> Cyn M wrote:
> > I have a Gateway laptop model M-1624 and it will not boot past the
> > Gateway welcome screen. I have tried the F8 key and restored it to
> > factory settings and it was working fine for a few days. I installed
> > the regular updates and it turned off and then went right back to the
> > Gateway welcome screen and none of the Function keys will work at all
> > now it is just stuck on the welcome screen no matter how many times I
> > try to reboot. Would replacing the hard drive and or processor fix
> > this?
> > Any ideas?? Any help would be appreciated! :)
> Will it boot from the CD/DVD drive ?
> See if you have a bootable CD in your collection. This is an example
> of a CD that boots, and it's around a 200MB download.
> http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208282163
> 1. Iso image of Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 (196 MB)
> Using a program like "Imgburn" or Nero, you can convert the
> ISO9660 file into a bootable CD. You'll need a blank CD or DVD,
> to do the burning.
> That would be for the purpose of proving the computer can run
> an OS for a while. This is called "booting an alternative OS".
> The Kaspersky page, also describes how to prepare a USB stick for
> booting. I'd try the CD way first.
> That CD is actually for antivirus scanning, and it can get an update
> of the virus definitions, if the laptop was connected to an already
> working broadband modem and router. (The CD only knows how to use
> DHCP to get an IP address from the modem and router. The CD does
> not support dialup networking.)
> An alternate kind of test media, would be the disk test from the
> disk manufacturer. Turn off the laptop, remove the big battery,
> and remove the hard drive cover plate. Look at the brand of drive
> present in the bay. It could be Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba,
> Hitachi and so on. Then, go to the web site of the named company
> and download a diagnostic. There may be a CD version available.
> Note that, these don't always work. The one for my current motherboard,
> won't boot. So don't be surprised if this doesn't work. If it did,
> you could actually run a diagnostic on the hard drive, and determine
> if the hard drive was healthy. In some cases, the diagnostic uses
> a copy of FreeDOS and sets up a RAM Disk to hold decompressed utilities.
> *******
> My immediate reaction to your symptoms, is it is not the processor.
> You can see the welcome screen, and you can't "draw" a welcome screen
> without a processor. Could the processor get too hot, because the fan
> is jammed with dirt or hair ? Yes. Could other parts of the laptop
> overheat ? Yes, it could happen. If you take the machine to a shop,
> they'll likely try to hit you up for a $300 motherboard.
> I see no reason to immediately suspect the hard drive, but if you
> can get the diagnostic running, you'll be in a better position to
> judge that for yourself.
> The 200MB Kaspersky CD can do an AV scan for you, if you thought
> that was the issue.
> Paul
Thank you so much for the quick response. I have tried the CD that
anything. And your right, I took it in to Staples and they told me
dollars and then they could hopefully fix it. He mentioned a new
I could try first. I am going to look into the ideas you have posted.
