Vaio VPCSB does not start up

[ispanos1]

Fellow Sony Vaiors,

  I need a technical advise regarding my Sony Vaio VPCSB, my laptop does not boot anymore. When it starts up the option of start up repair is given but then it does not proceed to a next stage rather it stays idle in a wallpaper style screen. I have tried all the indicative options ( start up in a previous moment, safe mode, safe mode with command etc) but nothing. The error that appears is the 0x000000ed. I do not have a recovery cd neither windows 7 cd, my laptop has pre-con all its software ( I bought it from Sony.co.uk).  I do not know what to do, I work my PhD on this laptop and I have some material not backed up yet..I am in despair.  Do you know if there is anything that i can do to resolve my problem? I am currently on holiday on the north part of Greece, which complicates things further. 

I will be greatful for any good advice

[rich912]

Hi ispanos1,
It would seem that either you have a hard drive issue or the OS is corrupt past repair.
In an attempt to recover data that has not been backed up you could remove the hard drive and place it in a SATA USB caddy – attach this to another PC and see whether this will allow access to the files.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SATA-HARD-DRIVE-CADDY-ENCLOSURE/dp/B002UZO07C
As it would appear that you have not created recovery media and if the hard drive needs replacement you can purchase a set of recovery discs from Support.
Rich

[ispanos1]

Many thanks. What I did was to speak with the Sony Centre in Athens, they told me that they can not guarantee any data backup and they can only restore vaio's configurations. That was not a valid option for me, so I decided to take the laptop to a local pc-wizard. They describe to me something similar with what you described Rich, they will remove the hard drive and place it to another PC, after that they back up the data and they will restore windows 7. The guy was very sure that back up will be successful and not data will be lost. When I start on the laptop the hard drive makes the normal noise as always, my guess is that the OS is corrupt past repair ( before the laptop had died a blue screen appeared saying that the OS is corrupted etc..).  I am wondering if realy data can been backed up, and also what can cause an a severe OS problem. Thanks.

[rich912]

Hi ispanos1,
In most instances, when just the OS is corrupt and un-repairable, data can be easily retrieved.
The reasons for corrupt OS can be many, including viruses or damaged sectors on the hard drive.
If there is data you desperately need then I think you have little option other than to try the local repair center.
Once they reinstall the Win 7 OS it will be necessary to install all Sony drivers and utilities but you will not be able to reinstall the software that came pre-installed as this is not available for download. To achieve this it will be necessary to purchase a set of recovery media from Sony Support.
Good luck and let us know how things go.
Rich