Welcome to ClubVAIO!
Judging by the fact you have joined today, you have a one year warrnaty with Sony - so I would suggest contacting them directly. The website can be found at VAIO-Link and if you click the Contact Information link you will find the WorldWide support numbers.
BTW the problem does seem to lie with the drive and not Windows XP - however before you contact Sony try doing a full System Recovery by starting the computer from the supplied DVD or CD disk set (some have no disks so if you cannot figure out how to restore your computer then please ring Sony for advice). Sony will insist you do the recovery operation first before they arrange to take it in for repair.
However, If you got your PC like today or within a week or so take it back to the computer store and ask them for a replacement.
Let us know how you got on - I love a happy ending!
Best of Luck!
