urgent help required

[adamslondon]

hello guys

i have a vaio fz38m and recently i got a very servere virus which wouldnt allow me to get on to desktop. i tried everything including recovery but to no avail. i have since reformatted it and installed windows vista ultimate however i didnt realise the cd was specific to dell. now im getting the message that this windows needs to be activated. is there anyway i can go back to the original windows vista home premium which was originally installed on the laptop?

[Blencogo]

I take it you did not make a set of System Recovery discs when you first bought the Vaio?

You say you reformatted.  The original software which would allow you to take your Vaio back to its factory settings is held on a hidden partition on your hard disc.

If you have indeed reformatted the entire hard disc then the only way to get the original software and OS back is to purchase a set of recovery discs from Vaio Support for around €50.

However, if you reformatted as part of the Vista Ultimate installation, then the hidden partition may still be intact and you can reinstall the original Operating System and preinstalled software by tapping F10 during startup - when you see the first Vaio logo.  Follow the instructions on Page 39 of your Recovery Manual, downloadable here: -

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/Manuals/RecoTS/2008Q1_RT_EN.pdf