Please help with Mini Sony Vaio Pcg 351l

C

Cosmopolitan

New Member
Hi to all!
I got Mini Sony Vaio Pcg 351l to uninstall i.e. to format it and to put windows on it.
It's a mini laptop and it doesn't have an internal cd drive and unfortunately it doesn't have an external one.
However I've got an external hard disc which I would use for installing windows on it.
The computer which is word about is infected by a worm and it's a very strong one. Even usb ports don't work.
I can't get into BIOS, I can't restart it and if I try to restart it or turn it of the screen is just dark and even the computer works nothing happens.
Would you please be so kind as to help me?
PS I have uninstalled loads of computers but this one is really a challenge.:confused:
 
Cosmopolitan said:
Hi to all!
I got Mini Sony Vaio Pcg 351l to uninstall i.e. to format it and to put windows on it.
It's a mini laptop and it doesn't have an internal cd drive and unfortunately it doesn't have an external one.
However I've got an external hard disc which I would use for installing windows on it.
The computer which is word about is infected by a worm and it's a very strong one. Even usb ports don't work.
I can't get into BIOS, I can't restart it and if I try to restart it or turn it of the screen is just dark and even the computer works nothing happens.
Would you please be so kind as to help me?
PS I have uninstalled loads of computers but this one is really a challenge.:confused:
Click to expand...

I don't think viruses or worms can get that low to stop you from entering the BIOS, can they? Your best shot would be to try to boot from a live cd (or USB) and try to format the hdd from there. When you hit the power button, does the computer do anything?
 
I am sure it's a worm because my wife already tried to install windows from my external hard drive. She succeeded and I've got two windows on the computer.
After that when I connected the ext. hard drive to my computer my antivirus NOD32 found a worm.
Actually it's my wife's colleague's computer and she neglected it at all, so who knows what it is infested with exactly.
My aim was to boot it from my external hard drive but the usb ports don't work(yes, they work sometimes :) )
When I hit the power button I get three choices:
1. To start windows 1
2. To start windows 2
3. Or to hit F8 and to go to safe mode etc.
I can get to safe mode and then the usb ports work.
 
Cosmopolitan said:
I am sure it's a worm because my wife already tried to install windows from my external hard drive. She succeeded and I've got two windows on the computer.
After that when I connected the ext. hard drive to my computer my antivirus NOD32 found a worm.
Actually it's my wife's colleague's computer and she neglected it at all, so who knows what it is infested with exactly.
My aim was to boot it from my external hard drive but the usb ports don't work(yes, they work sometimes :) )
When I hit the power button I get three choices:
1. To start windows 1
2. To start windows 2
3. Or to hit F8 and to go to safe mode etc.
I can get to safe mode and then the usb ports work.
Click to expand...

Are you trying to format it for sure? Or would you like to get rid of the virus/worm/whatever it is? Because some people here can help you get rid of them. I'll help either way.
 
I would be happy if I could get rid of them.
However if we succeed in that another problem is how to delete one of windows I have because I have two windows on the computer.
One more thing. The computer doesn't have access to the internet.
Actually it has wireless access but I have only ACDL and I can't plug in the cable into it because the port doesn't exist.
 
Cosmopolitan said:
I would be happy if I could get rid of them.
However if we succeed in that another problem is how to delete one of windows I have because I have two windows on the computer.
One more thing. The computer doesn't have access to the internet.
Actually it has wireless access but I have only ACDL and I can't plug in the cable into it because the port doesn't exist.
Click to expand...

Would you like to try and salvage one of the OS's? Or would you like to start fresh? Starting fresh would most likely be easier.
 
bkribbs said:
Would you like to try and salvage one of the OS's? Or would you like to start fresh? Starting fresh would most likely be easier.
Click to expand...

OK this what I have done so far:
I can get to bios now ( when I turn it on I hit control, alt, delete and then very quickly F1/F2 :o )
I made a bootable usb stick but it is not seen in the bios.

PS I would like to format it at all and then install XP from my bootable usb stick
 
Cosmopolitan said:
OK this what I have done so far:
I can get to bios now ( when I turn it on I hit control, alt, delete and then very quickly F1/F2 :o )
I made a bootable usb stick but it is not seen in the bios.

PS I would like to format it at all and then install XP from my bootable usb stick
Click to expand...

What you need to do is go to gparted.com and make a bootable USB with their OS. Boot with that, and format everything to nfts. This should at least get rid of the viru. As for installing XP from a USB, I am not sure how do that. I'll research that later.
 
bkribbs said:
What you need to do is go to gparted.com and make a bootable USB with their OS. Boot with that, and format everything to nfts. This should at least get rid of the viru. As for installing XP from a USB, I am not sure how do that. I'll research that later.
Click to expand...

I already made a bootable usb but it can't be seen from bios.
That's my problem. If it could be seen from bios I would do format etc easily.
 
did you try hitting esc, del, or f12? (whichever one brings up the one time boot menu)

How did you format your usb stick? Through Dos diskpart or some other way?
 
bkribbs said:
Are you sure you set it up so it is bootable? And do you know how to boot from a usb?
Click to expand...

I suppose I know.
The usb is bootable 100 % but why the usb can't be seen from bios is a big question. I went to boot but I can choose only 4 options:

1 Hard disc
2 Optical (optical something)
3 Floppy disc
4 Network

But there is not usb which confuses me.
One more thing if I for ex choose hard disc or floppy (just to try) when I want to save and start boot with enter everything gets frozen.
So let's suppose the usb can be seen and I choose it and hit the enter but ...nothing happens.

I think it would be the best to give this notebook back to my wife's colleague and she should take it to a service.
It's better not to touch anything because if I f... something I will have to pay later :D
 
You may have already known this, but in the BIOS itself, there should be an option to enable/disable booting from USB. If the option isn't listed, it might be because it's currently disabled?

And why "optical" would be an option on a device that doesn't have an optical drive is sort of a mystery.

1st thing is getting the unit to boot from the USB port. When you do, check out this handy article from techrepublic: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22_11-5928902.html
 
Ultranothing said:
You may have already known this, but in the BIOS itself, there should be an option to enable/disable booting from USB. If the option isn't listed, it might be because it's currently disabled?

And why "optical" would be an option on a device that doesn't have an optical drive is sort of a mystery.

1st thing is getting the unit to boot from the USB port. When you do, check out this handy article from techrepublic: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22_11-5928902.html
Click to expand...

This is from the article you sent me: "For the most part, computers manufactured within the last two years are generally able to boot from a flash drive. Older systems may require a BIOS update, or might not be able to boot from a flash drive at all."

This laptop I've got is three days older than Christ.

Thanks anyway.
Regards ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top