Vaio SZ NVIDIA card has disappeared!

Hi all. I'm completely new to the forum so hello first of all. I hope that someone can give me some guidance on sorting out an issue with my laptop that I've put up with for a couple of years now.

It's a Vaio VGN-SZ1HP running Windows XP Professional + SP3, Intel T2300, 2Gb RAM and once upon a time had additional graphics by Nvidia (GeForce Go 7400).

Let me also say that I have searched extensively on this topic to try and avoid a new post, including the massive Sony Vaio Graphics post on this forum, but a lot of advice is for VIsta, 7 or for people doing clean installs of XP onto newer machines.

The laptop has a physical switch to move between Stamina or Speed and it is stuck in Stamina. This means that the Nvidia card is basically invisible to the laptop, it does not appear in the Device Manager, only the standard "Stamina" card (2 x Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family).

A lot of the similar issues recommend uninstalling the standard drivers and rebooting, switching to speed and rebooting, installing the latest drivers, rolling back drivers, disabling the standard cards and rebooting etc. I have tried a lot of installs, reboots and nothing so far.

Also, the desktop context menu used to have a Nvidia control panel when I right-clicked but that has also gone. It's as if the Nvidia card has vanished and if someone can assist me in getting it back, I would be grateful.

Many thanks for any advice received.

Gordon.

 

Have you tried a full system reinstall? Basically, restore the laptop to factory condition. You will lose ALL your data, so BACK UP rigorously - take your time about it, because once it is gone, it is gone for good.

When a device or driver (or even an application) fails repeatedly, Windows then marks it as bad and prevents it from running. Getting it working again is quite troublesome. A complete return to factory state starts you off with a clean slate. Remember to set BIOS defaults as well.

 

Can you move the switch back and forth between the Stamina and Speed positions? On the SZ I have access to, there is a small green LED for each position. If the correct green LED does not come on, it could be a switch problem. If so, you could try moving the switch back and forth rapidly to try to clean any corrosion. If that doesn't work, you could open the computer up and try to check the switch. This is not easy.

I checked that on this SZ, the NVIDIA Control Panel is not an option in Stamina mode when you right click on the desktop.

In Stamina mode, the Device Manager > Display Adapters shows the same information you report. In Speed mode, it only shows NVIDIA GeForce GO 7400.

As I recall, there was a general problem with solder balls cracking with the NVIDIA GeForce graphics, but I never really saw this happening in a Sony. This is a pretty good link on this problem: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/585931-help-no-detection-nvidia-geforce-go-7400-a.html

Good luck. Let us know what you find out to help the next guy.

 

I have a VPCZ1 as you can see in my sig, so things are probably different with your old VGNZ, but what I have observed is that the switch needs the graphics driver and VAIO Event Service in order to function. The VAIO Event Service needs other Sony utilities (SFEP etc.) to be preinstalled. Hope this helps you get some insight into what is going on.

 

Thanks for the advice so far.

- I have not yet tried a full re-install. I keep a back-up just because of the age of the machine and its temperament but the windows install disc has long disappeared and with it the serial key. The windows sticker on the base of the machine is so worn I can't see it there either. Would this make it a nightmare to re-install?

- I can move the switch between the settings but the green LED stay on stamina. I had the laptop open last week to replace the fan and the physical switch mechanism seems good. I should have had a look at the cards connections while I had it open but I never thought.

- It's interesting that the switch relies on the VAIO Event Service to work properly, this is exactly the sort of program that I would un-install when getting over excited in the Add/Remove Programmes menu! I will check on this when I get home. If I have inadvertently removed it, will I be able to find it on-line? The Sony support website has a limited amount of downloads available for XP.

I think I'll go down this route first to see if it helps and then think about re-dismantling the machine to inspect the actual card.

Thanks a lot, I will update as soon as I find the time to do it.

Gordon

 

Just check if your HDD has a hidden partition - it might be your recovery partition. Right-click 'my computer' and select 'manage'. Then launch 'disk management' and you should be able to see all the partitions on your HDD.

There should be a utility or key combination to show you your serial number, and the Windows key can be recovered and backed up so that when you reinstall, you can activate Windows. Google.

 

A quick update...

Completed a full system restore last night. It has not solved the problem, the machine is still stubbornly stuck in Stamina mode. While this is a pain, I also would like to point out the massive difference the system restore has made. Far faster to boot up, far quicker to respond, the function keys S1 and S2 have started working again and with the new fan fitted last week and a full strip and clean it honestly is like a new laptop.
I will keep trying to enable Speed mode - maybe the solder on the card itself as earlier suggested - but it's not such a pressing issue now to be honest, more an irritation.

Note: I did check for Vaio Event Service prior to restore and it was installed, could not see SFEP though.

Thank you to everyone who posted advise.

Gordon