Gateway tech support forums

[Schmengie]

Hello,my Gateway DX4831 desktop randomly shuts down and restarts. Sometimes the restart fails and the screen goes black. When that happens I get one long and two short BIOS beep codes. Unplugging the computer for a few minutes clears the codes and the computer will restart and run normally for a while, sometimes a few hours, and then shuts down and tries to restart again. No blue screens or error messages are ever displayed. This is driving me nuts. The BIOS beep code apparemntly means there's an error in the video BIOS RAM or a horizontal retrace failure was encountered. Is this a video card failure or could the power supply be at fault? There are no actual video display problems, everything looks perfectly normal. Thank you.

 

[benski]

Have you checked temps? Is it possible the card is overheating?

 

[dextermat]

Hi,

Every time I see those problem with gateway, it's the PSU failing.

But like you said the bios error would lead to video card problem.

Do you have an onboard video card... might be the whole motherboard failing.

Personally

1 - I would test with another power supply

2 - if you still have problem change to another video card (if not integrated)

3- if those failed: get 1 stick of memory (or other memory)

If all those didn't make a difference it probably means your mobo is dieing..


good luck

 

[Schmengie]

Thanks for your quick responses, they're much appreciated. The CPU temp was 39C and neither the computer case nor the power supply felt hot. I removed the CPU fan and shroud and cleaned out what dust there was and re-seated the video card. Then I shut down, unplugged the computer and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Before I plugged it back in, I pushed and held the power button for about 15 seconds to 'drain' residual electricity from the motherboard. I left the side panel off and set up a small room fan to blow air into the computer and since then the computer seems OK. CPU temp is now only 26C. I'll leave it that way for a day or two to see if the problem comes back. Thanks again.

 

[Schmengie]

Problem solved! Regardless of the beep codes and the fact that the power supply never showed a sign of over-heating, that's what was causing the trouble. My Gateway was equipped with an ultra-cheap FSP 300-Watt PSU, so cheap it doesn't even have it's own power switch. You can buy this POS on-line for less than $20 - the only surprise is that it lasted for a whole year. I replaced it with a CoolerMaster GX 450 Watt PSU and my computer's running better than ever. Thanks again!

 

[edwardsmith]

Please Check the temp of your PC it might be chance of system overheating. if the temp of your system is ok then you contact with your system gateway team member for solving your problem