Vista - Vista install problem - Now stuck on Startup Repair

Hey guys
Recently I bought a new laptop, a Sony Vaio VGN-NS11Z/S. But I've already bumped into some problems.
It bought it with Vista 32bit (x86) preinstalled and today I tried to install Vista x64 which I got through Microsoft Bizspark.

I simply downloaded the ISO and burnt it onto a DVD, everything seemt fine and I was prompted for my serial number which I entered and it started installing. All of a sudden the install encounters a problem and the installation terminates.

When I try to start my computer after this event Startup Repair pops up and after a while it says "Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically". Instead I'm left with a couple of options like restore from a system restore point, open Command prompt etc. None of the options does anything for me since I've been stupid and never made any restore points or backups of any kind.

Is there any known fix to this problem or am I basically stuck with a 1000$ paper weight?

Any help will really save my day

"capasitore" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:96e1e6184b95a0d4c08a5b30314c3ec6@xxxxxx-gateway.com...Well, you could ask Sony for restore media or you could just go out and buy
a 32bit version of the Vista you want to install. Personally, I prefer the
Business edition. It's available in OEM, Upgrade and full retail packages.

I would get restore disk(s) from Sony and restore your computer. Why do you
want x64 Vista?

Brent
www.MAXIMUMpcguides.com

"capasitore" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:96e1e6184b95a0d4c08a5b30314c3ec6@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

First of thanks guys for your quick replies

The laptop has 4gb of ram installed and as far as I've seen it can only recognize 3gb in vista 32bit.


Yeah, thanks I'll try installing a 32bit version and then I can hopefully upgrade to 64bit later on.

"capasitore" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:58f5837b07b76bc086bb55a1cf8025b0@xxxxxx-gateway.com...
You do know that 64bit software won't run on just any hardware. Check with
Sony and MS to see if your machine is compatible with X64.

Yeah, I've checked it and it's compatible with x64.


The error that showed when I tried to install Vista was the following.

Windows cannot install required files. the file may be corrupt or missing. make sure all files required for installation are availible, and restart the installation. Error code: 0x80070017

And as far as I can tell that means that there's a problem with reading the DVD, so I'm going to reburn it at a lower speed if I could just get back into Windows.

At the moment I'm trying the VAIO Recovery center and hopefully that will get me back to Windows. (For anyone else having the same problem you press F10 during bootup in order to get into the VAIO Recovery Center).