Connect external monitor to VGC-LN1M & repairs

[michaelat59]

The LCD on my all-in-one (guarantee ran out 6 months ago) has suddenly gone all stripy and is very hard to read.  It's now impossible to edit photos.  Windows can find no problem with the hardware or drivers (but I would never trust Windows to come up with an accurate answer).

I cannot find any way of connecting an external monitor which is odd as even the cheapest laptop comes with a socket for this.  Is there a hidden socket?  I don't exactly understand what HDMI is, but the manual suggests the HDMI socket is an input, not an output or bi-directional.

Also does anyone have experience of out-of-guarantee repairs and how much they charge?  I really like this PC, it would be a shame to dump it so soon, but if it's going to be an expensive job the money might better be spent on buying a new PC.

Thanks.

Michael

[Blencogo]

Hi Michael,

The all-in-one Vaios do not have any facility to export Video.  All the connections are inputs to enable video to be displayed on the Vaio's big screen.

Can you post a photo of the screen? It can be difficult to describe symptoms.

Sony does have a number of Service Partners for dealing with out-of-warranty repairs and you may find the best way forward to speak to one of these: -

http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/contacts/asc.aspx?l=en_GB&m=VGC-LN1M

[michaelat59]

A photo is attached.  I didn't mention earlier that we had a big spike on the mains electricity supply; everything else in the house survived, but the one thing protected by an anti-surge plug, the PC, went off.  When I turned it back on  the screen was as in the photo.  Otherwise the PC works fine.

I have since been in touch with Laptop Hut of Hove in Sussex (one of the authorised repairers listed) , who came back with a remarkably helpful and honest appraisal:

This is something we can help with and it sounds like the NVIDIA graphics chipset has gone. Without seeing it we can't be 100%, but if it is the graphics chip there is two ways of resolving the issue.

The first is an expensive route with a 100% success rate, which is to replace the system board which has the card attached. These are normally in the region of £500-£600...

The second option is to attempt a repair on the system board with something called a reflow of the graphics chip. This has about an 80% success rate and would cost £195.00. If this didn't work all you would pay is £29.95 to cover the engineers time.

It sounds like the thing to do is try the "reflow" method (which sounds like trying to re-flash a scrambled EPROM) and if that doesn't work look around for a new PC.  £600 would get quite a good one, probably of equal performance to the Vaio if not as elegant, and it would have Windows 7 rather than Vista. After this experience I won't get an all-in-one again, however convenient it is.  I need the big screen for photo editing.

Michael

PS apologies for any typos - it's pretty hard to read the screen!

[Blencogo]

Hi Michael,

I am very impressed with the response you received from Laptop Hut and agree that trying the reflow seems the best way forward.  They seem to be offering you fair advice.

As a matter of interest do you have Home Contents Insurance with an Accidental Damage option?  If so you may be able to claim for repair or replacement of your Vaio.

Can you please let us know how you get on.

[michaelat59]

Will do, but it might take a while.

I have been wondering whether my insurance would cover this, but I see difficulties in proving that the damage was caused by the blip.   All the other electronics in the house survived, even a 40 year old digital clock I made from a kit (very new technology in those days!)  that normally resets at the slightest provocation.  We have had these brief power blips before and the PC usually takes no notice.   I can imagine the insurance company saying that there must have been some kind of weakness or fault in the PC for this to have resulted from the blip.

Now, if it had been a laptop, and I could say I dropped it when I was startled when the lights went out, we might get somewhere! 

Thanks

Michael

PS  I wrote and posted my previous message late last night.  When I clicked "Post Message" all I got was a screen saying that the website was closed for maintenance, so I'm pleased to see my message actually got through.

[michaelat59]

An interim report.  As planned, the PC is now at the Laptop Hut for a "reflow".

A "reflow" is apparently a process which re-solders components on the circuit board, providing a better and stronger connection than the original.  I was told that the NVIDIA graphics chips run very hot, and they don't get much ventilation.  They can run hot enough to melt the low melting point solder used for their connections (old fashioned lead-based solder wouldn't have been affected, but health and safety strikes again).  They said that no-one has yet come back with a re-occurence of the problem after a reflow operation.

I suppose it might be argued that there is a design fault if chips can run hot enough to melt their connections.  The chip should be cooled better or the connections should be more resistant to heat.  Hopefully Sony have learned their lesson?

Michael Hooker

[michaelat59]

I see I was so pleased to get my PC back that I forgot to report in...

The Laptop Hut telephoned me after a few days to say they had been running my PC since I had delivered it to them, and it was running perfectly, my screensaver slide show of airliner photographs taken at various exotic locations in the Far East was clear and crisp.   It certainly hadn't been before!

They could only conclude that the journey in the boot of my car had shaken something up and a loose connection or joint was now working.  The best course was probably for me to take my PC back, and contact them should the fault re-occur - and if it did they would not charge an examination fee the second time around.  I was a little concerned that the journey home would shake the machine back into its non-working configuration, but fortunately this was not the case and it has been fine ever since.

I was most impressed with the Laptop Hut.  Fast responses, friendly service and not out to make a fast buck.  They could have charged me a fortune for the major repair and I would have been none the wiser.  Their premises are neat, clean and tidy, though they could do with a sign outside telling you how to get in!  I thought I must have found the back door.

Michael Hooker

[Blencogo]

Thanks for the update Michael.  Laptop Hut seem to have been very fair and supportive.

Very good news that your Vaio is OK - I am pleased you are still enjoying it.

Thanks again.

[JonIllsley]

Hi, I have a Sony Vaio VCG-LN1M. The HDMI Select button is stuck and won't go off, and since that has happened the screen won't display anything. The PC seems to startup fine, and as far as I can tell there was nothing wrong in terms of software, so I think it could be a hardware problem. Could it be the same as the problem in the above post?

This is the only place I could find anyone with a similar problem... What do people reccomend? Getting a new GPU unit? Or is there another fix maybe?

Thank you :