Sony Vaio PCG-F360 Troubleshooting

Make sure that the computer is receiving power by plugging it into a powered outlet. If it will boot after this, then the battery is suspect. Several problems will cause a battery to malfunction. Sometimes older batteries may not hold a good charge due to age, or the battery might not be recognized by the system. Make sure you leave the computer plugged in for several hours to allow the battery enough time to properly charge before presuming it to be dead. If you find your battery needs replacement follow the battery replacement guide.

There can be a number of issues that can cause your optical drive to stop functioning or reading discs. First, be sure the disc is not the problem. Look for scratches and try another disc if necessary. If your drive won't open try to use a paper clip and stick it in the small hole located near the tray opening button this will eject the tray and you can put your disc in. If your drive won't read at all follow the optical drive replacement guide.

Like with the optical drive, if your floppy drive is not reading your disc, be sure the problem lies with the drive - try multiple floppies. If there is still a problem follow the floppy drive replacement guide.

You were working on that file and didn't have time to save it...

This model is particularly prone to overheating, which can be a problem when you're working away and it crashes on you. Because of the age of this computer, this overheating can be caused by constant, strenuous use or possibly even a buildup of dust. The buildup of dust in the laptop can block air flow throughout, causing the device to overheat. You can carefully blow compressed air into the fan under the laptop to clear dust from it. Another reason for overheating could be that the fan itself is broken, in which case you would have to replace the fan in the computer. In order to do this, follow the fan replacement guide..

The amount of time from when you start up until it crashes is seemingly random

There are some problems with the computer randomly crashing due to the CPU's capacitors overloading, causing a failsafe mechanism to kick in, which shuts off your computer. This can be remedied by replacing the logic board.

"Your touch is not being read by the touchpad or the cursor is moving unpredictably"

"First try to reboot your computer. If this does not fix your problem, continue reading for common problems and solutions."

Wipe your touchpad with a lens cleaning cloth or a damp cloth to clean it.

Your touchpad may not be able to sense your touch if the sensitivity is set too low.

Remove any debris that is visible between the touchpad and click buttons. You can remove the touchpad to clean it more thoroughly.

"A key is stuck or is not showing the letter I pressed."

Make sure your MS Word or other word processor is set to English. Also check to make sure your keyboard layout is correct, usually QWERTY.

Try pressing Fn+F11, Fn+NUM LOCK or Fn+F8.

Use a flat tool to pop off the key. Clean it with some rubbing alcohol and replace. In order to do this, follow the single key replacement guide.

It may be necessary to replace the entire keyboard. One option is to buy a separate USB keyboard or you can use the virtual keyboard which can be found under the accessories tab.