What category of laptop repair am I in?

There have been multiple messages here about the pricing tiers that Sony has established for laptop repair. Would anyone have an idea of which tier I would be in based on my problem? If I am in the $279 tier (for a very old unit), it's not worth pursuing. The $99 reimaging option is.

I run Windows XP, and everything worked fine until I updated the flash bios (I used the correct file from Sony, and the installation was successful). However, it will no longer boot up. I get the Sony screen, and everything stops. I can't get to the bios settings, and it won't boot from the Windows CD. Could I have damaged the CMOS chip or some part of the motherboard?

Am I looking at hardware changes? Does this qualify for the "reimaging" option? All input is welcomed. Thanks!

 

You need give more information such as Model Number.

 

Yup. Need more information.

How technical are you? Do you feel comfortable dismantling the notebook yourself? There might be a few things you can check before being forced to spend the money. You mentioned the notebook was really old correct? Off the top of my head I'd look for any signs of shorting, check the internal battery, systematically test the memory and hard drive. (only good if you have a *known* working memory module and hard drive available).

The bios part is troubling. Were you interrupted when you flashed it? If it wasn't powered by the AC adapter at the time an older battery might have complicated things.

In the end if you start approaching the mini-notebook prices ($299-499) you might be better off selling yours (as parts) on Ebay and putting the money towards more recent hardware. (depends on how attached you are to the old notebook). Anyway, just a thought.