The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Help with Sony Vaio VGN FZ190?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Awilliams357m, Apr 14, 2009.

  1. Awilliams357m

    Awilliams357m Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hey all, i'm new to the forum, and new to the laptop world as well.
    I recently picked up a 12 month old Sony Vaio VGN-FZ190, and i love it dearly, but it has recently had some troubles with the Graphics Card... It gets random lines through it, and has " Noise " to it... the first time around it was just the driver... and the second time around, it won't let me boot up in safemode...
    Called sony, and had a talk with some local techies, and they've all told me it's the Graphics/Video Card... And it's integrated into the Mobo! Is there something i can check that could just be loose or disconnected? I Currently can't even get it into safemode, and i really don't want to pay sony 700$ to replace the motherboard... does anyone know where i could possibly find one...?

    Thanks in advance,
    Andy
     
    Awilliams357m, Apr 14, 2009
    #1
  2. coolguy

    coolguy Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    805
    Messages:
    4,679
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    106
    Unfortunately you got the defective Nvidia graphics card 8400M GT. Sony doesn't seem to acknowledge the problem. There is a detailed thread about this in the Sony forum. Click here
     
    coolguy, Apr 14, 2009
    #2
  3. Awilliams357m

    Awilliams357m Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    well thanks for the reply... is there pretty much no fix to it? =/ Does anyone know where to get a motherboard for it? I'm not paying sony 700$ to replace the motherboard when i can do it myself...
     
    Awilliams357m, Apr 14, 2009
    #3
  4. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

    Reputations:
    6,668
    Messages:
    8,224
    Likes Received:
    231
    Trophy Points:
    231
    Yeah, the Nvidia 8xxx series have these issues. Since the graphics chip is soldered onto the motherboard, there is no fix other than to completely replace the entire motherboard. You can find several on Ebay, but it'll still run you ~$300, plus several hours of careful work.
     
    MidnightSun, Apr 14, 2009
    #4
  5. Awilliams357m

    Awilliams357m Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I'm not worried about the work part of it.. i'm worried about finding the correct Mobo. =/ No luck anywhere so far..
     
    Awilliams357m, Apr 14, 2009
    #5
  6. coolguy

    coolguy Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    805
    Messages:
    4,679
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    106
    If I were you, I would sell FZ parts in e-bay and get another notebook instead of replacing the mobo.
     
    coolguy, Apr 14, 2009
    #6
  7. Awilliams357m

    Awilliams357m Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hmm.. Alright. Maybe i will then... it's time to get a new one for college soon anyhow.
     
    Awilliams357m, Apr 15, 2009
    #7
  8. stevezachtech

    stevezachtech Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    14
    Messages:
    348
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    A Mobo is a very precious component to waste, I agree with your wise choice.
     
    stevezachtech, Apr 15, 2009
    #8