i already did this: updated vaio zone from the vaio-link site. i also tried to get windvd to reinstall it, but @ intervideo’s site there’s no windvd “for vaio”. can i just dld windvd 8 (which is the last one)? i also read somewhere that windvd 4 also works with vaio zone.

thanks.

I have a vaio VGN-S1VP with a problem I am having trouble finding a solution.

When you press the power button, the power light comes on and the HD makes a noise for about 1 second, the battery light comes on when you depress the power button (when it is on battery power) but the laptop does not even get to the post, .

I have just purchased a new charger and have just noticed that when the charger is plugged in, and I touch any metal part of the laptop, I get a little shock (maybe a seperate issue).

Anyway, if you keep powering the laptop on then off (holding down power button) after a while it will boot up fine without any problems.

I HAVE TRIED
Reseating memory and changing slots.
Powering on with just battery, just charger and just car charger.
Plugging battery in while pressing start button.
Holding down different keys while booting.
Resetting
Checked bios setting and power management
Unplugged bios battery
I started to thake the unit apart, I removed the CD Rom, harddrive, screen.

But still does the same

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Anyone reccomend what HD to buy?

I had to tell you all about a dealing with Sony UK Support.

I have a S series Vaio which developed the dreaded Motherboard Graphics problem (the motherboard needs to be replaced).
See http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewtopic.php?t=6371

After I found out what the problem was, I realised it was documented on the US Site.
I phoned Sony and they wanted £500 to replace the motherboard, with that I was a bit annoyed and the Vaio now well out of warranty.

A few days later I phoned Sony again to ask what they do not do anything about these bad design problems.

I was just about to start ranting about the fault, when the support operator said if you get the laptop to us we can have a look at it, I said yes I know you will and charge me £500, no he said we will do it for free, we will do it under warranty, I was amazed (the warrenty ran out ages ago).

The Vaio was picked up the next day, in France the day after (you can track where it is and what is being done to it), the motherboard has now been changed with a new years warranty.

I have never had such good dealings with a support company, and would just like to say well done to Sony.

If you look at my original post you can see the date when I did not even know what the problem was, It was 8 yes eight days ago, I now have the Vaio back from Sony, Amazing

Also to add do not leave you hanging on the phones for age like some campanies (Dell). :D

My S3XP has crashed !!

Heres what it says:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

<Windows>\system32\hal.dll
Please Reinstall a copy of the above file

I have a few questions I’d like somebody to answer

Is there a way to restore this dll ?

Heres what i’ve tried

Use the automated recovery thingy from the xp cd, which doesnt work

Can i install windows on a seperate folder in the extended partition and boot with the fresh installation in order to save the current files?

Please help guys !!

Varun

Any ways around this, or specific files I need to get this going?  Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks for any help

I would like to re-install the OS ( XP Profession) from the recovery disc but how can I do if the dvd rom doesn’t work?
May I try from an USB HARD DISK? ( I never done it)

At the end, if it is dead and if I must buy a new one, is there a list of compatible devices? If I am not wrong I must buy a 9.5mm device right?

Best regards for who spend few second to help me

So, just looking for confirmation of thoughts. Follow my sequence of events and lemme know:

1) Outta nowhere STOP errors of IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL with the linked find being something like w2n11.sys which i recognized as being associated with my wireless.  So i restarted a few times.  I would have the wireless on and it wouldnt even make it to log in before BSOD so i turned it off AND…

2) Stop error to a system file something like “w32k” (didnt write any of them down and now im regretting it.  ill repost later with a specific typeout of it all) Anyways, I figured that this meant it wasn’t just the wireless drivers, SO…

3) Complete C: drive recovery throught the VAIO Recovery Wizard.  Halfway through the automatic reinstallation of Works and all that crap, bam!  BSOD!  :evil:  SOOO…

4) Complete C: and D: recovery just to make sure. But alas, I had another one (still didnt write it down )

And thats my current status.  I figure (after reading some stuff about stop errors) that its something between the RAM or HD causing index faults (“chkdsk c:” proved this.)  Since I reinstalled Windows to factory-status, it cant be a driver issue.  I have concluded to my best knowledge that its faulty ram and I’m going to be making yet another trip to Best Buy to replace it with the AX570G ...  But what are your guys’ thoughts?

(Also, these errors tend to happen after a hibernation/standby wake but it mayjust be coincidence)