Sony staunchley refuse to provide backup DVD/CDs
Erm, they do actually. You just need to know who to ask.
I know someone who wiped their Sony with whilst messing around, and to cut a long story short, was unable to access the restore partition. CD was dispatched from Sony with only payment of shipping charges required.
Have you tried logging a support call ? I seem to recall being told normal routes were used, no special masonic handshakes were required .....
