Prev. thread:
>>>>36141
Sorry for the new thread, but I couldn't post in the old one. A couple of hours after my last post, the laptop 'died' on me and I don't have other devices with internet.
I'll try to keep it short:
>Green dots were too extreme, so I shutdown
>turned Vaio on again hours later, 'Vaio screen' appears, then boot or "Windows Starthilfe Reparatur" (German... something like 'Windows Boot Help Repair')
>doing that = system is searched for errors, takes ~30-40minutes each time; result: can't find any way to help/repair
>shows a bunch of options on how to boot/restore from backup/check RAM/etc.
>booting results in a black screen and laptop doesn't make the usual 'boot sounds'
>BIOS works and shows the hdd and RAM
>dead screen backlight + no VGA/DVI monitor = can't read much
Now here's the thing: if the GPU is dead, how can it show the boot help, which is a regular Windows explorer = graphics interface?
If the hard drive were dead, how could it start a Windows function? USB/mouse driver loads btw.
Maybe my Windows copy is faulty, e.g. the boot sector or something? I don't have a repair/boot disk or anything else to try right now.
Luckily I could borrow a rather new laptop *8.1 yuck* from my mother. It works for now, but I'd still need a replacement.
It should be possible to extract the hard drive/data from my 'dead' laptop some way, right? I do know about cables/adapters for old internal drives. I just don't know about laptop hdds. I opened the back of my Vaio and there are an empty slot and a rather small hdd. I don't know yet how to take it out... it's like the hdd is pushed in from the top, yet pushed in from the front to plug into the slot. I'll try to find out. I'd really like to get access to the data (as long as the drive is not dead).
Possible new build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Zbc86h
Price on the site I'd order everything: 426,- EUR
I like this build, even though it's 'pricy' (if you are rather poor^^)
>>38747
>Now here's the thing: if the GPU is dead, how can it show the boot help, which is a regular Windows explorer = graphics interface?
GPUs start in a "compatibility" mode where they run at a low clock and present the PC with a standard functionality, usually something like SVGA with VESA extensions. This mode is fine for running Windows setup and similar.
When the actual driver loads, it tells the GPU to reset and come back in full-fat mode, where it gives full performance but needs its own specific driver.
When your laptop's driver tells your laptop's GPU to do that, it does, and then because it's no-longer correctly attached to the board, the computer crashes.
If you just need Windows to work, you can probably do that by uninstalling the GPU driver and never reinstalling it again.
The correct solution is to have your laptop reballed. Check on eBay and Gumtree; there may well be a business that can do it at a sensible price.
Ah, I didn't know about such a compatibility mode. I once had a graphics card going bad in a desktop PC and every time I started the computer there was that horrible beep. And when the GPU in my parents desktop went bad the screen was completely black on startup. My Vaio still shows stuff, so I wasn't sure. But the green stuff that showed made me think faulty GPU.
>If you just need Windows to work, you can probably do that by uninstalling the GPU driver and never reinstalling it again.
How would I uninstall the drivers without the laptop booting? I don't really have any options on booting. Though it might be that after that long Windows check there was an option to use the command line, not sure.
I don't know anything about reballing, sorry. I'll look it up.
So, I checked online for HDD adapters and found some. Now the only problem is getting the drive OUT. The only videos I found showed different layouts. And one with a 'similar' drive slot didn't actually show him getting it out -_- Sony's website or any other site also doesn't help with this... Tomorrow I'll have a friend look at it. Worst case I have to visit a computer shop.
On the hdd there is a black plastic strip. The guy in the video said to pull on it, but nothing happens and I don't know if the plastic might not rip (btw I took out supporting screws)... I already took some photos, and can upload them later if it helps.
Maybe someone else finds something about hdd removal in a "Sony Vaio VGN-AR61M"? <- not lazy, I just don't find anything
The drive seems to be a 2.5 inch SATA (never seen one before). If/when I get it out and I buy an adapter, do they vary in ways I need to know? Has to be 2.5 inch and be the right case size, anything else?
Sorry for being noobish, I haven't worked on computer hardware in over 10 years
>>38775
>How would I uninstall the drivers without the laptop booting?
Safe mode. If that doesn't work, neither will the workaround.
There might be a screw holding the entire HDD caddy in; this will be beyond the SATA connector in the direction of the motherboard. This is a common way of retaining optical drives. If a sensible pull on the tab doesn't remove the drive, you've missed a screw somewhere.
>>38747
Looks like the entire two-disk caddy slides forwards and out, revealing the screws holding the disks in from underneath.
Yes, that's exactly how mine looks. The disk is in the right slot. I removed both screws on the right and the one on the bottom. The middle top screw I can't get out with my screwdriver, it doesn't turn.
How should I proceed? Unscrewing the whole caddy and taking it out shouldn't work with the HDD still in the SATA connector. But I can't unplug it the way it is...
Those plastic flap thingies apparently aren't there to pull anything out. They're just to cover the drives.
>>38810
I count at least six screw holes there, so getting all of them would be a good start.
Take one of the screws that did come out to a decent tool shop, and buy whatever screwdriver fits it best.
Use that screwdriver to gently screw the misbehaving screw *in* until it just starts to move, then very gently unscrew it. Ideally never use it again, because it's not like it's going to get better with age.
