...a problem I had with a laptop, Barry. It was the connection at the point where I plugged the power cord into the machine. That connection is soldered to the motherboard of the laptop.

I had pulled the cord out at the wrong angle. It broke the connection to the motherboard, but not completely at first. I could wiggle it and get it to work, for a while. ...which might indicate why the lights on your machine don't blink all the time. The wiggle technique worked for a while, as long as I could keep the connection long enough to fully charge the lithium-ion battery. I don't think your Viao(sp?) has an inboard battery, or does it?

The connection finally decided that it wasn't going to put up with my wiggling and it made a complete separation. I decided I'd fix it myself. I took my laptop apart on my bench at work. My lead tech showed up, saw what I was doing, and dropped his teeth! Then he started laughing. Then he decided to pull up a chair and watch. ...after about 20 minutes of my trying to reconnect the broken solder joints to the motherboard, he took over, and got the job done right. ...really right. He told me if I broke it again, I'd need a new motherboard!

I don't know if you have a similar problem, but it could be. ...my now former lead tech is working for someone else, three days a week, at twice what I could afford to pay him! That kid was good!

Bob