Gateway MX8711 Notebook Logo
Posted on Apr 11, 2008

Gateway MX8711 no power, battery.....what?

My laptop suddenly wont turn on. When I press the power button the red light flashes like the battery is dead. The computer would not power on or charge when plugged in. So I thought I had a bad power cord. I used my circuit tester to see if I was getting power all the way through the power cord. Sure enough, I was. Power cord is fine. Then I hooked up my circuit tester to the part the connects to the battery to give it its charge, sure enough, I got power there too. So I thought I had a bad battery. I ordered one and got it in the mail, put the battery in and plugged it in. Nothing happened. I didn't even get the blinking red light that the other battery gave me. There is a little meter on the battery itself and the old one shows its lowest level on the meter, and the new battery shows nothing.

I thought that the computer should still power on without the battery and still plugged into the wall outlet. Mine doesn't. What could be the problem?

The only thing that I think I could check is the CMOS battery, I could replace that, but I cant power the computer on to get the current settings to input if the computer does power on afterwards.

SUGGESTIONS PLEASE.....THANKS!!!

  • 9 more comments 
  • mountain510 Apr 11, 2008

    Is it possible for power to get to the battery without going through the motherboard? My circuit tester shows power going to the battery at the battery connection.

  • weirdscience Jul 27, 2008

    I am having the same issue with my MX8711 notebook. I was using it when it stopped and powered completely off. I have contacted Gateway and they want me to sent it in. The online support indicated it was the AC adapter. I have checked it and have 19.2VDC on the load side of the adapter. I went to Best Buy and they told me the same thing with the AC adapter. There is clearly an internal issue that they don't know or won't admit. I have tried to take it apart and have stopped due to the difficulty in getting to the backside of the mother board. I you hear of any other solutions let me know. Thanks

  • computerpain Jul 31, 2008

    I am having the same problem with my MX8711. When I push the power button the battery LED flashes red. I can not use the laptop without the battery, either.

  • Tony Lane Aug 10, 2008

    I have the exact same problem. It is related to the power port I believe. I think the connection is loose and it needs to be repaired. I hate Gateway. I will never buy them again. I had issues with the power adapter also and I had to buy a replacement after only 6 months!

  • 1steflik Dec 08, 2008

    tried to get to the mother board to check the connections. Cannot get the top piece off. (The one with the keyboard on it) The two hole where the top latches in are holding it from comomg off. Due you have a clue on how to unfasten these two latch holes?

  • D Porter Dec 17, 2008

    i have the same exact problem as the others, yet when I use my roommate's power adapter the laptop works fine. It charges up properly and everything. Two totally different brands of adapters.....very wierd

  • momacinm Feb 28, 2009

    I'm having the same exact problem. Did you get yours fixed? Everyone keeps telling me it's the AC power cord too.

  • Anonymous Mar 03, 2009

    i have the same problem. i bought a new ac adapter and it has worked fine for the last couple weeks. the adapter has a green light indicating that it is working. however, my laptop won't even show that it is charging, nor will the red light flash when i try to turn on the computer.

  • SteveNYC78 Apr 06, 2009

    I have an MX8711 that shows NO LEDs at all!  It was running and then made a loud POP and then shut down.  It never turned on again - either plugged in or with the battery.  Nothing.


    I've disassembled the entire PC.  The power adaptor is fine according to my voltage meter.  The DC jack is solid and doesn't seem to be broken at all.  There isn't any other obvious sign of damage.


    Does anyone have a solution for this?  Should I replace the power button module (the little circuit board with the USB/Ethernet/Modem jacks)?  I can do my own soldering.


    I'd really appreciate any help you could provide!  Thanks!

  • Anonymous Apr 14, 2009

    No power what so ever and dc plug in reads good on multimeter. Is there a fuse on board somewhere?. help please

  • Anonymous Apr 24, 2009

    no power, had the ac adapter tested and its fine. battery drained out. tryed to turn on computer, flashed up for a few seconds and then died.



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  • Posted on Feb 04, 2009
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1steflik:

To disassemble:

1) remove the four screws on the rear of the two top hinges

2) fold the screen all the way back and unsnap the small bezel above the keyboard. Remove

3) remove three top screws holding keyboard, unplug, and remove

4) remove the center motherboard screw which was under the keyboard

5) Now you're ready for the main action: Remove battery, HDD, memory cover, memory

6) unplug WiFi antenna wires on bottom (under memory cover) and thread back through hole

7) unplug display and display backlight

8) remove all bottom case screws and top case screws

9) gently work around the top bezel, unsnapping it as you go around, and remove.


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  • Posted on Apr 11, 2008
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Does the connection on the notebook wobble badly if you plug in the adapter and try to wiggle it? If so, the solder joints that connect the power socket to the motherboard may have broken. This means no juice to the main board OR battery, and explains why you can't use the notebook without the battery. If you want to try to fix it yourself, I couldn't find a link to a service manual, so you'd have to wing it. But you can't make it not work any worse. If you try this, you will have to completely disassemble the unit to lift out the motherboard and flip it over. Take photos/draw sketches, and keep different hardware separated.. When you get to the back of the board, if the power socket solder joints are broken, but look resolderable, FIRST turn the board right-side up and epoxy the socket the the board. When the epoxy has set, THEN resolder the connections using a low-wattage iron (not a gun). Reassemble it, cross your fingers, and plug in the AC adapter. If the charging indicator lights up, the notebook should now work.

If you take the notebook to a service center, it will probably cost more than the price of a new notebook.

If you want ME to give it a try, you would pay shipping both ways to Northern California, and $20 just for me to see if I can get to the socket. If I can't, that's all you pay. If I can get to the socket, but it's not fixable, you would pay another $20 for me to put it back together. If I can fix it, your total would come to $100 (plus the two-way shipping). You would get a 90-day guarantee.

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This seems to be a very common problem with the gateway MX series laptops. The shop that I work at probably sees at least two or three of these machines every month. As far as we can tell it is a failed charge circuit that requires a full motherboard replacement. This however is a suboptimal fix because any replacement motherboard will presumably have the same problem down the road.

Generally we tell people that gateway sucks and that they should replace it with something else.

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  • Posted on Jun 16, 2010
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Hi everyone, I just had the exact same problem as SteveNYC78. I was working on the computer, went to the start menu to put it in sleep mode. The minute I clicked sleep, there was a pop sound and the computer turned off. There are no LEDs lit for anything not even to tell me the power plug is plugged in. It is dead as a door nail. Will not turn on and nothing lights up on it at all. Also, I head a click click click click noise every minute or so coming from around/underneath where the memory is located inside the machine. What the heck? What could have happened?? Please help.

IF there is no way to get this thing turned back on, is there an easy way for me to get files off my hard drive??

Thanks!

3 Related Answers

Anonymous

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  • Posted on Mar 30, 2008

SOURCE: Gateway MX8711 USB 2.0 problem

it`s normal when you plug a usb 2.0 device into a usb 1.0 port i get that all the time it`s ok

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Anonymous

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  • Posted on Jan 12, 2010

SOURCE: gateway mx8711 keyboard

yes

Anonymous

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  • Posted on Sep 30, 2010

SOURCE: Gateway MX8711 ran hot. Now will not power up

It sounds like the laptop has had some sort of thermal problem. Do you use it in a dusty/dirty environment? Did the laptop blower fan seem louder than it normaly was in the past? Any number of things (including age) could cause a laptop's fan to stop/work ineffectually and cause it to overheat.

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