GRX - Second memory slot.

[William]

Just noticed at Vaio village that another unfortunate soul has a problem with their GRX memory slots.

William

[freakoftheweek]

I am another unfortunate soul to have a slot problem: 256MB of my memory has seemingly disappeared. But now my notebook has trouble booting up. Sometimes it makes it to windows, only to crash after a few seconds, leaving me with a blue screen of death. This sounds pretty much like what I can expect from my GRX415MP according to this thread.

I just want to clarify something; after purchasing my VAIO in August 2002 - is it still under warranty?

Also, I've already sent it away once because of a DVD/CDRW drive that wouldn't shut - is that going to affect me? If I'm not under warranty can I get it repaired anyway - I'd rather Sony do it and charge me then try and get someone else to do it.

Any ideas how to back up a hard disk that I can't actually get onto at the moment? Do they have to format it? That'll teach me to back up more often!

Cheers, Jonny d:0(

[kee-lo_]

William,

Yep signed it - I really hope Sony do something.

Jonny: nope, warranty only lasts a year unless you bought a VAIO + pack.

[William]

Thanks Kee-Lo,although I am not holding my breath!

William

[kee-lo_]

Thankfully I haven't had the issue, but I know if it happened to me I'd be balistic and sitting outside Sony's office until my voice was heard :!:

[William]

Kee-Lo,

Just to sum up my feelings:

My dream for three or four years was to own a Vaio. They always seemed so stylish and appeared to ooze quality.

At the time of my purchase I didn't look at other makes - I just wanted to own the best Vaio I could afford and and my GRX cost around £1700.

I have as you know upgraded it and continued to be happy with my original purchase.

I felt sorry for anyone with a memory slot problem but felt fortunate that I was at that time unaffected.

I wouldn't expect preferential treatment for being a frequent poster here but I do think it is wrong that such a large respected Company can just ignore an obviously widespread flawed product.

I am definately biased but it would be great PR and a drop in the ocean if Sony would hold their hands up and admit the problem.

Having looked at Sony's current laptop offerings there is not one model that fulfills my total wish list. My wish list seems to be spread across two or three models not one has them all.

Each model seems to have some a rea of compromise - EG poor amount of video memory.

My blind love of Sony products reliant on just on their brand name has ended.

I like the Z1 and the V505 but they just havn't got all the best features in one model.

Why do people buy Sony laptops - It can't be based on specs and value for money?

Now we also seem to be having an increasing backlight/inverter problem with the GRX series - Is a laptop only expected to last slightly longer than the 12 month warranty?

The bland answer is - You should have taken out an extended warranty but I have always steered away from them for all consumer products. In general they are a rip off and despite what has happened I still have the same belief.

I work on the theory that if a product (especially a computer) lasts twelve months without incident it should theoretically continue to function for a lot longer with the exception of moving parts (hard disk).

William

[kee-lo_]

Yep I agree about their current range, not as exciting as it was back in March 2002, when the GRX was released to the world, now that was the turning point for me and VAIOs.

Lately some of the newer models have got less quality (no DVD+-RW or good video RAM as you said)

I only have one VAIO laptop, and that'll be enough

[freakoftheweek]

I felt the same for VAIOs, and going to university was my chance to own one of my very own! So I saved up and worked my arse off and eventually bought one.

Nineteen months on I am a student with a lot of debt - most definitely lacking the capital needed to repair [or even diagnose] my notebook. This #1600 investment should have seen me though uni and out the other side.

I will ask nicely for help. Maybe they will say yes. If not, then I shall write to them, frequently, and to BBC Watchdog, and to trading standards.

If I have no success then surely my only option is to buy a new motherboard and fit it myself. I am competant at building, upgrading and repairing desktops - a notebook can't be that different, can it? Does anyone know where I could get hold of the hardware I need?

Peace, Jonny

[William]

Jonny,

Although I can't personally recommend them this is the only place I find which will supply replacement parts:

This place is Impact computers in the USA but I have deleted them from my favourites.

If you have the memory slot problem a replacement motherboard may only see you thru another 12 months. My solution is one 512Mb stick and a new unpleasant awareness of Sony as a laptop manufacturer.

Also my screen Bezel replacement taught me it is difficult to dismantle without damaging other parts. You would not believe how many bits have to be removed just to remove the bezel. I managed it but only becuse I had three weeks waiting for the new parts to arrive.

Good Luck.

William


William

[William]

Kee-Lo,

To me he Z1 and V505 look great but they ain't got all that it takes under the hood.

William

[kee-lo_]

William,

Getting back to memory - if the second slot goes does it mean you can't use the PC if you only use one slot? Or does it not affect people who only use one stick of RAM?