The fan should not turn on until the computer has reached a certain temperature. At that point, the fan will turn on to decrease the temperature of the computer and will stay on until it reaches a “low limit” temperature.
If your computer has been on for a long time and the fan is very loud, you should completely turn off your computer and unplug it from the wall and give it a chance to rejuvinate itself for a couple hours.
Almost always, a loud fan is caused by a lot of dirt and dust clogging the fan. If you take a can of spray air and direct it toward the vents on the back of the computer, this should remove most, if not all, of the dirt from clogging the fan. This should prevent the fan from overheating and from making lots of noise.
For internal fan replacement, go here.
Computer will not boot on or wake up from sleep.
If your computer screen seems to flash on and off or won’t come back to life after sleeping, the restart/power button may be jammed. Your best bet would be to try to free the button. You can do this by either using a can of spray air or a needle to loosen the button.
If you are able to see what is on the screen when you place a light behind the screen, then the screen itself is fine and the wiring is faulty. Other parts that may be bad are the display or the logic board. If your backlight fails intermittently while moving the display, the problem is with the inverter cables. Otherwise it is impossible to test for damaged parts without replacing them one by one. If you are comfortable taking apart the display assembly, replace the display inverter first, then replace the LCD.
For help replacing your screen, go here.
Keyboard sticks, or does not connect to the computer.
If your keyboard continues to get stuck or buttons can no longer be pushed down, then try using a can of spray air to attempt to free any dirt or debris within the keyboard itself.
If a key is stuck in the down position, then you can remove the key with a CPU “chip puller” tool. This is a simple “L” shaped tool. Once the key is out, you can examine the spring and try to stretch it so it can resume its action. If the spring will not resume its action, you may have to buy another small spring.
If you spill drink on your keyboard, turn the computer over IMMEDIATELY. Shake it if necessary in order to get out as much liquid as possible. You may use a hair dryer. After a few days, if the keyboard doesn’t work, you will have to replace the keyboard and examine the interior damage to the laptop.
Additional keyboard troubleshooting.
For help replacing your keyboard, go here.
Frequent use of any computer system involves constant changes to the main operating system files. By setting an automatic System Recovery schedule, you can ensure your computer is easily repairable when brought down by virus or other infection.
If your computer does not boot properly, a system recovery may be in order. To use system recovery, boot using ‘Safe Mode’ and follow the instructions found on Microsoft’s database website here. A system recovery will revert your main system files back to their original state, before the infection was present on your system.
Trouble connecting to wireless internet.
If you are unable to connect to wireless internet the problem may not lie with the laptop but rather with wireless internet router. Check and see if your computer detects any wireless internet connections. If none are detected the problem probably lies with the internet router. Check to see if the router is properly connected by following the router’s instruction manual, you might have to turn the router off and on. If your problem still persists you may have a faulty wireless network card that will need replacement.
If your computer is receiving the wireless signal but not actually using the wireless, check to make sure that wireless switch above your keyboard is turned on. This is in an easy accessible place that can easily be turned off.
On average, Microsoft releases at least one major update to the Windows operating systems per year. Between these major releases, smaller updates are usually a weekly occurrence. If you’re computer is not functioning properly, you should run Windows update to ensure your computer is up-to-date. To run Windows update, visit the Microsoft Update page [update.microsoft.com/|here].
Another part of your computer which may need to be updated is the drivers. Drivers are what control each individual piece of hardware in your computer. From the keyboard to the display screen, each driver needs to be up-to-date to ensure optimum performance. In Windows 7, drivers are updated automatically. However for the Windows XP and Vista environments, driver update will often need to take place manually. Follow the appropriate instructions below, depending on what operating system you are using, to open your computer’s device manager and update your drivers.
Click the “Start” button in the bottom left cornerRight-Click “My Computer"Click the “Properties” optionClick on the “Hardware” tabClick “Device Manager”
Click the start icon button in the bottom left cornerRight-Click “Computer"Click the “Properties” optionClick on the “Hardware” tabClick “Device Manager”
This will open the device manager which is a list of all components in your PC. To update the drivers for a component, right-click on that component and choose the “Update Driver” option. Follow the on-screen directions for properly updating your driver.
The battery dies immediately or not lasting as long as it should.
If your battery is dead, as soon as you unplug your computer from the wall the computer will shut off. This means that the computer is running completely off of the adaptor. A battery may attain this problem many different ways; it may not accept a charge (this particular symptom may also indicate a problem with the logic board), the computer may not recognize the battery, or the battery may be recognized as charged but fail to power your computer when the AC adapter is unplugged.
Battery life and capacity decrease over time normally, as in all laptop computers. However, if your battery is damaged or faulty or just too old, the most basic course of action would be to replace the battery as soon as possible. Be careful: this model of laptop will not accept any generic battery. A genuine Sony battery is the only battery compatible with this laptop.
To change the battery, locate the old battery on the underside and back of the laptop. Slide the lock to the unlock position and carefully remove the battery. Place the new battery in the position the old battery was in and slide the lock back to the lock position.
For help replacing your battery, go here.
Your computer will not boot.
If your laptop is unable to power up or if it shutdowns automatically, it could be one of many issues. First, check you battery. If you have lights on your battery, check to make sure that it’s charged. If it’s not, it could be the power supply. Try removing the battery and see if it powers up with just the power adapter connected.
If it’s not the power adapter or battery, it could either be the power board inside the computer (that the power adapter connects to) or the hard drive. You can do this with the help of our repair guide.
Visit the Sony VAIO webpage.
