I’m working on someone’s computer for the past 2 days, and I can’t figure out how to fix this problem. It’s a Sony Vaio Notebook, model # PCG-F180 with a P2, 333MHz processor and 64MB of RAM, and running Windows ME. When I first got it, it would shut down within 20 seconds of startup. Actually, shutdown isn’t the proper word; I’m not quite sure what it’s doing. The monitor turns off, and it sounds like the computer powers down, but the fan is still running and the power light is still on, even if I unplug it from the AC adapter. I have all the BIOS and power management settings set to never hibernate, suspend, sleep, or turn off the hard drives, monitor, or anything else unless I shut the computer down. I thought this might have been the solution I was looking for (http://www.physik.uni-freiburg.de/~zwerger/cip/Vaio/indexeng.htm) but after trying all of those steps short of putzing with the motherboard itself, I’m still not able to keep the laptop running. I tried swapping in a new hard drive, and now the computer will run normally for about 10 minutes, but then it does the same thing of sounding like it’s shutting down, but still being on, and no display appears (from here on out when I say “shut down,” this is what I’m referring to, since it’s easier than saying all this every time). I’ve run virus scans, spyware scans, tried running in safe mode, nothing works. The other strange thing is that, when I’m in BIOS setup or installing the O/S, it doesn’t shut down, it runs perfectly normally. I don’t get any errors or warnings before it shuts down.
Can ANYONE at all help me? I’ll be eternally grateful, plus give you a Gold Star and a Scooby Snack! 🙂
Thanx,
Jennifer