vgn death ????

[sasarta]

my vgn a417m's (according to the local computer shop) mother board  has died. the lightys are on but the screen is black any ideas, should i  get them to replace the mother board for about £200 or see what sony  say , or just bin the dammed thing and start again.

please help a

computer virgin

[Thalamus.]

Hi sasarta,

do you hear your vaio running at all.?

If so try connecting your Vaio to an external monitor, do you still have the same problem.?

[sasarta]

Thalamus,

Thanks for the reply,

yes i hear the vaio running, and have connected to an external monitor but still have the same problem.

[stephanius · Accepted solution]

Make sure to have an external monitor connected to the A-Series VGA-out when the system boots, hit F2 to enter the BIOS and allow yourself more time to see something on the screen (or the screen to detect the signal and show it properly). If you can see the VAIO logo and/or the BIOS, you know that your mainboard is fine, but either the display, the display harness or the inverter for the display's backlight is faulty.

I would not recommend spending £200 on a repair for this system. Since A417 was launched in 2005, computer prices have dropped significantly and notebooks which are many times as powerful are retailing for as little as £628 such as the current VAIO E Series 17" variant: http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vn-e-series