The Mother Board

[jboring]

Hey Everyone,

I am having some issues with my moms laptop. It's a gateway and the specifications can be found here:

http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/2007/Avalon/2905965R/2905965Rsp3.shtml

From what research I have done it seems that a laptop will turn on without the battery. My initial thought was just that it needed a new battery. Well, it will turn on sometimes after I removed the battery but it won't stay on long. This is with the battery completely removed from the back and the unit plugged into the wall power. It will stay on for a bit then it will just shut down randomly and sometimes it won't turn on at all.

So I am kind of stumped to what the issue is with it. I don't want to have her buy a new battery and waste money if that isn't the issue with it.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

[Karlsweldt]

A laptop should run without a main battery, but it is there for surges that normally come with any computing process. All the laptop batteries have a thermal fuse inside, as well as a 'master' fuse to prevent fires and short-circuit hazards. If the thermal fuse opens, the battery pack is useless.
Easy enough to test a battery with a small bulb having the same voltage as the battery puts out.. nominally 12~14 volts. But limit its current to about 1/2 amp maximum. If the battery has only 3 terminals, two would be the 'main' battery terminals, the other would be a thermal fuse tap.. at the same polarity as one of the other terminals. If there are more than 3 terminals on the pack, then some experimentation would be needed.
The older Ni-Cd battery type had problems with 'memory charge' and would default to a very short service cycle. The newer Li-Ion types and Ni-Mh types do not have that problem.
But would be nice to have a spare battery for portability.
But wait a second! There are usually three batteries in laptops. The main battery, of course.. and the BIOS battery, which retains system settings and the clock. There also is a 'sleep' battery that keeps the memory alive when the system is paused for a time. If the BIOS battery is more than 3 years old, likely it is failing.. and the system settings are defaulting. And if the real-time clock is not working, many systems will refuse to show signs of life.
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F@H.. to solve mankind's maladies.. in our lifetimes!

[Pette Broad]

The problem is likely to be with the power socket. Unfortunately, they just wear out with use over the years. From my own experience it's the achilles heel of laptops, I've had a few brought to me over the years all with the same problem. It can be repaired by an expert but it's expensive. What normally happens is that the socket comes away from the motherboard especially if the power plug takes a knock when the power line is plugged in or if it's being plugged in and out on a regular basis. You can try wiggling the power plug in, sometimes fixes it for a while.

Pete
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[jboring]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Ok, so I booted up the laptop with the computer plugged in and the battery removed. The real time clock is functioning fine and all the system settings are as intended and haven't reverted back to the factory settings. I think that I can pretty much rule out that it's the BIOS battery with that information correct?

You'll have to humor me here, I'm not exactly a laptop kind of guy but when I just remove the battery as it is there is only one terminal that actually "connects" to the machine. I'm not sure if there are other terminals that I am not seeing or what but that is what I see from just simply removing the battery and looking at it and the machine.

As for the plug in, obviously I can't rule anything out yet but just simply plugging it in and turning the computer on without the battery it boots up fine without any wiggling of the power cord or anything of that nature.

So, I guess my next question would be if the laptop would run normally when plugged into the wall without the battery attached? I have it running right now but without a doubt it will turn off randomly here in a little while.

So I guess the next step would be to find a way to test the battery? I'm still a little confused with everything, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

[Copper]

three thing i have found with gateway laptops that cause this, bad stick of ram, bad hardrive and a bad ram socket
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"Only two thing are infinite, the universe and human stupidity,and Im not sure about the former." Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

[Karlsweldt]

There is a possible cause for the shut-downs I forgot to mention. The modern laptop must have a fan to keep the CPU at normal temperatures. The fan cycles on and off as needed, and exhausts air out the back vents. Vents under the case and near the front bring in fresh air. And a lot of dust. In about 6 months to a year, the dust may cause restricted air flow.. and then the thermal safety circuits kick in.. causing shut-down. Canned air may work to clear out some of the debris, but it is better to open the unit and do a more thorough job.
Placing the laptop on a soft or fuzzy surface can restrict the free air flow into them.
Here is a link to the Gateway battery for that model. You can sort of "zoom in" on the photo, to see details. At the front left of the photo, note what looks like several small slots. That likely is the connector strip for the battery. If you look in the recess for the battery, you should see several metal spades protruding, to mate with that connector.
If your laptop has the correct date and time, then the BIOS battery is still good. But keep in mind that 3~4 year limit on its life. Don't be concerned with the "sleep" battery, as it is a rechargeable type that is topped off whenever the power pack is connected.
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F@H.. to solve mankind's maladies.. in our lifetimes!

[Mr T]

Things power up fine, but when they get warm, expand and cause a bad contact, I am with Pette on this (seen it before) with the DC socket - does the battery charge?
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I have been programming on computers since the ZX81.
I am an apprentice trained Electronics Engineer with qualifications to back it up.
I have been repairing computers since 1996.
Yet to some people I still know nothing...

[jboring]

Thanks again for the responses guys.

Mr T, I will find that out for you. I'll check and see if the battery charges or not and post an answer here.

Thanks again to everyone for really great help!