Vaio SVE1713M1E​B doesn't start

[siegmund10]

Recently I bought a WD My Book 2 TB external HDD which I connect to my Vaio SVE1713M1EB through USB 3.0

However when I shut down the computer with the drive connected and then start manually, it doesn't start. It shows only the Vaio logo without loading Windows 8.

I need to shut down again (manually) then remove the drive to make it start. The curious thing is that the computer reboots normally even when the drive is connected. The afore-mentioned issue occurs only when shut down.

Any ideas?

Many thanks in advance!

[rich912]

Hi siegmund10,

There is a possibility that the machine is trying to boot from the external drive. To check whether this is the case enter the BIOS (with the drive detached) by pressing and holding F2 at boot when you see the VAIO logo. On the ‘Boot’ tab, if ‘External Device Boot’ is enabled then disable it.

On the same tab make sure the boot order is:

 1. Internal Optical Disk Drive

 2. Internal Hard disk Drive

 3. External Device .

4. Network.

Save settings and exit.

Shut down, reattach the drive and attempt to start the notebook.

Rich

[siegmund10]

I followed your steps however the issue persists because the external device boot was disabled already.

In details it was like this:

Boot Configuration
Boot Mode: UEF1
External Device Boot: Disabled
Network Boot: Disabled
Boot Priority
Internal Hard Disc Drive
External Device
Internal Optical Disc Drive
Network

Any more ideas?

Thank you !

[siegmund10]

I suspect there must be something wrong with the USB 3 configuration.

Any more suggestions ?

[rich912]

Hi siegmund10,

To rule out a problem with the device itself have you tried another computer?  You could also try a USB 2 port assuming your computer has one.

If using USB 2 port solves the problem then it may indicate a controller problem on USB 3. Your model was released with both Windows 7 and 8 – not sure which you are running.

There is a driver available on the support site for the Win 7 OS but Win 8 has native support for USB 3 so no driver listed.

www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/SVE1713M1EB/updates

To reinstall native Windows controllers it is necessary to delete them from Device Manager and then reboot – controllers will be reinstalled.

As the machine is failing to POST I would suspect a BIOS issue rather than controller but I may be wrong in this. As an experiment it may be worth enabling Legacy USB support, if that option is available, and see whether that makes a difference. If that option is not available try changing the boot mode from UEFI to Legacy.

Rich

[siegmund10]

I thank you so much for your reply, however I forgot to add that the device works fine in any other port but USB 3 My computer runs Win 8 which has no update for USB 3 drivers. Do you still suggest to re-install the native Windows controllers?

Unfortunately there isn't or I don't know where to find the option to enable Legacy USB support. Not in the BIOS anyway. The only I can try is changing the boot mode to Legacy, however are you sure that this is harmless meaning that it won't cause any further worse issues?

Anyway thanks again, I'll try it and I'll be back.

[siegmund10]

The only thing I achieved by changing the boot mode to Legacy is getting the message "Operating system not found" on boot.

[rich912]

Hi siegmund10,

Does the computer boot normally in Legacy mode without the external drive attached?

If it does then it would indicate that the system is trying to boot from the external drive. The cause is most likely a BIOS setting, but as you have checked that the internal drive has priority over the external drive in boot sequence, I have no clue as to which setting needs changing, especially as I don’t have a Vaio running Win 8 to refer to.

You could try setting the BIOS settings to default just in case something has been changed along the way. If this fails to work then reinstalling the USB 3 controller would be my next suggestion. I assume that you have run Windows Update recently – just in case Microsoft have updated the USB 3 controller driver.

Rich

[siegmund10]

Dear Rich,

As I told you already the computer doesn't boot at all when the drive is attached. It freezes on the Vaio logo without loading Windows. However it reboots normally if the drive is attached when the computer is on. The issue occurs only if it's shut down with the drive attached.

No, the computer does not boot normally with or without the drive attached if the boot mode is changed to Legacy. It gives the error message "Operating system not found"

I've alredy set the BIOS settings to default without any result, and I've unistalled and re-installed the USB 3 driver. Both my Microsoft and Vaio updates are the latest.

In addition I've restored my system to it's factory settings (reformatted) only for the USB 3 port to work normally once, the second time it produced the same issue.

Therefore I believe it must be something with the Vaio-Sony configuration of USB 3 and only an update from there could fix it.

I'd be very interested to let me know what you think !

Many thanks again !

[rich912]

Hi siegmund10,

This is a strange one and I agree that it is probably something to do with the Vaio configuration (probably the BIOS) – assuming that is that the drive does not prevent booting on other Windows 8 computers via USB 3 port.

Thalamus has kindly sent me a link from the WD data base that confirms this is a known issue.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3701/p/228%2C209%2C316/session/L3RpbWUvMTM3NzA3ODQ4N...

If the option is available (I somehow doubt it is) then try disabling the SES driver in the Bios. Otherwise you will need to speak to Sony support as it would seem that a BIOS update is required.

Rich