Vaio EA won't turn on

Hey guys,

Ok, so, I was mucking around with my old vaio (VPCEA16FA if that helps), trying to figure out why my idle temps have been incredibly high (Think mid 50's to high 60's). I got sick of having the fan sound like a lawnmower pleasuring a blender, so I unscrewed the bottom and found this foil-like sheet of aluminum(?) covering the vents. After checking to see if it was at all needed, I just ripped it all out to let 'some' air into the system (The thing was covering the vents to the point where no air was getting in!). Afterwards I figured that while I was at it, I'd switch out the thermal paste, but halfway through removing the heatsink I realized "Wait. I have no clue what I'm doing." so I quickly stopped and put the computer back together again.

I plug in the battery, and oh god, the laptop won't turn on. I've tried everything (as much as one can do without the thing turning on) and the only thing I've noticed is that the power indicator blinks green as if it were in sleep mode, and the battery indicator lights up orange for as long as I hold down the power button.

I'm thinking I f'ed up with the processor and probably snapped it or something (I never took off the heatsink, only unscrewed the supports and then changed my mind). I'm sort of panicking right now, does this sound familiar to anyone, or is this a code for a hardware failure or something? All help would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

Did you remove the RAM? Any ribbon cables? I have an EA (15inch, iirc?), but it's currently on loan way out there...

RAM and ribbon cables are the most likely culprits, they just need to be seated firmly and properly, respectively.

 

Hey man, thanks a lot for the quick reply!

Nah, I didn't remove any rams, but I DID fiddle with one of the socket cables (I thought it was connected to the heatsink, doh), but I am positive I seated it back properly and tightly. I just got off the phone from Sony Support, and the technician there says that it is MOST likely a hardware related issue. Pretty much nothing we don't already know.

I'm starting to think that I didn't seat the CPU correctly (it's socketed, not soldered) and that messed it up. Now, I'm HOPING that just repositioning it will get it to magically work, but I'm starting to think I blew the damn thing. I'll get it open and check all the connections again just incase.

Edit: Just checked, apparently I had the CPU bracket thingy in the wrong direction, so it WASN'T properly seated. Screwed everything back in after double checking if everything was in place, and still no go. Any clue, guys?

 

Just an update guys, I just got the computer back from the store and this is what the guy had to say. Apparently, my motherboard is "dead" or something (the guy at the store was incredibly vague, even when I asked for details) and to repair it would cost something around $500 (!!).

Obviously I didn't go through with it, and just brought the thing home with me. Now, out of a whim I tried turning it on and it actually DID turn on, sort of. The screen was completely blank, but everything fired up as if it were turning on from cold boot. The fans fire up, I hear my CD drive and hard drive spinning (and actually can eject disks), so everything sounds like it's turning on. After a couple of seconds, everything slows down and shuts off.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I have a feeling the guy at the store was pulling a fast one on me, because this does sound like something that can be repaired. Maybe a couple of loose wires? I mean, if the motherboard was fried (I don't even know how that could have happened) how does everything fire up as if it were functioning?

Thanks for any replies!

 

Such stuff have happened to me - luckily I was always able to recover even when I thought it is over. Well until once when my MB really died and the GPU went bad too, but the only advise I can give you (especially taking into account that you are in a dead end street it seems) - disassemble everything and put it back together carefully. Make sire HDD, RAM, CPU and all other important components are attached correctly and all cables are on their right places.

 

Have you tried connecting an external KB and monitor? It could be the BIOS bootup not detecting either, and just shutting down as a result. Also, try just one stick of RAM (and seat it in properly).

 

listen to both of the posters above. disassemble everything and reassemble it back together carefully. if you disassemble the heatsink(s) make sure you reapply thermal paste (this might explain the shutting down if you removed the paste from the factory and forgot to reapply), and make sure everything is attached properly. If the laptop powers on and there happens to be nothing on the display, check to see if you plugged the laptop's screen ribbon cable into the motherboard. If there isn't anything displaying, try hooking it up to an monitor or tv.

 

hi i have an ea as well, my temps are also super high and i think its just because i have a hd5650 in it.
How do you remove the disk drive though since mine isnt in straight and the cover of the drive isnt straight with the rest of the laptop.

In regards to your problem i would advise that you take it apart again, remove heat sink and replace thermal paste. After that you should connect everything back up and make sure that all cables ribbons and normal cables are plugged in where they are supposed to be. To me it sounds like the graphics card isnt plugged in properly since it wont boot without one plugged in which would explain why the screen didnt turn on. Hope this helps and good luck

 

^What is "super high" here? E series with Graphics will likely idle between 50 and 60. OP - not to sound like a jerk but you probably are going through all of this for no good reason.

You really can't take the #'s you are used to seeing in a desktop and expect similiar results in a laptop. Especially a laptop with graphics.

 

no mine idles around 60 - 70 degrees when theres just skype or firefox open. when i do something like watch youtube it sometimes goes higher than 70 which is rediculus when the room temperature is only 20. I wouldnt mind either if the fan was quiter or just made a louder blowing noise but as it speeds up it whistles and it does it inconsistently as its constantly going up and down in fan speed

I dont have a problem with the heat anymore since i bought a cooling pad for mine which keeps it down to 75 to 80 with overclock on games.
I opened the ram cover which has vents on and realised it is covered over with some kind of plastic sheet with less than a 1mm gap around the edge. The other vents have this but with a shiny plastic instead. Do you think i should take them off to increase airflow or do you think theyre there to stop the system from becoming full of dust.

The reason i originally posted in here was because the op had taken his apart and i was wondering how to take out the optical drive since mine isnt in straight and the tray sticks out from the case at one side and sticks inwards on the other side

I know that i shouldnt expect similar results as a desktop and i don't. It just blows my mind though why they would pretty much block up the vents with plastic.