Vaio Salvage : SZ Won't Boot

I'm planning on purchasing myself a new vaio due to the last one dying.

However to avoid simply throwing away my previous laptop and in the interests of recycling i am looking to attempt to repair it. (what i'll do with it if i can repair it will probably be left for another thread)


The Symptoms:

The laptop doesn't boot - When the power button is pressed the LEDs above the keyboard flash briefly, and then nothing happens.
I can't hear the fans spin or the hard drive.
The power lead LED is lit. And the fact that the lights on notebook are still turning on leads me to believe that there is still power.

Possible Causes:

I recently upgraded the RAM around two months before it stopped working (I have since tried refitting the old ram t see if that was the cause to no avail)

Around 3 months before the laptop broke it suffered a hefty fall out of my clumsy hands from around 2ft but managed to carry on without a hitch - until now.




Has anybody got any ideas?
Any insight it greatly appreciated!

 

A lot of SZs failing to boot now. I hope this isn't becoming an epidemic.

What model SZ is it? Vista? XP downgrade? Are you trying to boot it under Speed mode or Stamina mode? Do you remember what Nvidia driver you were using and (if applicable) what Intel GMA driver was installed? Do you remember what Bios revision you had installed last?

It probably can still be salvaged unless there was a catastrophic failure in one of the system components (like the graphics chipset failing).

You swapped out the new RAM for the old RAM. Good. Id try it again with only one module (if you are using two) just to rule that out.

Next thing I would try is trying to boot linux on the machine. Hopefully you already have an Ubuntu cd lying around - if not have a friend download and burn one for you. You're just going to run it Live from the CD (no installing); it will boot on almost anything (assuming the hardware is working). If it works you'll know your original OS is now in an unreadable state. Try booting standalone and also while the notebook is connected to an external monitor.

Next thing I would look at is the hard drive. Hopefully you have a spare (known working) SATA drive. Take apart the chassis and swap in the new drive. (while you have it open confirm that that wires and ribbons are all still connected - the fall might have dislodged something to the point where everyday shifting/moving did the rest.)

At this point if you don't see some signs of life the patient may be dead.

You can optionally look at the CPU (probably should clean the vent and fans while you're there). It's possible either it (or the GPU) could have been damaged if the fall forced the heatsink to hit it. If fractured it would still run until it eventually overheated. If you remove the heatsink I would pay particular attention to the GPU, looking for signs of physical breakdown.

At this point I would start suspecting the display. More particularly the lamps. The parts are insanely small; I would probably have it serviced at this point. (at the very least get a quote)

It would be a shame to sell it for parts. The worst case scenario is that the motherboard or display needs to be replaced. Both are expensive parts. If that's the case you'd want to weigh whether or not it's worth it to get a new machine and cut your losses.

Hope it helps.

 

It sounds more like a motherboard issue instead of a video card issue -- especially when you have two video chips on board and the simultaneous failing of both is really unlikely. See if you can find a monitor somewhere to plug into and try to get into BIOS when you start. If you can't see a thing then either the mother board or the video card is dead. It's probably not worth repairing if you don't have warranty.

 

Thanks for the extremely helpful replies.

What model SZ is it? 3 Series i think - pretty sure a VGN-SZ371... (I haven't got the lappy with me)

Vista? Upgraded to vista from XP.

Are you trying to boot it under Speed mode or Stamina mode? Tried both and nothing.

Do you remember what Nvidia driver you were using and (if applicable) what Intel GMA driver was installed? Do you remember what Bios revision you had installed last? Unfortunately don't know any of these.


You swapped out the new RAM for the old RAM. Good. Id try it again with only one module (if you are using two) just to rule that out.
Tried this originally after reading an old thread on another forum, unfortunately still no luck.

Next thing I would try is trying to boot linux on the machine.
I think i'm going to struggle with this, the computer turns off literally after the status lights flash. Getting a linux CD to spin is going to be difficult.


Next thing I would look at is the hard drive. Hopefully you have a spare (known working) SATA drive. Take apart the chassis and swap in the new drive. (while you have it open confirm that that wires and ribbons are all still connected - the fall might have dislodged something to the point where everyday shifting/moving did the rest.)

At this point if you don't see some signs of life the patient may be dead.

You can optionally look at the CPU (probably should clean the vent and fans while you're there). It's possible either it (or the GPU) could have been damaged if the fall forced the heatsink to hit it. If fractured it would still run until it eventually overheated. If you remove the heatsink I would pay particular attention to the GPU, looking for signs of physical breakdown.

At this point I would start suspecting the display. More particularly the lamps. The parts are insanely small; I would probably have it serviced at this point. (at the very least get a quote)

I'm not particulary keen on taking the thing apart, but i'll have a go and see.

 

If you're harddrive is defective you should be able to boot from CD/DVD.

If you're LCD screen is defective (which I doubt) you should be able to work on an external display.

 

Happened to me a few months ago. I'm sure it's the CPU.
If you listen very closely, is there a faint ticking/clicking sound from near the S1/S2 buttons?
I'm completely serious, but try knocking the back of the machine where the CPU is (towards the centre of the big hatch), or between the I, O and 9 keys while it's on. Shaking it also got it to boot for me sometimes.

Eventually, it completely died for me (I suspect heat is the cause), but it's not too hard to replace the CPU on a Type-SZ.

 

Intriguing fix idea. Cant hurt trying. I've always been a fan of hitting/throwing/biting electrical equipment to make it work.

I'll try it before taking it apart. Even if i get it to boot once it'll be a victory.

 

theringmasta have you tried booting of a cd/dvd?

 

Thinking back, it's actually a pretty funny story of how it gradually got worse and worse as I needed to hit it harder until it really died. I definitely can't guarantee it will work for you, but if you do take it apart (from the bottom, rather than from the keyboard side), hitting the heat sink with a pen above the CPU worked really well.

Careful that you never turn it off after that. Not even standby saves you ):

Phil, I'm getting the impression it won't boot at all, and doesn't even get to the VAIO logo stage.

 

That's correct, completely blank screen and and a complete absense of sound coming from any of the hardware makes me think that something is stopping it from booting at the offset; therefore I haven't tried booting from a CD, however if i can dig out a bootable CD i might have a play around, although i doubt i will see any success

 

wait, complete absence of sound, so no faint ticking/clicking at all from the S1/S2 buttons?

good luck for when you get back to it!

 

Yeah it's unlikely in that case but you could try it anyway. On most laptops it's by pressing escape right after the power on.

 

Yeh, no sound at all. And also noluck with the CD drive either. Forgot to try hitting though....


...looks like i'll be taking it apart.

 

Try replacing the CPU paste. I help several folks with the same symptoms, all they needed was fresh paste.

 

Hi all,

I'm having problems with my SZ330P to, it shows the power lead led is illuminated, sometimes the fan spins sometimes it doesn't, it checks the optical drive, but not a response on the HDD, and doesn't show anything on the screen, not even the BIOS (completely dark).

I bought it of ebay, with slight optical damage, so I decided to open it up and check for internal damage, I couldn't find a thing that worried me, I accedently touch the heatsink with the paste on it, so there isn't much paste left, I find it however strange if this is the cause of all this.

I'll try refreshing the paste (which one is best).

Also I noticed the ram is changed 1X1gb 667mhz and 1x 512mb 667mhz (orignally 2x1GB 533mhz).

Could anyone give me some advice?

With kind regards, Bart

 

I refreshed the thermal compound with Coolermaster PTK-002 Premium, it still doesn't work, any ideas?

Regards, Bart

 

Called Sony for an estimated repair cost, they couldn't tell me without seeing it for themselves, it would cost 160euro for only sending it in, (ridiculous!).

The battery I'm using is a non original Sony, with Samsung cells in it, it should be compatible, and I measured the output which is correct, also checked the AC adapter which looks like to be a original Sony (but I'm not sure), also this is supossed to be compatible, measured it on outputt and again it's correct.

The battery sometimes flashes rapidly, I don't know what this means, then I reinstall the battery and it works as it should be.
The notebook shows the power led, and when on battery, the battery light illuminates orange (AC power is yellow/green), bluetooth works as well.
The optical drive responds as well.

No videocard led illuminates, also no numlock/capslock/scrolllock.
HDD doesn't spin.

Who's able to help me?

Does the SZ have a switch (a switch that notice the lid is down and shuts of the screen) if so were can I find it?

With kind regards,

Bart

 

There is "communication" between the Sony battery and the SZ itself, using proprietary hardware within the battery. I have NEVER been able to get a "compatible" battery to work with an SZ. That could be problem #1.

#2 is the adapter, which might be a wrong or faulty Sony, or "compatible" that doesn't work. To check it, you must surgically open the cable and gain access to the inner and outer conductor, separately. Or, build a male-female plug combination that permits access to the circuit between those plugs. Then, measure the voltage under load. If it is less than 16V (IIRC), the unit will not recognize the adapter and therefore won't boot - with no error messages.

Find someone with a Sony adapter, remove the battery, and see what happens. A Sony store might permit it...

So-called "compatible" batteries and adapters are often a problem - deliberately made so by Sony, who wants to sell only their own part$.

 

I'm looking to buy antother SZ with a broken screen or something, so I could make 1 good machine out of 2.

What's the difference between the SZ1, SZ2, SZ3, SZ4, SZ5 series.
Are the SZ2 and SZ3 the same except for the cpu?

With kind regards,

Bart

 

I think there exists really only two major different model revsions.

SZ1-SZ3 & SZ4-SZ6

Main difference being the motherboard change from Napa (Intel945/Nvidia 7400 go) to Santa Rosa Chipset (Intel965/Nvidia 8400 go).

Also the heatsink and fan assembly are similar but different enough that they dont`t fit without modification. That from my experience from exchanging those parts between the model. Could be the same with other parts inside but not really sure.

Revision in between seem to be just minor upgrades such as newer intel CPU technology as you said since people have put in newer CPU`s on older compatable SZ motherboards without problems.