Laptop problem

[Drachen596]

i have a Gateway NV53 laptop with the Athlon x2 m300 2.00 ghz processor.

worked fine from when i bought it in 2009 until just the other day. now when i try to turn it on i get fan noise for 5-10 seconds, power light(which doesn't go off) and a hard drive start up/check noise. after that, nothing. the screen never comes on so i don't even get a bios screen.

seaching the internet seems to suggest either the motherboard is bad or whatever is used to put the computer into sleep mode when you close the lid is bad. i'm going to have to go get a driver set so i can open it up to check the connection.

all that said, how exactly do i go about determining which motherboard i would need to replace it if its bad? i've found ones with google for the NV53A.

i found a service guide in pdf form for the NV53 here http://tim.id.au/laptops/gateway/gateway%20nv53.pdf

[thesameguy]

Do you have an external monitor you can plug in to verify it's not just the display?

For most laptops, you need to dismantle the machine and find the part number on the board to see what you need. "NV53" probably described 100 different, subtly different laptops. There may be a bigger part number on the tag on the bottom - that's what HP, Toshiba, and Sony do, anyway. That might aid you in finding a replacement.

At the same time, resurrecting an M300 seems like not a good use of money.

[Drachen596]

Will that bypass the sleep mode sensor on the lid/screen? I will try it when I get home though.

edit - the specs on it are the same as most 400 dollar laptops it seems. 4gb ram 500 gb hdd plus hd screen and good sound compared to thosr 400 dollar ones.

[thesameguy]

It should bypass the sensor, but what you've described doesn't sound like a sleep problem. It sounds like the display failed or some aspect of the motherboard. If the power light is on and stays on, it's probably not sleeping - it's probably not displaying anything. If you don't get anything on the external monitor, I'd also try removing the battery and holding the power button for 10-30 seconds to kill whatever charge remains, then put it back together and see what happens.

An M300 was not fast in 2009, and it's eclipsed by just about everything you can buy today. Modern multi-core Atom processors offer similar or better speed than the M300, much less a Pentium or Core. Unless you are confident you can swap the board and can get one for $50 or so, I'd really think about deep sixing it. My $0.02, YMMV.

[Drachen596]

I got a new laptop last night. Its windows 8. Not a fan. Plus the screen isnt as good nor the sound.

yeah the gateway is nearly 5 years old but I almost feel like its the better computer. Ill look around before I go buying a board though.

[thesameguy]

Out of curiosity, what's the new one you bought?

[Drachen596]

this one (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/15-6-laptop-4gb-memory-750gb-hard-drive-intel-174-core-8482-i3-3120m-processor/2430014.p?id=1219072705933&skuId=2430014&st=categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=1)

its oddly lighter than my old one, gonna guess due to the battery.

[Drachen596]

seems like every board i find is over 100 bucks..

specific model of laptop is NV5378u.

i did find this (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gateway-NV53-MOTHERBOARD-LOWER-HALF-30-Days-Warranty-/121192250308?_trksid=p2054897.l4275) though. oddly seems like the best route if i want to keep that type of laptop..

[Jacee]

Drachen, it could possibly be just the power supply (AC adapter) that went bad. That was the problem with my 2006 laptop!