Hi,

I have a Sony Vaio VGN-C1Z (or VGN-C1Z/B) laptop, I have had it for 3 years this chrstmas and it was new when I bought it, so I am the only owner.

I have never had problems with it before, I have good internet security, AVG updates every day and scans every day and I am careful about what websites I visit so it is unlikely it is a virus.

The problem is...
When I turn it on the Power button lights up and so do the "Caps lock", "WLAN", "Bluetooth" etc lights and it makes the normal quiet whiring noises, however the screen remains completely black, not even a flicker. At first I thought it might be a problem with the screen but it doesn't make the into noise that they make when turning on either which gives me the impression it isn't loading up at all.

The first time that it did this, I was using it (I think I was on Facebook or eBay or something, I use them a lot so they shouldn't effect it), I left it for a few minutes to get a drink, came back and it had completely frozen, the keys and mouse (touchpad) wouldn't work so I turned it off and restarted it and that's when it started going wrong. :(

I have tried...
Switching it off, on, taking the battery out, leaving it unplugged, pressing various keys when turning it on...

I can't think of much else to do and I don't want to pay for it to be fixed.

Has anyone got any idea what is wrong with it?

Please help asap - anything is welcome!

Sorry its abit of a long question!

Does it give the "bios" screen? Or is it really.. just black.

Any beeps? Does it have a removable hard drive? (some you can just pull out) if so, pull the batter (and unplug) remove the hd, then try to start it... does it act different at all? Any beeps?

If u are really get nothing.. no beeps, no image of anything on the screen... no matter what you do.. I'm going to say its probably your motherboard. Not sure why it wouldve just quit, but it seems that way.

Hi,
The lights (WLAN, Caps Lock etc) light up constantly when it is turned on and it makes the normal soft whiring noise but the screen is completely black, there is literally no output on the screen at all it might as well not be turned on!
Also when it works and it is turned on it makes the normal intro noise for windows but now that it is not working it isn't making that noise either.
I have no idea if the hard drive is removable, Im not very good with the hardware side of things.

This is a link to the spec for the exact model of my laptop...

VAIO : VGN-C1Z/B : United Kingdom

What do you think?

Thanks for your help :)

wait... I just remembered! My dell did this same thing... the light would light, then nothing... it turned out to be a bad stick of memory.

how old is this laptop? Is it still under warranty? If it is... contact Sony, if not, order new ram.

1GB 533MHz DDR2-533, PC2-4200 (2 x 512)
or
2GB 533MHz DDR2-533, PC2-4200 (2 x 1024)

basically Google for "VGN-C1Z/B ram"
and you either want 2 512MB sticks (what you have now) or 2 1GB sticks (better choice)

The laptop will be 3 years old this chrstmas and it is not still under warranty.

So, when I order new ram what form does it come in (hardware, software) and how do I install it? Can I do it myself or will I have to take it to a computer shop?

Also, will this mean that I will lost any of my fles? I have all of my photos and no backups on it! I know... I should have backed them up!

Do you know how much this will cost?

Thank you so much for your help! :)

I think you are in the UK correct?

I found this: Sony VAIO (Laptop) VGN-C1Z/B - Memory ( RAM ) Upgrade from Orca Logic Ltd

I would get 2 of the 1GB sticks... (cheap enough.. and will speed up the PC)

... and here is how to do it. You CAN do this yourself :) its easy.

Vaio : Support

Thanks!

I hope it works, you have been a real help! And your right I am in the UK :)

Did it work for you? I think I'm having the same problem...

I have just resurrected my daughter's Vaio after serious battery problems. Now running on mains. My problem is that I cannot get it to connect via wifi. Ethernet is fine -hence this question but the moment I unplug it I lose all connectivity. I get a message saying that the machine pinged the host but got no response. Any ideas?
Kaibil