Good evening. Thanks for using JustAnswer. I'm XXXXX XXXXX, a/k/a "DrKlahn."

From the problem description, it sounds like the Vaio recovery media reformatted the system drive, then failed halfway through the process. If this is in fact what happened, everything on the drive has been lost and the only solution is to reinstall Windows from scratch.

If there was valuable data on the drive, then you should take it to a local computer shop (not Best Buy), explain the situation, and ask them to check the disk to see if anything is recoverable.

If there was nothing valuable on the drive, or if it was your intent to reinstall the operating system from scratch, you should first erase the drive using Secure Erase or the equivalent (q.v., http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml), and then use the Sony system restore DVDs to reinstall Windows. If Sony did not supply system restore DVDs, you'll need to obtain them from Sony customer service, as the only alternative is buying a retail copy of the Windows 7 installation kit.

If you're using Sony system restore DVDs, and the restore is failing, then the probability is that one of the restore DVDs is damaged. In that case, you'll need to obtain a replacement disk from Sony customer service.

I am sorry to report this.

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