Sony Laptop Won't Boot

-tr · 03-26-2009, 11:11 AM

Last night I shut the lid on my laptop (which is set to only turn the screen off) and when I came back to it everything was locked up but I could move my mouse around. I turned it off and back on using start windows normally and it got to the loading screen where it shows copyright Microsoft and has the green scrolling bar, and just stuck there.

I then tried starting it again using Last Known Good Configuration and got the same thing. I then tried all the other safe modes/diagnostic boots and got similar problems. When trying to boot in safe mode it freezes after loading the crcdisk.sys driver, when booting in diagnostic mode it goes to the loading page and then goes to a blank screen with a mouse pointer. I was able to get a memory diagnostic done through the BIOS which came up negative for problems.

I believe it may be the HD but don't really know for certain. Is there anything I can do to determine the cause and/or fix the problem?

Thanks.

Sony Vaio VGN-FZ140E Laptop
Windows Vista Home Premium

**TriggerFinger** · 03-26-2009, 01:15 PM

Does it remain stuck with crcdisk.sys (hangs)? How about Command Prompt (in Recovery Tools)?

-tr · 03-30-2009, 10:09 AM

Sorry for the late reply, turned out to be the Hard Drive which completely failed and now gives a disk read error on startup.

Now my question is if I get a new hard drive (assuming there's nothing that can be done to the old HDD), what is the best way to get an OS back? I can't afford a new hard drive and a brand new Vista license so

A: is there any way to transfer the license to the new HDD

or

B: what kind of alternatives should I be looking at? I had thought about Ubuntu/Linux but I need Visual Studio for my college classes.

Thanks for any help.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-30-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -tr

...... Now my question is if I get a new hard drive (assuming there's nothing that can be done to the old HDD), what is the best way to get an OS back? I can't afford a new hard drive and a brand new Vista license so

A: is there any way to transfer the license to the new HDD -- the license is for that that laptop so no need to transfer. If you are referring to the Vista installed in the old/defective HDD, you will need a backup CD or a recovery CD or a Vista installation DVD. You can buy a recovery disc from Sony (I think for $30), but I am not so sure. I suggest you call them and inquire about Recovery Discs for your model. Also if your dying HDD can still make it just one more time, you can create your own recovery disc (see this link Creating the RECOVERY DISCS)

or

B: what kind of alternatives should I be looking at? I had thought about Ubuntu/Linux but I need Visual Studio for my college classes. -- The choices available for you, depends on how and what you use it for. So if you NEED Visual Studio and it only runs in Windows, that pretty much cuts down the list of alternatives.

Thanks for any help.

-tr · 03-30-2009, 10:54 AM

Yeah, I had just found the recovery disks. Too bad I didn't make one myself..

Thanks for your help.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-30-2009, 11:07 AM

I strongly suggest getting the Recovery Disc from Sony. That is still a cheaper solution than getting a Vista DVD installer.

03-26-2009, 11:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
-tr Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 20 OS: Windows 7 RC1 Build 7100	Sony Laptop Won't Boot Last night I shut the lid on my laptop (which is set to only turn the screen off) and when I came back to it everything was locked up but I could move my mouse around. I turned it off and back on using start windows normally and it got to the loading screen where it shows copyright Microsoft and has the green scrolling bar, and just stuck there. I then tried starting it again using Last Known Good Configuration and got the same thing. I then tried all the other safe modes/diagnostic boots and got similar problems. When trying to boot in safe mode it freezes after loading the crcdisk.sys driver, when booting in diagnostic mode it goes to the loading page and then goes to a blank screen with a mouse pointer. I was able to get a memory diagnostic done through the BIOS which came up negative for problems. I believe it may be the HD but don't really know for certain. Is there anything I can do to determine the cause and/or fix the problem? Thanks. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ140E Laptop Windows Vista Home Premium

03-26-2009, 01:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,826 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Sony Laptop Won't Boot Does it remain stuck with crcdisk.sys (hangs)? How about Command Prompt (in Recovery Tools)? __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-30-2009, 10:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
-tr Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 20 OS: Windows 7 RC1 Build 7100	Re: Sony Laptop Won't Boot Sorry for the late reply, turned out to be the Hard Drive which completely failed and now gives a disk read error on startup. Now my question is if I get a new hard drive (assuming there's nothing that can be done to the old HDD), what is the best way to get an OS back? I can't afford a new hard drive and a brand new Vista license so A: is there any way to transfer the license to the new HDD or B: what kind of alternatives should I be looking at? I had thought about Ubuntu/Linux but I need Visual Studio for my college classes. Thanks for any help.

03-30-2009, 10:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
-tr Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 20 OS: Windows 7 RC1 Build 7100	Re: Sony Laptop Won't Boot Yeah, I had just found the recovery disks. Too bad I didn't make one myself.. Thanks for your help.

03-30-2009, 11:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,826 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Sony Laptop Won't Boot I strongly suggest getting the Recovery Disc from Sony. That is still a cheaper solution than getting a Vista DVD installer. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE