Hello. I had my Sony VGN-690 reballed to fix the graphics card solder connection ilness. When I got it back, I put in the power cord but never did see the charging amber light blink on the front. I thought it should have shown charge but the battery had been fully charged the month before, when I shipped it out without the battery. So, the laptop started and the screen looked nice like it does with no graphics trouble. It was nice to have this old sony running again. I did not use it much because I had bought a new laptop. (a week later...) So, last night I unplug the power from where it was on the desk and took it with me to my bed and started cleaning old files off of it. I put it in hibernation and went to sleep. This morning I started it up and was uninstalling some programs and noticed the battery down to 40% and carried it over to the desk and plugged in the power and the moment I did that the computer died... like as if I had pulled out the battery. It is dead. Nothing I can do to make it show any signs of life. I do not know if the battery had happened to go dead at that moment. I don't know anyone with a Sony to try a different battery. My AC power adapter shows 19.69 volts DC at the plug. Any suggestions?
Try removing the battery. I'd normally expect the Vaio to work off mains alone. If it doesn't, this might suggest a problem with your power cable or adapter. Let us know whether it works.
When charging batteries that have been completely exhausted it's not unusual for the charging indicator light to take several minutes before blinking. At least that's my experience with Vaios.
You mention the laptop is old and had been shipped somewhere without its battery installed. When no power is supplied, battery or mains power, the CMOS battery will discharge more quickly. Did you noticed whether the system clock had changed? If so, the CMOS battery may need replacing. Typically they need replacing every 5 years.
Another posibility is that something may have broken off from the recent soldering work. I know it's not very likely, but I'd still give the laptop a gentle rock back and forth to listen for anything unusual rolling around inside, with the power turned off.
Thanks for the reply. The battery is fairly new and was charged before shipping the laptop out (without it). I did have to set the clock when I got it back. I noticed the battery charge light not come on at first and did not think about it. I should have. It was major surgery for the shop to dismantle and reball the graphics module. Was it just coincidence that the computer died as i was plugging the power in? I need to find someone with a Sony battery to see if it is not dead. I have 19.69 volts out the power cable. Nothing amis on the computer end. I read on the internet that this laptop might have a permanant fuse on the MB near the socket.
I was able to get the battery charged out of the laptop... But the computer is still dead. Will ship it to the company that did the reball. What else can I do? Is it a possibility of bad RAM?
What reasons make you suspect it's the RAM?
I think it's more likely a CMOS battery issue, because you mentioned the computer is old, it was shipped without power, and you had to reset the system clock.
A blown fuse also seems unlikely given that you succeeded in charging the battery. Actually, I can't recall seeing a fuse inside the cases of a VAIO before. Opening them up is tricky, as there tend to be hidden lugs that break off is you're not sure what you're doing, but you'll find it easier if you have access to a service manual.
If the laptop is very old I would seriously question whether it's worth sending back for repair. Laptop screens tend not to last forever and are prohibitively expensive to replace. You might get the current issue fixed only to find something else breaks a few months down the road. How old is your VAIO?
I charged the battery outside the laptop. I used a variable transformer and pumped 1 amp in to tit for an hour. Ending voltage was almost 12 volts where as starting volts on the battery was about 11. The only reason I thought it might be ram was that I heard that bad ram would not allow the laptop to start. I went to a computer repair shop and they popped in a good ram module and the computer was still dead. I had replaced the screen a year ago and also the keyboard. The repair guy sounded like the Maytag repairman... He said he never sees Sony laptops. So, at this point, of having the graphics card reballed, I guess I should find out if the motherboard is shot, or if it is something minor. The VAIO is about 7 years old. Still a nice XP computer and does not have the 100% disk usage problem my new Wondows 8 laptop has... grrrrrr....
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