Restore partition of Portables

Sony Vaio
F8 does not provide an option to perform a factory recovery since F8 is just a list of advanced startup options for Windows which all Windows computers have.

For Sony Vaio models the key to press to access factory recovery is usually F10.

Cannot start the VAIO Recovery Wizard because the computer will not start to the operating system.

Chimera

Source

How to use the Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility

Source

Some Toshiba notebook computer models have a Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility, which is stored in a special partition on the hard disk drive, along with the system files used for the 'recovery' of the hard disk drive to its original just-from-the-factory default state (contents). "HDD" in the name of this utility stands for hard disk drive. This on-disk utility is  alternative to the Recovery CD or DVD included with many other Toshiba notebook  models. The following instructions describe how to use this utility.

NOTE: Toshiba strongly recommends that you create recovery CDs / DVDs after installing your computer.

The HDD Recovery Utility allows you to:

• Create Hard Drive Recovery CDs or DVDs. 
• Restore your hard disk drive to the original factory default state. 
• Restore just your "C:" drive, leaving any other drive volumes or partitions you may have created intact. 
• Restore your hard disk drive to the original factory default state, but without the recovery partition. 
• Delete your hard disk drive recovery partition without losing the data on your C: drive. 
• Reinstall drivers and applications which were bundled with your computer.

Creating Recovery CDs/DVDs
Copying the Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility and the needed system files to a CD or a DVD improves the chance of being able to restore the original factory default state of your hard disk drive in case of failure. It allows you to use the space occupied by the special recovery partition used to store the Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility on the computers hard disk drive.

 

1. Double-click the "Recovery Disc Creator" icon on the Windows desktop.
   This utility may also be launched by clicking Start --> All Programs --> Hard Disk Recovery Utilities.
2. Select CD, DVD, or All Files (to create Recovery media on both CDs and DVDs).
   
    
    Sample Recovery Disc Creator screen
   
3. Select the items you want to copy by clicking the checkbox next to an item's name - recovery files, applications (original bundled drivers and applications), or both the recovery files and applications.
4. Click "Burn".
5. Insert a CD or a DVD into your computer's CD/DVD writable drive, when the utility prompts for it.
   The utility will prompt for as many CDs or DVDs required to contain the selected files. If your CD or DVD drive does not support writing, contact Toshiba Customer Support to obtain Recovery CDs or DVDs for your computer.
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the copy process.

For instructions on using the Recovery CDs/DVDs, see the section below titled "Hard Disk Drive Recovery using Recovery CDs or DVDs".

linux on toshiba laptop

http://michaelminn.com/linux/toshiba1800/
Install Command Line Ubuntu

UPDATE 6/24/2008: I have received reports that, as of Ubuntu 8.04, although the graphical install still doesn't work "out of the box", you can do a normal install. Then, when rebooting, choose "error mode" to boot to command-line mode, edit the xorg.conf file as described below, then reboot graphically.

Ubuntu is a popular and friendly variant of the Debian Linux distribution. Normally, installation can be accomplished with a handful of mouse clicks. However, because the installer has a bug related to the video chip in this machine, you will need to install a command-line version first. Use of the regular installer will result in a freeze when you get to the point where the installer starts configuring the windowing system (X). The procedure is a bit cumbersome, but I haven't found an easier way.

Download and Burn the Alternate Desktop CD: You will need to perform a command-line installation which is only available on the "Alternate Desktop CD". You specify this CD with a checkbox on the Ubuntu download page. The downloaded file is a CD disk image (ISO) that you should burn to a CD using your CD burning software of choice.

Boot the Installation CD: Insert the installation CD in the CD drive and reboot. If the machine ignores the CD and boots from the hard drive, you need to change your BIOS boot order by holding down the ESC key while rebooting and changing the boot order on the BIOS screen so that the CD drive is first in the order list.
Install A Command-Line System: At the Ubuntu boot screen, you should choose the option, "Install a command-line system" and press RETURN. You will be asked a series of questions...

----------------------------

ubuntu Hardware & Laptops

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/f-135-p-172.html

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/

----------------------

I'm trying to install RHEL4.3 (CentOS to be exact) from an external USB DVD drive. The CD boots fine, I choose 'Local CDROM' as the installation source, load 'usb-storage' successfully. However, after this, I get told that the system was not found in any of my CDROMs.

After some thought and research I believe that in this instance that a USB DVD drive is considered as unbootable since the required drivers are not installed via an initrd. You need to burn the boot.iso form the Centos disk in order to install. For reference with this and a how-to see:

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/forum/...d.php?t=116549

Like Fedora Core, Centos must the booted using "linux expert" (do not use the "") in order for the installer to see the USB drives when installing to a USB drive. It may be that to install from one you should do the same. What you need to do is insure that the USB drivers are installed. There are four that are used most of the time:

ehci-hcd, usb-storage, scsi_mod and sd_mod

These work for USB 2.0 for 1.0 you also need uhci-hcd and in some cases ohci-hcd. These two not very often.

"linux expert"
This is a how to about Fedora Core of which Centos is based on.

This works without any other effort. Just type in linux expert and press enter. It finds your CD and continues on.

I tested this on a DL140 G2, with a USB DVD drive and CentOS 4.3 Server CD.

Toshiba laptops

Support