VGN-S2XP - Operating System Not Found

[RJS2504]

Hi all,

Can anyone help or offer any advice?

I have a VGN-S2XP, which I've had for almost two years. It's been working fine until this week when it came up with an error "Operating System Not Found" on start up.

Before I go through the expence and hassle of sending the notebook away to be looked at, can anyone tell me what the problem might be and if there is a fix?

[Blencogo]

Hi RJS2504 and welcome to Club Vaio.

It sounds like a Hard Disc problem (dead?) but have a look at the Microsoft list of possible causes HERE.

I would suggest resetting the BIOS defaults by tapping F2 when you see the first boot screen with the Vaio logo.

Do you have Recovery Discs or a disc with XP Pro?

If you have (or can borrow) a XP-Pro disc, you can open with the Recovery Console and try to repair your XP installation.

[skykit84]

Operating system not found can only be really one of the following:

The drive has given up and died (you may even hear it clicking abnormally if its powering but platters are not functioning... or it will be completly dead)

If the boot order has only CD and FDD but not HD

Or if the drive is functioning but the boot sector is corrupt.

You need to eliminate the main one which is most common... drive dying. Firstly, any clicking?
The easiest way to check this is hit F2 on turning the laptop on during the Sony animated logo and get into Bios.
Is the drive listed there? If not,then its two things:

The drive is dead and you need to replace it... although you will have lost anything on it unless you pay data recovery

or, the drive cable is loose/disconnected, whether thats data or power.

Either way, this should only be checked/replaced if you're comfortable.

If the drive is listed and no clicking, could be boot sector corrupt in which case, you can either attempt a repair using an XP disc, or a complete restore.

Hope this helps.