SVP11 Won't Boot Past Vaio Logo

I have summarised the issue here:
http://community.sony.com/t5/VAIO-Hardware-Networking/SVP11-Won-t-Boot-Past-Vaio-Logo/m-p/530987/

I am hoping someone with an IQ higher than a cardboard box can help me here. Sony support is pointing me to Geek Squad for out of warranty work (it took them 25 minutes to agree with my assessment before pointing me to them).

My SVP11 (SVP11213CXB) has been having trouble booting past the Vaio logo. It would succeed every 1 in 5, then gradually 1 in 10 times. Once booted, it would operate fine.

I upgraded to Windows 10 which did not have an impact on the issue.

A week ago the issue got significantly worse. It took over 50 attempts to get it to boot past the Vaio logo. Once it booted up, I immediately updated from BIOS R1044V7 to R1045V7.

After the BIOS flash, my laptop rebooted and is now stuck at the Vaio logo again.

Trying to boot using the 'assist' button has the same issue (plugged in, on battery, etc doesn't matter).

Is there anything I can try at this point? I have several accessories for this otherwise great laptop but I have no idea what the issue could be nor how much it might cost to repair (purchased August 2013).​

 

For starters, your condescension is not well received (even if the CSRs you've talked to are no smarter than a sack of potatoes).

To put it simply, your laptop is hosed/dead/kaput/inoperable. I'm guessing due to physical stress either by using it often, or possibly thermal induced stress, connections on your laptop have failed internally.

Now, depending on if you yourself have an IQ greater than a cardboard box you may have several options.

1) DIY Replace the motherboard.
As you may or may not know, ultrabooks are single board devices. If it dies, unfortunately there's not much you can do about it. Buy a replacement motherboard on ebay (currently $120-$350 depending on your desired specs at the time of this posting) and swap it in.

2) DIY Reflow the motherboard.
If heat and/or a cold solder joint are at the root of your issues (quite possible with the screaming fan these units are known for), you could try your hand at reflowing the motherboard. It would involve removing the motherboard and baking it in an oven. I'm not going to tell you I'm an expert at this or that this solution has ever had a history of working with this particular motherboard, but it is a common solution to repair overheated laptops and consoles.

3) Hire someone to replace your motherboard.
While I'm not sure Geek Squad has the dexterity or intelligence to carry out this operation, if they were able to perform such a feat, they'd probably charge you somewhere in the range of $600-800 knowing them. A smaller mom and pop shop will probably run you anywhere from $300-600 depending on how lucrative they're feeling and if parts are available.

 

Edit: just noticed you provided a link to another forum... My advice below probably won't be useful if nothing will boot from USB... although I'd try a Linux live USB stick just in case. Barring not being able to load any external media, it mirrors problems I've seen with a failing Hard drive due to corruption etc...

 

I was going to suggest it sounds like a failing hard drive as well. I think you nailed it. The symptoms described are textbook drive failure with the hanging at the BIOS logo as well as the problem getting worse over time. Should be easy and cheap to fix.

 

He said it won't even boot from usb or optical. He might try disconnecting the HDD and then see if he can boot from usb or optical in case the HDD is making it hang.