VGN-NR: Difference between revisions

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* unable to boot into Linux (distros with proper GPU drivers)
* unable to boot into Linux (distros with proper GPU drivers)


There is no real permanent solution to this problem. One temporary solution would be a [[reflow|GPU reflow guide]], one more permanent but still temporary solution is a reball or chip replacement. However, all of these methods requires a precise hot air station, BGA No-Clean flux, and some experience (practicing on a junk board is a good start).
There is no real permanent solution to this problem. One temporary solution would be a [[GPU reflow guide|reflow]], one more permanent but still temporary solution is a reball or chip replacement. However, all of these methods requires a precise hot air station, BGA No-Clean flux, and some experience (practicing on a junk board is a good start).
 


== Daily Usage Today ==
== Daily Usage Today ==
The NR deals with office tasks and basic web browsing okay-ish. It can run your favourite office programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and LibreOffice fairly well, including a selection of web pages, however it struggles with video playback and even normal webpages. It is highly recommended to run an old OS such as Windows XP or a lightweight Linux distribution such as AntiX (Debian) or Lubuntu (Ubuntu).
The NR deals with office tasks and basic web browsing okay-ish. It can run your favourite office programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and LibreOffice fairly well, including a selection of web pages, however it struggles with video playback and even normal webpages. It is highly recommended to run an old OS such as Windows XP or a lightweight Linux distribution such as Devuan or Lubuntu.


These laptops are very cheap (As of September 2023) and can be had on eBay for under £20 easily. They would make a good beginner/kids laptop.
These laptops are very cheap (As of September 2023) and can be had on eBay for under £20 easily. They would make a good beginner/kids laptop.
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== Resources ==
== Resources ==
[https://archive.org/details/sony-vaio-recoverydisc-1 VGN-NR Recovery Disks]
[https://archive.org/details/sony-vaio-recoverydisc-1 VGN-NR Recovery Disks]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9eOlSTzV4E VGN-NR Disassembly]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9eOlSTzV4E VGN-NR Disassembly]
You can bypass the model checks of these discs by using [[Sony VAIO Recovery Patcher (SVRP)|SVRP]].
You can bypass the model checks of these discs by using [[Sony VAIO Recovery Patcher (SVRP)|SVRP]].



Latest revision as of 00:30, 19 October 2024

Overview

VAIO VGN-NR
VAIO VGN-NR

The Sony VAIO VGN-NR was a low end notebook released by Sony in 2007. It was designed to be used for basic internet tasks as well as office tasks.

Detailed Specs

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, Celeron, Pentium (Dual Core)

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 or NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT

Chipset: Intel GM965 Express (800MHz)

VGN-NR
VGN-NR

Memory: DDR2 SDRAM PC2-5300 SO-DIMM (667MHz), not soldered, 2 slots, max 4GB, Standard 2GB

Display: 15.4" wide TFT WXGA (1280x800)

Storage: 160GB HDD SATA 5400rpm

Weight: 2.9 kilograms

MSRP: around £549 to £699

Problems

The NVIDIA equipped NRs all have a very unfortunate problem. They contain a NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT GPU. The NVIDIA 8 series of GPUs are known for their 100% failure rate because of a manufacturing problem from NVIDIA, and the NR is not an exception to that. All NVIDIA 8 series chips on every single NR is affected by this problem. Symptoms of this problem are:

  • black screen when turning on the device (device is not booting up, it has not passed the power-on self-test)
  • artifacts on the display
  • not being able to successfully install GPU drivers
  • unable to boot into Linux (distros with proper GPU drivers)

There is no real permanent solution to this problem. One temporary solution would be a reflow, one more permanent but still temporary solution is a reball or chip replacement. However, all of these methods requires a precise hot air station, BGA No-Clean flux, and some experience (practicing on a junk board is a good start).

Daily Usage Today

The NR deals with office tasks and basic web browsing okay-ish. It can run your favourite office programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and LibreOffice fairly well, including a selection of web pages, however it struggles with video playback and even normal webpages. It is highly recommended to run an old OS such as Windows XP or a lightweight Linux distribution such as Devuan or Lubuntu.

These laptops are very cheap (As of September 2023) and can be had on eBay for under £20 easily. They would make a good beginner/kids laptop.

Resources

VGN-NR Recovery Disks

VGN-NR Disassembly

You can bypass the model checks of these discs by using SVRP.

Follow our guides to download and install drivers.

Credits

Inversenet Notebookcheck