# LAPTOP Shuts down when moved or touched



## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

OK guys (and gals) my gateway laptop was shutting down and I was advised that it was most likely because the cooling fan stoped working. This was not the problem. I had the fan replaced and the problem is still happening.
I was advised that maybe it was a problem with the hard drive, but have tried my other hard drive and it still happens.

STRANGE thing, as long as I leave the computer sitting on a table, it runs until I shut it sown.... But.... If i torque the body just the slightest amount by lifting on one side, it will shut down and sometimes restart. Im wondering if there is a problem with the power card which can be replaced for 79$ plus labor. 

Any body have any other ideas as to what the problem may be.???

Its a Gateway 200ARC.

Thanks in advance for any an all responses.


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

the imput plug wiggles there's the possibity of shorting on the board. the laptop still under warrenty?


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

Laptop is long out of warranty (hahaha- edit, i said inventory what a dork). I was considering buying a new power card, which contains the DC plug, Svideo plug, and one USB. What do you think. Thanks


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

power cord has nothing to do with the boards imput jack.


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

I was calling it a power card (not cord) but it is actually power board.

See attached link.

http://www.mundocorp.com/shopexd.asp?id=1498

what do you think??

Thanks!!


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

yes thats the possible problem.


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

What makes you think so and how certain are you. I realize this is a possible problem, thats why I mentioned it. I was hoping someone would clarify it and give more info to support it. Your thoughts?? Thanks!!


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

A little more than 79 cents but alot less than $79.00. See my posts in these threads. they address two possibilities, an internal break in the wire in the AC adapter or the dc jack. 

the wire in the AC adapter cord can break right at the plug that goes into the laptop without the outer covering of the cord showing any damage. You can replace the plug for about $ 2.00 or buy another AC adapter for anywhere from $ 50.00 to $200.00 

The solder joining the dc jack to the power board can break. You can buy a new jack for $ 5.00 and have it soldered to the power board at a tv repair shop. You just have to take the power board out of the laptop. It's possible you can just have the existing jack resoldered. I opt to buy a new jack ahead of time just in case the jack itself is broken. there is at least one post that documents a dc jack that overheated and destroyed. my guess is that the loose jack was causing an electrical arc and that caused the overheating (overheated plastic becomes extremely brittle and breaks.) 

Both issues are documented and supported by a dozen other threads other than the one's below.

It's not hard to figure out which one once you know what to look for

http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=107656

http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=103177

http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=100203


Bill


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

hwm,
Thanks for your suggestions. Here is more info for you. The computer shuts off when the unit is bumped, or tweaked in certain directions. It does it when plugged in with AC adapter. It also does it when powered by battery only. One time it shut off when I touched the AC adapter at the plug. At that point I figured it had to be the AC adapter, DC jack (plug), or the power board (even though Im clueless and dont really know)... Anyways, after it did that, after rebooting, I tried to duplicate the shut off by manipulating the AC plug and couldnt get it to shut off by doing that so Im not sure what it is. I just know its driving me nuts and I wish I could fix it. Does this give you any more info to support your theory. It seems to shut off if I lift the bottom right corner from the table its sitting on. When I do that, the monitor goes blank, the blue wifi light stays on and the power lights stay on, and the fan and/or harddrive still appears to be on, but like I said monitor goes black. This sucks!!


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

Hello lendfish,

I thought you were familiar. Just found your thread from a month ago while searching for a repair guide. Did you do the repairs yourself and if so did you find a repair guide? The additional info would _seem_ to rule out the dc power jack but it still remains a possibility, even though you are unable to reproduce it when purposely manipulating the dc jack/ power cord plug

Do you know if the issue of just the display going out was the issue before or is this new? 

Is it always just the display going blank or does everything go out at anytime?

Does lifting the corner always make the screen go blank or just occassionally make it go blank

Obviously it’s not heat related, most likely a broken wire or loose connector inside. I’d like to see a manual-if you have a link to one, please post it as I can think of several possibilities ie: the push type switch that blanks the display when you close the lid; the video connector cord looks like it may be long enough to reach the corner you are lifting- however just seeing pictures of individual parts isn’t sufficient to give a clue as to what is wrong


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

hwm54112 said:


> Hello lendfish,
> 
> I thought you were familiar. Just found your thread from a month ago while searching for a repair guide. Did you do the repairs yourself and if so did you find a repair guide? The additional info would _seem_ to rule out the dc power jack but it still remains a possibility, even though you are unable to reproduce it when purposely manipulating the dc jack/ power cord plug
> 
> ...


I had COMPUSA do the repair. Those guys are pretty much a bunch of screw offs (at least at the store i went to)

I believe the way it is shutting down is what it was doing before, but Im not sure because I was only able to isolate it as a movement problem after the cooling fan was replaced. When it goes out, either the screen goes blank and all the other lights stay on and system still seems to be running, or computer restarts. Lately it hasnt been restarting but rather just going blank.
Lifting the corner always makes the screen go blank.

Heres more info, I also had the monitor hinges replaced because one was broken. Because the hinge was broken it was prone to have the monitor screen drop suddenly and very hard onto the glass top table. This couldnt have been a goo thing. I believe all this start after the hinge broke and after the screen dropped a few times.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a manual for it, but it is a Gateway 200ARC and all of the parts for the computer are now handled by mundocorp.com if that helps.

Thanks for helping with this. Like I said its a pain.


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

Sounds to me like a cracked board, or broken wire or connection going to the display- have you tried hooking it up to an external monitor and lifting the right corner? I think it has an s-video output. That might help isolate it between a switch, wire or connector?

Have you asked Compusa about it? Seems there should be some kind of a warranty on their work.


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

*laptop problem*

Even if I hook up the S video to another monitor, wont it still be internally connected the the laptop monitor causing the same problem?? Or does it cut the circuit to the internal connection to the laptop monitor??

I think you may be right that it may be a cracked board, because just the slightest amount of lift will shut it off and that slight amoun of life could be from seperation in the board somewhere.

As far as COMPUSA, i dont see how warranty would matter because the problem existed before I took it in. I bought the parts hoping the fan would fix the problem and It didnt. I dont see how I could expect CompUSA to bare the responsibility for a problem that existed before I took it in. They did however cause a small crack in the monitor plastic bezzel when trying to open up the monitor to insert the hinges. Shoot come to think of it, maybe this is a different problem. There is a small crack that they caused but of course they didnt say anything. I found it upon looking closer at it once I got it home. 

What do you think??


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

> Even if I hook up the S video to another monitor, wont it still be internally connected the the laptop monitor causing the same problem?? Or does it cut the circuit to the internal connection to the laptop monitor??


That doesn't matter. the laptop display is connected by a cable, the s-video connector would be soldered to a board. if it works connected to the external monitor, you can be pretty sure it's a cable problem or isolate where the crack in the board would be. the s-video appears to be on the same power board as the dc jack



> As far as COMPUSA, i dont see how warranty would matter because the problem existed before I took it in


I don't see how you can make that statement, although I do respect your integrity- how can you attribute it to being an old problem? Your original post indicates that the laptop was shutting down completely- it made no mention of just the video going blank. The problem before repair and the problem after the repair are entirely different- In fact, the two posts make a pretty compelling, _circumstantial_ argument that compusa is responsible for the screen failing to work. It's not my intent to accuse the techs at Compusa, but the fact is, it is a different issue altogther


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

I appreciate you bringing that to my attention. I will certainly be talking to them tomorrow. Not only did they crack the bezzel on the monitor, which I will be making them aware of, but they also broke one of my hinge covers, which they were to be ordering and contacting me to come back in for it. Was supposed to be a couple days and its been close to a week. As much as I would like to get comp usa to help me out, every single person in their tech dept including the manager is a complete numbskull so it hasnt been fun. They mentioned that when they opened it up to replace the cooling fan that they didnt see any burnt out spots on the board. Oh yeah, they also forgot to reinstall the screws which go through the bottom of the computer and into the hinges. They later put those back in after i mentioned it. What a bunch of knuckleheads. After this problem is remedied or beaten to a dead horse, I will NEVER go back there and Im warning people right now never to go there (las Vegas - Sahara location). They are totally clueless. With all these problem mentioned I would not be surprised at all if they cracked my board or one of the cards. Thanks for mentioning that the sysptoms I had previously and after are totally separate and thanks for making me see that maybe COMP usa did cause this. I take no offense to what you said and I appreciate input from people that know way more than me regarding computers. Fishing tackle and technique (Saltwater TUna Fishing), I can hold my own, but computers, i know very little about hardware and software issues. Thanks. Got anymore for me???


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## laboye (Apr 11, 2006)

Welcome to the forums. Upon reading the first few posts of this thread, I came to the immediate conclusion that it was the motherboard. Since this also occurs on the battery, it is not the power board either. I've had 2 laptops die on me this way. It happens when a connection or trace on the board is severed. It is obviously a vital one since the machine shuts off. Based on your experiance with the screen, I'm guessing the fault is somewhere near the video controller or the monitor power source. I advise you get the motherboard replaced, or have it thouroughly inspected. As fat as CompUSA is concerned, they just may have been careless and cause this problem. Good luck with the repair.


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

Thanks laboye, I think you may be right about the motherboard. IT such a minor tweak to the computer that causes the problem that it seems possible. I called comp USA and they said they are going to check the notes in the system , talk to the dept manager and call me back. Hopefully they will get me taken care of without doing any more damage to the computer.


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## laboye (Apr 11, 2006)

No Problem. Let us know how this one turns out!


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

Ok ALL, here is the latest progess. I took the laptop back into COMPUSA, and the manager of the tech department spent quite a bit of time fully disassembling it to try to find the problem. The system kept going black screen except for when the hard drive was removed. With no hard drive he could move shake and bump the system with no shut down. He ran a hard-drive emulator disk in the CD drive and could not duplicate the shut down. So it seems that the problem lies somewhere in the hard drive or the connection. Since I have tried my other hard drive with the same results, Im guessing its not the drive but either the hard drive cable or the IDE connector which is soldered to the board. 

Here is more info... About 6 months ago my computer was having problems and it was determined that I needed a new hard drive cable which gateway sent me. At the time I had also ordered rubber feet for the bottom of the computer. When the hard drive arrived, the rubber feet were not included with the order but there was a rubber bumper piece that I ended up throwing away. I thought they sent me the wrong feet pieces. Two days later the feet arrived in the mail. Turns out the rubber bumper that came with the HD cable was a bumper to keep the HD from moving around in the poorly designed hard drive enclosure. Unfortunately there was no diagram or instructions as to what to do with the bumper so I threw it away thinking it was the wrong feet (foot). 

So I believe the problem is either a bad cable, a cable gone bad, or the connector (ive been told IDE conector) where the cable slides in (this part is soldered to the board). There is a little brown piece that pops open to allow the cable to slide in and then pops closed to keep the cable in place. That little brown piece is broken and still works but the integrity of the part is gone so maybe its allowing some movement and break in the circuitry hence the problem. 

Anybody know if any electronics store carries that IDE connector? Maybe I can buy that part and as HWM suggested I can have a tv repair guy solder the new part onto the board.

Im going to ask gateway to send me another cable and rubber bumper. If the problem persists Id like to pursue having that part replaced and resoldered.

Does this sound like the next step?? Anyone know who would have the part??

Im going to attach two links. 

First one is the hard drive cable. 

http://www.skyline-eng.com/catalog.php?op=det&ck=52&pk=105

Next one is a part I found on FRYS.com which might be the part but its too hard to see from the tiny image.

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/1910751?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Thanks for all the help people. I really think this forum is great.


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

the connector you need would be a 40 pin connector, not 26. I really can't imagine the board to connector solder joint being broken as I can't see how it would be exposed to sufficient strain. But then again, I can't picture how gateway used a rubber filler to hold the drive in place. 

I would think the solder job would be a tough one- there's forty seperate spots to be soldered in a very small area

I would think the more lkely suspect would be the cable to mobo connection. if that turns out to be the fault, maybe you can find a way to replace the brown clamp mechanism or improvise something to stablize that connection and avoid the solder job all together. 

I take it compusa make made no mention of performing the repair at your expense or even offer a final diagnosis?


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## laboye (Apr 11, 2006)

Soldering would be quite a tough job, for the reasons hwm suggested. I would also try the cable before attemting any serious hardware alterations.


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## 1stladytech (Feb 25, 2005)

*Known issue*

The cable that attatches the hdd to the motherboard is a known issue with this model laptop. Hopefully the new cable will fix the problem, but if the connector is broken (the little brown flap) then you will have problems. It would take replacing the motherboard to fix that - you may want to try to make sure the cable is fully seated and then secure it into place with a piece of tape to make sure that it makes connection. 

1stladytech


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## Lend-Fish (Sep 14, 2006)

1st lady,
Thank you. 

Here is more info, brown flap is not broken, but the ide connector itself the little edges are broken on one side where the brown flap is supposed to snap onto is broken. This was never a problem until recently so hopefully the cable just went bad.

Any more info on the 200ARC with this being a known problem?

Just waiting to here back from Gateway as out of warranty items are reply only from Gateway. Next computer will most def NOT be a gateway


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## 1stladytech (Feb 25, 2005)

*IDE Connector*

The socket that the cable goes into uses the brown flap to insure that the cable makes good connections. If it is not being able to hold the cable in place, you will get problems with the hard drive. The replacement motherboard - part number BA92-02643A - would be the next option, it is generally available for about $200 parts cost. Labor to install would depend on who / where you get it repaired. Trying to replace the socket would not be a good idea - even if you could find just the socket.

I wouldn't go to the motherboard route unless you cannot get the cable to maintain contact with the socket. Let me know how it works / doesn't work and I'll see if I can come up with a different solution. What you don't want to do however, is to put anything on the connector that will cause pressure to be applied to the board when the covers are put back in place. That will definately cause the board to develop a crack in it. 

1stladytech


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## JORGE ALCALA (Nov 24, 2008)

OK Guys and girls i have the same exact problem with my laptop and its also a gateway! i had a friend work on mine,when he opened it he said the ide wire was stretched to the max and he said it dont relly reach to make a good connection, i've been trying to find one but no luck yet..my computer is barley 1 yr old !


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## gambling (Dec 1, 2008)

ya My laptop computer shuts down when I'm away, what's the reason? 
When I leave to go somewhere, my laptop shuts ddown then when I come home and touch it, it turns back on. What's causing it to shut down while I'm away? Could it be too hot? Or, would it be...


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