Sony Vaio hangs - help!

I am trying to run Knoppix 3.2 on a Sony Vaio PCG-F290 (PIII 350 + 192MB of RAM). This laptop has some hardware problems with APM and ACPI - even an installation of Windows 98 is a pain - anything else after that does not work. The issue is with APM/ACPI on the motherboard.

When I boot knoppix from CD I make sure to set:

knoppix lang=en noapm no apic

As soon as I get loading vmlinux the laptop shuts itself down (same problem when trying to install Win2K/XP/Linux Mandrake during setup).

Any ideas if i can get knoppix running on this? I did manage to get Win98 running and Win95.

If you can find something in the bios settings, perhaps you should turn it off (APM/ACPI).

Gosh, I'd tell you to throw it down the drain. And save the proc and mem.

I had such horrible problems trying to get my sister's PIII 600 working with ME (as installed)I could curse myself for trying. Even with 98SE, all it is is a glorified word-processor for all the crashes and weird hangs.

I count it up to Sony trying to recoup their loss in the consumer market.

Nothing I know of has fixed them. I now believe they were flawed to begin with. Geesh, you had an earlier model?!?! My sympathies.

A fan of Sony, I hope they have fixed it. I'll never know. I buy OTHER. It was a lesson too expensive to repeat.

There are no settings to disable APM/ACPI in the BIOS. The culprit is the main processor speed reduction system - thus resulting the system to slow the speed of the fans and literally shut down. Saying so - no help from Sony other than offering to change the MB for some $$$$. This seems to be a problem with most VAIO PCG-F2xx laptops.

Since I am able to get Win95 running and Win98 running (by disabling APM and ACPI) I think there should be a way how to get Knoppix running. Any insight in how to disable acpi/apm checking would be appreciated.

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Originally Posted by bdeli

There are no settings to disable APM/ACPI in the BIOS. The culprit is the main processor speed reduction system - thus resulting the system to slow the speed of the fans and literally shut down. Saying so - no help from Sony other than offering to change the MB for some $$$$. This seems to be a problem with most VAIO PCG-F2xx laptops.

Since I am able to get Win95 running and Win98 running (by disabling APM and ACPI) I think there should be a way how to get Knoppix running. Any insight in how to disable acpi/apm checking would be appreciated.

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Have you tried just failsafe at the boot: prompt it will boot with minimal hardware checking.

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Originally Posted by Stephen

Have you tried just failsafe at the boot: prompt it will boot with minimal hardware checking.

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Failsafe does not work. In the meantime I did manage to get an installation of Mandrake 9.1 working by disabling apm & hlt during the setup process (linux apm=off no-hlt).

From the research I have done so far it seems that most PCG-F series laptops are plagued with this problem and it is not just Sony which lies at fault - it seems that the processors used by Intel are defective. More info here: http://pub173.ezboard.com/funofficia...icID=818.topic

What kind of bios do you have? AMI, Award?

I don't know whether you mistyped, but I would assume you typed

knoppix lang=en noapm noapic

Indeed, I've read the post about sony's problem. It is sad. I can sympathised.

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Originally Posted by RapidFire

knoppix lang=en noapm noapic

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Yes this is exactly what I did. Failsafe does not work either. The only linux distro I managed to install was Mandrake since it has the option to disable hlt whilst installing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bdeli

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stephen

Have you tried just failsafe at the boot: prompt it will boot with minimal hardware checking.

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Failsafe does not work. In the meantime I did manage to get an installation of Mandrake 9.1 working by disabling apm & hlt during the setup process (linux apm=off no-hlt).

From the research I have done so far it seems that most PCG-F series laptops are plagued with this problem and it is not just Sony which lies at fault - it seems that the processors used by Intel are defective. More info here: http://pub173.ezboard.com/funofficia...icID=818.topic

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Thank you for posting this. My wife bought a VAIO laptop (on my recommendation, I'm afraid) with an Athlon XP processor (VAIO model PCG-FXA47, IIRC), that suffers the same problem in WinXP. Haven't tried it with any version of linux yet. I did a comprehensive reformat and reinstall of OS, software and drivers, but problem still persists. Consequently, I had to give up an HP desktop to her so that she could get her work done, and I was going to use the VAIO as a testbed for a Mandrake install (for learning, not to solve the problem, necessarily).

One of the things I've noticed, interestingly, is that the problem seemed to manifest itself when the laptop was connected to an ethernet WinXP p2p network. I've run the box separate from the network without incident. I tried turning off the power management settings, with no effect.

BTW, as I was checking the Sony website to verify the model number, I ran across a BIOS upgrade (for my wife's laptop, anyway) that corrects a freezing condition associated with the SP1 patch for WinXP. Come to think of it, the problem started right about the time that SP1 came out (I remember having a devil of a time getting it installed). I'm going to check it out, and I thought you might want to as well. YMMV.

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Originally Posted by j.drake

Come to think of it, the problem started right about the time that SP1 came out (I remember having a devil of a time getting it installed). I'm going to check it out, and I thought you might want to as well. YMMV.

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You might be lucky if the BIOS will fix it, but from my experience and all research I made it seems that it is more of a hardware problem. If you are good at soldering you might want to get the hardware fix from here http://www.vaioshutdown.com/

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Originally Posted by bdeli

You might be lucky if the BIOS will fix it, but from my experience and all research I made it seems that it is more of a hardware problem.

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Just an update - indeed I was lucky! I loaded the new BIOS, and the VAIO has been cookin' just fine ever since. So, those of you with VAIOs who are getting depressed reading this thread, be sure and check for updates and fixes from Sony before you assume the worst.

I'm glad it turned out this way, because I think the VAIO (at least the one I have) is a really nice box, which fell victim to some haphazard patching from Redmond. (gotta' be a first time for everything, right?) I'll pass along what I read here, but based on my experience, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend VAIO again.

The Intel goof was easily programmed around several OSs ago. The false overtemperature interrupt is detected and ignored. Intel laid out the needed code in a white paper in June 2002. The document order number is 243887-041.

There is a real problem with components on the CPU daughter board that get fried due to a faulty heat sink design. These cause the computer to shut down randomly, and in extreme cases not even boot up.

The solution is the replacement of these Surface Mount Technology components, and unless you have the tools and training to do SMT rework, I do not recommend doing it yourself, because it requires considerably above average soldering technique and precision equipment. If you attempt it without solid prerequisites, you run a substantial risk of killing the processor board. :(

vaioshutdown;

Thanks for the info. I've got a VIAO 215 with a AMD 800 that keeps freezing up with win2000. I thought it was the HD for the longest time and switched it out but if left on for an extended period (over 24 hrs) it just freezes up and stops working.

Can you recommend any place that will fix the problem? From what you've stated I don't think I want to touch that.

I've also got a newer (within the last 6 months) VIAO and it works like a charm. It's using an AMD chip as well but running 1.8 gHz.

We receive between ten and fifty requests a week for advice on what to do with Vaio laptops of every stripe that overheat and shut down.

We haven't analyzed the cause in every model, so as of now we only fix the Pentium II F-Series models.

As far as recommending anyone to fix your machine, we must regretfully decline.