Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive

DevilStranger · 03-09-2008, 07:05 PM

I'm using a VGN-FJ76GP Vaio Laptop. I have just formated my Hard Drive to recover the System. But then the CD drive didn't read any CD. The CD model is QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-243. Then I used the External DVD drive to install XP (not the one which goes with the laptop) but the CD drive still didn't work. It still appear in the devices manager but it did not read any disk. When I try to use the External DVD to run the recover disk, a blue screen appear and say the errors occur. Is there anyway to fix that or to download the new driver of the CD drive?

**TriggerFinger** · 03-09-2008, 10:18 PM

Correct me if I am wrong but to me you are trying to do a fresh install of XP, right? So I understand to do that you will be booting from CD using the XP installer. It seems that you have already formatted the drive. Did you do this on another computer, or did you use a floppy drive (if you can give more details on what happened)?

DevilStranger · 03-09-2008, 11:28 PM

Hi fixmyPc, thanks for your reading
Lastweek I used the recover Cd to recover system but a crash happen. I don't know why, may be because the laptop is ran out of battery (I forget to plug the Ac Power in). Then I have to reboot the laptop, and I got the error "Invalid Partition table" and the Cd drive didn't work. There for I had to use an external CD drive to reboot. But when I boot the laptop using the Recover CD, a blue screen appear and said that some error happen. I did try that Recover CD on another computer and it worked well, so I think that CD cannot be used on an External Cd Drive (I tried to use the recover CD and the External CD drive on another computer and it still got errors). I put an XP install disk in the external CD drive and install XP from that disk. When I finished installing XP, the CD drive still doesn't work and I still cannot use the Recover disk.
That is my problem. I think the problem is about driver but people said that my CD drive does not need any driver when using on XP.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-09-2008, 11:46 PM

Hi DevilStranger,

Your problem sounds familiar as I have experienced the same with my CD. Yes, in a way you do not need drivers in XP to recognize your drive. BIOS should recognize your optical drive though (at a minimum). When you restart or power ON, does your CD drive blink at least? In BIOS settings can you see if it recognizes the CD Drive? Some laptops has this information in their BIOS settings if it is recognized.

One thing you can try that would definitely validate if you have a dead drive or not... try the drive in another laptop. If you can remove it, swap it with a good working drive or try it in another laptop that has a similar optical drive.

I leave it to you to choose which one of these are you confident to try out. If not, then you can always bring to a repair shop for a quick check.

DevilStranger · 03-10-2008, 12:00 AM

yes, that what I'm wondering. The Cd drive work pretty well except that it cannot read any disk. the led flash when I put a CD in and I can even hear the sound of reading disk. But the problem happen right after a crash in recovery process so I think that it could be the problem of driver.
I think that the BIOS recognized the CD because I saw the name of CD when the computer starting. In the BIOS setup screen, it say : "Optical Device : Available". I'm not sure that I can remove the drive but may be I will try. Buying a new drive is not a bad idea ^.^

DevilStranger · 03-10-2008, 12:58 AM

Hi fixmyPC, can I ask you one more thing?
Can I replace my CD drive by any other type of notebook CD or I have to replace it with a same brand CD drive?

**TriggerFinger** · 03-10-2008, 01:12 AM

In my opinion... you can. But of course you have to check on the type of connector the replacement has. It should at least match the one in your 'old' CD drive. In addition to that you have to check the drive door.

The safest way to do this is to check with your laptop maker website.

By the way, what is the error when you try to boot from CD drive? Try removing the HDD (hard drive) and boot from CD drive and see if it will show any errors during boot up.

DevilStranger · 03-10-2008, 02:18 AM

It doesn't boot from CD. When I secify to boot from CD first, it read CD but it cannot read anything, so it move to boot from Hard drive like when you don't put anydisk in the CD drive. I thing it because the CD drive cannot read the disk.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-10-2008, 08:46 AM

hmmm almost exactly what happened to my R40 (posted it here too around January

)

hey before you get a new drive try it out first by swapping with a working drive or as in my previous post, test your CD drive on another laptop just to be sure.

or (and this is a very very long shot), if you have an external CD drive, try to swap it with that one.

**Snoopdogie187** · 03-10-2008, 07:03 PM

Somethingyou may want to try, for my old win 9 computer, i could get ms dos running from the cd, i forgot how i did it, but i used ms dos to format the hard drive then i put win 98 back on it.

If the computer crashed during an install then there is probably more errors with the windows on the computer and may not be as stable as it should be. But then again if its a hard ware problem that caused the crash then it may install windows even worse then it is now.

alternativly, i think you can download bootdisks for ms dos or win 98 which may help trouble shot the problem or fix it.

DevilStranger · 03-10-2008, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fixmypc

hmmm almost exactly what happened to my R40 (posted it here too around January

)

hey before you get a new drive try it out first by swapping with a working drive or as in my previous post, test your CD drive on another laptop just to be sure.

or (and this is a very very long shot), if you have an external CD drive, try to swap it with that one.

So how did you solve ur problem?

I did use the External CD drive and the laptop work fine. The bad thing is that the recover CD cannot run on the External CD Drive. After loading the recover software, a blue screen appear and say that some errors occur, the computer must be shutdown.

Anyway, do u know if there is any web page that tell us how to open the laptop because i'm not quite sure that I can handle that properly.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-10-2008, 10:14 PM

Hi,

Well on my R40 i found out it was the motherboard. I tested I think 5 different drives all from IBM Thinkpads and known to work but the problem is the same.

I suggest you go ahead with swapping it out with a known working CD drive just to find out if it is the drive or something else.

I will post back if I can find some service manuals for your model.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-10-2008, 10:58 PM

I cannot seem to find a service manual for this. Is this still under warranty? If so, I suggest you claim this under warranty. I say this because opening it up without a guide may do more harm than good.

DevilStranger · 03-10-2008, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fixmypc

Hi,

Well on my R40 i found out it was the motherboard. I tested I think 5 different drives all from IBM Thinkpads and known to work but the problem is the same.

I suggest you go ahead with swapping it out with a known working CD drive just to find out if it is the drive or something else.

I will post back if I can find some service manuals for your model.

Is it neccessary to open the whole system to replace the Cd drive?
Like Ram and hard drive I can remove it easily without opening the whole system but I'm not sure that I can do that with Cd drive

**TriggerFinger** · 03-10-2008, 11:51 PM

well some laptops would require you to remove the keyboard, while others require you to remove a cover at the bottom to access a screw locking the optical drive in place.

DevilStranger · 03-11-2008, 02:27 AM

Well, I will try, hope that its not too hard. Thanks for your help, fixmyPc (your name is Shan, isn't it?)

beagleboy · 03-16-2008, 03:15 AM

Vaio VGN-FJ76GP

can anyone help me locate a download site for recovery disc for this model plz. I need to reboot my pc and i dont have a re - boot disc.

**Snoopdogie187** · 03-16-2008, 05:26 PM

Hi, it is adviced that you create your own thread for a new problem.

A recover disk can not be downloaded. The only way to get them is to make one while the computer is on, or if one come with the computer, or order one from sony.

If you create a new thread with what your problem is, there will be plenty of people here (giving the time) to help you fix them.

03-09-2008, 07:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
DevilStranger Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Window XP Service Pack 2	Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive I'm using a VGN-FJ76GP Vaio Laptop. I have just formated my Hard Drive to recover the System. But then the CD drive didn't read any CD. The CD model is QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-243. Then I used the External DVD drive to install XP (not the one which goes with the laptop) but the CD drive still didn't work. It still appear in the devices manager but it did not read any disk. When I try to use the External DVD to run the recover disk, a blue screen appear and say the errors occur. Is there anyway to fix that or to download the new driver of the CD drive?

03-09-2008, 10:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Correct me if I am wrong but to me you are trying to do a fresh install of XP, right? So I understand to do that you will be booting from CD using the XP installer. It seems that you have already formatted the drive. Did you do this on another computer, or did you use a floppy drive (if you can give more details on what happened)? __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-09-2008, 11:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
DevilStranger Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Window XP Service Pack 2	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Hi fixmyPc, thanks for your reading Lastweek I used the recover Cd to recover system but a crash happen. I don't know why, may be because the laptop is ran out of battery (I forget to plug the Ac Power in). Then I have to reboot the laptop, and I got the error "Invalid Partition table" and the Cd drive didn't work. There for I had to use an external CD drive to reboot. But when I boot the laptop using the Recover CD, a blue screen appear and said that some error happen. I did try that Recover CD on another computer and it worked well, so I think that CD cannot be used on an External Cd Drive (I tried to use the recover CD and the External CD drive on another computer and it still got errors). I put an XP install disk in the external CD drive and install XP from that disk. When I finished installing XP, the CD drive still doesn't work and I still cannot use the Recover disk. That is my problem. I think the problem is about driver but people said that my CD drive does not need any driver when using on XP.

03-09-2008, 11:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Hi DevilStranger, Your problem sounds familiar as I have experienced the same with my CD. Yes, in a way you do not need drivers in XP to recognize your drive. BIOS should recognize your optical drive though (at a minimum). When you restart or power ON, does your CD drive blink at least? In BIOS settings can you see if it recognizes the CD Drive? Some laptops has this information in their BIOS settings if it is recognized. One thing you can try that would definitely validate if you have a dead drive or not... try the drive in another laptop. If you can remove it, swap it with a good working drive or try it in another laptop that has a similar optical drive. I leave it to you to choose which one of these are you confident to try out. If not, then you can always bring to a repair shop for a quick check. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-10-2008, 12:00 AM	#5 (permalink)
DevilStranger Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Window XP Service Pack 2	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive yes, that what I'm wondering. The Cd drive work pretty well except that it cannot read any disk. the led flash when I put a CD in and I can even hear the sound of reading disk. But the problem happen right after a crash in recovery process so I think that it could be the problem of driver. I think that the BIOS recognized the CD because I saw the name of CD when the computer starting. In the BIOS setup screen, it say : "Optical Device : Available". I'm not sure that I can remove the drive but may be I will try. Buying a new drive is not a bad idea ^.^

03-10-2008, 12:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
DevilStranger Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Window XP Service Pack 2	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Hi fixmyPC, can I ask you one more thing? Can I replace my CD drive by any other type of notebook CD or I have to replace it with a same brand CD drive?

03-10-2008, 01:12 AM	#7 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive In my opinion... you can. But of course you have to check on the type of connector the replacement has. It should at least match the one in your 'old' CD drive. In addition to that you have to check the drive door. The safest way to do this is to check with your laptop maker website. By the way, what is the error when you try to boot from CD drive? Try removing the HDD (hard drive) and boot from CD drive and see if it will show any errors during boot up. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-10-2008, 02:18 AM	#8 (permalink)
DevilStranger Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Window XP Service Pack 2	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive It doesn't boot from CD. When I secify to boot from CD first, it read CD but it cannot read anything, so it move to boot from Hard drive like when you don't put anydisk in the CD drive. I thing it because the CD drive cannot read the disk.

03-10-2008, 08:46 AM	#9 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive hmmm almost exactly what happened to my R40 (posted it here too around January ) hey before you get a new drive try it out first by swapping with a working drive or as in my previous post, test your CD drive on another laptop just to be sure. or (and this is a very very long shot), if you have an external CD drive, try to swap it with that one. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-10-2008, 07:03 PM	#10 (permalink)
Snoopdogie187 Oh! What shall I be? Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 2,546 OS: Vista Home Premium SP1, mom: XP Pro SP2 My System	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Somethingyou may want to try, for my old win 9 computer, i could get ms dos running from the cd, i forgot how i did it, but i used ms dos to format the hard drive then i put win 98 back on it. If the computer crashed during an install then there is probably more errors with the windows on the computer and may not be as stable as it should be. But then again if its a hard ware problem that caused the crash then it may install windows even worse then it is now. alternativly, i think you can download bootdisks for ms dos or win 98 which may help trouble shot the problem or fix it. __________________ Infected computer? click here Has TSF Helped You? Posting System Specifications Please Donate to TSF

03-10-2008, 10:14 PM	#12 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Hi, Well on my R40 i found out it was the motherboard. I tested I think 5 different drives all from IBM Thinkpads and known to work but the problem is the same. I suggest you go ahead with swapping it out with a known working CD drive just to find out if it is the drive or something else. I will post back if I can find some service manuals for your model. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-10-2008, 10:58 PM	#13 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive I cannot seem to find a service manual for this. Is this still under warranty? If so, I suggest you claim this under warranty. I say this because opening it up without a guide may do more harm than good. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-10-2008, 11:51 PM	#15 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive well some laptops would require you to remove the keyboard, while others require you to remove a cover at the bottom to access a screw locking the optical drive in place. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-11-2008, 02:27 AM	#16 (permalink)
DevilStranger Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Window XP Service Pack 2	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Well, I will try, hope that its not too hard. Thanks for your help, fixmyPc (your name is Shan, isn't it?)

03-16-2008, 03:15 AM	#17 (permalink)
beagleboy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1 OS: Windows XP Professional SP2	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP Installation disc. Vaio VGN-FJ76GP can anyone help me locate a download site for recovery disc for this model plz. I need to reboot my pc and i dont have a re - boot disc. Last edited by beagleboy; 03-16-2008 at 03:31 AM.

03-16-2008, 05:26 PM	#18 (permalink)
Snoopdogie187 Oh! What shall I be? Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 2,546 OS: Vista Home Premium SP1, mom: XP Pro SP2 My System	Re: Vaio VGN-FJ76GP problem with DVD drive Hi, it is adviced that you create your own thread for a new problem. A recover disk can not be downloaded. The only way to get them is to make one while the computer is on, or if one come with the computer, or order one from sony. If you create a new thread with what your problem is, there will be plenty of people here (giving the time) to help you fix them. __________________ Infected computer? click here Has TSF Helped You? Posting System Specifications Please Donate to TSF