Vista - How to recover Vista

Hello
My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite and it came with a Recovery CD that is supposed to wipe out everything and then reinstall Vista. I ran the CD, and it wiped out everything but didn't reintsall Vista - I got an error message saying:
Error: Could not open WIM File F:\05718XSP. swm
What can I do??
The laptop is empty now and I can't do anything at all with it. help please :-(

In recovery cd there will be two images.

1. Boot image
2. Install image.

In your case the system cannot copy the install image file. This can occur if your ram is having some problem or the dvd might damaged.

While copying the install image windows will create a ram file to enhance the speed of copying, If your ram is having some problem this error will come.

To check your ram you have to run the memory diagnostic tool.

If the installation media really damaged, i mean your dvd damaged you have to ask for a new recovery dvd.

Hope this will help

The WIM file it's searching for is the image it's supposed to use to restore Vista. Seeing as you bought your laptop from Toshiba, you should have had a partition for recovery (on my HP it was called 'HP_Recovery'). Hopefully, the recovery CD did not erase that partition as well? First thing is to check if that file exists (using the command prompt from the recovery disc).

If something went wrong with the image file (corrupt or missing), you'll need to do a few steps to get your laptop back up and running. Let me know if you need/want to be guided through the process.

Thank you very much for your replies. I don't know a word about computers. I did a two-week course on MS2 more than fifteen years ago and that's it. I can only remember a few commands (cd.. dir md)

VaguelyRapt, after the error message, the prompt is:
X:\windows\sytem32>
So I typed "cd.." twice to go to the root directory, and then typed "F:" and then "dir", and the 05718XSP. swm file is listed there :-)
I'd be very grateful if you could tell me what to do next.

I don't have a Toshiba - but this worked for this guy:

(Solved) - Toshiba Satellite Pro L300 (162) reinstall problem « How-To Geek Forums

Thank you SIW2. I've just tried it. I held down the 0 key, turned power on, pressed and held down the F10 key until the computer started beeping... but then nothing happened... just a frozen black screen with the usual message at the bottom: Press F2 for... or F12 for Boot Device menu. maybe the recovery partition is no longer in my computer :-(

Searching the internet, this is the only thread I found that deals with this situation. Apparently, the issue seems to be with the recovery media, as delphin had pointed out and you need to obtain a new disc. To run a memory diagnostic test (as delphin had pointed out ), it should be easily found in the BIOS setup/menu. If that doesn't work, you'll need to clean install Vista again yourself - let me know if I can help you with that.

Thank you very much for your help Dolphin, VaguelyRapt and SIW2. This afternoon I went to the store where I bought the computer, but as the guarantee expired two months ago, they won't give me a new recovery cd. So I give up :-)