BleepingComputer.com: Vista Basic - Screwed Up Recovery, No Install Disk

First I had to laugh, daughters laptop Packard Bell EASYNOTE MZ35-V-060UK wouldnt start and when asked if she had done a backup recently.... erm no, so we giggled.
Asked for her Vista install disk 'Dont have one I dont think, unless you mean the recovery disk I made when we got it', Yeah okay that will do the trick.
All we had for a few hours was a black screen, first giving two options to either load windows normally or attempt repair, then another mentioning an error 0x...forgotten...000000f, please use vista install disk and reboot.... WTF, no install disk.
The recovery disk wont boot.
Then...... nothing.
The errors and previous suggestions that we use the recovery console no longer come up, all we get is OS not installed, please insert Install disk and reboot.
Laptop is out of its guarantee.
So we have a dead laptop and a useless recovery disk.

Any ideas (besides mounting a rocket launcher and walking into microsofts brilliant install ideas department who like to save money on a cd).

First I'd suggest a bootable hard drive test from the manufacturer of the hard drive - that'll tell you if it's the drive.

After that (if it passes), then you can try this ISO file to attempt Startup Repair: http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vist...-disc-download/

Hi again USASMA, sorry to be a pain again with what appears to be a recent spate of ridiculous bad luck, but at least its not my comp this time

Anyway, I believe the hard drive is fine, and because we dont have an install disk I think I am looking at a new OS for it anyway (too much bother finding someone who may take pity, even though I do think we have a right to an OS back-up for just such occasions..)

The HD is a 2.5 sata Seagate 5400, I am as I write using Seagate Disk Manager (dos Version 9.56) which I have on a rescue CD (forgot about it gathering dust at the back of the disk library). And it has succesfully partitioned the 60gb HD into 1 20gb, Primary, Fat32, and 1 40gb extended. I will change this later to NTFS but this should get me up and running.

I intend to install XP (Vista is too much for the laptop which my eldest at last agrees with (initially vista was shiny and she persevered with it slowing down to a point now where she has enthusiastically encouraged XP getting installed))

So now to source XP, and considering I feel ripped off having lost the original OS (Not to mention all the work my eldest lost), could I use one of those free XP (Sp2) disks we all got on cover disks a few years ago?, would this be an illegal way?, I dont wish to condone piracy in any way. But if that is possible, sourcing drivers for the rest of the laptops internals shouldnt be too hard, and will save me the expense of another OS for the same damned machine.

Or .... is there still something I can achieve with the recovery dvd?, even though it would be vista.

You'll need a legitimate license (product key) for the operating system - be it Vista or XP. Since you have a 2.5" drive, I'd suspect that this was a laptop - and if so, the product key is likely to be on a Microsoft sticker on the bottom of the laptop.

If it's an older laptop (pre-Vista), it's likely that there'll be an XP key there - which will suffice for the license. And, if this is the case, it's likely that you can get restore disks from the manufacturer of the laptop. They'll be cheaper than a copy of XP, and they usually have all the drivers slipstreamed into the CD.

Let us know the exact make and model of the laptop - with the original operating system and we'll see what we can locate for you.

Yes we still have the product key sticker on the bottom of the laptop, and its a Packard Bell EASYNOTE MZ35-V-060UK.
http://support.packardbell.com/uk/item/?m=...sn=109278000139

Right now after the format I have rebooted and we have a black screen and constant HD activity light, there was no option to enter bios as there usually is, so I am letting it run for a while.

Edit: And some hours later.... it is still in the same state. I think this is going to have to be a local mister fixit job. But will have to wait until the end of the month.