Sony Vaio Windows Reinstall

[Richand]

Hi All

One of my friends dropped his laptop (idiot i know) but it still seems to work apart from the CDROM and HDD, I got him a new HDD but not a cdrom, I tried installing windows XP Home on my laptop and transfering the HDD over to the sony but it wont boot? I then proceeded to format the HDD again and install windows server 2003 R2 but again this would not boot?

The laptop boots from the windows boot floppy but because the CD Drive does not read the disks it wont work! The laptop bios does not appear to detect external CDROM drives? I have flashed the BIOS but the bios update is an old version off sonys website and they have not released a new version

Would it be easier to install linux onto the HDD from my laptop or give it him back and tell me to sort it out himself as its doing my head in to be honest!

Installing 2003 Server and using PXE is not an option as i don't want to format my HDD to do it.

Any ideas of what else to try? The laptop is a PCG-GR314MP if that helps in anyway

 

[ChoÞÞer]

i guess you could make him buy the drive, then you install and then you install xp? best way i guess...

 

[neverender]

Tell him he needs a new optical drive, he's not gonna get very much out of his laptop without one anway...

 

[Richand]

Yeh but i cant find a supplier for the CD Drive which fits the laptop, and if i go direct to sony its going to be ££££! would like to just install an O/S and get it up and running and let him sort the rest out

 

[Deleted member 329]

Yeh but i cant find a supplier for the CD Drive which fits the laptop, and if i go direct to sony its going to be ££££! would like to just install an O/S and get it up and running and let him sort the rest out

install windows over the network of from a different partition set up on a nomral computer...

then use a external cheap usb dvd drive * you might beable to boot windows from that drive