Another chapter in the ongoing struggle of using my Gateway laptop…
Yesterday I was working on something and all of a sudden I switched over to battery power, which was odd, since the plug hadn’t been removed. I checked the power supply LED indicator and it was off, then I felt the box and it was burning up; then I smelled that classic burning electronic parts aroma. Turns out the circuit that controls the fan in the power supply had somehow gone bad, so the fan was not cooling it down anymore and eventually it overheated, melting a few necessary components.
Luckily, I still have my previous power supply (which went bad in different ways), so this morning I broke out the soldering iron and screwdrivers and disassembled both, then pieced together one good one from the parts of the two broken ones (luckily it was different parts that went bad on each).
Have I mentioned before that I don’t recommend Gateway products?
23 Comments
get a mac!
No thanks; I’d prefer even a Gateway to a Mac.
I seem to remember saying, “Wow, that seems hot,” the other night. Maybe it couldn’t have been avoided.
No, I think it was just bad design; it’s always been hot, but there’s no way I can avoid that, other than running a fan right next to it whenever I’m using it (which I actually do at work, I’ve got a little fan clipped onto the edge of my desk).
The main problem is the fact that it’s a laptop with a desktop style P4 chip so it uses a lot of power, and therefore generates a lot of heat. I don’t remember if I mentioned this before, but it turned out that the excessive heat was the cause of the monitor issue I had previously too; the cable connecting the screen to the main assembly had melted.
Have I mentioned before that I recommend Apple products?
Sounds like the 360 PS issue.
Ya, I think you may have mentioned it before. I already responded to that comment (from Nathan) on this post though. There are plenty of reliable PC manufacturers without resorting to buying a Mac.
none that produce reliable laptops. no one else even comes close.
Dell produces reliable laptops. I’ve personally owned seven and had no problems, and I’ve heard similar success stories all over the place.
i guess reliable wasn’t the word i was looking for, just clunky. dell laptops have the same problem all pc laptops do, they’re not solidly constructed. i feel like i’m taking a huge risk carrying it around outside of a case. the plastic feels soo flimsy like it would just shatter into a million pieces if i ever dropped it. mac laptops are solid pieces of equipment and can take a lot of punishment without even scratching. what’s the point of having a laptop that’s not portable?
Most laptops are “portable”, and I wouldn’t necessarily classify their ability to be dropped as “portability”. I don’t know whether Apple would fare much better than average in drop tests (here’s one for example, where the Apple was one of several that survived). But I guess the more important point as far as that goes is that whether I can irresponsibly and carelessly abuse the hardware is not a big criteria for me in considering a computer purchase.
The whole “can I be irresponsible and careless with my laptop” thing is a funny one. I recently changed laptops from a G4 Titanium Powerbook, where if you drop it once it is done, to a 12″ iBook, where the materials used are much more durable. I have to say that I like the relationship I have with the iBook much better. Knowing that it is durable makes it more usable to me. I’m much more inclined to take it out and use it more often than the Titanium. Some of this might be attributed to the difference in size, but I like having a laptop that I feel confident about it’s construction and inturn it is used more. I would like to see some $999 or less PC laptops with a similar construction, they would sell a ton of them.
pick up a dell laptop by the large flat area to the right or left of the trackpad with the laptop open. the plastic bends flimsily. this is not an irresponcible or careless way to carry a laptop (or shouldn’t be), yet it is an unsafe way to carry a dell. all pc laptops i’ve seen are make of this weak, flimsy plastic.
If it feels like it will bend/break when you do it, and you do it anyway, that would certainly be an irresponsible or (at least) careless thing to do, not to mention dumb. It also seems a bit awkward to carry it like that too, but maybe that’s just me - why not just close the lid or carry it from the bottom?
Also, if some attribute/feature is not the norm, it doesn’t mean that all the others which lack that particular attribute/feature are deficient. For example, just because bullet-proof cars exist does not make me think negatively of my car because bullets can penetrate its hull, since my car was not designed for that. If I wanted a car that was, I would have to deal with the many trade offs that decision would entail, and of course I have no desire to do that since I don’t need a bulletproof car.
In that same manner, just because some laptops can be held/carried by the corner while open and (possibly… sometimes) dropped without damage, doesn’t really interest me since I’ve never had the desire to carry a laptop that way, and I’m certainly not planning on dropping any laptop I own.
If anything, I will say that the apple laptops I’ve seen are designed well, and may be considered more “portable” than some other models just because of their size & weight. That’s not really enough to compel me to buy one, but I have to at least acknowledge it.
If the upcoming Intel laptops will be able to run (natively, not EMU) alternative operating systems instead of (or dual boot with) the Mac OS, then I would probably consider that as an ideal system, so I’m not putting them down or anything.
There are some pretty good rumors to support the possiblity of a Windows or Linux OS running on the new Intel Macs. We will know in the next week or so. Macworld is Jan. 9th. (rumored announcements of the first intel Macs seem pretty realistic).
The IBM Z60 Thinkpad looks pretty awesome, especially the silver one. whichsideareyouon.com
Maybe if you had a bullet proof car you would be inclined to use you car in more interesting ways.
Ya, those Thinkpads look awesome. So much for me considering an Intel Apple!
you enjoy being responcible and careful, lemme know how that works out.
OK - progress report - so far, so good.
i’m telling greg on you!
Good luck picking up my Dell like that. Your hand will break off. But, I still love it.
I think being responsible and careful when it comes to not breaking stuff that you’ve bought is a bit different than not taking chances in life in other contexts. Breaking laptops isn’t really my idea of the good kind of “risk”.
yeah, that’s why i prefer hardware that is built to not break when i use it.
having very similar issues with ym peice of crap. Can you tell me how your problems started? like witht he screen. I had some issues before hand, with it not staying lit. Now it wont charge. Hmmm, connection?
Most of the main issues I’ve encountered are related to overheating.
When my screen went bad (then dead) it turned out that the cable that connects the screen to the body (that runs through the hinge area) had melted, because it sits right over the vent in the back that the fan blows the hot air out of.
Because these things have a regular (desktop style) P4, it gets pretty hot in there, and I think they made some errors with the ventilation design.
My other problem had to do with my power supply, and it was a similar issue; it burned out because the fan inside the power supply went out, which led to the power supply quickly becoming non-functional. This is the first external power supply that I can recall that I’ve had that even needed an actual fan just to cool it, but apparently the oversize screen and fast processor really suck up a lot of juice.