Gateway GT5618E Questions

T

tdcarter72

New Member
I have a Gateway GT5618E desk top computer that I bought brand new in 2008 that has went on the blink. When I turn it on and it starts to load, it just shuts off. I have read that these desk tops have had a lot of problems with the power supply going bad and taking out the motherboard, so I took it to a repair shop to have it looked at, and the guy said that the power supply and motherboard are bad.

I asked him to price fixing it for me and he come up with $300 for a new power supply and motherboard. Since I only paid $320 for it new, I thought I would try fixing it myself. So here are my questions:

What motherboards could I install in this tower that would be compatiable with what I had?

Can I use any of the parts off my old mother board (CPU, Heat Sink, etc.) on a new motherboard if I needed to?

I would also like to be able to upgrade the memory from the 2GB max on the old board if it is possible without to much trouble.

What are my best options to get this back up and running?

I would like to be able to do the work myself and stay with a $200 budget.

What would be the best upgraded power supply?

I do not use this computer for gaming. It is used a your basic home computer surfing, downloading and watching movies from the net.

If you need more information, please ask me and I will do my best to help you help me.

Here is a link to the specifications for this computer:

http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1014936R/1014936Rsp2.shtml


Thanks for any help
 
Please bear with me on this, as I have done very little work on computers, so I will have alot of questions.

What are the odds that my cpu is bad if the psu caused the bad motherboard?

Would I be better off just getting a mother board with a cpu?

If I get just the motherboard, is the cpu, heat sink, memory the only thing I will need to use off my old motherboard?

Also, about reinstalling windows, all I will need is the installation cd that came with the computer right?

Is their anything else I might need to know before taking this on?

Thanks for any help!
 
TRY JUST THE PSU FIRST! You can get a better one than your computer came with for under $50 at any computer supply store or off tiger or newegg

I'd also recommend that you look at RAM before the motherboard - did he say what the problem with the mobo was?

I find it very unlikely that there is actually a problem with psu and mobo causing the same no-start problem
 
rawcomputers said:
I'd also recommend that you look at RAM before the motherboard - did he say what the problem with the mobo was?

I find it very unlikely that there is actually a problem with psu and mobo causing the same no-start problem
Click to expand...

The guy did not, would not, or could not tell me what the problem was with the mobo when I asked him. All he kept saying was it was fried, maybe hit by lighting.

The thing about the lighting is, we have not a storm or anything is a month. Now it could have been a surge from the powerlines or something, but my whole system is on a very good power surge protector and the desktop is the only thing I am have problems with. I would think if it was hit by lighting or a power surge that it would have got my whole setup of the printer, monitor, modem, router, etc.. The other thing is my power surge was never tripped like it should have been if lighting or a power surge would have hit it.

Here is somemore information on what the system is doing:

When I start the system up everything is fine. You can go to the bios setup screen and the computer never shuts down (i did not or have not change anything in bios). It also goes to the screen where I have a choice of starign windows normal or starting in safe mode. It don't matter which one I choose, the systems will shut off while trying to load. It seems that the problem occurs when its trying to load windows.

My first thought was to try and reinstall windows, buts it system will shut off while loading windows from the cd. Now after many attemps at reinstalling, I was able to get to the main windows screen where I had the option of reinstall or repairing the installation. I choose repairing the installation, and when it started the computer shut off. I have never been able to get back to that point without it shuting off.

My wife took the hard drive to her IT guy at work so he could take the pics and files that we wanted to keep and put them on a disk for us. He said he did not see a problem on the hard drive (windows) and said it could be the psu. Thats when she took it to this shop where the guy said it was the psu and mobo.

The thing about this guy was he would not give me a straight answer when I was asking questions about the mobo. All he kept saying was it was fired and needed to be replaced. I got the feeling he was drumming up business instead of wanting to help me with my problem. Thats why I did not let him do the work.

I hope this helps. Again, please ask me any questions that will help you help me.

Thanks for any help
 
247Tech said:
Not being a tech means you open the door for many mistakes.

If a shop can fix it and backup their work I would do that.

You can't tell if the cpu and such are good just because they may run they could be stressed and fail tommorrow or in 2 months.

I have been a repair tech for 15 years ad over 7000 customers.... I know when to let the pros handle it for many reasons. I dont work on my own car I have a mechanic for that.
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I understand what you are saying. Thats why I am on here asking questions.

I am not a mechanic either, but I would have never learned to work on my own cars if I never tried. Its the same with my computers, I will never learn if I don't try. Trust me, If I ever feel that I am over my head with this, I will take it to somebody.

I just don't trust the guy at the shop read my reply post above.
 
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