computer problem
 

jinx's vaio is effed up. it was going round and round trying to reboot, but failing. I ran the ultimate boot cd, and got it up, but there does not appear to be a C drive.

help!

does it show up in the bios setup screen?

being able to boot from cd is promising, but if you have no c drive, you definintely have a problem.

were there any symptoms leading up to the failure?

is it under warranty?

What is on the c drive that you really really want to keep? pics/docs/music/ etc. programs are replaceable, more or less, your data... less.

Only better computer provide the hardware diagnostics on the hard drive, on a CD, and on their web site ... for free.

I you can boot the machine from a CD, then the diagnostics will load and test all hardware ... without the complications of Windows.

All manufacturers have these diagnostics. Your problem is exactly why better manufacturers provide these diagnostics. If not provided, then use another machine to burn a bootable CD (or USB stick) with the diagnostic from the disk drive manufacturer. Idea is to learn what is wrong long before trying to fix anything ... so that data is not lost and so that the problem is not made exponentially more complex.


Also available are other boot functions enabled by pressing various keys as the machine boots. Sometimes F2, F5, F8 or Del key provides a list of booting options. One possible option is verbose - to list each step the BIOS goes through to load Windows.

I have never run a Vaio so I do not know which keys enable which booting functions. Could be defective hardware. Could be a trashed boot file. Confirm the hardware is good (use diagnostics) before executing repair software such as Fixboot.

I did get it to boot using the Ultimate Boot Disc. But, when I click my computer, it only shows a B drive(952MB) and the disc..... It's like it can't see the C drive....

I assume the diagnostics are on a partition of that like they are on my HP. If I can't see the hard drive, how can I run those self diagnostics?

Jim , Recently I did a BUTT Load of updates from windows on Carols laptop ,
After it got done rebooting for the 11'dth time there was NO Dvd/Cd drive ,
I reloaded the drivers , nope , de installed the drivers , re installed them , nope ,
I thought Oh no you didnt !!!!! so a grabbed an External Dvd/cd drive I have for work , "I Know this works !!!!" thinking that the internal drive its self May have just Fell the fuck down , guess what the external drive didnt work eather,
Looking in the admin/tools/puter mangmt /device mngr
it showed that the drives were there but Neather worked , error 39 (?) and error 19
I googled this and found that there was a registry problem , some thing about Hi filters, and Low filters or sume such ,
I sorted thru the sites that wanted to charge for to fix this , and Finaly came to a concensis from posts on help forums that I needed to go into the reg edditer and eddit the settings , I googled the settings for these parts of the reg , again came to a concensis for the Equipment type, brand, Model etc,,, What My reg settings needed to be and Lo and behold it WORKED !!!!!!!

So My suggestion IS go to admin/tools/puter mangmt /device mngr
See if the drive is Present , and what error codes you have and go from there ,
OR Get a Ball bat and Let yer INNER Viking OUT !!!!!

This makes me sad.
I don't even know what diagnostics are. Like defrag and checkdisk, or something that will help?

First you need to do what BigV recommended. If the bios can't see the drive, the diagnostics are not going to see the drive either.

Reboot the computer. Go into hardware setup (by pressing some key as it boots). Look around in the hardware setup for the hard drive info. If it sees the C drive, that's good. If it doesn't, you have serious problems - likely hardware issue with the drive.

I just re read your Last post , B drive ??? WTF !!
Most laptops have a C and D( for the back up Partition ) and E drive Now days
If you have a card reader it shows F G H , etc , for the different card slots ,
Flash drives and external HDs show After that , I J K L , etc
So this B drive has me Perplexed !!??

i don't see anything when it tries to boot. it just says starting windows...then that little green bar thing going back and forth....forever

edit: jinx says the last thing that happened was that the battery died and when she plugged it back in ....no boot.

says;
(B: ) RAMDisk
folders - PrintSpool
UBCD4 Win User Settings
(X: ) UBCD4 Windows

After you restart, you don't see a text screen before the windows startup screen?

Have you always had a ram drive? How about the x: drive?

Something that says hit DEL to setup? Or F2?

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

that is what gives me B drive, zipp..

and...no no text at all when trying to reboot

A couple of web sites say that the Vaio bios key is either F1, F2, or F3 depending on the model. Try rebooting and pressing one of those keys as it reboots. You should get into the bios setup screen.

no text. Microsoft green progress thinger, then blank screen for a min, then a super quick flash of something then dead.

Check that the cable connection to the drive and motherboard are tight. Mine sometimes worked loose from vibration.

Next check the bios.

I did that last night... pressed fi and it asked me if I wanted to start vista, or press f8 for other shit. I pressed f8 and tried to get it to start in safe mode and got same results.

It doesn't sound like you've hit the bios screen yet. Try rebooting and pressing f2 (repeatedly). If that doesn't work try again with f3. Then Esc, then del.

If none of those work, you might want to take it out back and pound it into scrap with a sledge hammer. :D

what does bios screen look like?

Like one of these:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...1g-m2&aql=&oq=

It'll say something like "bios setup" or "cmos setup", maybe "hardware setup"

Once you get there, tell us what you see on the screen and we'll try to get you further.

Ok, f2 got me "windows boot manager"
Choose operating sys to start - vista is only option

to specify advanced option press f8

also, can tab to "windows memory diagnostic"

What are the options when you go to the advanced area with F8?

Jinx - I don't think you found it yet, the bios screen won't have anything to do with windows.

the memory thing ran, found no errors then tried to restart, no change


F8 - advcanced boot options

safe mode with networking
safe mode with command prompt

enable boot logging
enable low-res video (640X480)
last know good configuration (advanced) (( I tried that last night, nada))
directory services restore mode
debugging mode
disable automatic restart on system failure
disable driver signature enforcement

start windows normally




Nothing about bios anywhere

Wait, that's Windows bringing up that menu... there is hope

Does the system beep when it starts up?

No I don't think so.

if you go to safe mode with command prompt do you get a c:/ ?

I can try, but it wouldnt start in safe mode at all when I tried before.

Ive got a whole screen of lines saying

Loaded: \windows\system32\drivers\(words).sys

just sitting there

sat there for a while then quit and tried to restart again, no change.

Every F key brings up the same boot menu thing, except f10 brought up "edit boot options"

Edit windows boot options for: Windows Setup
Path \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe

[ /DETECTHAL /MININT /REDIRECT RDIMAGEOFFSET=8192 RDIMAGELENGTH=3161088 R
DPATH=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\sources\boot.wim


submit or cancel


(No beeps at any time)

Did you try the escape and delete keys?

escape key kills it, del key brings same menu.

You are rebooting the computer (ctrl-alt-del) and then tapping the key as soon as the monitor goes black, right? It doesn't seem right that there should be no key to get you into the bios screen.

Yes.

And yet, when I hit F2 I get the windows boot manager.

i'm skeert

fuckingcrap

I've never known a pc not to have a bios screen.

Have you tried shutting it all the way down (as opposed to restarting)? Cold starting might show the initial screen that says what key to press to get the bios.

THIS is right from Sony. f2.

if it's going to the wrong place, what does that mean?

if she puts that ultimate boot cd back in, can she get to BIOS from within windows?

I know when i put that boot disc in last night, I was able to get it to run in safe mode...

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/m...90705&fes=true

that's a troubleshooting list from sony's site.

Initial screen says VAIO, never says Sony. Goes from that to the cursor where I can hit F2, if I don't it goes to the microsoft progress bar after 2 or 3 seconds.

Same starting from off, restarting or auto restart after failed boot.

There are no other words at any time except for the menus described above.


Is there a different F2 key somewhere? Im hitting the one with the F and the 2.

My model number is not listed on that link btw - its PCG-3B2L

It shouldn't matter whether the ultimate cd is in or not. The opportunity to get to the bios screen happens only before anything else kicks in. If you get to something windowsish, you waited too long or it's the wrong key.

Try this. Shut the computer all the way down. Generally by holding the power key down for 5 or 10 seconds. Wait for a couple of seconds then press the power key again. Right after that start pressing the f2 (or whatever) key once a second. Also keep an eye on the screen because you might get the screen that says what key is the right one to press.

It would also help to know the model number. It's normally on the bottom of a laptop.

Ive done that like 100 times I swear to god

That initial screen that says Vaio? You want to already be tapping f2 when that comes up. Continue until you get the bios screen. Do not wait to get a cursor.

lol




to continue, press any key

homer: d'oh! I can't find the 'any' key!

Ok, I took the battery out and threw it across the room, put it back in...

Now I get an new screen! Aptio setup utility - is that close efuckingnough?

Ok. It sounds like this problem is not unknown on that model. Look at this page.

http://www.pchelpforum.com/windows-v...not-found.html

There's a section where another PCG-3B2L owner says he can't get into his bios after a crash.

Wait, no, I have it! What now?

Prolly. Tell me what text you see on that screen.

Main
Security
Boot
Exit

More stuff under each option

Yup. Just checked. That's the bios setup for American Megatrends motherboards. Look around for anything that says disk, drive, or storage.

What you're looking for is anything that shows the size of the C: drive.

Or even any evidence that the c: drive exists.

Hard disc drive: 320GB

That just in a list though, with serial number and system memory and stuff.
Doesn't say C anywhere.

No, it wouldn't because Windows is what calls that drive C:. But it shows that that hardware understands you to have a hard drive. Does that sound like the right size for your C: drive?

You said earlier that you ran a disk test and it passed. So I'm wondering if your boot sector is corrupt. This can happen due to a sector failure or it can be caused by bad virus code. Viruses love to squirrel themselve away in the boot sector.

Back later. I've got a meeting.