Recovery using non Sony PCMCIA CD drive

[handyandyuk]

OK chaps and chapesses, doubtless this will be stunningly easy given the wealth of knowledge available in here, but I have to ask.

Machine : GRX416SP
Task : Wish to reinstall some missing controls -jogdial, Fn keys, etc
Problem : Internal cd/dvd drive dead

Advice from Sony : Your machine will boot your recovery cd set only using an external cd drive using a PCMCIA interface as the USB sockets don't start until the machine has already booted.

So given this info I went out and spent around £130 on a nice, new PCMCIA external cd/dvd drive. Plugged it into the 416, it saw it. Put in recovery cd 1, rebooted..... XP Pro boots as per normal.
Got into BIOS setup and set the boot order to floppy, optical, network, hard drive. Rebooted..... XP Pro boots up.
Where am I going wrong here..... apart from the obvious... it's a Sony

(I should add, a GRX416SP recently ram slot repaired by AQS at a damn good price (around £200 including all postage there and back to UK) and otherwise working fine)

[handyandyuk]

There's no inbuilt floppy drive in the GRX 416SP Kee-lo, but I do have a usb external one - again, not Sony.
With luck this one should be sorted soon as I now have a Sony PCMCIA cd drive winging it's way too me.... It'd better work or it'll be going straight back on eBay :smileygrin:

[kee-lo_]

That's probably the only way to go.

[handyandyuk]

Well... the CD51A arrived..... I plugged it in... checked the GRX416SP could recognise it..... then followed the instructions for using the recovey cd set TO THE LETTER...... and the XP boot screen is up for a good 5 seconds before the PCMCIA sockets power up, the cd drive power lights up, the drive spins up and you see XP has booted as per normal.
All this and Sony saw fit to put a little sticker on top of the CD51A stating - System Recovery capability from drive.
Maybe so.... but not if you own a GRX416SP !!!

As soon as I win the lottery, this Sony is sooooo going under a truck !