Running out of ideas Sony VAIO VPCEF3E1E

[tommy2k14]

I am a computer engineer and am looking at a client's laptop, which is a Sony Vaio VPCEF3E1E.  It was working perfectly until I got a call from him, saying it was slow at times, did all the usual checks, viruses, malware, hardware, but it was still slow erratically. Ran chkdsk /r, which found and fixed errors in the file system.  

It was still happening after a couple of days so I decided to reinstall the OS using the recovery DVD's I'd created.  I gave it back to him, it behaved itself, everything was fine, until a couple of days later the same thing happened.  I did the same things, this time I did a chkdsk /r, which repaired errors in the file system.   

Another phone call, same thing happened.  This time I will give a list of what I have done:

Disk diagnostics - Disk fine.

Drivers all up to date.

Not overheating, as I have a friend (I have a disability so I can't) take it apart to see if anything was clogging the fans, fans are clean.

Core Temp reports the processor temperature as 51C (which is normal for an AMD Dual Core, I think.) and disk temperature between 29C and 36C.

He uses AVG 2015.

No rogue processes running.

I have tried a spare power supply, makes no difference.

Another thing that has just started happening in the last 5 days is that the W7 splash screen (when loading) jiggles up and down for about 2 seconds!

The only thing I haven't tried is a memory test (although normally the Event Log picks up on memory problems.)  No software / hardware problems logged in the Event Log either.

My client only uses it for a bit of light surfing and checking emails.

It was purchased in 2010.

I am running out of ideas.

Any help please?

It has 4GB RAM and W7 Home Premium 64-bit.

[rinninja]

- now i change my HDD with different one last week, but i had recovery media on usb, and no backups (1bck up, got to trash after the whole hdd broke)

-so u find someone with the same PC model and should work.

2nd option that i was gonna try coz my recovery didnt worked at first meaning the whole ***** day , i was gonna isntall new win 7 64bit than download Vaio Gate and try to fix it this way. (turns out my Boot was corupted on the Recovery USB - coz 3 weeks ago i was trying to fix the PC with the broken HDD and recovery procedure failed at some point coz the hdd failed) Somehow from the Error that i was getting some problem with Boot i decided to check what going on on usb recovery media, than saw boot_backup - decided in the 1nd to delete boot and rename boot_backup as boot, and wow it worked lucky me.

after  all the fixing and updates and everything i saw the option for win 10 on the tray and decided to try it, after i made backup of course, and now i am actually more happy with more smooth and faster windows! and win 10 has its own recovery and backup, so u have another option u can try.

Hope somehting works of this things (just a warning win 10 upgrade can take u the whole day) i did make it work on my 2nd or 3rd time, first time the preparation restarted 2nd time failed unknow error than i restarted PC and started again and it worked.

[tommy2k14]

Where did you get boot_backup from?

[rinninja]

I already said "I have Recovery Media made for my USB flash memory stick"  Recovery Media takes around 14.5GB of files onto the USB. There is Boot there so u can boot and start recovery if HDD broke totally, as it did to me, so I install a new HDD completlly blank, everything back as it was "new instalation - win7, recovery partition on the new hdd etc.  and sony apps". The boot is automatic u dont need to do anything or change anything on the usb recovery media stick. But mine got corrupted and recovery stop working as i explain probably the reason why, i was angry and despred that the only Recovery i Had and it was working before 3 weeks  suddenly stoped, so i decided to take a brake, see the problem, meditate and right away i saw that before my recovery broke it did a back up. But if u DONT have Recovery on USB and that same problem, thats not gonna help you.

Try instaling Vaio Gate and see can u get Vaio Care and the other programs, after that try to make Recovery Media on USB... (if u cant find someone in yr city to help u out with the same recovry media).

- m gonna say it again : the boot thingy  is only if u already made Recovery on USB and like mine got corrupted and u coudnt start recovery from it,  if it was DVD  Recovery Media it woudnt corupt as u cant change, delete, move files on the DVDs that are already burned.

[tommy2k14]

Thankyou for the ideas people, but I have now solved the problem.

I rang Microsoft and they told me I had some wrong digits in the product key.

Strange that, because Sony said the product key was correct and when I recovered the system the first time, the Recovery worked! 

Also, even though I changed the disk, which prompted Sony to tell me the manufacturer product key wouldn't work, Microsoft checked it, saw it was legitimate, corrected my 2 digits (as mentioned above) and activated it for me!

[rinninja]

Congrats, now make Recovery Media if something happens again

[Nobody-in-particular]

That is unusual advice from Sony support and I am not sure it is correct because there have been many such posts on this community where users have replaced their VAIO's hard drive and then used the recovery media to restore the OS, etc. 

Anyway well done on getting the OS reinstalled hopefully the new hard drive will address the original problem of the VAIO slowing down.

[rinninja]

aaa one thing for the original problem that i also had, turns out my Vaio was slowing down like crazy, becouse i download all the time big files from internet, and VAIO is putting them in some buffer, and checking them for some stuff (forgot what i was) so when i saw that I CUT that program, disable it completly, so it want slowdown my PC anymore. But i dont remember the system program or whatever it was, coz i didnt have it on my XP before, and when i get this PC i was born with the faster things i do, and when sudenly VAIO acted slowly than my 14 years old PC (2001-2003parts XP ) oi right away kille-d that mothe-r focker (the program cultprite) so i dont know if its a program, a system process in win 7 or sony app, forgot the name but it was using TOO much CPU and Memory.

btw i didnt told you, but win 10 is faster, meaning VAIO will be faster - RESTART TAKES  5-10 seconds to boot windows, max 15seconds if it was shutdown and u power it up. Suggest that to you customer (and tell him yes some things may not work, but 2010 old PC with win 10 working (many Vaio users want that) !

[tommy2k14]

The thing is I cannot find recovery media for this model anywhere!  As you know my ones I created don't work, and as I used my own Windows 7 DVD, I don't know if there is a way to create them!  If I go back to Sony and ask for recovery media again, I will probably get the same response, and if I find somewhere the recovery media on the web, is it worth the risk buying them considering the palaver I went through with Microsoft activating it?

[rinninja]

download Vaio Gate - install, get Vaio Care, Vaio udates after that probably u will have Recovery Media option to creat Rescue Media and backup to make.. u didnt say that u try them.

- so try that, than say how its working