So I had to tinker and steam the day before with a Sony vaio SVE1712P1RB laptop, which a friend brought me, asking me to remove Windows 8 from it and install 7. O_o at first I tried for 40 minutes to get into the BIOS... I tried delete, all the options F1-F12, I even tried all sorts of combinations, like ALT+CTRL+S, etc. Never mind. Sonya persistently twisted the 8 logo and proceeded to download it. This cannot happen, because this can never happen... So that on a laptop, even a Sony vaio, it would be impossible to go into the BIOS, boot from DVD-ROMa and reinstall the OS from boot disk. And a solution was found
It turns out that the Sony vaio SVE1712P1RB model has an interesting button on the front panel called ASSIST. Why the hell did the developers of this laptop reinvent the wheel, I don’t know... However, I only got into the BIOS by pressing this damn button with the laptop turned off
It contained the treasured item, which allowed me to enter the BIOS after selecting it. Well, isn't it nonsense? For me - complete. Well, or a very sophisticated protection against fools, so that they don’t climb into the BIOS with crooked hands and fumble around there in search of adventures.
However, for successful windows installations 7 instead of windows 8 there is one more nuance. Namely: one change had to be made in the BIOS. In the section Boot there is a mode Boot mode, which with Windows 8 installed is UEFI
And in order for Windows 7 to install and work normally, you need instead UEFI select mode Legacy
The further into the forest, the more Microsoft invents various bullshit to complicate life system administrators and ordinary Enikey people. I didn’t mind spending an hour of time debriefing and searching for an entrance to the BIOS, and was even interesting. But I don’t think that for the average user it would take an hour. And even more so if it’s a whole organization with a stack of similar laptops. In this case, it is much easier to subscribe to
The fact that Sony Corporation is one of the leading manufacturers of computer or mobile equipment probably does not need to be explained to anyone. True, sometimes she throws out such “surprises” that an unprepared person will clearly have to rack their brains for many hours before figuring out what’s what. In particular, this applies to laptops. Many of their “lucky” owners do not understand at all how to enter the Sony Vaio BIOS. Well, since this is the case, let’s try to figure out this rather interesting and difficult question.
Sony Vaio: “charms” and vagaries
Let's start a little from afar. To be honest, many computer scientists still don’t understand why the corporation’s specialists, as they say, out of the blue make life difficult for users. First of all, this concerns the installation of hard drives in their “advanced” laptops, which clearly do not correspond to the capabilities of the computer system as a whole. They also have a rotation speed of 5400 rpm.
And this is far from the only example. The same goes for the problem, Sony Vaio. Alas, many users complain that the standard pressing of the Del key, as is common in most computer systems, leads to nothing. It is not surprising, because any manufacturer of equipment of this type, depending on motherboard, establishes its own rules for the use of access sequences to the subsystem. But in Sony Vaio, entering the BIOS is not so much a complex problem as it is original and even far-fetched (a little later it will become clear why).
In addition, the principles of access to the subsystem different models differ quite strongly. Somehow I can’t believe that this is connected exclusively with motherboards. Nevertheless, in Sony Vaio there are several ways to enter the BIOS, and one of them does not fit into the concept of common sense at all. But let’s try to consider all the available options, so to speak, from a general point of view.
Standard login method
So, on almost all well-known laptops, including outdated Sony Vaio models, the subsystem is entered by pressing the F2, F3 keys or pressing them together with Del. If we talk specifically about the products of this manufacturer, you can get into the BIOS on a Sony Vaio laptop only if you press the corresponding key several times.
It also happens that both F2 and F3 are intended for this. Some people try to press one of them several times, but the result is zero. Here you need to try using them one by one, since sometimes the system simply does not have time to intercept the signal from the keyboard. But the “surprises” don’t stop there either.
Alternative login method
It is she who is responsible for entering the BIOS, or rather, not even the BIOS, but the so-called “Rescue Menu”. It goes without saying that to achieve the desired effect, it also needs to be pressed several times. But after the signal is triggered, literally within two seconds the desired menu with options for selecting actions will be displayed on the screen.
How to enter the Sony Vaio BIOS from this menu? Yes, it’s very simple - press the F2 key. And, lo and behold! Subsystem settings have finally become available. Now you can safely start working with the basic parameters.
Exiting the subsystem is carried out in the classic way: either through the menu with the Save&Exit Setup line, or using the F10 key (okay, at least they didn’t trick us here, otherwise the user, exhausted while searching for a solution to enter, would still begin to puzzle over how to get out of here now ).
Sony Vaio: how to start BIOS if standard methods do not work
However, in the Sony Vaio line of laptops there are rare exceptions when none of the above methods work. What to do?
Firstly, if the laptop was officially purchased, you should look at the accompanying set of technical documentation or user manual. As a rule, you can find a whole section there dedicated to entering the BIOS. Secondly, in Windows, in the system information section, you can find out the BIOS version and look for a description of logging into it. Thirdly, in the same section you should look at the markings of the motherboard and try to search for a solution to the problem (entering the BIOS) using these parameters. It goes without saying that in search engines You can also specify the full abbreviation of the modification of the laptop itself, but in most cases this does not really help.
Conclusion
In general, as is already clear, not everything is so simple with Sony Vaio laptops. As they say, there seems to be a door to enter, but no one knows where it is located. By the way, there is still controversy surrounding this incident from Sony Corporation. After all, even from a logical point of view, it is completely incomprehensible why it was necessary to make such a tricky decision, and not use standard, generally accepted methods. It’s the same as deliberately taking a detour, despite the simplest and shortest path, thereby complicating your task.
I encountered the problem of logging into the BIOS of a Sony Vaio laptop only a couple of years after purchasing it. I own a model that is already outdated and I wanted to modernize it. Install Windows 10 instead of 8. HDD drive change to SSD. 4GB RAM increase to 8.
After installing all the new hardware, I rebooted the laptop and then problems began with entering the BIOS of my Sonya. Standard Methods input for laptops, pressing the F2, F12 keys and the Del (Delete) key on desktop computers did not work.
I have a good understanding of computers, but this was my first time encountering Sony technology, and I immediately got such a kick. This is so as not to become arrogant. I went online for answers and immediately understood what was going on.
Special button
To login BIOS Sony created a special button. If you want to go into the BIOS of a Sony laptop, then first turn it off, and then start the laptop by pressing this button. Boot into the recovery menu, which translates as . Inside there is an item “Run BIOS settings", which can be launched by pressing F2 or clicking the mouse.
Below is a normal video on how to enter the BIOS on a Sony laptop. I set the beginning from the right moment so as not to waste time viewing empty information.
Why Sony moved away from the method of entering the BIOS that is familiar to all users is not clear to me, but it is what it is. When you know how to do it, it doesn't cause any problems.
Also, do not neglect reading the instructions and user manuals. Most likely there at the moment reflected Our laziness works wonders. It’s better to spend 2 hours fiddling with something than to spend 10-15 minutes studying a problem and solving it in 1 minute.
Conclusions and possible questions
- The ASSIST button must be pressed when the laptop is turned off, then it turns on in recovery mode, where there is an option to enter the BIOS.
- There is a lot of debate about what if hard drive If it fails, you won’t be able to enter the BIOS, since the ASSIST button is software bound to the disk. This is not entirely true.
Firstly, by pressing a button we go not into the BIOS itself, but into recovery mode, in which only 1 of the points allows us to enter it.
Secondly, when replacing an old disk with a new one, the boot is automatically performed from external media (flash drive, CD-DVD disk). The recovery mode will not work here, since there is nothing to restore and nothing from. IN Laptop BIOS We have nothing to do until we install a new Windows. After installation everything will work as normal.
I haven’t been installing and configuring PCs for friends for five years now, but last weekend I was very interested in good friend with a request to install in a Sony laptop SSD drive and Windows. He bought his laptop quite recently, but the endless brakes of the disk subsystem had already taken its toll. To be honest, I still don’t understand how manufacturers push ordinary 5400-rpm screws into fairly expensive laptops. Complete perversion! This whole thing is terribly slow and the user immediately after purchase receives a slow laptop.
Seriously, when I bought my last laptop, the first thing I did was get rid of hard drive. Even if the laptop has at least three times the coolest stone (I have a Core i7) and a carload of RAM, without a fast disk subsystem you will never fully experience all these wonders.
I couldn’t refuse my friend and decided, so to speak, to remember my youth - the time when I studied reinstalling Windows and hardware upgrade, it was extremely interesting. I took a screwdriver and began to unscrew the bolts from the hard drive bay. I unscrewed it, pulled out the old screw and installed an SSD from Plextor in its place. I turn on the laptop, try to go into the BIOS and completely fail. Instead of the usual screen with settings, the laptop writes “Operating system error”.
At first I thought that I didn't have time to press F2 during loading. I tried to repeat it, but to no avail. Keystrokes Delete, F2+Delete also didn't give positive result. This is where I got a little confused. There was nothing left to do but turn to Google for help. Literally the first link in the search results led me to the SONY knowledge base, which contained the answer to my question.
Turns out, to enter the BIOS on a Sony laptop you need to turn off laptop and press a key ASSIST. I turn off the laptop, press the ASSIST key on the laptop panel and the laptop starts to boot. Literally after 2 seconds the start menu appears, from which you can immediately go to the BIOS.
The problem was solved simply, but I still don’t understand why Sony decided to show off? On all the laptops I've ever used, entering the BIOS was done via F2 or Del. When you turn it on, a message like “To enter the BIOS, press F2...” always appears. In the case of a Sony laptop, nothing appears. The user must find out this information from the small book that comes with the laptop. Well, isn't it perverted? Wouldn't it be easier to stick to the standard?
Okay, let's assume that it is the users' own fault for not reading the instructions. Then the question is, what’s the point of making an additional key on the device? I only go into bios before reinstalling Windows. I do this procedure once every three years. The question is, what’s the point of putting an additional button on the body for such a rarely used procedure?
In general, some companies try to make life easier for users, while others, on the contrary, make it more difficult. I have never bought laptops from Sony and most likely never will. I'd rather buy a MacBook Pro for this money.
In some cases, you need to boot your laptop from a flash drive. Detailed instructions- under the cut.
In the case when this happens, or you need to boot from LIVE-usb for various technical (or non-technical) work.
Booting VAIO laptops from a USB external drive
You can download Vaio laptop from a flash drive, as well as from an installation (optical) disk, or even from a USB floppy drive (yes, a floppy disk), using the BIOS. Connect the USB device to the switched off computer and press the power key. During boot (before the VAIO logo appears), press the F11 key - the boot process will begin with external storage. If the download does not start, you should turn off your computer and turn it on again. If your device requires additional power to operate, make sure it is connected.
Press the Assist key and boot into VaioCare mode. After downloading, select Start from Media
Please note that some devices may not be compatible with Vaio laptops.
Which key goes to the Boot Menu on Sony Vaio laptops(Windows Vista, Windows XP)
Press Esc 2 times - after the first press the logo disappears, after the second - the Sony boot menu appears.
Other options:
If the laptop supports booting from a USB drive out of the box, then you should look in the BIOS
Booting from a USB flash drive on a Sony Vaio laptop
For models that support booting from a flash drive in the BIOS, as a rule, the sequence of actions is similar (if not the same) and looks like this:
You should turn off your computer if it is running
Enter the BIOS - press the F2 key during boot (before the transition to loading the operating system occurs)
Using the cursor keys, go to the Advanced tab
Next to the External Drive Boot item, select Enabled
On the Boot tab, select required USB Device - our flash drive, so that it is higher in the boot list than the internal hard drive
Before exiting Bios you should save the changes - Save Changes
If the Laptop does not support booting from a flash drive, how to boot from a flash drive?
Some Sony models Vaio proprietary BIOS only supports booting from USB floppy and CD-ROM/DVD-ROM optical drives, and since USB flash drive is recognized as a hard drive, then you won’t be able to boot from it.
VGN-TX3XRP
VGN-N31ZR/W
Models that support booting from a flash drive
Review71811M
SVF1521B1RW
SVF152A
VGN-AR11SR
VGN-AR71MR
VGN-FS115ZR
VGN-FS215ZR
VGN-FS315ZR
VGN-NR110E
VPCZ1
