Question/Problem: Last week, when I shut my computer down, it didn't come back. I got the Vaio splash screen, then a blinking cursor in the upper left hand corner. I could get into the BIOS, and I have the restore CD. It took a lot of googling, since the computer wouldn't load from the restore disk at first, but I got a successful reformat. Last night, after only five days of working, the computer died again, same way. Got the splash screen, reformatted the drive, and then after two hours of it working this evening, it said that there was a corrupted file in Windows, and it needed to be reformatted. Currently in reformat #3 right now... My boyfriend used to do tech support for a living, and he's at his wits end on this one too.
Operating System, Version and Service Pack: Windows XP Home, Service Pack 3. I've got a Sony Vaio Laptop VGN-FJ290.
Web Browser and Version: Firefox 3.5.2
Your level of experience: Intermediate
When did the problem start? Has it been going on constantly since then?: Started a week ago, the computer worked fine for five days, then it died twice today.
Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot?: I bought a new internal hard drive (the old one was full), tried that, got a successful system restore once, then again for an hour or so this evening. BIOS has been updated.
If you are receiving an error message, please include the entire text of the message. Didn't get an error message the first time, the third time a Windows file was missing and it refused to boot. Not sure what Windows file, and it's currently reformatting. I was trying to get my internet to read Japanese/Chinese characters, which it wasn't doing as it usually did when I installed the word processor, and after restarting, it said the windows file was missing.
In the past, I've had issues with the fan, but I unclogged it and haven't had any serious heating issues in months. The power jack was also recently replaced.
Any insight would be deeply appreciated. We're at our wits end here, and beer supplies are running low.
Operating System, Version and Service Pack: Windows XP Home, Service Pack 3. I've got a Sony Vaio Laptop VGN-FJ290.
Web Browser and Version: Firefox 3.5.2
Your level of experience: Intermediate
When did the problem start? Has it been going on constantly since then?: Started a week ago, the computer worked fine for five days, then it died twice today.
Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot?: I bought a new internal hard drive (the old one was full), tried that, got a successful system restore once, then again for an hour or so this evening. BIOS has been updated.
If you are receiving an error message, please include the entire text of the message. Didn't get an error message the first time, the third time a Windows file was missing and it refused to boot. Not sure what Windows file, and it's currently reformatting. I was trying to get my internet to read Japanese/Chinese characters, which it wasn't doing as it usually did when I installed the word processor, and after restarting, it said the windows file was missing.
In the past, I've had issues with the fan, but I unclogged it and haven't had any serious heating issues in months. The power jack was also recently replaced.
Any insight would be deeply appreciated. We're at our wits end here, and beer supplies are running low.