Gateway Notebook NX570X HD Failure

[jenlyeng001]

My son has the Gateway NX570X Notebook and after discovering that the AC adapter needed to be replaced in order to turn the unit on, and upon that point, the HD didn't want to boot. The black screen of death appeared and basically wasn't going to boot. Indirect technical support from PCDirect stated the HD was bad. I wouldn't doubt this since it was given to my son and had a slew of issues that he was trying to fix so he could have his own laptop. This was a Vista OS, more than likely 32 bit, but not quite sure since I can't power it on.

If you could please explain more to me about the possibility of fixing the BIOS or any other reason as to why I would be getting the BSOD. Whatever may be the problem, I have no back-ups of any of the following: boot disc, system restore, drivers/utilities/OS and would need to do everything either through a USB boot or CD (preferably kindly forwarded files that I can upload to and burn to a CD or USB thumb drive). Again, this laptop was simply given to my son and if he could fix it, then he gained a computer of his own. Any and all links that are geared to my questions (actual and possible troubleshooting answers are welcome). I will need to buy a replacement HD, but before I do, I would like to know if this is in fact the exact point of problem or if there is some other diagnostic tool I can run (step by step instructions please) after we get the AC adapter in order to even have power to turn it on.

I have no idea how the HD is formatted to boot, whether HD first or floppy, etc...So any info to get me started is exactly what I need. Step by step please. I really appreciate your or anyone else's help that can help me help my son. Blessings!

 

[alvine]

okay firstly you said your hard drive failed and the laptop is stuck on black screen (will not boot) and then you say in second paragrapgh you're getting a bsod?

you can diagnose that the laptop works except the hard drive by for example downloading ubuntu cd and booting from it, if it boots there is no hardware problems

as for laptop hard drives make sure its 2.5 inch and not a 3.5 inch

 

[unksol]

Sorry, he doesn't really read well ^

BSOD is a windows error. You'll have to be more specific about black screen of death. if he was given it because its dead its probably trash. Laptops aren't usually fixable.

You can get restore disks from the manufacturer for a few bucks. not aware of a vista image download

 

[jenlyeng001]

okay firstly you said your hard drive failed and the laptop is stuck on black screen (will not boot) and then you say in second paragrapgh you're getting a bsod?

you can diagnose that the laptop works except the hard drive by for example downloading ubuntu cd and booting from it, if it boots there is no hardware problems

as for laptop hard drives make sure its 2.5 inch and not a 3.5 inch

Thanks for the quick reply alvine!
Ok, so I may be misunderstanding that the black screen of death (b.s.o.d.) is an incorrect comparison? Hhmm, either way, that's what I meant...black screen, unable to boot.

Is Ubuntu a free download and is it availale at any particular site you recommend? If there are different choices of this CD, which should I go with? Is it chosen based on OS or what?

Thanks for the verification on the size of HD, I did know that I would be needing the 2.5 inch...thanks again!

 

[jenlyeng001]

Sorry, he doesn't really read well ^

BSOD is a windows error. You'll have to be more specific about black screen of death. if he was given it because its dead its probably trash. Laptops aren't usually fixable.

You can get restore disks from the manufacturer for a few bucks. not aware of a vista image download

Thanks unksol!
LOL...it's okay if he misread. I know that there are blue screen errors and black screens of death (which like I just made in my reply to alvine, that I may have misunderstood the 2 are not comparable). ;-)

Well, the laptop did work for a few days after my son got the pc finally able to connect to the internet. We suspect major viruses since this laptop was used by a young niece and nephew who weren't being monitored. In laws told my son if he can get it connected to internet, he could have it.

After those 1st few days of working, he could no longer get power. We already knew the battery would need to be replaced, but didn't know for sure if it was the AC adapter too until we took it to PC Direct just to see what they would say. So they powered it up with a universal adapter and when we powered up, we got the black screen. That was new to us. The guy tried to reboot a couple times to no avail. Unofficially said it was the hard disk and like my original post, I said I wouldn't doubt it.

Sooo, with all that being said....this laptop may not be ideal to "fix", but this is all we have to get my son going on his own, even if only for a year. I may have an unrealistic postive outlook on this, but I do think that we can "fix" this (even if only temporarily).

Any other suggestions/help for a die-hard optimist?

 

[alvine]

bsod reffers to Blue Screen of Death , not black. black screen means there is no boot device to boot from
go to ubuntu's official webside to download the iso and burn in on the cd, downlaod the desktop version. yes ubuntu as other linux distributions are free
http/www.ubuntu.com/download

 

[jenlyeng001]

bsod reffers to Blue Screen of Death , not black. black screen means there is no boot device to boot from
go to ubuntu's official webside to download the iso and burn in on the cd, downlaod the desktop version. yes ubuntu as other linux distributions are free
http/www.ubuntu.com/download

Thanks again, alvine! I guess I did have the 2 screens backwards. ;-)

I sure hope that the Ubuntu download works, but just in case I can't get this to help with my problem, what do you suggest I do from that point?

 

[zdbc13]

If the Ubuntu live disk works and you can read to your hard drive then I recommend either loading ubuntu to the laptop or re-loading windows from scratch. If you can get a vista installation disk you should be able to use the windows key on the under side of the laptop to reload it.

use this link:
http/en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/w/microsoft_os/3317.2-3-microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso-download-links-digital-river.aspx

 

[alvine]

well using ubuntu live cd purpose is to test your hardware for any other problems to rule out the hard drive so if linux works you just need to get a new drive if that makes sense

 

[jenlyeng001]

If the Ubuntu live disk works and you can read to your hard drive then I recommend either loading ubuntu to the laptop or re-loading windows from scratch. If you can get a vista installation disk you should be able to use the windows key on the under side of the laptop to reload it.

use this link:
http/en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/w/microsoft_os/3317.2-3-microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso-download-links-digital-river.aspx

Thanks zdbc13! I actually have a Windows XP SP3 installation disc and a Vista upgrade disc from Dell, but have never tried to use it on a non-Dell PC since they state on the discs that it's only for Dell products. I will check out your link anyways though! I really appreciate your taking the time to post! I am in process of downloading Ubuntu right now, but won't be able to do anything until I get the new AC adapter which is on it's way but not till next week...maybe PC Direct will let me use their universal for a day (of course I would buy it, but then return it the next day). ;-)

 

[jenlyeng001]

well using ubuntu live cd purpose is to test your hardware for any other problems to rule out the hard drive so if linux works you just need to get a new drive if that makes sense

Hey alvine! I plan on getting the Ubuntu burned asap, but have to get a working AC adapter in order to start the process. I have one on order, but won't be here till next week.

You had said in your first reply "you can diagnose that the laptop works except the hard drive by for example downloading ubuntu cd and booting from it, if it boots there is no hardware problems", so if the Ubuntu CD does work, means HD is good, right?

So if it is still good, then what do you suggest to take a look at from there? I'd like to cover all my bases before I start something like this. I don't do things like this very often, but when I do I like to be as informed as possible since you guys aren't available to me 24/7.

By the way, I really appreciate EVERYTHING you have given for me to try/do!

 

[jenlyeng001]

Alrighty people...Update!
I have successfully installed Ubuntu, so meaning my HD is still okay! However, now the next step would be is how to do a recovery on the Vista HD partition...Since I do not have a recovery CD (or any other CD for this OS), I know I will need to find an alternative and would not like to do a complete OS uninstall/reinstall of Vista. I do understand that I may not have a choice, but since I don't have any CD's for drivers/utilities, etc...I would rather find out if I can do a repair first.

I was thinking about getting out the external HD and try doing a Recovery Back-up, but am not sure I can even do this since I have not yet seen that I can even access the Vista partition on the HD. Is there any way to access that partition while using Ubuntu? I haven't gotten too in depth about what I can do or not do yet using Ubuntu only because I had to wait until this morning to finish the installation.

Any suggestions, ideas...next steps to take?? Remember, that I would greatly appreciate step-by-step instructions! Thanks to all!

 

[zdbc13]

By all means back up any important data files to your external drive using ubuntu which should mount the hard drives on the file system. Then you can completely re-install Vista. Download the drivers first from Gateway. You can get a Vista installation iso file from:
http/en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/w/microsoft_os/3317.2-3-microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso-download-links-digital-river.aspx
and follow the instructions there to install Vista. Good luck.

 

[jenlyeng001]

Best answer selected by jenlyeng001.

 

[jenlyeng001]

By all means back up any important data files to your external drive using ubuntu which should mount the hard drives on the file system. Then you can completely re-install Vista. Download the drivers first from Gateway. You can get a Vista installation iso file from:
http/en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/w/microsoft_os/3317.2-3-microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso-download-links-digital-river.aspx
and follow the instructions there to install Vista. Good luck.

Thanks zdbc13!! I am downloading the Vista reinstall files now! I was just gonna buy a reinstall disc off Ebay, you saved me a few bucks! YAY

I don't believe my son has done much of anything to need to do a back-up, but all I know is that he wants Windows back. Using Ubuntu was great to determine that the HD was not completely wasted, but the OS format is very foreign, especially when we live in a primarily Windows world. ;-) Not to mention that there's many games and such that aren't compatible yet with Ubuntu....14 year olds can't wait too long.

 

[jenlyeng001]

I want to thank everyone who helped me figure out what I needed to do to help my son with his laptop!

I want to say that while Ubuntu is free and great for those with no other options, it is a whole different format than what me or my son have been made used to by using Windows for so long. If you can learn the format and navigate it, you will love it!

With the link that zdbc13 provided, I will be creating the ISO disc and reinstalling Windows (maybe keep Ubuntu as a dual boot option).

I do also want to make mention that even though Ubuntu showed me that my HD wasn't fried (Windows would not boot whatsoever), it didn't "fix" the black screen about the HD failing that I was getting before I installed Ubuntu. I suspect that there is a problem with the HD and in a matter of time it will fail, but until then we will hopefully get the Vista reinstall to do what it should have done to begin with, which was to actually boot.

 

[jenlyeng001]

If the Ubuntu live disk works and you can read to your hard drive then I recommend either loading ubuntu to the laptop or re-loading windows from scratch. If you can get a vista installation disk you should be able to use the windows key on the under side of the laptop to reload it.

use this link:
http/en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/w/microsoft_os/3317.2-3-microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso-download-links-digital-river.aspx

ZDBC13...I have an oh nooo problem.

After I burned the Vista Reinstall ISO and started loading Windows, I was getting to a certain point and it wouldn't let me complete the installation. It was in regards to the hard drive partition needing NTSF format. So I went back through Ubuntu (using the disc as live) and used the Gnome Partition Editor since it wouldn't let me just create a new partition (I have no idea what I had done before to have caused that to happen). Anyway, I successfully created two NTSF partitions (one roughly 65 GB and the other 10 GB), or so I thought. They are both primary partitions. I did not set up a Fat32 because I don't recall having seen one before I installed Ubuntu as my only OS (due to the original Windows install having had failed). I do believe that since I tried to reinstall Windows over Ubuntu, that Ubuntu would need to be reinstalled??? (my partition showed all space available except for a very small amount, probably for running Ubuntu Live CD...not sure about that though). I am not sure about that though....I need some advice on what to do there.

So today, I was trying to reinstall Windows and I got a blue error screen. I really wish I could add a photo here as I took one with my cell. It would be so much easier for you to see it than for me to type it, but I will since I have never seen this screen before and what I did wrong to have this come up. FYI, I have not done any of this blue error screen troubleshooting tips. I came here first so I wouldn't accidentally screw something else up. Also, I am still able to boot to Ubuntu. Another "also" is the only software I did download was during Live CD and it was the Gnome Partition Editor, I did not "remove" that software before my most recent attempt to reinstall Windows (I do not know if that would cause any of the following problems in the error).

It says:
"Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed.
If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer
for any Windows updates you might need.

Run the driver verifier against any new (or suspect) drivers.
If that doesn't reveal the corrupting driver, try enabling special pool.
Both of these features are intended to catch the corruption at an earlier
point where the offending driver can be identified.

If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components,
restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup options
and then select Safe Mode.

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen,
restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed.
If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer
for any Windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware
or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.
If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart
your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then
select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:
*** STOP: 0x000000C5 (0X0000000B, 0X00000002, 0X00000001, OX894F3886)"

 

[zdbc13]

Use your Ubuntu to completely delete all partitions on the hard drive. Then install Windows and let it's own partitioning operation create your boot disk. If this doesn't work there's something else going on. Let us know....

 

[jenlyeng001]

Alrighty, when I tried to do the Windows reinstall it gave me an error basically stating that it was unable to complete and something about the hard drive and/or partition needed in the NTSF format. I have to assume that it was unable to create its own boot partition.
When investigating after I put the Ubuntu Live CD back in, I checked the HD and saw that there was no other partition usable other than the 200-something MB, which I am assuming that was just simply for the CD to run. It detected no other partition or unallocated space. It was quite odd. So after researching a little bit and seeing how I needed to get a designated partition 'assigned', I did that through the Gnome Partition Editor through Ubuntu. That worked to create the partition. However, that is the only software I downloaded. I can remove the software. It shouldn't delete the partitions though, right? It was so weird to have seen that there were no partitions on the HD, I've never seen anything like that before.
I will use Ubuntu now to delete the partitions I created yesterday. But before I do, do you have any insight as to why after I tried to reinstall Windows and then went back to the Live CD that there were no partitions on the HD? I know they were there because I created them when I installed Ubuntu the first time and wrote over Windows.

 

[zdbc13]

You're having some mighty weird things happening. Did you ever figure out what brand of hard drive is in there? If you know I would download the manufacturers diagnostics program, burn it to a bootable cd, and run it before going any further.

Also, your trouble may be caused by bad Windows installation media. Are you sure you have a good install DVD? If not you could download an iso and make a new one or make an install USB. Think about that.