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    Sony VGN-FZ11S Problems - possible graphics card failure?

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by JonnyGoogs, May 11, 2009.

  1. JonnyGoogs

    JonnyGoogs Newbie

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    Hi all,

    I'm having a sudden problem with my FZ11S laptop. I've had it for just under 2 years and its just started playing up. Basically, I'm getting a set of either red, white or blue dashed vertical lines over the screen during the Vaio logo and initial bootup, followed by complete black screen and then blue screen dump, followed by automatic reset and through the same cycle. I've tried doing a complete recovery from the drive, and the screen works fine during the initial steps, but then goes wrong again when it does the first restart to begin reinstalling Vista. I ran the diagnostics programme in the recovery suite, and the CPU, RAM and HDD are all fine.

    At the moment, I'm running the laptop with a CD booted version of Ubuntu. When using this, the normal version also does not work, but the low-graphics version does work, at 800x600 resolution only. The screen itself seems fine. Does this mean something has gone wrong with the graphics card? Does anyone have any idea how I might be able to fix this?

    Thanks
    Jon
     
    JonnyGoogs, May 11, 2009
    #1
  2. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    I think you may be right about a failed GPU, what GPU is it? nvidia had a few million faulty ones... I'll bet yours is one of them.
     
    yuio, May 11, 2009
    #2
  3. JonnyGoogs

    JonnyGoogs Newbie

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    Its a Nvidia 8400M of some kind - not sure which model though. I take it that given its out of warranty, its a very expensive fix?
     
    JonnyGoogs, May 11, 2009
    #3
  4. Rachel

    Rachel Busy Bee

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    Rachel, May 11, 2009
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  5. jjp35

    jjp35 Newbie

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    Hi all

    I have FZ11S, when you start the laptop, the Vaio screen comes on for just a second and then display is almost black. When connected to the TV through HDMI port the windows is displayed on the TV and the laptop works fine. The bottom laptop gets exteremly hot.

    Is this due to the faulty Nvidia Chip?

    If not can What could be wrong with the laptop?
     
    jjp35, Aug 29, 2009
    #5
  6. qhn

    qhn Notebook User

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    You could just have a bad inverter. Not good about the extreme heat though.

    cheers ...
     
    qhn, Aug 30, 2009
    #6
  7. jjp35

    jjp35 Newbie

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    Thank you ghn. The Heating problem is now resolved. I used the Vaccum Cleaner to suck the dust & fluff out of the the side vents and the bottom vent. You will need to keep the hose on the vent for few minutes. Do not forget to turn the laptop off when you do this. If you see the fluff stck in the vent use wooden toothpick to get it out.

    Screen is dark but I can see faint images. Wondering whether it is screen Lamp or Inverter. Any suggestions?

    Where can I get cheap inverter, the part number is 1-445-192-11?
     
    jjp35, Oct 16, 2009
    #7