crc

Any advice?

Best,
Jerry

Hi

First thing i would try is the restorer exe file and see what that does

however chances are the program you want is in one of the IMG (image file) this is the snapshot of the HDD created when sony installed windows.

As the program is no doubt installed before the snapshop was taken it wont be possible to just extract the program from any of the IMG files,

The only option you have is to start over and use the recovery disk as was intended.

However you could just download a trial version of something like powerDVD, when you do this the needed codec is installed and you can then play DVD's through windows media player, when you uninstall the program the codec is left behind.

WMP will play DVD's just fine so WInDVD isnt needed.

Basically like stated above is that you can use any other DVD program to watch movies on your laptop.
Or you could go to the website where you bought your laptop and look for the driver/software that you need.
You could also download WinDVD from here: http://www.brothersoft.com/windvd-download-76657.html

Hi,

The restorer exe file opens a DOS window. I believe it is probably what runs when the system is booted from the CD.

Sony claims that individual applications can be restored separately by running the CD from Windows, but I am now doubting this. In an email response to one of my questions, they insisted that I use the disk to restore the entire system. I'm not going to do that. Oddly, though Sony has many drivers and software available on their support page, they don't provide for the codecs or original WinDVD program.

At the moment I'm trying the free codec packs to see if that works. I also like the suggestion of installing a trial version of powerDVD and then uninstalling it.

By the way, I installed VLC and tried running the DVD, and the software wouldn't recognize the disk, so now I'm going to find another DVD to test. This one might be bad.

Thanks for the help.

Best,
Jerry

Your welcome.
If there is anything else you need, don't hesitate to contact me.