Gateway MA6 Laptop Troubleshooting

The computer takes an abnormally long time to boot up.

If the computer takes an extended amount of time to boot, then your hard drive may be damaged or corrupt. First, try booting from a disk or external drive to verify that the hard drive is the problem. If that works, the hard drive is broken, and replacement is necessary.

Insufficient or faulty RAM can also cause your computer to boot slowly. First, check system settings to see how much RAM is currently being used. If it is a significant portion (well above 60%), you have insufficient RAM and an upgrade is necessary. If that isn’t the case, try removing and reseating the RAM to fix any possible connection problems. If you are still having problems, the RAM needs to be replaced. Guides to access the RAM can be found here.

The computer displays a black screen and does not respond.

If the hard drive is damaged or corrupted, the computer may not be able to boot. If the screen turns on and it flashes a gateway symbol, but does not continue further with boot, it may be a hard drive problem. You can verify this by booting from the installation XP disk. If the computer successfully boots from the disk, your hard drive needs to be replaced.

If the computer will only boot when connected to an external power source, your battery may need to be replaced. Remove the battery and ensure that the connections are clean. If the connections are clean then you will need to replace the battery.

If you cannot get the computer to turn on at all, and the display doesn't light up or show anything upon attempting to startup, then your motherboard most likely needs to be replaced. Ensure that you are connected to a working power supply prior to drawing this conclusion. There is no other way to readily diagnose the problem, since you cannot access the operating system or boot from an external disk or drive.

The computer does not have a clear and consistent display.

If the display flickers as you manually move the screen forwards or backwards, there is an issue with its connection to the motherboard. The full display assembly needs to be replaced.

If the display has lines going across it vertically or horizontally, the LCD (display screen) needs to be replaced.

The computer runs excessively hot under regular usage.

if the system is running noticeably hot during normal use, then the rear cooling fan needs to be cleaned or replaced.

The laptop has connectivity issues over WiFi, independent of the network.

If the wireless internet will not connect or has a noticeably shortened range (a weak connection even in the same room as the router), first check to make sure that the network you are attempting to connect to is stable. You can check the network stability by verifying the network functionality with another device. If the network is functioning properly, check to make sure that you have the latest drivers for the WiFi card installed, which can be viewed in Device Manager found in the Control Panel. If you still cannot connect, the wifi card is bad and needs to be replaced.

The laptop freezes regularly or runs slowly when multiple programs are open.

If your RAM is faulty (described below), or if you have insufficient RAM, your computer can run slowly. To see if the RAM is operating properly you need to first check the system settings (found in the control panel) to see how much RAM is currently being used. If it is a significant portion (well above 60%), you have insufficient RAM and an upgrade is necessary. If that isn’t the case, try removing and reseating the RAM to fix any possible connection problems by following the guide here. If you are still having problems, the RAM needs to be replaced. Guides to access the RAM can be found here.

A faulty or corrupt hard drive can also cause your computer to run slower than usual. Booting from an external hard drive, if you have one available, can verify that the hard drive is slowing down you computer. If you do not have an external hard drive available, you can go straight to backing up your data, and reformatting your hard drive (directions can be found here). Reformatting will fix the problem if the data on the drive is corrupt. If reformatting your hard drive still does not fix your the computer, the hard drive needs to be replaced.

This is a flowchart outlining the prerequisite guides for replacing each of the components in the Gateway MA6 Laptop.