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Just for a heads up, I am not computer hardware savvy, but I do have a basic understanding of parts and what they do. I have not replaced any parts other than the hard drive but that was before the current problem.

I was in the middle of typing a paper on my laptop when the screen went black, but with the back light still on. I thought it was maybe the screensaver and wiggled the mouse, but it did nothing. So I pushed a few keys, and it did nothing again. So I just turned it off, hoping it would turn back on.

The issues begin there. When I turned it back on, the screen did not light up. I thought maybe it was just the laptop's screen itself, so I plugged in my computer monitor and that did not find anything. Mind you, my computer monitor has been used on my laptop before, usually when I play a game from my laptop and I want a better resolution. My immediate thought was perhaps it overheated. So I blew out some dust, and then sat it in front of my fan for about 15 minutes. Tried to turn it on again and nothing. So I unplugged the power supply and left my computer on, hopping to just let the battery die out, then charge it overnight. I was thinking that may solve some issues, as it did once or twice before.

But then my computer started going crazy. It started making beeping noises. I plugged it back in, thinking the beeping was just it telling me the battery was going dead, except it never did that before. So after awhile, I just got sick of waiting for a response, turned it off, unplugged it, and put it on my desk. But it then kept turning itself on, and I would hear the fan kick on, as well as the disk drive, but then it would just turn itself off. It has been doing this for the past hour now and won't stop, even with it unplugged it proceeds to turn itself off and on (and it does it while plugged in as well). I have no idea what the problem is. I am absolutely at a lost.

It might be the hard drive, but it was perfectly fine (as far as I am aware) when the problems started to occur. I only suggest it may be the problem because every time the laptop turns itself off, the hard drive makes a click sound.

Here are the specs I know about the laptop: - It's a Gateway model, from 2010. - AMD Turion II X2 processor P540 - ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 - 4 GB DDR3 Memory

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    Yes, and I have multiple times. At first just to see if it tried to turn itself on without the battery (unplugged obviously) but it didn't so I don't think it's haunted.
    – Lily Valentin
    Commented Dec 17, 2014 at 8:15
  • I think you have a heat problem - the boot up then shutdown repeating symptom. It could be dust in the fan or vents; or the thermal paste between the CPU/graphics chip and the heat sink. Additionally I think you may have a failed or failing onboard graphics adapter. How many beeps?
    – Kinnectus
    Commented Dec 17, 2014 at 8:17
  • Well it has not beeped in over an hour. It was three quickly successive beeps, or what sounded like three. It would do so about every... thirty seconds, maybe(?) before I plugged it back in. The display did not appear before, maybe a few months ago, but all I did to fix that problem was remove the battery, wait 30 seconds, and put it back in. This time, the laptop is doing more than just "not displaying the screen."
    – Lily Valentin
    Commented Dec 17, 2014 at 8:20
  • I removed the battery and have decided to leave it out over night. I'd rather it not do anything then allow it to turn on and off.
    – Lily Valentin
    Commented Dec 17, 2014 at 8:29
  • Look for motherboard model number and compare beeping sounds. It sounds like something is dead. Number of beeps will tell you what.
    – Davidenko
    Commented Dec 17, 2014 at 8:49

1 Answer 1

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Wow I don't know what it is. Maybe the graphics card (or CPU, maybe) is repeatedly failing causing the screen to be off and then crashes and sends a restart command. If there isn't anyone else that helps out here you should:

  1. make sure all cables are tightly in place (in and out of the computer)
  2. make sure all of the dust is out of the fan, and the fan is moving
  3. Use a small fan (lapdesk with fan is better) under the laptop with it propped up so it can breath
  4. Use the good ol' fashioned Google to see if there is more about it somewhere else
  5. If you are comfortable, and if it doesn't void a warranty; open it up to see the graphics card and cpu a) make sure they are there ;) b) make sure everything is connected c) that their cooling devices work fine and that warm air is blowing out (or cool air blowing in)

If that doesn't help:

  1. Check with Gateway's support and their warranty team
  2. If in warranty, ask for a new graphics card and/or CPU
  3. If nothing else works (and no one else responds), repair or replace the laptop.
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    (1.) Well I'll have to ask someone else to open it up to check it out. I don't know much about the guts of a laptop. (2.) I can at least check to see if the fan is working and clean it. (3.) I don't have anything that props up a laptop; I usually have it lay on a flat wooden surface with a small fan that blows in the vicinity. (4.) I've already Google searched, which lead me to asking about it. (5.) I'm not sure if my warranty is even still existing, I think it was only 2 years, and I've had this laptop for 4. Thank you for the response.
    – Lily Valentin
    Commented Dec 17, 2014 at 8:40

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