Gateway won't wake up!!!

Ok a friend brought over his Gateway computer DX4200 series. It has quad core processor 4 gig ram etc etc and is running Vista. All the bells and whistles. He said he was getting no response from the video, so he brought it to Best Buy. They said "You need a new monitor" (without testing anything else). So he purchased a new monitor....still no signal. So he brought it to me. I hooked it up and....nothing. All the fans work but there is no video signal. All that happens is the blue LED on the power switch fades in and out as if in sleep mode. Here is what I have tried so far.

• Swapped out memory for known good memory
• Reset the BIOS
• Reseated processor and the lone PCI modem
• Unplugged hard drive and tried to boot
• Tested power supply and it tested good
• Attempted to come out of sleep mode using Gateway support recommendations

The only thing that comes to mind at this point is the motherboard. This computer is less than 2 years old but I know that doesnt mean much these days.
Unless someone else has an idea I am leaning towards replacing the motherboard on this system.

you should actually SWAP the PSU. How did you test it? Did you check each lead for voltage and amperage? It's way easier to swap.

If you change the motherboard, then the Gateway restore discs won't work. It would have to be an exact replacement.

I used a PSU tester that uses LEDS. I assume it to be reliable.

Ok I just tried swapping out the PSU with a known working unit. Still no luck.
As a side note if it means anything at all. There is not even a sound out of the mobo, no beeps at all, except when I removed the memory. I then got one long continuous beep.

If you mean the little plug-in tester you put on the end of the ATX connection, that tests continuity. It doesn't test voltages/amperages. I've seen PSUs that have pass continuity tests, but still fail to power up the system.

Starting to sound like a bad MB. Did you disconnect all drives and remove any PCI/PCIe cards (except video)?

Yes I did. Only one pci card which is a modem. I disconnected everything but still no luck.
Of course finding an exact replacement motherboard is no small task as well. Gateway used a couple of different vendors for their stock.

Looks like it is a Foxconn motherboard

There is no need to get an exact replacement for the motherboard, if you can post back with the exact processor model and details of the RAM, we can find a suitable equivalent.

Quote:

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There is no need to get an exact replacement for the motherboard

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Yes, there is if he wants to still be able to use the Gateway OS recovery software.

Good point MK, I hadn't thought of that :o

Really not concerned with using Gateway recovery. The computer has a license COA for Vista Home and I have that disk available. I made the investment over the years of purchasing one disk of each OS as they come out for cases like this. Of course it is all dependent on the other party having a COA available. It works most of the time. As for drivers I can find what I need more often than not. I have found some suitable replacements for the motherboard. I have found one Foxconn with the 790 chipset. A Pcchips with the 780 and a Jetway.
I am leaning towards the Foxconn right now :)

Among the three listed,
Suggest that you avoid PC Chips brand.

Whatever you do and wherever you buy - avoid:
Jetway
PC Chips
ECS
These aren't the bottom of the barrel; they'd have to improve greatly to achieve that status. Their failure rates are obscene.

Foxconn are usually pretty good, that's the one I'd go for out of those 3, for sure.

I ended up buying an Asus. Have had them in the past with no issues.
PC Chips I would NOT even think of purchasing. I have heard bad things about ECS as well, but my only experience with one was very good....go figure.
My own preference has always been Gigabyte or MSI for my own use. But I am willing to spend the money on my own machine :)

Asus are top notch, there's nothing to choose between them and Gigabyte really, though I usually go for Gigabyte too :)

Ok replaced the motherboard...........same results!
Only other culprit would be the processor??
Any ideas?

Processors don't go bad too often, but you can try. Check that there are no bent pins on the socket.

Did you use a new PSU and MB? I've had a couple cases where the PSU is bad and it damages the motherboard.

I only tried a new mobo.....but I did try a different PSU after the fact.
The strange thing is I do not hear any disk drives spinning up. Hard drive or CD drives. I would expect to at least hear some sound from the drives spinning up to speed.
I am getting nothing at all right now no Bios beeps...nothing. Just the CPU and case fans running and the front power switch/LED fading in and out as if it was in sleep mode. I even tried unplugging the Hard drive thinking maybe the OS may have been involved but still nothing.

If the CPU has failed, then it prevents the hard disks from spinning up. Although CPU failure is rare, as MK says, I think it's a good bet for this case :(

Returned the motherboard and ordered a new Processor. I'll let you all know how it turns out!

Ok I am officially out of ideas now. I replaced the processor and still the same results. I even swapped out the PSU just because.
I thought about swapping out memory but this behavior does not make me think of a memory issue.
Maybe I should have kept the motherboard I returned and replaced both??????
Still no spin up (or does not seem to be) of the HDD. And the power switch/light just glows and fades in and out as if in sleep mode.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!! :confused::confused::confused::confused:

Are you using on-board video? If not and you are using a video card that needs power connected to it, if the card isn't getting power you can get this behavior. Also, check to make sure that all motherboard power connections are seated properly. You might consider removing the motherboard from the case and placing it on an insultaing material in case the case is somehow shorting it out. I assumed that you used a known good power supply - one that was recently working in another computer besides the original Gateway.

Well...............just because I could I took a memory module out of my computer and tried it in the problem child.....................it works!!!
Who would have thunk such a thing. The behavior did not seem to be that of a memory issue but apparently it was.
So back goes the CPU and time to call Crucial :)
Well as usual thanks for letting me bounce things off all of you.
:D

But I thought you had already tried swapping out the memory?

I'm glad you found out what it was, anyway :)

You are correct I did swap out the memory with a stick I had as a spare, which I thought was good. Guess it isn't so good!
I used one from my own computer instead and it worked.
Thanks Again