Hello,

A couple of months ago I was charging my iPod shuffle on my 3-years old Vaio VGN-T1XP/L using the USB pod. I clicked on remove hardware to unplug my MP3, got the message "it is now safe to remove your harware" clicked OK, removed my iPod from the base (the base was still plugged in). At that stage, my vaio went dead and I was never able to start it up again. The transformer's LCD light was on, but despite leaving time in between attempts, my laptop never switched on. I read a few posts saying the users could hear the hard drive, see lights flashing etc... not me, I'm talking dead dead. I took it to the repair shop and they said the mother board needed to be replaced. Having a good deal on another laptop, I decided to call it a loss and bought a new one, instead of repairing the Vaio.

Yesterday, I was using my mother's laptop (same model, same age) and decided to charge my iPod (the same as above). Plugged in the charging pod, went to get the iPod and the power cable for the laptop, came back, and as I was about to plug in the laptp's power cable, the vaio went dead, exactly like the first time. I hadn't plugged in the iPod yet. No way to get any sign of life out of it!!

In hindsight, what surprises me with my repair shop's first diagnostic, is that if it was the motherboard, I should still have some activity, no? Has anyone had this issue? Can anyone advise/help? Can it really be the motherboard?
Thank you for your help!

Gabby