Sony Vaio PCG-7131M Failure

[darkmast2]

Hello all, I'm posting this on behalf of my cousin who has had a little mishap with her laptop.

The laptop was switched on at the time and it was knocked off a window ledge and hit the ground. It seemed to work for a little bit after that but now it won't boot into Windows. When switching on the laptop it gives options to start normally or run a repair, both options lead to the same thing, the windows bar comes up like normal but it then just either sits there or it eventually goes to a blank screen and it doesn't make it as far as the desktop.

I've tried running in safe mode, normal boot, loading command prompt etc but it all leads to the same bit with it hanging before it actually gets to the desktop. I opened up the laptop to see if anything was obviously broken or loose but it all looked fine. Everything is seating correctly. It is outside the 1 year manufacturer's warranty (although I think that doesn't cover accidental damage anyway) and she didn't take out any other cover on it to claim from.

I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this as I've tried pretty much everything I can think of to getting it working again apart from trying to replace parts which I don't have anyway. There isn't really that many repair shops here, there's PC World but I don't know if they would look at it and they would charge a fortune for anyway with no guarantee's of getting it working.

Thank You.

[Blencogo]

Hi darkmast2 and welcome to Club Vaio.

Check on the screen surround - I think the model is a VGN-NR32S model Vaio so I'll assume it has Vista installed? The reading stylus has probably touched the surface of the hard disc and damaged a section with the files required to boot Windows. Unfortunately, the likely solution will be to replace the Hard Drive. Do you know if your cousin has made a set of recovery discs? These will be required if the hard drive is changed.

Before you replace the hard drive you can try a few things: -

1. Borrow a Vista installation disc and place it in the drive before you turn the Vaio on. This should boot the Vaio and you will be given an option to Repair Windows. This may work if the drive is not physically damaged and has the advantage of retaining all the programs and data added since purchase.

2. Try to recover the system from the Hard Drive Recovery (if it is not damnaged). This will return the Vaio to factory condition - all software and data added since the Vaio was bought will be lost. To try this tap F10 repeatedly when you see the first Vaio screen before Windows tries to load and follow the instructions in the Recovery Centre for a 'Complete Reinstallation'.

3. If both of these fail then you will need a new hard drive fitted. If she has not made a set of recovery discs she will need to purchase a set from Sony (about £40. You can buy a relacement drive for £40 to £60. Have a look at this one. It is actually 50GB bigger than the 200GB SATA installed.

Good Luck



EDIT: Does your cousin or the householder have Accidental Damage cover on the Household Insurance Policy?

[darkmast2]

Hi darkmast2 and welcome to Club Vaio.

Check on the screen surround - I think the model is a VGN-NR32S model Vaio so I'll assume it has Vista installed?  The reading stylus has probably touched the surface of the hard disc and damaged a section with the files required to boot Windows.  Unfortunately, the likely solution will be to replace the Hard Drive.  Do you know if your cousin has made a set of recovery discs?  These will be required if the hard drive is changed.

Before you replace the hard drive you can try a few things: -

1.  Borrow a Vista installation disc and place it in the drive before you turn the Vaio on.  This should boot the Vaio and you will be given an option to Repair Windows.  This may work if the drive is not physically damaged and has the advantage of retaining all the programs and data added since purchase.

2. Try to recover the system from the Hard Drive Recovery (if it is not damnaged).  This will return the Vaio to factory condition - all software and data added since the Vaio was bought will be lost.  To try this tap F10 repeatedly when you see the first Vaio screen before Windows tries to load and follow the instructions in the Recovery Centre for a 'Complete Reinstallation'.

3.  If both of these fail then you will need a new hard drive fitted.  If she has not made a set of recovery discs she will need to purchase a set from Sony (about £40.  You can buy a relacement drive for £40 to £60. Have a look at this one. It is actually 50GB bigger than the 200GB SATA installed.

Good Luck

 

EDIT: Does your cousin or the householder have Accidental Damage cover on the Household Insurance Policy?

 

1. I'm trying to source a Vista disc to boot from as I only have XP.

2. Trying to run any option from F10/F8 leads to the same thing.

3. I'm hoping this would be the last resort as although it's not a vast expense it may not end up working if something else is wrong too.

btw is there somewhere I can find error codes for the Vaio as I can't seem to find anything. When it's on the power light stays lit (mains plugged in) and the 2nd light which I think is battery flashes twice then pauses then flashes twice etc.

[darkmast2]

Ok I managed to get a hold of a Vista Ultimate disc and tried booting the laptop with that. Is says Windows is loading files but then goes onto the Windows loading bar and just gets stuck again so that hasn't helped any I'm afraid.

I also created a bootable USB pendrive with DSL (DamnSmallLinux) on it and ran that but since I have no experience with Linux I wasn't able to find a way to access the hard drive through that which I've read up that you can do.

It's looking more likely that it's not going to be fixed.

[Blencogo]

It does rather seem to point to a damaged hard drive.

[darkmast2]

Just a quick update. I gave up on DSL and created an Ubuntu 9.04 LiveUSB instead which is much easier to use and has more options in it.

It has seen the hdd straight away and I can even access files on it. I'm currently running a badblocks scan on it but it'll take a while as it's a 200gb drive.

[darkmast2]

26 hours in and the hdd is still being scanned, this could take some time.