Diagnosing a laptop without a screen.

[chmielu]

Hi
I recently broke a screen in my Sony Vaio VPCEA1S1E and decided to turn it into a media center hooked up to a TV. After removing the screen the laptop was working fine until I discovered that 2 out of 4 gb or RAM are not working. However after finding out which stick is faulty I can't get any image from the laptop. Tired to reconnect the screen but that didn't work. The HDD diode is blinking fequently indicating activity. If I put a stick in the "lower" slot it boots, makes no sounds but also gives no image if I put a stick in the upper slot it will get stuck in infinite reboot cycle. Any suggestion on how to sort this out would be appreciated.

 

[Johnabcs1]

Sounds like the RAM sticks were damaged in the process. Try different RAM sticks and see if that works. Also, something else could've been damaged as well, such as other components.

 

[Prostar Computer]

Are you sure the memory modules are at fault? It kind of sounds like the banks on the board are acting up. Faulty memory banks would warrant a board replacement, unless you or someone you know can rework it.

 

[chmielu]

New stick in the lower slot makes it boot up and work fine. Seems like upper slot is faulty and kills the modules. Lucky me I didn't test the new module in upper slot. Problem solved, thanks.
Also the laptop is so old buying a new board would be pointles.