My 3 month old tr3a is having problems with the dvd drive.  I don’t know if there is a loose cable of if the drive is dead or what.  The dvd drive doesn’t seem to be getting power (won’t eject, light doesn’t come on, no power even before the OS starts, no “+” next to optical in bios boot screen).  This happened before and leaving the battery out and the laptop unplugged overnight fixed it but not this time.
Has anyone experienced anything similar?  Suggestions?
Sony repair says I will be without my laptop for 7-10 working days to fix this which I can’t really afford.  I’m also not looking forward to putting back my OS/data (Linux) after Sony wipes my disk for no reason (this is a hardware problem not an OS problem).

Sorry for the rant, I’m pissed at Sony service.  Any suggestions?

Thanks, Jon

sony service is usually really quick and reliable…  i’m not sure.  are you still within warranty?

Definitely sounds like a hardware probem. You can open the sucker up and poke around to see if the power cable is disconnected, but that will void your warrantee. I feel your setup pain, but sending it to Sony is your best bet it seems.

Ummm do you really think sony would wipe your HD away if they dont really see a software glitch. Im pretty sure they wont, they dont have a reason to. Its very obvious that you need to send your computer to sony for repairs. There is nothing else you should do or try to do.

Thanks, I’m sending it so sony as I don’t see much choice.  Yes, the laptop is under warranty (only 3 months old).  Sony service told me 7-10 business days and they would wipe the hard drive as part of the standard service, no choice.  I’ll fill out the service form that came with the box from sony service and request that they not wipe the drive.
Hopefully it isn’t really 2 weeks as that will have a major impact in my business life.

Thanks, Jon

My tr is back with me all fully functional.  While I was not happy with the first line phone support, I found the service center to have excellent service.  They received my tr monday afternoon and had it back out to me yesterday afternoon so I received it today.

Not only did they replace the dead dvd drive but after testing told me my hard drive had a significant number of bad sectors and called to ask me if they could replace it.  I had written on the service form that they should not format my hard drive and rather than taking the easy route (like most service centers would) of either ignoring my request or pretending there were no hard drive problems, they called and asked me what I wanted them to do.

It could be my imagination but I think my tr is running significantly cooler after coming back. 

Thanks for the help and my commendation to sony service.

Jon