topic Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath in PCs & Accessories

PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

tombal — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:24:39 GMT

Newbie here...
AC adapter died. I replaced it. At boot time I got "Windows failed to start last time...". Whichever option I chose he died.
Booted 4 different XP CDs and the recovery CD. They ran but died at the point they should have done someting useful apart from load themselves. Same with the XP 6-diskette set.
Bought BootMaster and reset the MBR. Now, one time, after many boot attempts, I got "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\windows\system32\config\SYSTEM".
BootMaster can see the files on the C drive but he will only let me copy from C to A.
I have good data backup so I'd be happy if I could boot something that will let me reformat the HDD and try an XP reinstall. I have no idea what that something might be. Any thoughts? Thanks, Tom

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

Blencogo — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:54:52 GMT

Hi tombal and welcome to ClubVAIO.

It sounds like you have more serious problems and your Vaio may need professional repair. Do you have Household Insurance?

You could try the Recovery Console from the XP Disc or if you can get hold of a MS-DOS boot disc this is worth a try.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

tombal — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:07:05 GMT

Hi tombal and welcome to ClubVAIO.

Thank you!:smileyhappy: And thank you for responding.

It sounds like you have more serious problems and your Vaio may need professional repair.  Do you have Household Insurance?

It does look bad, doesn't it?:smileysad: My insurance does not cover ligtning hits. Is fitting a replacement HDD something I could tackle myself?

You could try the Recovery Console from the XP Disc or if you can get hold of a MS-DOS boot disc this is worth a try.

As I said, I can boot XP CDs but they freeze after loading. I never get the offer of recovery console. The VAIO recovery CD loads and freezes with "Please wait..."
I tried booting 98 and ME diskettes; they don't see C: - they load their RAM drives into C:. Perhaps you can point me at another DOS system that knows about NTFS?

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

frannys — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:40:43 GMT

Boot onto the DOS Disk and use the Format utility.You can also repartition while your in DOS.Dont worry if DOS also fails to recognise the whole disk,thats just DOS disk limitations as to HD size.Once XP is installed it will have corrected the size of the drive.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

tombal — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:43:28 GMT

In another forum someone suggeted that the Vaio might have a hidden partition that I might be able to boot by pressing a function key at start-up.
Bootmaster did reveal a hidden partition.
Anyone know how I might give that a try?

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

frannys — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:47:31 GMT

btw,Buy some proper Surge Protector Strips for the house and use them.Belkin are highly recommended,I use them,plus I have an ACP UPS backup,my Hubby uses a Belkin UPS too.These UPS and the Surge Protecters also carry insurance with them from the Manufacturer,They Gaurentee your Equipment from damage ect.
If you cant get any joy from your system though,then claim on your Contents Insurance.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

frannys — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:49:30 GMT

Press F10 on boot.- F8 is safe Mode,- F2 is Bios.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

tombal — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:49:53 GMT

Boot onto the DOS Disk and use the Format utility.

But the 98 and ME boot diskettes don't see the hard drive. How do I point the Format utility at it?

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

frannys — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:02:47 GMT

Set Bios to boot to floppy (A:) Put Dos disk in and Boot.When your on the Command Prompt A:\ ,then type FDISK and press enter.Then when the Menu comes up,look for Delete Partition,do it,then back to Menu and choose Make Partition,then back to Menu and choose Format,choose NTFS.Then you can exit and reset Bois to Boot to CD/DVD.Try your Windows disk,if it Boots,Then during the install you can Repartition when Windows asks where to install too.Follow the same Proceedure.Delete,Make,Format,Install.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

tombal — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:17:07 GMT

Set Bios to boot to floppy (A:) etc...

Thank you for that. I'm out in a few minutes for nine days. I'll report back here after I return.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

frannys — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:33:57 GMT

Good Luck,FDISK is not for the weak hearted,its Hardcore,when your done you will be 'Born again Hard'.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

kee-lo_ — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:28:09 GMT

I would probably buy a new hard disk and then buy a 2.5" caddy to rescue as much as possible from the old hard disk.

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

tombal — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 09:09:57 GMT

 I'm out in a few minutes for nine days. I'll report back here after I return.

I'm back.

F10 at power-on did not give me access to the hidden drive.
I booted an ME diskette and ran FDISK. He sees the hidden drive (30 megs out of 60!) but he won't let me delete it.
I formatted C: as FAT32. I successfully installed and ran WIN98.
I still can't run an XP CD, Home or Pro. After they load the PC dies. Same with the Sony recovery CD and the Home 6xdiskette boot set.:smileycry:

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

kee-lo_ — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 12:41:24 GMT

That's really strange

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

tombal — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 04:18:19 GMT

Closing the loop on this one, I posted the problem on the Sony site. After a couple of fruitless iterations I was told "We have identified that your unit may need to be repaired. "
It looks terminal...:smileycry:

Re: PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

kee-lo_ — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:11:21 GMT

Make sure you get a quote, but seriously I think you can get a better VAIO for the money they'll charge to repair the motherboard.