Sony Viao VPCEB32FM Operating System Not Found

[cmczona]

I have a Sony Viao VPCEB32FM Laptop that he dropped the other day and there is no physical damage to it like the screen being cracked or anything of that nature but when you turn it on it flashes the Vaio logo then goes to a black screen that says “Operating System Not Found”. I googled the problem and my instincts were correct it was a damaged hard drive there is even a Youtube video as the first link when you Google it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j413F0Ds8_s and it shows his laptop go figure. I tried their solution of reconnecting the hard drive but it didn’t work. When I enter the Bios by pressing F2 at startup it even list no hard drive. The issue I am facing is that even though the Bios list the startup order as CD, Hard Drive, External, it will not boot any disc so I can’t use any tools to repair, reformat, and get a larger picture of what is going on. I’ve tried every combination of F1-12, Del, ESC you name it to boot from CD but his laptop does not seem to have that feature like mine when you press F9 you can choose which item you want to boot from regardless the order in the BIOS.

I know the HD needs to be replaced and if needed I can get a cable to try and resuce the data but the more important question is how do I know the hard drive is the only problem before buying a new one online for $65.00? I don’t want to go spend $65.00 an find out that it is more than just that. I am pretty sure it is not the motherboard since the BIOS loads and displays info but I could be wrong. It just seems weird and funny it wont boot any disc.

So what should I do to find out if it is just the HD that needs to be replaced. As noted I can’t get it to boot any Cd’s even though that is listed first in the BIOS and there seems to be no shortcut F1-12, DEL, ESC to bypass and choose the boot during startup like on my laptop.

Please advise when you get a chance we would really appreciate it.

 

[phil22]

"I know the HD needs to be replaced and if needed I can get a cable to try and rescue the data

No chance of rescuing data from it if the system won't recognise it, recovery software won't recognise it either.

The drop may have dislodged the optical drive as happened on my son's laptop when he dropped it.
Miraculously the hard drive still booted into Windows but optical drive wasn't showing.
I noticed it was sticking out slightly so I gave it a firm push and it clicked into place.
That was it, the drive appeared in Windows and it worked after that.

 

[cmczona]

So are you suggesting the HD and Optical Drive were both damaged and that is why I can't get it to boot any disc?

Or are you suggesting it won't start up because the Optical Drive might be dislodged?

 

[cmczona]

Still not sure what to do about this? Should I replace the hard drive and h ope that is the only thing wrong or is their a way of finding out if their is more to it?

 

[cmczona]

Best answer selected by cmczona.