SZ hdd gone bad?

hi

have a vaio sz330. Whenever i bootup, i get the following screen:



does this indiacte that my hdd is gone bonkers and i need to get it replaced or is it just some logical or bios error? Any solutions? got just 15 days warranty left!

And yeah, once i press f1, it does boot windows, but the xp splash screen appears for 10 mins then login another 2-3 mins... in all takes 15 mins for startup and doesnt respond afterwards... shows busy cursor. The hdd indicator led also lights continously. then gives a message that windoes needs to shut down and restarts...

Previous details of the problem here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2281784#post2281784
performed a vaio recovery and then this started...

Thanks in advance..

 

It looks likely that your HDD has a problem. Get anything that matters backed up without delay.

Download the Seagate SeaTools utility and run it.

John

 

I had the same thing. Drive started to delete files and died within a few days. I did manage to copy all the files off of it before it died.

Had it replaced (took a week for the &@Q%$ drive to be shipped and finally installed). Knock on wood, all is well.

 

is it making any weird noises when you boot up?

 

SMART failure is basically the drive telling you it is dying. If you are in warranty and call Sony with this they will replace your hdd straightaway.

 

My SZ260 just died today. It twas a HDD failure like yours. Two weeks before my warranty expired.
Sony said to take it to a FedEx location and they would have a shipping number and a box ready for me to have it shipped. This was toady at 9:00 am.
At 3:00 PM I dropped it off and it is on a overnight to Sony in San Diego(actually Monday since it's Friday), lets see how long before I get it back.

 

ohh.. so i am not alone!

but seriously.. such a thing shoulnt have happened within a year, right? Especially, when i am back here in India!!! :x Now listen to this.. i headed to Mumbai for giving my notebook for service and they flatly denied doing it under warranty. Service charge of INR 1500 ($37.5) would be applicable. Fine... they said they will need to replace the HDD... ang guess what????

They gave me an estimate of INR 21,000 (thats $525 ) Does a 120GB HDD really cost this much? And am i not entitled to warranty claim when i am travelling? This is BS.. i have only 15 more days warranty left and i am stuck about what to do! Any one has a solution? Btw, told them not to carry out the repairs..

 

Did you take it to an authorized Sony Service Center? Have you called Sony?

 

yes i did... they have a Sony Service center here in Mumbai.. called up sony helpline and went there.

And i dont even have the recovery dvd's.. so am totally lost! i tried doing so many many times (when i bought it) and have wasted over 15 dvds... none of them were burnt till completion! now i am left stranded. I really think SONY sucks and would not buy another vaio ever! i am very disappointed by this behaviour. Why the hell can they not bundle recovery dvds along with the notebook? Now how can i also get the OS?? this is another question! plz help..

 

Mine happened 2 weeks after I bought it! They replaced it free of charge.