BleepingComputer.com: Video Card?

Ok, this is actually for help dealing with Gateway Tech Support to fulfill their end of the warranty.

I have a Gateway NV53A Notebook which is shutting down during video games, dvd movies, youtube movies. When it shuts down, the left side of the laptop is so hot it almost burns my fingers to touch. For normal internet browsing, it runs fine, and quite cool. For word processing, it runs fine.

I contacted Gateway Tech Support and they said it's a software issue and they gave me a phone number to call...which costs $99 for them to Remote Connect to my pc and diagnose my "software problem" which does NOT exist.

I've been putting up with the auto shut down issue for a couple of weeks, and finally had enough of it. I backed up everything I could think to backup and did the Factory Restore. The first thing I did after getting this pc, was make the Factory Restore DVDs and test them. Everything went smoothly and I've been using the pc without any problems since February.

Thursday, I did the Factory Restore, which only took like 40 minutes. Then I did the Windows Updata for several hours. After all the updates were done I installed StarCraft II, Virtual Villagers 1 thru 5, The Island - Castaway 2, MagicDisc, and WinZip 15. I have not installed any other software.

As I mentioned, though, I STILL CAN'T play my video games or watch movies.... or not for very long.

I ran FurMark which says my GPU temp is 0...meaning I guess that it can't read the GPU temp.

The Video, I think, is integrated: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250. For me to fix, I'll have to replace the entire motherboard...having only experience on Desktop hardware, this could be extremely challenging.

Your thoughts???

When was the last time this lap top was cleaned?

My guess is you have bad hardware of some sort-either a failing fan inside, improperly placed heatsink, or something of the nature. It may not even be the GPU cooling-it could be heat seeping off another component, though I would guess its most likely the GPU. As far as third party temp monitoring software not being able to read the temp-I wouldn't worry about that, many laptops don't have temp sensors in their graphics. I wouldn't take apart the laptop-that will void your warranty, I would do my darndest to try and send it back for repair/replacement if its still under warranty. And whether they do or don't honor it, I would go down to wal-mart or someplace similar, and purchase one of those laptop coolers with fans on them, that you set your laptop on top of, and use it whenever your using the laptop for extended period of time or gaming-it will more then double the life of your laptop. Their usually not to expensive, usually $25-30, and like I said make sure you get the kind with the fans.

cryptodan, on 15 January 2012 - 04:15 PM, said:

By cleaned, I hope you don't mean take it apart and use a horse hair brush to get all the dust out. lol

I did a Factory Restore on Thursday, and know how to maintain a clean system. I've installed only a handfull of games, MagicDisc, WinZip, and AVG AV since the restore.

I will do my best to get Gateway to fix this problem, but I've had several communications with them so far and they insist the issue is my fault and not a hardware failure. My 1 year Warranty ends on 02-07-2012 so time is of the escence! I think they are stalling to bring about the experation of my Warranty so they can legitamately chrarge me for their help.

mmcmuskogee-1, on 15 January 2012 - 04:44 PM, said:

That is pretty much what was being asked.

That $99 bit sounds like one of the fake scam sites that pose as Gateway tech support.

It completely sounds as if the Laptop is overheating and shutting down from that to protect itself.

When that side of the laptop starts getting hot how does the air coming out feel?
Hot? Cool? Almost no airflow? When you start playing do you hear the fan speed up or is it always racing?

Several Possibilities.
Bad fan
Bad heatsink assembly (failed heat Pipes, Seen it)
Clogged heatsink
I've also seen where the heatsink attachment to the motherboard failed.

Bottom line is it shouldn't be getting that hot.

I totally agree-it has to be a hardware issue of some sort, and gateway probably is stalling unfortunatly, either that or you somehow found one of the scam sites like rotor said. Did you contact their support through this page?

mmcmuskogee-1, on 15 January 2012 - 04:44 PM, said:

That is what I mean by cleaned. I would suggest getting a can of air and blow it out.

I recently myself just took apart a laptop to clean out the dust in the heatsink and fan(quite messy in there) which is was overheating even when it was doing nothing. I also had to reapply the thermal paste for the cpu cooler in it which all this effort made it so much cooler, it barely went past 70C and was around 55C for normal use which was great. Point being here that taking it apart and cleaning in it does a lot.

Laptops are not really made for gaming. Most likely intensive once.

mmcmuskogee-1, on 15 January 2012 - 03:13 PM, said:

Sadly, sometimes when a person is polite and understanding with the customer service rep they are talking to, they get crappy service, walked all over, put off, put to the back of the line, etc.

I hate to say this, but sometimes a person has to be a b**** or an a****** to get the service that they were promised by a retailer/manufacturer. Throw a fit, threaten to report them to the Better Business Bureau, write a review on Google, at the website of the dealer you bought your computer to report problems with the manufacturer. Ever read the reviews on New Egg? Often times the people who publicly report problems with manufacturer are personally contacted by the manufacturer.

The squeaky wheel get the oil.

Solved Mostly...

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Problem solved. I purchased a laptop cooling pad and that has been working great.

Thanks for the advice.

I'm also just going to stay away from playing SC2 and other games on my laptop. I've got a PSP and plan on building a desktop this summer anyway.

I must say that I am disappointed in laptops. This isn't my first one, but it may be my last one because they just aren't built to last. Their compact shape and size isn't something I really need since my true love is the hardcore games

And I'll be cleaning it soon too. Thanks again everybody!

laptops do have drawbacks for sure ,buying one made by one of the worse laptop makers in the usa ,opinion info from reviews i read on line ,,doesn't help either ,and adding a cooler pad is only a band-aid,laptop will eventually start overheating again as it gets dirtier inside ,buying a can of compressed air and blowing out the fan and heatsinc will be money well spent

This post has been edited by caperjac: 22 January 2012 - 03:25 PM

laptops are both fantastic and horrible depending on their uses. I have an old HP dv8000 that I bought refurbised 5 years ago, still works like a charm, love it to death. Do I use it for gaming? no, but thats not what their made for. I use mine so I got a computer to watch movies with, surf the web etc. when I travel-I like the portability. When I game or do any intensive programs, I have two desktops for those purposes. I have dealt with several brands of laptops-they all have their seperate issues, and heat is a common issue with any brand of laptop, and with each brand they all have their good models and their bad models, which is why when I purchase a laptop, or recomend one or even sell one-I choose ones from companies with good customer service. They need to be both professional and courteous but willing to honor warranties. Which is why you see me recomending HP and ASUS laptops quite frequently-performance wise and quality wise their good yes-but theres other brands out there with good quality, I recomend them though because of all the different brands they have consistently had the best customer support, and ive dealt with customer support from several. HP is at the top of my list customer support wise, with dell being at the bottom.

the_patriot11, on 22 January 2012 - 05:37 PM, said:

i have to agree with all that ,i have bought 4 new laptops over the years ,and about 10 used one mostly Dell [used ones for resale ]and have never has a reason to call any tech support .bought 3 in the past 6 yrs for my university attending daughter [i always end up with the old ones lol] 1 compaq/1 hp /and present one is a 13 mnt old Sony ,sold the compact .used and broke the HP myself ,sony working with out issue ,my wife has a Toshiba ,3ys old almost , used everyday and still running on the original install of Vista home