Problem with old VAIO, external monitor and booting in safe mode

mudlark1 · 10-05-2009, 05:30 AM

Hi there. New to these forums but would be very grateful for some help.

I'm running an old Sony VGN-SZ laptop with 1.83Ghz, 1GB RAM (!) and an NVIDIA Geforce Go7400 128 under XP SP2. It's a resurrection job: the LCD was so badly broken I removed it and attached an external monitor instead, an Acer H233H connected via the VGA out.

There is just one problem. When I boot the computer, the monitor doesn't receive the signal to power on until the XP splash screen ("Windows is starting up") appears. The VAIO splash screen, diagnostics and boot info are never displayed, and obviously I can't check them on the LCD since it's broke. Plugging in and unplugging the monitor earlier have no effect, and nor does changing the resolution before reboot. The H233H just isn't being initialised until Windows loads. This leaves me unable to access safe mode booting using the F8 method, as I can't see any of the options to choose between them.

Even more seriously, it seems the monitor just won't display in safe mode at all. I downloaded BootSafe and have so far used it to boot into safe mode, safe mode with networking etc, all to no avail: the computer is powered on and clearly in safe mode, the USB peripherals all work, but the monitor isn't getting a signal. This effectively prohibits me from working in safe mode at all on this computer. Is there a solution?

Thanks in advance for any help.

night_shift · 10-05-2009, 03:10 PM

Try disconnecting the LCD screen internally. See what happens.

mudlark1 · 10-06-2009, 05:56 AM

Yes -- sorry -- I forgot to mention that. I've already disconnected the internal screen and the inverter. Replacement parts seemed too expensive when I looked, so I decided to run it as a second desktop instead. And here we are.
Thanks, though.

night_shift · 10-07-2009, 04:11 AM

I assume you have selected the change monitor key on your keyboard. Some laptops require this. I may have stated the obvious, and appologise if I have.

10-05-2009, 05:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
mudlark1 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	Problem with old VAIO, external monitor and booting in safe mode Hi there. New to these forums but would be very grateful for some help. I'm running an old Sony VGN-SZ laptop with 1.83Ghz, 1GB RAM (!) and an NVIDIA Geforce Go7400 128 under XP SP2. It's a resurrection job: the LCD was so badly broken I removed it and attached an external monitor instead, an Acer H233H connected via the VGA out. There is just one problem. When I boot the computer, the monitor doesn't receive the signal to power on until the XP splash screen ("Windows is starting up") appears. The VAIO splash screen, diagnostics and boot info are never displayed, and obviously I can't check them on the LCD since it's broke. Plugging in and unplugging the monitor earlier have no effect, and nor does changing the resolution before reboot. The H233H just isn't being initialised until Windows loads. This leaves me unable to access safe mode booting using the F8 method, as I can't see any of the options to choose between them. Even more seriously, it seems the monitor just won't display in safe mode at all. I downloaded BootSafe and have so far used it to boot into safe mode, safe mode with networking etc, all to no avail: the computer is powered on and clearly in safe mode, the USB peripherals all work, but the monitor isn't getting a signal. This effectively prohibits me from working in safe mode at all on this computer. Is there a solution? Thanks in advance for any help.

10-05-2009, 03:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
night_shift Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Posts: 280 OS: Vista, XP Pro, Ubuntu	Re: Problem with old VAIO, external monitor and booting in safe mode Try disconnecting the LCD screen internally. See what happens.

10-06-2009, 05:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
mudlark1 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	Re: Problem with old VAIO, external monitor and booting in safe mode Yes -- sorry -- I forgot to mention that. I've already disconnected the internal screen and the inverter. Replacement parts seemed too expensive when I looked, so I decided to run it as a second desktop instead. And here we are. Thanks, though.

10-07-2009, 04:11 AM	#4 (permalink)
night_shift Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Posts: 280 OS: Vista, XP Pro, Ubuntu	Re: Problem with old VAIO, external monitor and booting in safe mode I assume you have selected the change monitor key on your keyboard. Some laptops require this. I may have stated the obvious, and appologise if I have.