Now it's giving me missing OS after I tried the same method. I am seeing the HD in the BIOS, so I don't know what is wrong now.

It is advisable to flash to the BIOS? It has PhoenixBIOS version 4.0 release 6.0. I read on their site that release 6.1 can boot USB. I couldn't find the release 6.1 file nor if they were compatable with this laptop. The sony website does not have an update for the BIOS to 6.1 so I'm guessing it is not compatable but I'm willing to try almost anything right now.