Laptop Problem...Shall I Buy A New One???

bedsheets · #1 08-24-2007, 03:49 PM

Hey All,

First off a little background:
I purchased a Gateway laptop in Feb. 06' and right out of the box I had a problem with the AC power. What would happen is, the power would switch from AC to battery even when the AC was plugged into the computer. The laptop would do this every couple seconds or so and just keep doing it until I got fed up and turned the damn thing off and used my desktop. I think it's some kind of glitch with Gateway laptops because the connection from the AC to the laptop is fine. So anyways, I was able to exchange it for a new one (same model) and the new laptop worked fine...until now. Now the same thing is happening. I talked to Gateway support and they said it would be $170 to fix.

My questions:
1. Anyone have a similar problem and how did you fix it?

2. If I'm going to spend $170 to fix this should I just buy a new laptop for $850 (my max price range)

3. If I should buy a new laptop, what should I buy? My Gateway is a 15in. widescreen and I love the widescreen but I would prefer not to overlap or resize tables (I prefer 4-6 tables) Does a 1400x900 resolution allow no overlap or resizing if I 4 table? Give me some suggestions on this. I'm very open minded, so brand doesn't matter (although I prefer Dell because of there customer support)

4. Windows Vista - It seems all the new laptops I look at only come with Vista. I have heard some sketchy things about Vista so give me some feedback.

Thanks

Gigi · #2 08-24-2007, 05:28 PM

What is the model number of the laptop?

bedsheets · #3 08-24-2007, 06:12 PM

MA2

kerowo · #4 08-24-2007, 08:03 PM

Does a siren go off or something when it switches from AC to battery? I'm not sure why it is annoying but it would have to be kicking me in the nuts at random times each day before I would throw away 600 bucks.

If a pop up indicator accompanies the switch try turning it off, also try taking the battery out and just having it plugged in.

bedsheets · #5 08-24-2007, 09:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Does a siren go off or something when it switches from AC to battery? I'm not sure why it is annoying but it would have to be kicking me in the nuts at random times each day before I would throw away 600 bucks.

If a pop up indicator accompanies the switch try turning it off, also try taking the battery out and just having it plugged in.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL. No, what happens is Gateway has a power save option that dims the screen when the battery is in power. So it goes dim, bright dim, bright etc. So basically the screen flashes at you.

Gigi · #6 08-25-2007, 08:04 AM

My guess is that the laptop is still fine and the problem probably lies with AC charger or the battery. To get rid of the screen flashes just change the brightness of the screen to the same level for both battery and AC.

Here are some ways to troubleshoot the problem:

1) Plug in AC and take out the battery. Does the computer start up fine? Does it stay on?

2) Only use the battery this time. Does the computer start up fine? Does it stay on till the battery warning comes on and the computer dies?

3) Using battery and AC, wake till the battery charges. When you take the battery out, at least on my dell, there is a button on the side that you can press and 5 LEDs light up to show the charge. If you hold the button the LEDs will indicate how "good" the battery still is. How many lights do you get when you hold the button? How many years have you been using that battery? Do you always keep it charged?

4) Use a friends AC charging cable, see if the problem still exists.

5) Use a friends battery, see if the problem still exists.

What are the intervals for the "switching"? Does it mostly use the AC power and then switches to battery for a little bit, or vice versa, or neither? How long does it stay in each mode before a switch?