Hi Asusnak / Onester

I have the same laptop as you, VGN-NR21S, with another faulty Geforce 8400M GT

Two days ago I've again suffered from the well known Nvidia problems. I say "again", cos 7-8 months ago I had to send my laptop to Germany to have it fixed with the same GPU problem. How come one "top-brand" laptop can be broken two times over the last 28 months? This is a waste of money and time.

1. Bought it around Jun 2008
2. First problem, around April 2010 (20 months old)
3. Now again the same problem, December 2010 (8 months after being repaired, 28 months old, out of guarantee -2 years on products bought in Spain-)

Our model is not listed on Sony's faulty laptop list, even though they do have the same graphic card as the faulty ones. This is RIDICULOUS!

I'm waiting to be called from someone from the support group. They will of course offer me a paid reparation, which I won't obviously accept. I'd rather pay that money and buy a new no-faulty laptop (NOT SONY), with a new guarantee.

Asusnak / Onester, whould you mind to share with me your email addresses (via private message), just to be in touch in case we could join our efforts against Sony?

Is there anyone else having this model VGN-NR21S (or any other model not listed with a Geforce 8400M GT mounted), who would like to join a complaining group?

If someone from Sony is reading this, I just hope they'll think about the way they are badly supporting their customers. 1 angry customer will lead another 10 potential customers not to buy your brand. I'll make my bests to convince everyone around me that Sony is no longer the good-quality-brand as it used to be, and that's better to buy 2 cheaper Acer computers rather than one Sony.

Cheers, and sorry for my faulty English

Felix

My VGN-NR21S seems to have the same problems. I get fuzzy vertical lines on the VAIO logo on booting up and then dashed green vertical lines when it starts Windows. Then it crashes and reboots.

The strange thing is this started yesterday but after I rebooted it worked fine for the rest of the day and today until midday but since then it always has these problems.

Thanks to some advice in these forums I've disabled the GeForce 8400 driver in System | Device Manager (after booting in Safe Mode) and I can now run Windows but I guess it'll be slower and no longer suitable for games.

I noticed that the NR-21S is not in the list of laptops Sony admits have a problem but it seems like the same issue and other users here have the same problem too. Has anyone had any luck getting Sony to fix an NR-21S or other similar laptops that are not in the list?

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum but i think i'll be a keen visitor for quite some time.

The problems highlighted in the previous reply are absolutely identical to mine unfortunately   .

I have owned my Sony Vaio VGN-NR21Z since purchasing from a Sony store in March 2008. I've not had a problem until last week when the graphics just ended up like those in the photos above.

Initially i had no idea why this had happened and not being a techno geek of any sort i rebooted and the problem persisted. After spending what seemed like hours and hours looking on forums for answers to a quick fix knew that i was wasting my time and that it was a hardware problem.

I have gone down the route of chatting to a Sony support guy who initially sent me a link to an .exe file that i had to run. No prizes for guessing that it didn't work (he must know that this is something he can't fix down a phone line) but has to toe the company line and say that the machine is out of warranty and can be repaired by an authorised sony specialist at my cost. End of the matter. In fairness he was very polite and offered to phone back to see how i got on.

Now i have a laptop fit for the scrapheap as after the costs of repair would be huge (I've been quoted £75 JUST for them to look at it... i have also heard of quotes on forums around the £350 mark for replacement parts as well!). We all know its the graphics hardware and it's about time Sony added to their list of faulty laptops eligible for free repair. I'm deeply upset that it's not being dealt with in a fair manner and this huge corporation are just not recognising that their return customers will dwindle. I was actually in the process of buying a new Sony 40'' flat screen but that has now bitten the dust!

I had the exact same problem with my fz series vaio. I emailed sony within the last two weeks after reading this entire thread. I emailed them on: customersupport.en@vaio-link.com and they replied extremely fast. I asked if I would be charged for the repair and mentioned that my model was on the list mentioned in this thread. They replied that my warrenty would be extended from the date of purchase. They didnt even ask about my warrenty which should still be expired as I bought this laptop in 2007 when I started uni. They sent a courier DHL extremely fast and reliable after I answered questions in the following email:

Dear Mr. XXXXXX,

 

Thank you for contacting us.

 

I understand that the graphics card is faulty.

 

Please inform us with these details in order to create a repair order:

 

1. VAIO’s serial number.

 

2. Preferred pickup date.

 

3. Pickup and Delivery address.

 

4. Windows login name and password.

 

5. BIOS password.

 

6. Two best contact numbers.

 

7. Is there any sign for a physical damage?

 

Kindly note also,

 

•Please back up your personal data before shipping the VAIO to the repair center as Sony do not take

 

any responsibility for data loss.

 

•Please follow the instructions on the pickup box with the pickup agent.

 

•The repair turnaround time is 5 business days up to three weeks depending on the part availability.

 

•Hand only your VAIO laptop (without any Ac adapter or battery) to the courier who will place the

 

VAIO in the box provided by the courier.

 

•Make sure that you keep one of the Air Way Bills with you signed by the courier as a proof of collection.

 

•If the VAIO Out of warranty, the repair will be chargeable.

 

• If the repair center identifies the issue as a physical damage, the repair will be chargeable and you will

Receive a phone call before the repair to inform you with the final cost.

In the case you want to get the VAIO unrepaired, a flat fee will apply.

Should you have any further questions or inquiries, please feel free to reply to this email or contact us on

 

the numbers below:

 

VAIO in warranty: 0870 240 2408

VAIO out of warranty: 0905 0310006 (35p/min plus network charges)

Our lines are open 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday

 

Regards,

 

Zeyad Salem

 

Sony VAIO-Link Support Team

A call came through and they told me that from the email describing the problem of green dots in lines and the OS not starting up properly they said they suspected it was a normal replacement of the main board (no mention of costs). They said they'd test it to confirm and perform the required replacement. A few days later the courier came and collected the laptop. After this the process was quick within three days it was repaired and return after another day. They even cleaned it and added a Vaio cleaning cloth along with an apologetic letter from the Head of Vaio Service - Europe :O

I am delighted by the Vaio Service, who were super fast and really easy to deal with. I was dreading the worst after some posts but one post on here gave the same email and said they repaired his for free. I have done the same and its true! I registered on here just today as they have returned my laptop just now. It used to overheat and now its really cool, must be because they cleaned it inside too, hope a anyone else with problems gets the same service that I did.

Good Luck! ^.^

Message was edited by: cognitiveRadio

Hiya Geocrowd - I have the same model as you, and Sony repaired it for free - I posted this in Nov last year:

Just a quick note to sing the praises of Sony EU repair service... I have a VGN AR41M which developed lots of vertical coloured lines on screen around 2 years ago - the problem got steadily worse until I was unable to use it when half of the screen turned black overnight. I bought it in the UK and have since moved to Spain. After a fair bit of worrying about finding the money to replace it (it was bought in 2007 and therefore out of warranty) I started to trawl messageboards to see if I could find anyone else who was experiencing the same problem. Seeing this thread gave me a little hope that I may be able to get it fixed. Although my model wasn't on the list, I thought I'd chance my arm and email them at the address I found on this thread - customersupport.en@vaio-link.com . They were relatively quick to reply (within 2 working days) and said there would be no problem about collecting my laptop in Spain and couriering it to a repair centre. It took 8 days for it to be repaired - I dropped it with a courier on 18th Nov, it was sent to Alsace and repaired, and I picked it up on 26th Nov. All free of charge. And they cleaned it!

Not sure if this helps - hope you get something sorted soon...

Hiya geocrowd, the person I had contact with was Ola Gaafar at Sony VAIO-Link Support Team. This is word for word what I emailed them:

hello there, i have a problem with my vaio VGN AR41M regarding vertical lines on the laptop display. I understand that it is a faulty NVIDIA Geforce 8400M GT card that is responsible, and that Sony have a repair policy regarding this, even if the laptop is out of warranty. I now live in Spain, who can I contact to get my computer fixed by one of your service partners here, free of charge?
Many thanks

They replied :

Thank you for contacting us.

I understand from your email that you own a VGN AR41M VAIO, and that you are having an issue with its graphics card.

To troubleshoot this issue, please follow the steps below:

1. (Re-)Start the VAIO. When the VAIO logo is displayed, use the F2 key to enter the BIOS and verify if there are any display problems in the BIOS.
   
   1. No graphical problems visible in the BIOS, then the unit is not affected by the NVIDIA hardware problem.
      
   2. The VAIO's display remains blank or faint.
      Proceed to step 2.
      
   3. The BIOS display is abnormal
      Proceed to step 4.
      

2. Verify that the Power LED of the VAIO is lit up.
   

a.    Blank or faint display and the Power LED is not lit up, please follow the steps below:

1-As the unit starts, keep tapping on F8 repeatedly.

You will find the below options:

- Safe Mode

- Safe Mode with Networking

- Safe Mode with Command prompt

- Last Known good configuration (your most recent settings that worked)

2- From Advanced boot menu select – Last known good configuration.

3- If the unit still doesn’t boot – repeat the above steps.

4- Try to start up in Safe Mode – If unable to start in safe mode – perform full recovery.

5- If the system starts in Safe Mode – attempt to do system restore as follows:

·         Go to start menu. Type systems restore.

·         Choose a restore point at which the system was working fine.

6- If system restore does not rectify the problem, a recovery will be required.

    Kindly check the steps below:

3. Connect the VAIO's VGA-port to an external screen and repeat the test from step 1. 
   
   1. The external screen shows an image from the VAIO
      The VAIO's display, backlight or display harness are faulty.
      This is not related to the NVIDIA issue, and normal repair conditions apply.
      
   2. The external screen remains blank or shows 'no signal'
      Proceed to step 4.
      

4. Abnormal BIOS display or blank display with power LED lit up
   The VAIO is presumably affected by the NVIDIA issue.
   
   
   
   

If the issue still persists, kindly be informed that we will organize a pickup for your VAIO to have it sent to our repair center.

Kindly send us the information below in order to organize it:

1. VAIO’s serial number.

2. Pickup and Delivery address.

3. Windows login name and password.

4. BIOS password.

5. Two best contact numbers.

6. Is there any sign for a physical damage?

•Please back up your personal data before shipping the VAIO to the repair center as Sony do not take any responsibility for data loss.

•Please follow the instructions on the pickup box with the pickup agent.

•The repair turnaround time is 8 working days depending on the part availability.

•Hand only your VAIO laptop (without any Ac adapter or battery) to the DHL courier who will place the VAIO in the box provided by DHL.

•Make sure that you keep one of the Air Way Bills with you signed by the courier as a proof of collection.

•If the repair centre identifies the issue as a physical damage, the repair will be chargeable and you will receive a phone call before the repair to inform you with the final cost.

•In case you want to get the VAIO unrepaired, a flat fee will apply.

Should you have any further questions or queries, please feel free to reply to this email or contact us on these numbers below:
VAIO in warranty: 0870 240 2408
VAIO out of warranty: 0905 0310006 (35p/min plus network charges)
Our lines are open 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday

Kind Regards,

Ola Gaafar

Sony VAIO Link Support Team

--- Original Message ---

nvidia

Sorry for the long post, hope this helps.

Kel

Hi geocrowd, really shocked and surprised about their response to you, but I'm sorry I've given you all the info I am prepared to put on a public forum, hope you understand