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Broken PCG-281M

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GlynIngram
Visitor

Broken PCG-281M

Hi guys. 2 years ago, I purchased a PCG-281M Sony Blu Ray desktop PC for £1350. After working Ok for that period, about a month ago, when watching a video file on youtube or something, the screen went all fuzzy and the PC locked up and crashed. When I went to reboot it, I discovered the PC was doing the same thing; I did a complete reinstallation thingy and it worked Ok again for a short while but then, hey presto, an hour or so in, fuzzy screen, reboot, grey dots all over the place followed by red blotches and green stripes and one seriously broken PC.

Not at all happy as the computer has hardly been brilliant from the outset. The BluRay software has never worked properly from month four or five, and the people in the Sony Centre were predictably uninterested. I even tried running that bit of software on the machine that identifies 'hardware problems' but it found sod-all wrong. Some pictures of this wonderful machine and what it's doing can be seen here.


http://yfrog.com/e8photo0011oj

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7637/photo0009g.jpg

By the by, I also learnt three months ago that it wouldn't be possible to upgrade it to Windows 7 as Sony weren't supporting that. Or something. Sony Support is bad, and despite doing software installations again and again, the problem returns. In fact, I am now finding that the PC is just stuck on the 'windows is now starting for the first time....' screen.

What do I do? Bin the thing? Have gone out and bought a new desktop by a firm called MSI as I just couldn't be arsed with this amateurishness. Would never touch a Sony again.

 

 

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Edited by Drewde - Profanity removed.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

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rich912
Contributor

Hi werkraus6,

 

If this is a VGC-LT1M (PCG- 281M is a chassis reference) then it is possibly the known NVIDIA chip problem. Sony committed to a free repair within four years of purchase but my guess is that the machine is well past that time limit.

 

Use the suppot tab at the top of this page to search for VGC-281M and then on the tips and solutions tab type 'distorted video' for more information.

 

 

Rich

 

 

 

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Edited by Drewde - Profanity in subject removed.

 

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4 REPLIES 4
TrollJester
Visitor

Looks a lot like the same problem as over here:

 

http://community.sony.co.uk/t5/PCs-Accessories/Nvidia-G84m-G86m-faulty-chip-happen-to-Vaio/td-p/1253...


Big headache with certain nvidia Graphics chipsets, I wontgo into detail here, cos there's plenty on the thread above and elsewhere on the web. Best advice is to get genned up and then kick up merry hell with both Sony and wherever you bought it.

I'm phoning my local trading standards tomorrow(Re: my post on the last page of the thread above) and moving this on legally. FYI I was fobbed off at both Sony where I spoke to a very senior Customer Relations Manager at their UK HQ on Fri. Who's best offer was to have the repair done (not really a credible solution in my opinion), and, my local PC World where I handed in a copy of my letter. An assistant manager refused to give me his regional managers name and contact details!
Sony are arranging collection of the machine to be taken to their repair centre for the re-flowing of the 'whatever it is'. But other's with same problem/ same repair have had the problem recurring. So, I'm not going to be happy with anything other than replacement with an alternative - definitely not an identical - machine, or refund plus compensation!

 

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Edited by Drewde - Profanity in topic removed.

Edited by Rich912 - Provided updated link to thread referred to.

GlynIngram
Visitor

This is all quite interesting. Thank you. This morning, I called Sony's helpline and quickly learnt that as my product is out of warranty, I'd have to pay 35p per minute to speak to someone about it. Sadly, I can't make premium rate calls from work (quite rightly too) - How dare Sony think it's Ok to charge people that sort of money to call them up for help or advice, especially when it's to do with their own sub-standard products that I'm calling them about in the first place?! Honestly...

So, anyway, in an attempt to avoid convalescing from open-wallet surgery for the next three months (remember:- Sony already had £1350 from me two year's ago), I instead called their UK Head Office who put me straight through to the customer support team and, in doing so, I saved about £10 as I was on the phone to them for quite some time. I ended up talking to some French bloke who listened to my problem. At least, I think he was French. I explained, as best as I could, that the problem seemed to be a 'known fault' and I wanted it "sorted" as there were lots of people on the Sony Vaio Forums with exactly the same issue and my friend 'TrollJester' had confirmed it was serious Sony-dodginess at play. He put me on hold for a while and then came back and then eventually, after taking my details, decided it was a 'software problem' that I was having.

I tried to argue a little and insisted this was going to be something that a little bit of Windows Vista jiggling wasn't going to sort. However, he insisted that he knew best. He's calling me back tomorrow between 10am and midday to go through it with me over the phone (I couldn't do it this morning as I was at work and didn't have the wretched PC in front of me). I'm not at all convinced his input will do much; the software has been reinstalled about 5 times now, and if he calls me tomorrow and even mentions "press the F10 key..." I'll swear at him down the phone.

 

 

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Edited by Drewde - Profanity in topic removed.

 

werkraus6
New

I have the same problem, same sceen image. How did you solve it?

 

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Edited by Drewde - Profanity in subject removed.

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rich912
Contributor

Hi werkraus6,

 

If this is a VGC-LT1M (PCG- 281M is a chassis reference) then it is possibly the known NVIDIA chip problem. Sony committed to a free repair within four years of purchase but my guess is that the machine is well past that time limit.

 

Use the suppot tab at the top of this page to search for VGC-281M and then on the tips and solutions tab type 'distorted video' for more information.

 

 

Rich

 

 

 

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Edited by Drewde - Profanity in subject removed.

 

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