pcg-fx103 won't boot after bios upgrade to XP

[jifster]

Looks like I made a bad decision to upgrade my bios to xp as per http://www.vaio-link.com instructions.

The upgrade went through and the laptop shut down automatically after but when I attempted to restart nothing happens. I get two lights on the notebook which is the power and disk both being static. It won't read the floppy drive or cdrom either on startup.

Does that mean the laptop is fried or can I get out of this somehow, i've had a look for a bios battery under the keyboard but can't find it.

Thanks for any assistance.

Regards,
Garry

[rich912]

Have a look for a small pinhole on the underside of your notebook – if there, this is the CMOS reset micro switch. With the computer powered down use a very thin utensil to press the switch (without too much pressure)

I don’t hold out much hope that this will solve your problem but it is worth a try.

[jifster]

I don’t hold out much hope that this will solve your problem but it is worth a try.

Thanks for the tip, found the hole and heard the switch click but unfortunatly this has not worked.

Anyone got any other idea's, or just tell me straight this fx103 is now spares and repairs. I promise I won't cry (much).

[rich912]

Not looking good I am afraid! There is the option of a new Bios chip but the chances are that this is soldered to the motherboard and thus you will need specialist help.
Further reading....

[jifster]

Not looking good I am afraid! There is the option of a new Bios chip but the chances are that this is soldered to the motherboard and thus you will need specialist help.
Further reading....

Ok thanks again. I've had a read of that article. I'll try and locate the bios chip just incase there are any restore bios jumpers but i'm not sure this is the case on laptops.

If anyone is reading this and has a service manual for the pcg-fx103 and can give me some advice please let me know. I need to know where the bios chip is located on the mobo or any other tips about jumpers etc.

Thanks again
Garry

garry@sunstruck.clara.co.uk

[rich912]

This link should help you to locate the CMOS battery. Your model is not listed but should have the same basic layout as the other models – you should look for Ref No 149 (middle left of the first schematic)

[jifster]

This link should help you to locate the CMOS battery. Your model is not listed but should have the same basic layout as the other models – you should look for Ref No 149 (middle left of the first schematic)

Ok thanks, found it and removed. I'll leave it out for a few days as i'm going away. I'll still be online so can check in if anyone else has any ideas.

What will removing the cmos battery do by the way? or is it just worth a try to get all the power out of the laptop.

Thanks again,

Regards,
Garry

[rich912]

Hi Garry,

The CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) battery maintains information such as the system time and system settings for your computer. Removing or re-setting this is unlikely to make any difference if the BIOS is damaged/corrupted so I am afraid we are back to the “worth a try”…..