SONY MODEL NO PCG-9S2M

Normally when a PC tries to boot from the LAN (like yours is since you get a message about "PXE"), it can't see the HD. That means it is either broken or not attached properly. Try removing the HD, then connect it as a 2nd HD to another PC (if it is an IDE HD, you'll need a 2.5" to 3.5" IDE Adapter). Then check if you can see the disk and it's data on that other PC. If you can't you'll have to replace the old disk with a new one. If you can see the disk and the files, and you need it's data, you can first try to make a backup of the old Disk, then reattach it to the notebook and check if you can now boot. If not put it back in the other PC and run the HD manufacturer's diagnostic utility on it. That should tell you if it is still usable. If there are no errors, or if the diagnostic tool can fix those errors that it finds, boot back into windows after that and run a chkdsk /x on the drive-letters of it. When that is done, try booting it in the sony again.

You'll find the necessary manufacturer diagnostic tools on the UBCD:

http://ultimatebootcd.com

Do you have Recovery Cds or Is there a menu while booting, telling you that you can enter a special mode? That would mean, there is a recovery option installed on your HDD.

Hi rindi , and windl , thks for the comment , I managed to gt a photo , this is what I gt when I boot the system have alook and see what you think ? also I forgt to tel you Its ide HD , and
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As I said, it doesn't see the disk (or can't boot from it), so it tries to boot from the Network card. You can also try checking the settings within the BIOS and make sure that the HD comes first (or after the CD Drive) in the bootup priority. But normally this indicates a bad or not properly attached HD, so just follow my earlier instructions.

ok , so I need to find a laptop that has two HD bay so I can attach the suspected one in one of the bay is that right ? and if the answer yes , these days new laptop comes with sata HD in this case how can I connect this suspected HD ? pls comment , also forgot to mentiion I can not gt to bios anyway no matter what , it just give this message and at the bottom press F12 to boot from network thats all it shows .

Most laptops only take one disk, although there are some exceptions, but those again usually only take SATA Disks. So you should do as I said and get an IDE 2.5" to 3.5" adapter so you can connect it to a standard PC (not a laptop). Also, don't get a USB to IDE adapter, as the lowlevel Disk diagnostic tools like those on the UBCD won't be able to recognize the Disk. These adapters are cheap, but you may have to wait until tomorrow unless you find a shop that is open today.

okay I gt it now , but I have to wait untill tom , because shops r closed here , also I kept pressing F2 and managed to gt to bios and change the boot order to start from HD and the only thing comes on the screen is NO OPERATING SYSTEM .I will try to buy it tom and do what U suggest , thks alot

You can also check if the BIOS can see your HDD.
Not sure how to do that with Sony's BIOS, but there should be some place where you can see or define the HDDs in the system.

Connecting the internal HDD to another computer (be it internally on the SAPA/PATA cables or with a USB adapter) will also make it possible for you to verify if the disk can be seen (and used) by another computer.
Then you can use diagnosis tools etc. If the disk is seen on teh other computer, you can try to save data from it, repartition it, reformat it, even install a small OS on it (DOS, FreeDOS etc...) to see if the laptop can boot off it.

HTH

If the hdd is seen in the BIOS, most Sony Viao's have a recovery partition which you can reach by pressing f10 at bootup.

OKay Expert , I am going to answer ur questions now since I gt the  IDE 2.5" to 3.5" adapter , so Mr Rindi I gt the adapter now I connect it to the same ide cable in a working desktop and at the prompt it says insert system desk and press enter ?!! so my question whats how to rectify this , also say if I connect the HDD the one in the working desktop to one ide cable and the other (suppoed to be fualty ) to a different ide cable is that ok ? but in that case dvd drive will not be connected to mobo because I will be using its connector on the mobo for the supposedly faulty HDD , pls comment ,

Regarding the Q , from Mr phototropic my answer to  ur question is NO  I do not see the HDD in the bios .

If you have it connected to the same IDE cable as the other HD, make sure you use a jumper to mark it as a slave Disk (most 2.5" disks have that jumper position on a small diagram on the case of the disk), and also make sure your original disk is jumpered to "Master".

You can also connect it to the 2nd cable, but also here make sure the jumpers are set correctly.

Right , I am attaching 2 photo and what I did is this I attached the HDD in the working desktop to a seperate IDE cable on mobo , then I unplugged the ide cable for dvd/drive because I want to use the cable to connect the HDD (the laptop one i.e the troubled one) , now the jumper is set as master for the HDD desktop one , but the HDD for the laptop has gt no jumper not even anything to indicate where if any jumper needed for it to set it as a slave . My understanding is once U set one as a master the other one should be recognised as a slave , so were I gone wrong here pls clarify.?
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Hi , I bought  new HDD and still I can not innstall windows on the new one ? any idea what to do pls ? or what the problem could be ?

ohhsorry first pic is not for this question sorry

Check the ribbon cable and its connections from the HDD to the Motherboard.
Sony uses a Sony only cable and I had to change my PCG V505 series cable a few years back.
Sony wont sell it, so good  luck finding a replacement if that is your cause.
Got mine from a Chinese online parts trader.

oh my God , so I am stuck really !!! , how about the connecter that has gt usb at one end and the other end is ide will that work if I attachedit to a working pc or laptop ? also what grrantee that if I buy new HDD its going to work ?

@Michael-Best: I don't think there is a cable with a Sony LAPTOP HDD.
They used to use proprietary connectors in their laptops but I think they don't these days. And if hnael could connect his laptop's HDD to some IDE adapter, it should be OK.

Now for the OP from @hnael:

A laptop 2"5 HDD is usually set as "master" or "standalone" when it has no jumpers. OTOH, the power supply of the HDD is also in the IDE connector (I assume you have a 2"5 IDE/PATA hdd, with a 44 pins connector).
Connect the Laptop HDD so that it is the sole IDE device on the IDE cable, no jumper.
Now :
You must have some electrical power connected to the 2"5/3"5 IDE adapter.
Check this link, you will see plenty of such adapters:
http://www.google.com/images?q=IDE+2%225+HDD+adapter&oe=utf-8
As you can see on these pictures, there are "power supply" connectors that must be connected. Connect the one from the DVD drive to the one on the adapter.
Now be careful, some adapters can be connected upside down to the 2"5 HDD because there is no polarizing slot on the adapter. In that case, try the tow positions (it never burnt any of the laptop HDD I connected this way) and keep the one for which you hear/feel that the engine in the HDD is turning. If you do not think that the engine in the HDD turns in any of the positions, then the HDD is certainly broken.

So then, you want to install Windows on your new HDD in your laptop.

At first connect the new HDD in the laptop and make sure that BIOS sees it.
If BIOS does not see it, well, it may be that your Laptop's IDE controller is dead too. That would be bad luck, it is quite improbable but yet it can happen.

If BIOS sees it, make sure that it appears BEFORE network card in the boot devices. Unplug all USB devices. Then, just get a Windows installation CD/DVD and boot the laptop off said CD/DVD. Be sure to have a valid serial number or product key. Or take this opportunity to switch to Linux and boot off a Linux CD/DVD and install Linux on the HDD...

Thks vivgat, its good clarification , I am going to try it and post the result tom , its abit late now , thks alot

Sorry could not sleep , I did install the laptop HDD alone in the desktop using the adapter descriped in the pic  and this time it did say no system disk insert system desk and press enter so I inserted the xp pro in the dvd drive bay and the system started installing windows as normal then at when it reach to the option were it says enter to install I pressed enter and at this point it asked for a driver forgt which drver I think ide and it said press f3 to or esc .........?so how can I gt these driver , luckly I gt a floppy drive in my system can you help me in finding the drivers pls

I checked in bios it says none for ide hard drive , so I booted from the xp cd and I gt upto this pic , if I press enter to install windows I gt this message , have al ook ?
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Yes, Windows cannot install if there is no HDD...
If the BIOS can't see an HDD, windows setup won't either.
Unless you can manage to have your HDD shown in BIOS, you will not be able to install anything on it.
Check the connection, check that the HDD is working on another computer, check the BIOS settings (for instance that the HDD controller is not disabled)

I would suggest: defect HDD (40GB indicates a very old device). Does it spin up with power?
If not, try to get another HDD.

No the bios did not see the HDD of the laptop in the desktop system . I am trying to buy same hard drive or similar one from ebay , once I gt it can you tel me what do I have to do , will bios recognise the new one , and should I install it into the laptop and install windows and thats it ?? sorry for the delay

If the laptop is old, it is possible that it won't properly recognize disks that are larger than 137GB. So for such an eventuality it could be better to buy one that isn't larger than 120GB.

Otherwise once you have the disk, put it in the laptop and install the OS.

I have not gt a new HDD yet but I think every thing I needed is in the expert comment for that reason I am closing the question and dividing points .

PGC series support any 2"5 IDE HDD 120Gb max. but the HDD cable to motherboard plug / connection is a Sony only plug.
This ribbon cable can have poor contacts... I had to wedge some foam in there (forcing contact pressure) to get a constant connection.