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Post #1
I have an old (circa 2000) Gateway desktop that I have been playing, trying to fix it up to give to my sister. It runs Windows 2000 Professional and was in decent shape. Anyway, over the past few days I've noticed that the CPU was always running at 100% and the system was lagging doing anything. (The Services.exe process was the main cuplrit) I started looking for solutions and then when I went to restart the computer the power button on the front switched from green to red and the OS won't load. No signal is being sent to the monitor. The fans spin, but thats about it. If I put the hard drive in another computer, it will start up but about half way through the Windows 2000 boot screen it flips to a BSoD. If anyone wants error codes, I can get them. I have not done a checkdisk on it yet. If I put a different hard drive into the Gateway, no difference. Still red power button, no signal to monitor, fans spin. Any idea whats going on here? I've read it could be anything from a faulty power supply to a failing mobo. Considering its age (9+ years) if it dies, I am not surprised, but I would like to save the Hard Drive with Windows 2000 on it. I tried switching out all of the memory for new memory (I have lots of PC100 kicking around, and it all has been tested and works) but that made no difference. Any help is greatly appreciated. Russ F
Post #2
You can always slave that hard drive to recover data. You cannot move hard drives from computer to computer and expect them to boot by themselves.

You have a lot of issues and a lot of possibilities.

What is the exact model of Gateway?

A good first response would be to clear your CMOS.

If you are not familiar with this procedure we can look up your manual providing we know the specific model.

http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/dlcenter.asp
Post #3
Thanks for the reply. I looked for information on the outside of the box and there is no info on a model number. The model number was scratched off and "1.0 ghz" was written over it. I tried to start it up again and I noticed it does cycle through the CD drives, but still nothing. Usually I would get a Gateway splash screen whlie it tested the memory and then it would start up into Windows 2000, but nothing…no Gateway splash. No option to enter the bios…and the monitor light blinks indicating no signal. There is nothing of value on the hard drive except for the OS, which is why I would like to be able to transfer this HD to another machine if it is in fact the MOBO on this one. I have lots of boxes that lack hard drives with a Windows OS, so keeping the Windows 2000 HD working is the important thing here. I'll try to remove the battery which may or may not work…if it does, great, if not, I'll have to look at a switch of the power supply. When my Dell died the power button changed to a similar color to let me know the power supply had failed, but that light blinked and this one is steady, and this is a Gateway and not a Dell… Thanks for your help. Any further suggested are appreciated. I'll update every so often.
Post #5
Thanks for the reply. Going to give it a spin, but I noticed this in the instructions: To check computer for power, make sure at least one of the following occurs: Computer and power supply fans start up Beeps and other computer sounds are audible Front panel LEDs light up I do get two of them: the computer and power supply fans start up and I get front panel LEDs, but there are no beeps or other computer sounds. Some things I can skip; I know the monitor is OK and I know the hard drive is ok (I do get a partial start on other machines). Memory tested OK too. I am going to try to completely drain the power and see what happens. Thanks in advance. Russ F
Post #6
OK, I completely drained the power to no avail. Still get a red light. I then completely disconnected everything, even the power supply from the MOBO. All the hard drives, media drives, etc. I pulled all the memory…everything. Pulled the battery…in theory, the mobo had no power for about five minutes. I even held the button down for about 60 seconds. I plugged the computer in and got a green light on the front and three beeps…I would expect that with no memory installed. So, I started installing memory. The memory I installed is tested and works. So, I installed one 128 MB PC100…red light on the front, no beeps. I uninstalled in and installed a 64 MB PC 100 and it started with a green light, so I installed a second PC100 in the second slot…restart with a red light. I uninstalled the memory and turned the computer on, green light. So, I assume its down to the memory, but why? And what does this mean? Thanks in advance. Russ F
Post #7
My first response would be RAM that is either not compatible with the motherboard or else not compatible with each other. Is there any ID on that motherboard? Serial # / anything? Usually something will be stenciled near the RAM or graphics slot.
Post #8
I don't see how it could be the RAM. The RAM I tried to put back in it was the RAM that has been in it all along (before it stopped working). I tested the RAM in another machine and it worked OK, no errors…could RAM that was once capatible suddenly become NOT capatible? That would seem very strange indeed! I guess anything could be possible though… The largest set of numbers on the board read E139761…this is near the IDE connectors…nothing near the RAM or AGP slot. A web search reveals that it could be either the mobo serial number… Russ F
Post #9
Before your last post I was thinking maybe you mixed two types of PC100, since you stated you had alot of sticks laying around.

The RAM I tried to put back in it was the RAM that has been in it all along (before it stopped working).


so I suppose that rules out my suspicion.

however, there were two types of PC100.
One has chips on one side only.
One has chips on both sides.
Depending upon your Mobo, one or the other will work, but not both.

Have you blown out the RAM Modules with compressed air and inspected them carefully?
A piece of debris in the module might short out when the RAM Stick is seated.

Doug
Post #10
I cleaned out the RAM slots and tried the memory in there…no luck…still get the solid red light, no beeps, no boot. I have both kinds of memory modules laying around, so I tried the one kind you mentioned (I had single sided ones in there, tried dual sided ones) no luck…red light, no beeps, no boot. I get three beeps when NO memory is installed, but even one stick causes the red light… …pondering… :wacko: Russ F
Post #11
"E139761" is the UL file number for Intel desktop boards. It doesn't identify a specific Intel motherboard. Look on the board for labels with AA and/or PBA numbers. AA and PBA numbers can be used to identify the specific motherboard. Just to verify: you have one stick that will work? If so can you get into an operating system? If so we can try some scans.
Post #12
OK, here is the AA number: AA A19243-207 I have ONE stick that will give me a green light if nothing else is connected. If I try to connect anything; floppy, media, hard drive…red light. Even though I get a green light, I don't get the Gateway splash screen or any beeps…the computer acts like I have have the red power light, only the light is green. In short, no, no operating system. Russ F

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