# Gateway Laptop 'Sleep Mode' problem



## CrookedParadigm (Jan 2, 2010)

I bought my girlfriend a new Gateway MS2285 for xmas and while nothing that is happening is of system crippling magnitude, I can't figure it out for the life of me.

When I first booted the laptop, I was not surprised to find Gateway's usual bloatware preinstalled. Usually when I get a laptop I install my own copy of Windows to circumvent this nuisance (likely voiding the warrenty, I know old habits die hard) so I proceeded to reformat using the last (3rd) install of my Windows 7 Ultimate key. The laptops runs great (much faster without Gateway's garbage on there), but occasionally after it has entered "Sleep Mode" from having the laptop closed, upon reopening and hitting spacebar to 'wake' it up we encounter a problem. 

The fan and lights start going like normal, but all we get is a black screen. To clarify, the screen is not off, it lights up, but stays black. There is no cursor, but I can occasionally hear the Windows 7 logon sound play after doing this. This usually results in a restart via the power button (not my favorite way to do it :sigh: ) at which point all goes smoothly barring the expected "Windows did not shut down properly" dialogue. The thing I can't put my finger on is that it's not a consistent problem, sometimes it will wake up just fine with the little Resuming Windows splash screen.

My first inclination was to think that it was a display driver issue, because the other thing that has happened on occasion (again, not a consistent problem) is that the Starting Windows splash screen will flicker and jump around very briefly before Windows actually starts but once Windows is loaded she encounters no problems whatsoever. 

I have not yet tried to do anything with the display drivers as Device Manager doesn't show any errors, but I thought I would come here to see if I could find a way to diagnose this. 

Also of note: I'm not quite sure of the difference between Sleep and Hibernate modes in Windows 7. If I have used the term incorrectly please tell me. Thanks guys!


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## IT-Tech (Oct 12, 2009)

Hi and welcome!

Yes, I would hit the Gateway Support website and enter the serial number of the laptop in the space provided and get their driver set they offer for the OS.

http://support.gateway.com/support/default.aspx?cmpid=topnav_support

And the differences are...

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_Hibernate_and_Standby_in_Windows

Thanks!


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## CrookedParadigm (Jan 2, 2010)

Thanks for the calrification and for giving me someplace to start. Hopefully someone can help confirm that display drivers are indeed the problem before I go find new ones.


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## IT-Tech (Oct 12, 2009)

Hi and thanks for the update...

However, no one will be able to CONFIRM that for you without having the machine physically in hand. Even then, the first thing any technician would do is gather your system information and make sure you have the latest drives installed.

So, eliminating the display driver is the first step. Please follow the links I provided and check to see if you have the newest drivers available.

Thank you!


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## TortillaChip (Jan 16, 2010)

I have this exact same laptop, and encounter the exact same problem.
It seems every third time or so, I open it and hit enter to get it out of 'sleep mode' or 'hibernate', and the screen is blank, but still lit. I'll hit enter again, and hear the sound of me logging in, but the screen is still black.

Also, sometimes I've had problems when playing DVDs. Sometimes, although rarely, it will go to the DVD menu, but when I press play will freeze. Once, I let it just sit, and after ten minutes it finally played, but I wasn't able to fast forward or rewind or any of that.


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