Okay, so I'm doing my thing this morning and all of a sudden my screen goes black and that's it no function. I reboot and get this message:
"Device driver got stuck in infinate loop. This indicates problems with the device itself or with the devise driver programming the hardware incorrectly." Error ATi2dvag.
I called the Geek Squad, and they can't even come to fix it until next Monday!!! I do have a phone call into a couple of locals who hopefully can get here sooner, and we do have a desk top that I'm using now, but I feel like I've lost a body part.
See if the laptop will boot with the windows/recovery CD (but don't do a reinstall or recovery). If doesn't then there is probably a hardware fault. If it does, then if you are confident then you can try using the windows recovery console, but do not overwrite your installation of windows or reset you laptop back to new. At least, not until you have backed up your data and settings.
The recovery console can let you repair your windows installation without losing anything, but I do not know if it would work in this situation.
John "There are two types of problems: those that solve themselves, and those which you can do nothing about" Isabel Allende's grandmother
Posts: 1582 | Location: Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia | Registered: 26 March 2003
However, I am taking it in this morning to get the hard drive backed up and then I'm shipping it off of Gateway for repair. We bought the extended warrarnty. I just don't have the confidence to try and deal with this myself.
So, I got my laptop back today and the typeface looks different. More disjointed somehow. Also I think I need to reactivate Java script because I can't view video's. Does anyone know how to check and see if it's on?
My desktop crashed a week ago. Fortunately I keep everything backed up so it wasn't too hard to put the lot back.
As to Java, click on Start and then on Control Panel. Click on Network and Internet Connections then on Internet Options. When that opens, click on the Advanced tab. Halfway down under Microsoft VM, you'll see 3 Java boxes. Put ticks in all of them if not there already.
Posts: 83 | Location: N.W. France | Registered: 05 July 2007
My *&^()%$#@! laptop crashed again. I TOLD THEM TO PUT IN A NEW HARD DRIVE LAST TIME, BUT NOOO...!
So this time Gateway is sending someone to my house to replace the hard drive, the mother board and something else. I need to take it to the Guru to get it backed up, AGAIN.
Ginger - I'm sorry to hear you are having problems again. Computers can be so frustrating especially if you are repeatedly having crashes. Hang in there and hopefully they will get it going again soon.
Okay, I am in Tourettes mode. I still don't have my laptop fixed. They mailed the wrong hard drive twice!!!! I need Windows XP and they keep sending me friggen Vista!!!! And the first time they sent it to the wrong address of the guy who was supposed to fix it. AHHHHHH!!! *&^% $#@ *(^*%$ ^%$%## !!!!!
keeps me away from the big brands such as Gateway, Dell, and HP.
I don't where this statement came from. Dell and Hp are nothing like gateway. Gateway is a well-documented failure in the PC industry, whereas Dell and HP have been its stars.
CDT is right. The problem has nothing to do with the hard drive. It's a graphic card device driver fault, and the clowns at gateway are their usual clueless selves.
It's to do with the poor quality support they provide - at least in Australia.
A friend of mine had a new HP and he was complaining that HP told him there was a problem with windows XP when he told them his problem asnd it would need to be re-installed. He was asking me how to back up his data. When he told me his problem it sounded like his DVD drive. I told him what exactly he should tell HP to convince them of the drive problem, but HP did not beleive it and told him to ship the drive at his own cost for both trips for them to test it. I said it would be cheaper to buy another drive at the local PC supplier than pay for the HP support.. Which he did, and on installation it worked perfectly. Seems like they have clowns at HP too.
One of the problems is that they sell through retail outlets but support is not through the retailer but directly with HP, far away in some capital city.
John "There are two types of problems: those that solve themselves, and those which you can do nothing about" Isabel Allende's grandmother
Posts: 1582 | Location: Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia | Registered: 26 March 2003
When he told me his problem it sounded like his DVD drive.
Man are you some sort of prophet??? I got my new hard drive today with XP, but.... guess what??? My DVD driver can't install it. Sooooo there sending a new driver plus new memory ASAP (yeah right )
If this wasn't so funny, I would be crying right now.
HP in the UK is pretty good. But they used to be a legend in the industry for being dull, it used to be said that if HP sold sushi they would advertise it as "the best cold, dead fish in the world".
Okay got my laptop up and running, spent almost 1 1/2 hours trying to reconfigure the wireless so I could get Outlook Express for my email.
Called Earthink to try and set up my email account again, and guess what???? MY FRIGGEN KEYBOARD DOSEN'T WORK!! If I type a "l" I get a 5, if I type a "k" I get a 7. My number one key and the "m" key don't show up at all.
The worst part is I just found out yesterday from the Guru that all my photos and email are gone. He couldn't back them up off the hard drive.
I think I did save the photo's in the Adobe Photo shop, so does that mean they're not lost forever?
Gateway is sending me a new keyboard ASAP. (Yeah, right!)
Also just so you know that they will not send you a new replacement computer after three major break downs. What they send you is a "new" refurbished piece of $#@*!
MY FRIGGEN KEYBOARD DOSEN'T WORK!! If I type a "l" I get a 5, if I type a "k" I get a 7. My number one key and the "m" key don't show up at all.
I don' t know about all the other problems but this sounds like you may have engaged the NumLk key which enables you to use the keyboard as a calculator.
That is my guess also. Here is a picture of a Gateway keyboard. It highlights where the numeric keypad is. To toggle this function off, try holding down the FN key and press the Pad Lock key (F9). You might also see a pad lock status indicator lit which signifies it is in the 'num lock' state and the numeric keypad is active.
My laptop keyboard that was supposedly being FedExed overnight last Wednesday was still not here today so I called and guess what? They didn't have any in stock!!! The tech assured me again that it was mailing today. Yeah right!!
I do have a phone call into a couple of locals who hopefully can get here sooner, and we do have a desk top that I'm using now, but I feel like I've lost a body part. 
) 