Sony VAIO Owners... GRAPHICS CHIP ((READ THIS))

[MiserableVAIO_Owner]

For those of you that own a Sony VAIO I'm sure you either have or will come accross this problem in due course. I have owned my Sony VAIO for about 3 years, pretty much the same as every one else who is now experiencing this problem. The graphics cards in Sony VAIO's are NOT built to last what so ever, the chip is placed incorrectly resulting in the need to spend LOTS of money repairing or buying a new laptop. My advice to you is this...

If your Sony VAIO graphics card HAS finaly buggered up do NOT pay for repairs on your Sony VAIO as it is a very simple fix as i have done this myself.. Also if you do pay for a repair on your Sony VAIO whoever it is doing the job for you is most likely making a FORTUNE out of you as they are probably doing this themselves.. I'm not saying your Sony VAIO will last forever but you will definutely get a good few months more out of it!

Ok heres what you need to do....

Turn your Sony VAIO over so the bottom is facing upwards...

Take out all the screws that you see

Once you have done this you should be able to remove the case of your Sony VAIO

What you are looking for is your graphics chip (This will be held down by a number of screws)

Tighten these screws as hard as you can with a small screw driver (MUST BE AN EXACT FIT!!)

Place your Sony VAIO back together and this should do the trick

[cowdog8]

I have had my card repaired 3 times since april its ridiculous, the first time i paid £110 to The Labtop Doctors in middlessex who sony gave me there datails as one of there authorised delears.  3weeks later in May i got my labtop back an was given 3 months warranty on the repair.  End of Aug this year graphics card fails again so i return to Laptop Doctors 4 days past 3 month warranty, they tell me on the phone that they have a 6 day lee-way policy so i think great as id hardly used it during this time.  Although i might add i was not impressed that the hardware had failed again either with vaio or repair centre.  couple days later havin not herd anything from them called them to find out they had done nothing as i was to be charged for labtop repair although they confirmed same issue, i was absolutely furious an asked to speak to manager who took item in and whom had confirmed my 3m warranty etc.  He wasnt in an would call me back, after 2 weeks of being told aload of tosh by company lackys i finally spoke to main man who said i would have to pay £110 for repair which was a 25% discount on cost (dont even go there i know) at this point i just needed it repaired an needed it back so choking on my own air an voicing my disapproval of there dodgy ethics gave them go ahead, within a wk collected labtop.  This time i have a 2 month warranty.

6 wks later labtop goes down same thing graphics hardware, returned it to 'Labtop Doctors' 8 days later collect it all fixed but this time i only have 1 wk left on the 2m warranty as they obviously have no faith in there work.

Trying to contact Vaio for complain and here there thoughts on this centre - impossible - looking round for knew laptop now - will i buy Sony bearing in mind 75% of electricals in my home sony probably not as out of guarantee service and support from there recommended dealers not worth a tosh.

Being IT with degree myself not impressed - i originally spoke to guy in brighton on there list who said when he fixed my chip problem would never happen again, however i choose to send to middlessex office as only 18m frm where i live - am i gutted yes why didnt i just sort it myself originally, didnt have time!  Not impressed Labtop Doctors dont use them!

I might also add also 3 yr old labtop an i see sony had recall on th vaio range for the graphics chip 8400 nvidia but not for my model which is the vgn-nr21z

Message was edited by: cowdog8

Message was edited by: cowdog8

[sunnyplace]

Hi I also have sony viao laptop which I owned since 2005. never had any problems, recently suddenly I have realised that playing video online such as; youtube etc plays slow when I put full screen, when I minimise it's fine.  I have updated all the flash players, drives, tried on different browsers, but still does same.  I also did complete recovery and formatted my hard drive, but still does it.  the weird thing is that if I play a movie on e.g. of my hard drive, or usb it plays fine on WMP on full screen.  I took it to the pc clinic, I explained to them they said it could be graphic chip is on its way to die or could be some drives missing. As I checked my drives are all functional and upto date.  they said it will cost me £120 to repaire it, it can not be replaced.  Not sure if it is graphic chip.  Did you have same problem? would unscrewing laptop instructions do the trick?

much appriciated

Message was edited by: -Cass-

Full name removed

[Blencogo]

Hi markustamoev and welcome.

Your problem does not sound like the Graphics Chip problem as it plays fine from the hard drive and presumably from a DVD.

Your problem sounds like an internet speed issue - I would check your router and online speed.  Is anyone else using your network connection and using up your bandwidth?

[sunnyplace]

thanks for your reply.

I thought it was internet connection but as at home I have 30mb internet connection, I have also tried in many different places, my friends house and even pc clinic shop. I am deffently sure it is not internet connection.  If it isn't graphic chip problem then what is it? that's a question I am trying to find an answer.

Thanks in advance.

[britishdelight]

Hi! I am trying to fix my laptop and have been told that the graphics card is broken however when I looked on google images what a graphics card it there are no screws around it. If you could supply a picture of the whole motherboard and what the part was where you tightened the screws was, that would be very helpful. (I have a PCG-61611M Model if that helps)

[rich912]

Hi britishdelight,

Unfortunately the graphics chips in Vaio notebooks are not economically replaceable as they are part of and soldered to the motherboard. If it is a soldering problem, as opposed to a chip failure, then a ‘reflow’ can sometimes be a solution.

Incidentally PCG-61611M is not the model number. Have a look for something like VPCEE3E0E on a sticker on the underside of the notebook.

Rich

[stevieboy1971]

Hi my Sony VAIO as just started showing lines going down the screen sorry for asking but what does that mean??

[jumpsuit]

Hi @stevieboy1971 and welcome to the Community.

What kind of lines are they? Are they vertical? Green?

It could be one of a few things, the worst possibly being a failing graphics card.

Try connecting the laptop to an external monitor or TV.

If the external display is normal, no vertical lines, the motherboard and video chipset are functioning normally. If the external display has the same problem, you may have to replace the video card.

Hope this helps

[michaelat59]

I had the same problem on my VGC-LN1M all-in-one many years ago.  I took it down to the repair place, after a week they couldn't see anything wrong, I brought it home and the problem has not re-occurred.   So my recommendation would be to put your machine in the boot of your car, drive 35 miles over bumpy roads, and see what happens.   I'm not entirely joking, after all it worked for me !   Something loose was obviously jolted back into place.

mh