VAIO AR51E I have multicoloured vertical bands on my screen is ths the NVIDIA chip problem?> What will SONY do about this? Laptop is a couple of years old so I think out of warrantly but I don't see why I should have to pay anything to get it fixed.......

[AnnoyedAlready]

It is really frustrating trying to type while moving the window so that I can see what is on screen 'behind' these coloured bars (there are four of them, each nearly 2 inches wide). I have tried to update drivers and run virus scans to now avail. From what I can read on forums there seems to be a fault with the video chip=. What should I do? Do SONY care? I don't know. I get the impression that it sounds like usual MEGAcorp attitude in that people have to call a premium rate number or email and get a robot-reply. If the chip is faulty the laptop is not fit for purpose and so in British law I think they have a duty to sort it out or offer a refund or replacemnt.  EVEN if it is out of warranty.

[Blencogo]

I understand your concerns.  As far as I know, Sony do not think your Vaio type is affected by the nVidia fault.

To narrow down the cause of the problem, can you try these two things: -

1. During boot up (when you see the first VAIO logo on screen) press F2 repeatedly.  This will take you into the BIOS screen.  Do you get the same display problem in these BIOS screens?

2. Connect your Vaio to an external display by a normal VGA monitor cable.  Do you get the same display problems on an external display?

These two tests will determine if the fault is the screen itself, a faulty driver or indeed a faulty graphics chip.