[spookytheclown]

Hey guys i need your help with a problem i have a sony vaio pcg-2a1m its a couple of years old and i've turned it on today and after the vaio screen comes up the screen goes black with a flashing white dash then after i run the bios it says "operating system not found" i've checked online and every site has a different answer or possible solution but none of them seem to hold any water......so please guys an gals i need your help!

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Hi spookytheclown

i run the bios it says "operating system not found"

Is the HDD listed in the BIOS?

i've checked online and every site has a different answer or
possible solution but none of them seem to hold any water

What do you mean by this, as in what answers and solutions have
you read?

[phillpower2]

Hi spookytheclown

i run the bios it says "operating system not found"

Is the HDD listed in the BIOS?

i've checked online and every site has a different answer or
possible solution but none of them seem to hold any water

What do you mean by this, as in what answers and solutions have
you read?

[spookytheclown]

hey philpower, thanks for your time.
the hard drive is in the bios at the number 1 spot as one of the other answers said to do but that didnt help at all, just the same flashing dash and message.
the answers ive read are to open up the pc and disconnect the drive (not within my capability), and to replace the hard drive (but i dont see what i did to break this one), im such a technical noob im sorry

[phillpower2]

the hard drive is in the bios at the number 1 spot

Meaning that the HDD may be ok but that Windows is either corrupt or damaged beyond repair, do
you have the Windows or boot disk/s that may have been supplied when the computer was new?

the answers ive read are to open up the pc and disconnect the drive (not within my capability), and to replace the hard drive

Both suggestions are premature at this stage.

(but i dont see what i did to break this one),

HDDs are mechanical and so unfortunately they can and do fail sometimes with no warning but often there are warning signs such as system slow down or unusual noises such as clunking or more commonly known as the click of death, have you experienced any of these recently.
If you have data on the HDD that you wish to recover it you can use Puppy Linux, info @ http://www.geekstogo...over-your-data/
Couple of questions for you, what OS are you using Vista or W7, can you boot into Safe Mode or have you tried Last Known Good Configuration?

[spookytheclown]

im using vista and i tried to boot into safe mode but it wont let me (i dont think the computer can find windows at all) and this model of vaio didnt come with a recovery disk i tried to put my toshiba recovey disk in and the comp read it but cant instal as there is "no RAID" and i have no idea what that is either lol) as for last know good config i have no idea how to find that without windows starting up? and no "clicks of death lol" and i dont care for the data as this laptop is my primary computer.

[phillpower2]

It does sound like your OS is bad.

and this model of vaio didnt come with a recovery disk

Ouch, you are meant to create your own restore disk/s.

i tried to put my toshiba recovey disk in and the comp read it but cant instal

This would not work in any event as the drivers for the MB etc would be the wrong ones.


See if you can get into last known good first, see "how to" below;
If your computer has a single operating system installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You need to press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you will need to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then shutting down and restarting your computer.

If your computer has more than one operating system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to start, and then press F8.

Edited by rshaffer61, 19 May 2011 - 02:19 PM.
Removed link to non-authorized site

[spookytheclown]

the windows screen doesn't come up, when i start the computer the vaio screen comes up then nothing but a flashing white dash and after around 5 minutes the "operating system not found" comes on the screen!
i didn't know i was supposed to do my own recovery disk, and if the toshiba disk don't do the job what about a windows vista from a torrent site?

[rshaffer61]

Contact Toshiba for a set of recovery disks. Usually runs less then 50 dollars

[spookytheclown]

i need sony recovery disks i was just trying the toshiba ones as i have both machines plus a dell, but the dell disks are xp so i know there no good, i just thought the toshiba one might do it but alas no!
i tried philpowers link and download option just waiting for it to do something.
once again guys thanks so much for your time.

[spookytheclown]

i burned the iso file to dvd drive, put the disk in the sony(broke machine) on the screen it says "microsoft corporation" and has the green loading bars but the hard disk in use light isn't on at all and its been 30 mins now, what should i do?

[phillpower2]

As Ron edited post #6 I cannot comment on the download.
I can ask whether you have changed the boot sequence to CD?DVD drive 1st and the HDD 2nd?
This must be done so that the data from a boot disk is transfered and saved to the HDD.

[spookytheclown]

ok well like a complete novice i didnt change that around!! grrrr
i'll do that now!

[spookytheclown]

well i'll try that dude!

[spookytheclown]

ok on my boot list i have this
1, usb opticle drive (*)
2, internal opticle drive
3, floppy disk drive (*)
4, usb flash (*)
5, usb hard disk drive (*)
6, internal hard disk drive
7, network

the (*) are optional, i dont have any of these connected.

[phillpower2]

ok on my boot list i have this
1, usb opticle drive (*)
2, internal opticle drive Set this as the 1st boot device.
3, floppy disk drive (*)
4, usb flash (*)
5, usb hard disk drive (*)
6, internal hard disk drive Set this as the 2nd boot device.
7, network

the (*) are optional, i dont have any of these connected.

Once you have changed the settings you must save the new settings, press F10
and then press Y to accept the changes.