Operating System Malfunctions; Operating System Will Not Load - Sony VAIO PCG-V505 Series Training Manual

defective.
Sony Logo Appears:
If the logo appears, most of the hardware has passed the POST and all firmware has loaded. If the unit cannot
get past this stage, the optical or hard disc drive is the likely cause. An error message may, or may not, occur on
the screen.
• Hard Disc Drive: This may, or may not, produce an error message on the display. If the hard disc is
suspect, re-boot the computer and enter the BIOS setup by pressing the F2 key to see if it recognizes the
drive. If the drive is recognized, turn the computer off and re-start with the hard drive disconnected. If the
unit completes POST, the message "Operating System Not Found" should appear. This indicates a hard
drive than cannot read any information from its disc and it should be replaced. The best way to eliminate
a hard disc is to have a test drive with the correct operating system to see if the computer will load it.
Optical Disc Drive: In most cases the POST sequence will eventually continue after a period of time and
•
begin the OS loading. If this occurs, the optical disc can be checked by seeing if the OS can recognize it
by using the "My Computer" or "Windows Explorer" functions.

Operating System Malfunctions

Failure of the operating system to correctly load can be caused by missing or corrupted files, missing or incorrect
device drivers, malfunctioning devices, and even corrupted RAM. Missing or corrupted files usually generate error
messages on the screen during the boot sequence. Corrupted RAM or device and/or driver failures generally
hang the OS loading process.
It is assumed that technicians utilizing this manual are properly trained in the use and maintenance of the
Microsoft Windows® XP platform. The operating and diagnostics functions of this OS are quite sophisticated and
a training manual many times the size of this one would need to be developed to cover all possible use of the
tools. The procedures to follow are very basic and laid out to quickly bring the system to proper working order.
Unlike off-the-shelf versions of the operating system, the OS loaded on Sony computers is customized and
placed onto a recovery disc. This disc does not have the utilities to fix corrupted files in the OS without destroying
data files. Running the recovery CD will re-image the drive and wipe out all other files, including those, which may
be valuable to the customer. All attempts should be made to repair the operating system without using the
recovery CD.
The most effective way to narrow down the problem to software is to hook up a test drive with the correct
operating system. If the unit is able to load the OS with the test drive, the cause of the OS failure on the original
drive must be isolated. The OS has a variety of tools to aid in the isolation of problems.

Operating System Will Not Load:

An attempt should be made to load the operating system using a startup disc. This can be created on any
computer with the same OS. Two important steps can be achieved if this is successful:
1. The ability to launch the system into safe-mode and access the internal Systems Restore utility of the
OS
2. To possibly launch the entire OS to backup files valuable to the customer.
1. PCG-V505 Series Troubleshooting
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