The message is clear and simple: don't buy a Sony laptop. They are over priced and have poor build quality. They go wrong shortly after the guarantee has run out and are very expensive to fix.

I was a dedicated Sony buyer from Hi Fi to Cameras, but I won't be buying anything else from these people.

I'm here primarily looking for positive stories of other manufacturers because my vaio desktop has just died outside warranty. The power supply failed during warranty and was replaced, i suspect it's another power supply problem this time but i've had enough of it, never again Sony. They should stick to TVs.

I found this thread just after my PCG-SR1K died on me. I saw it in the window of Dixons a few years ago and fell in love with it. At £600, it was half price as it was a customer return, and slightly faulty. I got an extended warranty (Dixon's Coverplan) but don't know if it's run out yet (can't look now, docs not in the house). I took it all apart and fixed the faults (loose connections: someone had disassembled it before me!), re-partitioned the hard disk, installed Debian Linux on it.

So apart from designing a few graphics and some bits of writing, it then gathered dust for a couple of years. However I had to pack up my desktop ready to move recently, so I dusted off the Vaio, installed the new Debian on it, and spent the next few weeks trying to stop it running so damn slow (all the new Linux stuff on a 494 MHz cpu with 64 MB of ram doesn't go well together).

I booted it up this evening and things got even slower - really slloooowwww that is. But I carried on with my tweaking, until I had to put it down for a bit and do other things, so I closed the lid. Going back to the machine, it was completely dead. I pressed keys, the power button, the jog dial, eventually pulled the plug and the battery and reconnected either/both, but not even a flicker. As the ac power pack is still okay, I'm guessing the power-converter is next in line to check (but my multi-meter is packed away) or the acpi system has died - though I doubt if I'd be in a position to fix it! It didn't seem overly hot when I opened the case (though it ran a bit warm under Linux).

I love Sony gear, but this is really taking the biscuit - though I've had it a few years, I've only really had a few months use out of this machine. I don't think I'd get another - though it's a very sexy piece of kit it's always seemed rather flimsy to me. Maybe I'll get an old ThinkPad or something, but first I guess I'll have to dig out the receipt and see if Dixon's Coverplan is still valid. Fingers crossed!

I was thinking about buying a Sony Viao Desktop, do they have the same problems as the laptops
Thanks in advance

Ian

I'm with Richard Smith on this one ... except for the battery life issues (common to most notebooks) Sony did a great job with engineering on the Vaio line. My 505RX is still my machine of choice for most tasks.

I removed factory Win98 and installed Win2000 Pro ... boots faster than any XP Pro or XP Home PC I have. Only 6GB hard disk, but I'm not willing to experiment with HD upgrade.

Sorry to hear that several folks have had bad luck .

My Sony VAIO (FS-315B) was defective straight from the Box (optical Drive), Sony Support have been just about useless.
Even though the product has never worked from new, I have to accept that Sony will repair it (maybe using second-hand parts?)
and then return it with a 6 month warranty (it had 12 months before the repair). Potential Customers might also like to note the VAIO comes with a "Sony Doctored" version of XP which has some hateful features included. If you De-install it and install Full Version of XP, Your warranty is void.There are NO install disks with any Sony VAIO they use a "recovery" partition for which they reserve 7.5Gb of your Hard drive. In short NEVER Buy Sony, the products are Poor, the Support even worse and the warranty is by and large meaningless.

DON'T EVER BUY A VAIO. WE HAVE 2 BOTH DEFECTIVE WITHIN 11 WEEKS. AFTERSALES PATHETIC.

NEVER AGAIN. I WAS A COMMITTED SONYPHILE NOW I AM SONYPHOBIC.

THEY ARE GARBAGE

Hello all , if your sony vaio is failing to boot, completely dead, or is not reporting the correct memory then you are probably suffering from faulty memory sockets.

I have posted information on how to diagnose it and how to fix it on my website:-

www.sparkybruce.com

Thanks

Bruce

bruce at sparkybruce dot com

yeah, these pcg grv 670's and the like are a bit hard to deal with. Mine started acting up with the ram not all showing up and all, and after a good deal of research and experimentation I've got it pretty much all worked out... with a few glitches. Basically, I dealt with the ram problem by getting 2 of the same ram cards... like a 512 and 512... I had a 256 and a 512, apparently they don't work as well with different ones.

Also, I cut a cd into 4 rectangular pieces about the size of the ram cards and laid them on top of the ram, then replaced the cover very carefully so they would stay in place. This places enough pressure on the ram to keep it connected, My theory is that the ram slots were cheap and disconnect easily, causing the screen to go blank and freeze and all.

Eventually, I had more trouble and taped a wrist watch to the outside of the ram slot on the bottom to put even more pressure on the ram slot. This has worked so far, for like 1 year or so. I just can't move the thing. I also bought a fan cooling thing that plugs into the usb to keep the laptop cool, since it heats up so easily. This should solve all your problems without sending it to sony.

Hope it works for you. Send love to me at Imowforyou@virginia.edu, I'll tell you where to send money... har.

I'm on my second VAIO laptop. My K115b only died when it took a glass of red wine over the keyboard. After a drying-out period it boots fine, so long as the keyboard is disconnected. Not bad!

The replacement FS215E is a lovely machine with the same great screen and quiet performance. I can't fault them when kept dry.