VAIO laptop locked and won't boot

After connecting my Sony VAIO AR520E VistaHP system to the Internet
using my Cricket wireless dongle, as I have done many times before,
when I returned to the laptop I saw a login-like screen that stated
"Computer Locked" but when I moved my mouse to unlock it the screen
went black and I have not been able to get the laptop to reboot since
then. Not even the VAIO logo screen displays.

I disconnected it from the mains to run it off the battery but that
made no difference. The power light remains on but the battery light
comes on briefly then turns off. The hard drive light doesn't show
booting activity. When I plug it into the mains the AC adapter light
stays on but otherwise it behaves the same as the battery power.

Any help troubleshooting this issue will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

In news:,
M.L. typed on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:26:33 -0600:
> After connecting my Sony VAIO AR520E VistaHP system to the Internet
> using my Cricket wireless dongle, as I have done many times before,
> when I returned to the laptop I saw a login-like screen that stated
> "Computer Locked" but when I moved my mouse to unlock it the screen
> went black and I have not been able to get the laptop to reboot since
> then. Not even the VAIO logo screen displays.
>
> I disconnected it from the mains to run it off the battery but that
> made no difference. The power light remains on but the battery light
> comes on briefly then turns off. The hard drive light doesn't show
> booting activity. When I plug it into the mains the AC adapter light
> stays on but otherwise it behaves the same as the battery power.
>
> Any help troubleshooting this issue will be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks.

Boy that sounds serious! Probably wouldn't hurt to connect it up to an
external monitor. Although I don't think it will do anything really.

Sounds like some sort of hardware failure so far. Does the computer beep
at all? If so, you need too look up what those beep codes means.

The next step is what I would do is to remove devices. Anything plugged
into the computer (keep the power cable plugged in to try to turn on).
Then try and remove the hard drive and CD/DVD drive. Then see if the
computer fires up. If not, remove the memory and try. And maybe
disconnecting the keyboard and pointing device and then trying.

If all of this fails, sounds like a motherboard failure. Some CPUs are
socketed and so if you have a spare you could try that. Or the BIOS
could have failed. Reflashing the BIOS may work to get everything going
once again. Otherwise if it isn't working up to this point, sounds like
it needs a motherboard replacement. Which may not be worth it because it
is usually expensive.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

In news:ikdpmh$eng$,
BillW50 typed on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 09:13:18 -0600:
> In news:,
> M.L. typed on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:26:33 -0600:
>> After connecting my Sony VAIO AR520E VistaHP system to the Internet
>> using my Cricket wireless dongle, as I have done many times before,
>> when I returned to the laptop I saw a login-like screen that stated
>> "Computer Locked" but when I moved my mouse to unlock it the screen
>> went black and I have not been able to get the laptop to reboot since
>> then. Not even the VAIO logo screen displays.
>>
>> I disconnected it from the mains to run it off the battery but that
>> made no difference. The power light remains on but the battery light
>> comes on briefly then turns off. The hard drive light doesn't show
>> booting activity. When I plug it into the mains the AC adapter light
>> stays on but otherwise it behaves the same as the battery power.
>>
>> Any help troubleshooting this issue will be greatly appreciated.
>> Thanks.
>
> Boy that sounds serious! Probably wouldn't hurt to connect it up to an
> external monitor. Although I don't think it will do anything really.
>
> Sounds like some sort of hardware failure so far. Does the computer
> beep at all? If so, you need too look up what those beep codes means.
>
> The next step is what I would do is to remove devices. Anything
> plugged into the computer (keep the power cable plugged in to try to
> turn on). Then try and remove the hard drive and CD/DVD drive. Then
> see if the computer fires up. If not, remove the memory and try. And
> maybe disconnecting the keyboard and pointing device and then trying.
>
> If all of this fails, sounds like a motherboard failure. Some CPUs are
> socketed and so if you have a spare you could try that. Or the BIOS
> could have failed. Reflashing the BIOS may work to get everything
> going once again. Otherwise if it isn't working up to this point,
> sounds like it needs a motherboard replacement. Which may not be
> worth it because it is usually expensive.

Oh here is something you should try first! Remove the AC and the battery
and press and hold the power button down for about 10 seconds. Now
install the battery and the AC and give it a try.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

>>> After connecting my Sony VAIO AR520E VistaHP system to the Internet
>>> using my Cricket wireless dongle, as I have done many times before,
>>> when I returned to the laptop I saw a login-like screen that stated
>>> "Computer Locked" but when I moved my mouse to unlock it the screen
>>> went black and I have not been able to get the laptop to reboot since
>>> then. Not even the VAIO logo screen displays.
>>>
>>> I disconnected it from the mains to run it off the battery but that
>>> made no difference. The power light remains on but the battery light
>>> comes on briefly then turns off. The hard drive light doesn't show
>>> booting activity. When I plug it into the mains the AC adapter light
>>> stays on but otherwise it behaves the same as the battery power.
>>>
>>> Any help troubleshooting this issue will be greatly appreciated.
>>> Thanks.
>>
>> Boy that sounds serious! Probably wouldn't hurt to connect it up to an
>> external monitor. Although I don't think it will do anything really.
>>
>> Sounds like some sort of hardware failure so far. Does the computer
>> beep at all? If so, you need too look up what those beep codes means.
>>
>> The next step is what I would do is to remove devices. Anything
>> plugged into the computer (keep the power cable plugged in to try to
>> turn on). Then try and remove the hard drive and CD/DVD drive. Then
>> see if the computer fires up. If not, remove the memory and try. And
>> maybe disconnecting the keyboard and pointing device and then trying.
>>
>> If all of this fails, sounds like a motherboard failure. Some CPUs are
>> socketed and so if you have a spare you could try that. Or the BIOS
>> could have failed. Reflashing the BIOS may work to get everything
>> going once again. Otherwise if it isn't working up to this point,
>> sounds like it needs a motherboard replacement. Which may not be
>> worth it because it is usually expensive.
>
>Oh here is something you should try first! Remove the AC and the battery
>and press and hold the power button down for about 10 seconds. Now
>install the battery and the AC and give it a try.

Thanks for your reply. When I turned the laptop on this morning it
booted into Vista just fine after I selected the "Start normally"
option. I can only guess the problem had something to do with an
intermittent power issue.

Somewhere on teh intarwebs Kevin John Panzke wrote:
> On Feb 27, 9:13 am, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
>> Innews:,
>> M.L. typed on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:26:33 -0600:
>>
>>> After connecting my Sony VAIO AR520E VistaHP system to the Internet
>>> using my Cricket wireless dongle, as I have done many times before,
>>> when I returned to the laptop I saw a login-like screen that stated
>>> "Computer Locked" but when I moved my mouse to unlock it the screen
>>> went black and I have not been able to get the laptop to reboot
>>> since then. Not even the VAIO logo screen displays.
>>
>>> I disconnected it from the mains to run it off the battery but that
>>> made no difference. The power light remains on but the battery light
>>> comes on briefly then turns off. The hard drive light doesn't show
>>> booting activity. When I plug it into the mains the AC adapter light
>>> stays on but otherwise it behaves the same as the battery power.
>>
>>> Any help troubleshooting this issue will be greatly appreciated.
>>> Thanks.
>>
>> Boy that sounds serious! Probably wouldn't hurt to connect it up to
>> an external monitor. Although I don't think it will do anything
>> really.
>>
>> Sounds like some sort of hardware failure so far. Does the computer
>> beep at all? If so, you need too look up what those beep codes means.
>>
>> The next step is what I would do is to remove devices. Anything
>> plugged into the computer (keep the power cable plugged in to try to
>> turn on). Then try and remove the hard drive and CD/DVD drive. Then
>> see if the computer fires up. If not, remove the memory and try. And
>> maybe disconnecting the keyboard and pointing device and then trying.
>>
>> If all of this fails, sounds like a motherboard failure. Some CPUs
>> are socketed and so if you have a spare you could try that. Or the
>> BIOS could have failed. Reflashing the BIOS may work to get
>> everything going once again. Otherwise if it isn't working up to
>> this point, sounds like it needs a motherboard replacement. Which
>> may not be worth it because it is usually expensive.
>>
>> --
>> Bill
>> Gateway M465e ('06 era)
>> Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3
>
> YOU DO REALIZE THAT THIS IS A VISTA NEWS GROUP CORRECT? JUST FYI!

Stop shouting!

You do realise that this thread is crossposted correct?

Who's the fool now?
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Somewhere on teh intarwebs Kevin John Panzke wrote:
> On Feb 27, 4:26 am, M.L. <m...@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>> After connecting my Sony VAIO AR520E VistaHP system to the Internet
>> using my Cricket wireless dongle, as I have done many times before,
>> when I returned to the laptop I saw a login-like screen that stated
>> "Computer Locked" but when I moved my mouse to unlock it the screen
>> went black and I have not been able to get the laptop to reboot since
>> then. Not even the VAIO logo screen displays.
>>
>> I disconnected it from the mains to run it off the battery but that
>> made no difference. The power light remains on but the battery light
>> comes on briefly then turns off. The hard drive light doesn't show
>> booting activity. When I plug it into the mains the AC adapter light
>> stays on but otherwise it behaves the same as the battery power.
>>
>> Any help troubleshooting this issue will be greatly appreciated.
>> Thanks.
>
> REFORMAT YOUR COMPUTER AND INSTALL OPEN SOURCE LINUX UBUNTU! JUST FYI!
> THREAD CLOSED!

No, mind closed.

Wow! An idiot on the lose. Please fill out an application form at reception
as we in comp.sys.laptops already have a village idiot. We'll inform you
when the current guy dies.
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche