S2HP Radeon Crash

[joeholden]

Hello all, I've recently switched my company laptop to an VGN-S2HP, and am having rather annoying issues, namely with the Radeon crashing. It can happen when the OS is booted, resulting in a total lock up of the machine (maybe not solely related), to the display freezing but machine fully operational, and also the machine will sometimes refuse point blank to boot, or boot but not display anything.

I updated the BIOS to the latest one, and that reduced the problems, but hasn't erradicated them.

Other than this, its a lovely little machine, whats the diagnosis, or would I need to replace it with a new one?

Thanks,
Joe Holden

[rich912]

Hi Joe and welcome to the forum.

There are known problems with some of the Vaio S series that have the ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 fitted - as yours does.

This is an extract from the Vaio Village forum that may be of interest:

"S series problems

Lately, there have been several cases of the VGN-S series that "appear" to have the same characteristics as the GRX / GRV memory slot problem. The reason it's similar is because slight pressure to the RAM slots seems to resolve the problem temporarily and the system may boot.

The VGN-S series DO NOT suffer from the memory slot problem. Currently, there are no signs of the solder welds becoming a problem.

The slight movement from the pressure being applied to the RAM is causing temporary contact within or under the video chip. We're currently developing a repair for this problem. It's not easy.

Typical symptoms of this problem are:

System does not come out of hibernation
System reports an error in the ati driver
System does not boot, screen remains black.
In some cases the Sony logo come up on boot and does not proceed with the boot process.

Here is what I suggest you do:

If you're under warranty, contact SONY and setup a repair ticket with them.
If your system still boots and this problem is intermittent and you're OUT of warranty, for now, use the system until it is un-reliable. Try to avoid moving the laptop.
If your system does not boot, contact us for a possible repair.

aqs12@adelphia.net

Joe Kabalan
AQS Computer Services
2572 Sheridan Drive
Tonawanda, NY 14150

Toll Free: 1-866-204-4677
Local: 716-832-2473
Email: aqs12@adelphia.net

www.aqstech.com
www.laptopbios.com

Just a quick update.

This repair has been finalized and is in full swing. So far, this condition has appeared in the following models:

VGN-S150
VGN-S170
VGN-S260
VGN-S270

Basically any S series with the ATI 9200 video chip. It's best to get this repaired as early as possible (after seeing the above mentioned symptoms) to avoid a non-repairable condition.

Thanks,

Joe K
Edited by: SMDBIOS at: 9/29/05 10:02 pm"

Assuming that the notebook is still covered by warranty I suggest that you contact Support to arrange a repair.

[joeholden]

Hi Rich, thanks for your reply, its a relief that its not just me who is suffering from this problem. I have experienced all those problems. As im not sure on the warranty status, i'll have to find out, failing that, is there anything I can do that will solve it, as you appear to be located in the States, and I am situated in the UK? Even a temporary solution for a few weeks until I've ordered a new one (I'm a member of the IT staff, so no waiting for 2nd user laptops :P)

Thanks,
Joe Holden

[rich912]

Hi Joe,

No I am in the UK, not the States.

There would appear to be little that can be done as a short term workaround. Applying slight pressure in the area of the memory chips seems to work but I would hesitate in recommending this procedure as further damage may ensue.

As the symptoms that you describe would suggest that your notebook is in the final stages of failure an immediate repair by either Sony or a third party is the way to go….