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| | 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 == | ||
Revision as of 21:02, 5 February 2024
Overview
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)
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 [[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
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).
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.