Old Sony Vaio laptop not booting
Discussion
I found an old Vaio laptop (PCG-8QDM - Win XP, I think c 10 years old) in my parent's house that they had long since stopped using.
After charging for several hours I started it up and it booted fine much to my surprise as my folks had told me it was fubar'd. As I switched off it came up with some XP update which started to self-install, and not wanting to go through with this I switched it off and thought I would return to it when I had more time.
Now when I switch on it appears to start booting/whirring etc, then stops after 5 second, then after another 5 seconds starts again, and then promptly dies. Nothing on screen at all, but the fan still comes on and lights on the keyboard sound buttons etc operate. I think there is a light (cylinder symbol) on the front edge next to the battery light to signify the hard drive is working and this never seems to come on.
I have tried what possible fixes I can find through google (my IT knowledge is very very limited), including remove and refit battery, run with battery removed, remove and refit memory card in slot underneath, pressing various different keys while switching on, all to no avail.
Normally I wouldn't be too bothered about losing the use of it, but when I managed to switch on the first time I found loads of family photos that we all thought had been lost (no back-sups anywhere sadly) and are of sentimental value - especially as my family get older.
Does anyone have any other thoughts re getting it to work so I at least could offload the files from the hard drive, and if not, if this was a motherboard fault, is is possible to remove the hard drive and plug in somehow to a desktop to read the files?
Any help/advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
After charging for several hours I started it up and it booted fine much to my surprise as my folks had told me it was fubar'd. As I switched off it came up with some XP update which started to self-install, and not wanting to go through with this I switched it off and thought I would return to it when I had more time.
Now when I switch on it appears to start booting/whirring etc, then stops after 5 second, then after another 5 seconds starts again, and then promptly dies. Nothing on screen at all, but the fan still comes on and lights on the keyboard sound buttons etc operate. I think there is a light (cylinder symbol) on the front edge next to the battery light to signify the hard drive is working and this never seems to come on.
I have tried what possible fixes I can find through google (my IT knowledge is very very limited), including remove and refit battery, run with battery removed, remove and refit memory card in slot underneath, pressing various different keys while switching on, all to no avail.
Normally I wouldn't be too bothered about losing the use of it, but when I managed to switch on the first time I found loads of family photos that we all thought had been lost (no back-sups anywhere sadly) and are of sentimental value - especially as my family get older.
Does anyone have any other thoughts re getting it to work so I at least could offload the files from the hard drive, and if not, if this was a motherboard fault, is is possible to remove the hard drive and plug in somehow to a desktop to read the files?
Any help/advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Have you tried pressing F8 (repeatedly) as soon as you power the computer to enter the boot option menu ?
From there, try selecting 'Last known good configuration' and see if that helps.
Safe Mode may also be worth a go.
Failing that, an external USB caddy for HDDs are cheap as chips on Amazon.
From there, try selecting 'Last known good configuration' and see if that helps.
Safe Mode may also be worth a go.
Failing that, an external USB caddy for HDDs are cheap as chips on Amazon.
Thanks everyone - I have tried both of the above suggestions for getting it working (F8 pressing and removing battery completely - still power to PC, but no booting) without success previously.
It did momentarily start to boot (on screen Vaio logo appeared briefly) one of the many times I tried normally switching on, but then promptly died.
There was mention in some google results of "replacing the CMOS battery" but this seems much more complicated on a laptop than replacing the little button cell battery on a desktop motherboard (if that is what this means?), so reluctant to try that unless likely to be successful.
If I was to remove the hard drive, what sort of connectors or power supply would I need to plug into a desktop?
It did momentarily start to boot (on screen Vaio logo appeared briefly) one of the many times I tried normally switching on, but then promptly died.
There was mention in some google results of "replacing the CMOS battery" but this seems much more complicated on a laptop than replacing the little button cell battery on a desktop motherboard (if that is what this means?), so reluctant to try that unless likely to be successful.
If I was to remove the hard drive, what sort of connectors or power supply would I need to plug into a desktop?
A search doesn't throw up many useful hits but have a look on YT for a similar chassis which might give you a guide as to how to get the HDD out:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Vaio+...
Given it's age it's probably a standard IDE drive & you can get an interface cable for a few pounds. When the drive is out post a picture of the connector & someone will find a link for the right adaptor cable.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Vaio+...
Given it's age it's probably a standard IDE drive & you can get an interface cable for a few pounds. When the drive is out post a picture of the connector & someone will find a link for the right adaptor cable.
After not having much time to look at this, I finally managed to remove the top off the case (and probably broken the key board connector, but I assume the laptop is largely goosed anyway ...) and now have the drive out as pictured below:
Can anyone let me know what sort of connector I might need to access what is on this?
My desktop is about 10 years old and only has one drive in it, so is it feasible to just plug this in there somewhere as an extra drive, or is there a USB adaptor I can buy that would plug into the old drive as pictured and then into my desktop to access the files?
Can anyone let me know what sort of connector I might need to access what is on this?
My desktop is about 10 years old and only has one drive in it, so is it feasible to just plug this in there somewhere as an extra drive, or is there a USB adaptor I can buy that would plug into the old drive as pictured and then into my desktop to access the files?
Something like this. I binned some at work a couple of Weeks ago.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363196049018
That is a 44 Pin IDE Laptop Drive. Standard for Laptops at the time.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363196049018
That is a 44 Pin IDE Laptop Drive. Standard for Laptops at the time.
imck said:
Something like this. I binned some at work a couple of Weeks ago.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363196049018
That is a 44 Pin IDE Laptop Drive. Standard for Laptops at the time.
Brilliant, thanks!https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363196049018
That is a 44 Pin IDE Laptop Drive. Standard for Laptops at the time.
If I was trying to get something similar sooner than an ebay delivery ie via Amazon prime (ideally I need it by Wednesday), I take it I would be looking specifically for an IDE enclosure/connector rather than a SATA one?
Needs to be 2.5 Inch IDE with 44 Pins
3.5" IDE Drives are not the same like they are with SATA.
Same sort of thing on Prime
https://www.amazon.co.uk/fasient-Parallel-Port-Cas...
3.5" IDE Drives are not the same like they are with SATA.
Same sort of thing on Prime
https://www.amazon.co.uk/fasient-Parallel-Port-Cas...
s2kjock said:
Brilliant, thanks!
If I was trying to get something similar sooner than an ebay delivery ie via Amazon prime (ideally I need it by Wednesday), I take it I would be looking specifically for an IDE enclosure/connector rather than a SATA one?
Since it's a one off need, no point in paying for the case:If I was trying to get something similar sooner than an ebay delivery ie via Amazon prime (ideally I need it by Wednesday), I take it I would be looking specifically for an IDE enclosure/connector rather than a SATA one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multibao-Adapter-Cable-Co...
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