Reinstalling Sony Vaio BIOS

[kristof_w]

Hi everyone,

I recently had a computer crash with my Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31Z, due to a software failure.

I had it repaired by a technician (not under warranty anymore), and I lost all partitions containing the Sony recovery software.

After a lot of work downloading the original drivers and reinstalling them (in the correct order ) I am now running Windows 7 (originally Vista was installed)  but of course without all the original Sony software (like Sony Update etc...).

But now I've noticed that my BIOS is acting weird. I just found out that I can't install the original NVidia driver anymore, neither on Windows 7 or Vista. Once I try to do that, and I reboot, it gives me a bluescreen and I get all kinds of weird colored dots and striped on my screen. It says "Page fault in non-paged area", so I run Windows startuprepair and it fixes it (by uninstalling the Nvidia driver). Also, on startup, I get the Vaio logo, but it's a bit deformed (pixelated, warped, etc...) similar to this: http://www.google.be/imgres?q=sony+vaio+startup+logo+pixelated&start=197&um=1&hl=nl&sa=N&biw=1280&bi...

Also, I can't get my battery to work properly anymore. My technician says he doesn't know how to fix it, because the BIOS is probably corrupt or something.

I have never changed anything to it, it's still the original BIOS.

Do you guys know a (safe) way to reinstall the BIOS or to repair it?

Thank you very much.

Message was edited by: kristof_w

[rich912]

Hi kristof_w,

From your description of the problem I don't think this is anything to do with the BIOS. Is the distortion apparent on the BIOS screen (tap F2 at boot to enter the BIOS). If it is then it would seem to be a hardware problem and probably the Nvidia graphics chip. The following statement was issued by Sony.

Distorted video, random characters or blank screen issues due to failure of the NVIDIA graphics chip

In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a failure associated with some of their graphics processors (GPU) due to a manufacturing defect in the graphics chip packaging. At that time Sony and NVIDIA jointly investigated whether VAIO models equipped with this GPU were impacted by this issue. This investigation revealed that the issue had not occurred in such VAIO models. However, after closely monitoring the situation, Sony has now determined that a very small percentage of VAIO computers with the NVIDIA graphics chips may be affected. These PCs may exhibit distorted video, random characters or a blank screen due to a failure of the NVIDIA graphics chip.

Resolution

As a part of our commitment to quality, for any customer who requires repair of their VAIO computer due to the NVIDIA graphics processor issue, Sony will cover the cost of repair (parts and labor) at no charge during the first four years following the date of purchase of the models in question (see list below). In case your model is shown in the list below, we invite you to contact VAIO-Link to arrange service for your VAIO.

Applicable Models  • VGN-FZ11x, VGN-FZ18x, VGN-FZ21x, VGN-FZ31x, VGN-FZ38x • VGN-AR11x, VGN-AR21x, VGN-AR31x • VGN-C1Zx, VGN-C1Zx • VGC-LM1xx, VGC-LM2xx • VGC-LT1xx, VGC-LT2xx

Rich

[kristof_w]

Thanks Rich. The distortion isn't visible in the BIOS screen. Only on the logo on startup. With Windows Vista, the OS loading screen (the green bar) is also heavily distorted with blue lines over the entire width of the screen. I don't have that problem with Windows 7. I got no problem at all with graphics once I start up an OS, but because I can't install the Nvidia driver, I can't play games anymore (it's too slow) and I can't connect to a beamer or a second screen anymore.

My technician said that on vaio's, the bios controls the battery, and if the bios is broken, the laptop can't recognise the battery or read it's level of charge.

Do you know of a way to download the original BIOS so I can reinstall it?

Message was edited by: kristof_w

[rich912 · Accepted solution]

Hi kristof_w,

As far as I am aware the original BIOS is not available for download and unfortunately there is no update available for your model.

A Sony repair partner may possibly be able to flash the BIOS for you.

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/repair/asc

Rich