Perhaps some kind soul with experience in laptop troubleshooting can
give me a hand. A friend's got a Sony Vaio VGN-TX17GP, an outdated but
fancy 12" laptop. Two days ago (she claims) she was browsing the net
when the screen went black and the HD spun down. It wouldn't boot
afterwards.
Tests indicate it does power up (Wifi and Bluetooth lights on, as well
as battery, although no HD activity is apparent), but certainly does
not boot. I can't be sure whether it ever gets to the BIOS boot
screen, because it's sending no signal either to the internal monitor
or an external one if hooked up. This seems to rule out HD failure,
because at least I'd be getting a Boot sector not found message.
Trying to boot from CD, obviously, doesn't work either.
Now, I'm handy with HW, but not too savvy about laptops. I grabbed a
copy of the service manual and carefully dismantled the thing. I've
double-checked all visible connections (HD cable, FPC, FFC, etc), with
no apparent result. The laptop is obviously past its warranty term,
and sending it to the official service shop will most likely mean
spending € 90 to be told the thing's dead, so I'd rather try to fix it
myself if possible. If anyonce could give me any pointers as to how to
proceed, I'd be very grateful.
On Jul 24, 2:51Â*am, Alon <alischin...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi folks.
>
> Perhaps some kind soul with experience in laptop troubleshooting can
> give me a hand. A friend's got a Sony Vaio VGN-TX17GP, an outdated but
> fancy 12" laptop. Two days ago (she claims) she was browsing the net
> when the screen went black and the HD spun down. It wouldn't boot
> afterwards.
>
> Tests indicate it does power up (Wifi and Bluetooth lights on, as well
> as battery, although no HD activity is apparent), but certainly does
> not boot. I can't be sure whether it ever gets to the BIOS boot
> screen, because it's sending no signal either to the internal monitor
> or an external one if hooked up. This seems to rule out HD failure,
> because at least I'd be getting a Boot sector not found message.
> Trying to boot from CD, obviously, doesn't work either.
>
> Now, I'm handy with HW, but not too savvy about laptops. I grabbed a
> copy of the service manual and carefully dismantled the thing. I've
> double-checked all visible connections (HD cable, FPC, FFC, etc), with
> no apparent result. The laptop is obviously past its warranty term,
> and sending it to the official service shop will most likely mean
> spending € 90 to be told the thing's dead, so I'd rather try to fix it
> myself if possible. If anyonce could give me any pointers as to how to
> proceed, I'd be very grateful.
>
> TIA!
Try to clean the memory, maybe it work. Don't send to Fry or Best Buy
because they'll cost you $90 fee, if they can't fix, they'll tell you
to replace the mother board, so I recommended you to send your laptop
to professional repair at: www.laptopsprofessional.com. They're free
estimate and diagnostic test, No fix-No charge. They're reliable,
quality work and low price guaranteed. Special discount for student.
Alon wrote in news:1185270687.651643.296730@57g2000hsv.googlegro ups.com:
> Hi folks.
>
> Perhaps some kind soul with experience in laptop troubleshooting can
> give me a hand. A friend's got a Sony Vaio VGN-TX17GP, an outdated but
> fancy 12" laptop. Two days ago (she claims) she was browsing the net
> when the screen went black and the HD spun down. It wouldn't boot
> afterwards.
>
> Tests indicate it does power up (Wifi and Bluetooth lights on, as well
> as battery, although no HD activity is apparent), but certainly does
> not boot. I can't be sure whether it ever gets to the BIOS boot
> screen, because it's sending no signal either to the internal monitor
> or an external one if hooked up. This seems to rule out HD failure,
> because at least I'd be getting a Boot sector not found message.
> Trying to boot from CD, obviously, doesn't work either.
>
> Now, I'm handy with HW, but not too savvy about laptops. I grabbed a
> copy of the service manual and carefully dismantled the thing. I've
> double-checked all visible connections (HD cable, FPC, FFC, etc), with
> no apparent result. The laptop is obviously past its warranty term,
> and sending it to the official service shop will most likely mean
> spending € 90 to be told the thing's dead, so I'd rather try to fix
> it myself if possible. If anyonce could give me any pointers as to how
> to proceed, I'd be very grateful.
>
> TIA!
>
Try pulling the ram and then attempt to boot the laptop. Provided that
the unit has an internal speaker (which it should), then the laptop
should give post error beeps denoting that there is no ram in the
machine.
No beeps typically means the motherboard is shot.
--
Ds.Laptop.Repair at gmail dot com
[{540}·{905}·{7686}]
Bear with me. I am reposting this since there were no responses to my previous
post.
The laptop does not even boot. When the power switch is pressed (and held down
as recommended), the "power on" light flashes on and off. Neither the drive
lights nor the keyboards lights come on or even flash (The battery is dead so I
have to work with mains).
It was suggested that the power switch to mother board connection needs to be
re-soldered in older toshibas...
However I run into a problem when I try to dismantle the box. I was able to
separate the case on 3 sides but I cannot separate it on the side with the
power switch. Something is holding the case together, very strongly and I do not
want force it to the point of breaking.
I would appreciate any help in dismantling this computer without damaging it.
:>Bear with me. I am reposting this since there were no responses to my previous
:>post.
:>
:>The laptop does not even boot. When the power switch is pressed (and held down
:>as recommended), the "power on" light flashes on and off. Neither the drive
:>lights nor the keyboards lights come on or even flash (The battery is dead so I
:>have to work with mains).
:>
:>It was suggested that the power switch to mother board connection needs to be
:>re-soldered in older toshibas...
:>
:>However I run into a problem when I try to dismantle the box. I was able to
:>separate the case on 3 sides but I cannot separate it on the side with the
:>power switch. Something is holding the case together, very strongly and I do not
:>want force it to the point of breaking.
:>
:>I would appreciate any help in dismantling this computer without damaging it.
:>
:>Thanks for your help.
:>
:>regards
:>hg
:>
:>
Have you removed the keyboard and any screws that are hidden
underneath it? I haven't touched one of those in years but I seem to
remember there are one or more screws under there to be removed to
separate the case.
> On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:54:52 GMT, h.STOPgodavari@shaw.STOPca wrote:
>
> :>Bear with me. I am reposting this since there were no responses to my
> :>previous post.
> :>
> :>The laptop does not even boot. When the power switch is pressed (and held
> :>down as recommended), the "power on" light flashes on and off. Neither the
> :>drive lights nor the keyboards lights come on or even flash (The battery is
> :> dead so I have to work with mains).
> :>
> :>It was suggested that the power switch to mother board connection needs to
> :>be re-soldered in older toshibas...
> :>
> :>However I run into a problem when I try to dismantle the box. I was able to
> :>separate the case on 3 sides but I cannot separate it on the side with the
> :>power switch. Something is holding the case together, very strongly and I do :>
> not want force it to the point of breaking.
> :>
> :>I would appreciate any help in dismantling this computer without damaging it.
> :>
> :>Thanks for your help.
> :>
> :>regards
> :>hg
> :>
> :>
>
> Have you removed the keyboard and any screws that are hidden
> underneath it? I haven't touched one of those in years but I seem to
> remember there are one or more screws under there to be removed to
> separate the case.
>
> Good luck,
> me/2
Yes I removedthe keyboard and all visible screws. there seems to be something hidden
adjuscent to the power swich.
If ANYTHING happens when the power switch is pressed, the power switch
itself is not the problem.
There are screws inside, under the keyboard. This series (400 to 435)
is a ***** to disassemble. There are screws everywhere, top and bottom.
Look, this is a Pentium 100MHz machine. Pentium ONE, NO MMX, no USB.
It's value is $5 to $20, tops. Believe me, this machine is not worth
wasting ANY time on. You can buy a 300 series machine (later than the
400 series, oddly; the best being 335CDT) for under $50 (maybe even half
that) and it will run rings around the 400 series machines (a 335CDT is
a Pentium 266MHz MMX with internal floppy AND CD, and USB). Even 4000
series machines (Pentium II machines similar to the 300 series machines)
are cheap; I picked up a 4020CDT for $20 a month ago on E-Bay, and that
is a Pentium TWO 300MHz with a 13" XGA LCD, otherwise pretty much the
same as a 335CDT. That machine can actually run XP, although it's not
recommended (the memory max is 160MB). The early 400 series machines
(400 to 435) are just not worth screwing with any more, and your 420CDT
isn't even the top of the line in that series.
[Also, the 300 and 4000 series machines are a dream to work on,
unbelievably well built and easy to service.]
h.STOPgodavari@shaw.STOPca wrote:
> Bear with me. I am reposting this since there were no responses to my previous
> post.
>
> The laptop does not even boot. When the power switch is pressed (and held down
> as recommended), the "power on" light flashes on and off. Neither the drive
> lights nor the keyboards lights come on or even flash (The battery is dead so I
> have to work with mains).
>
> It was suggested that the power switch to mother board connection needs to be
> re-soldered in older toshibas...
>
> However I run into a problem when I try to dismantle the box. I was able to
> separate the case on 3 sides but I cannot separate it on the side with the
> power switch. Something is holding the case together, very strongly and I do not
> want force it to the point of breaking.
>
> I would appreciate any help in dismantling this computer without damaging it.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> regards
> hg
>
>
>
Ok, if you insist, contact me by E-Mail, I have the service manual for
it, I can send it to you if you can take a 4MB attachment.
A warning, again, this model is a ***** to work on AND it's just not
worth it. I serviced them for years, and I do still have a mint 430CDT
here, but even for a beater obsolete laptop, the 300 and 4000 series are
SO much better and you can get them SO cheap ......
h.STOPgodavari@shaw.STOPca wrote:
>
> me/2 wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:54:52 GMT, h.STOPgodavari@shaw.STOPca wrote:
>>
>> :>Bear with me. I am reposting this since there were no responses to my
>> :>previous post.
>> :>
>> :>The laptop does not even boot. When the power switch is pressed (and held
>> :>down as recommended), the "power on" light flashes on and off. Neither the
>> :>drive lights nor the keyboards lights come on or even flash (The battery is
>> :> dead so I have to work with mains).
>> :>
>> :>It was suggested that the power switch to mother board connection needs to
>> :>be re-soldered in older toshibas...
>> :>
>> :>However I run into a problem when I try to dismantle the box. I was able to
>> :>separate the case on 3 sides but I cannot separate it on the side with the
>> :>power switch. Something is holding the case together, very strongly and I do :>
>> not want force it to the point of breaking.
>> :>
>> :>I would appreciate any help in dismantling this computer without damaging it.
>> :>
>> :>Thanks for your help.
>> :>
>> :>regards
>> :>hg
>> :>
>> :>
>>
>> Have you removed the keyboard and any screws that are hidden
>> underneath it? I haven't touched one of those in years but I seem to
>> remember there are one or more screws under there to be removed to
>> separate the case.
>>
>> Good luck,
>> me/2
>
> Yes I removedthe keyboard and all visible screws. there seems to be something hidden
> adjuscent to the power swich.
>
> regards
> hg
>
>
> --
> to reply remove STOP from email addy
>
>
On Jul 24, 6:23 pm, "ds.laptop.repair" <d...@ptop.repair> wrote:
> Try pulling the ram and then attempt to boot the laptop. Provided that
> the unit has an internal speaker (which it should), then the laptop
> should give post error beeps denoting that there is no ram in the
> machine.
>
> No beeps typically means the motherboard is shot.
I'm getting no beeps here. Funny, though, because it doesn't seem to
be completely dead: the drive latch (which is not mechanical, but
power-operated) does open, and the CD lens audibly moves into place
when a CD is inserted. But it sure doesn't even get to the BIOS
screen.
> Ok, if you insist, contact me by E-Mail, I have the service manual for
> it, I can send it to you if you can take a 4MB attachment.
>
> A warning, again, this model is a ***** to work on AND it's just not
> worth it. I serviced them for years, and I do still have a mint 430CDT
> here, but even for a beater obsolete laptop, the 300 and 4000 series are
> SO much better and you can get them SO cheap ......
>
Thanks Barry.Email on the way.
regards
hg.
--
to reply remove STOP from email addy
Dead Vaio VGN-TX17GP 
Linear Mode
