Okay I am no computer wiz...our computer has been "bad" for a few months and I can get no help from Gateway. Basically when we turn it on it acts like the hardrive and the monitor aren't connected.....sometimes the hardrive light is orange instead of green and sometimes a message appears saying the hardrive cannot be detected.....sometimes...it boots up fine but the icons are all black and the computer won't shut down properly..... I think that is it! We replaced the internal battery and it didn't really do much! PLEASE HELP! This computer is 2 years old and we spent a good "penny" on it! Thank you!

G'day, Have you done anything to it recently (ie about the time the problems started)? Have you made sure all connectors (data and power) are seated properly? If that is all OK then try looking at the power supply. regards, Elric

Hi Stephanie... First, I suggest that you back up all your valuable data off-computer. Sounds like your harddrive MAY be in the process of failing, so be safe. A quick and easy way is to either burn your data to a ROM disk, or get a thumb drive (flash memory)and copy your data to it. The fact that at times you get the message that your Harddrive cannot be detected is ominous. If you feel comfortable, open the side of your computer and make sure the cables leading from the mainboard to the harddrive are all tight-unplug and re-plug them in just to make sure. Sometimes they do jiggle loose. Sadly, I do believe that you have probs with Gateway tech help. Gateway, like all the others, has taken to "offshoring" their tech help so you probably were talking to someone in India or Pakistan. In the future, tell the person that you want to talk to a Level Two technician. They will understand what you mean. Chances may be that you will be transferred to a technician here in the US who knows something. In addition, when you call, tell them that your harddrive is failing (I hope your unit is still under warranty). If you get someone who knows what he is doing, he will walk you through checking out your harddrive. Gateway used to be tops in the field, now it's like all the others. Post back and let us know how it is going. Art and the creation of beauty are what elevate a society into a civilization.

When you removed/replaced the battery, you cleared the BIOS...did you restore the BIOS to the original settings? When the problems began, had you made any changes (hardware or software) that may have brought this on? Did you move the computer...sometimes a card can become partially dislodged from it's slot when the case gets shifted around. Did you check the case interior for dust buildup? Use a soft bristle brush & compressed air to blow out the case...make sure to unplug the power cord before reaching inside...

do a nondistuctive windows m.e reinstall with out loseing data goto safe mode and than c:windows\options\cabs\setup.exe double click setup and windows will start reinstalling on top of its self, and also follow this link on trevs how to make WindowsMe run well>http://www.burzurq.com/forum/trevtweak.html

If it has been bad for a few months, and you have Gateway's service warranty (usually 3yrs with a new PC) why not take it into one of their "County...cough Country Stores" if you have any nearby. I used to have one in my area but they closed it down but you may be lucky or if it is not too much of a hassle mail it to the nearest store, let them deal with it and mail it back fixed (they pay to mail it back). Take advantage of the warranty you paid for because either way it will run out. --- The greatest risk is not taking one. ---

Hi all! Thanks for the help! YES I did talk a middle Easterner on the phone and they didn't understand much of what I was saying........Our computer is almost 3 years old and we only had a 2 year warranty on it.....go figure....its like they set something on the computer to break after the warranty runs out! Anyhow I have done pretty much everything.....I took the side off and followed all the connectors and made sure they were secure.......the problems started when our Cable Company "debugged" their systems back in August when that big virus was hitting the computers........ The silly thing won't even turn on anymore.....I will never buy from Gateway again....we are stationed in England and they told us we couldn't take it to any of the British companies we would have to ship the whole system back at our cost (since the warranty is out plus pay for the repairs)......we are getting to move to Iceland so when we set up there hopefully by some miracle it will revive itself!.LOL! Thankfully we didn't have anything too important on that computer! Thank you all again for the help! If there are more suggestions they will be appreciated!