This is a Gateway 600YGR that was working fine when I got a blue screen full of writing (couldn`t read it all) But I saw error and will now shut down. It shut down I started it back up and it froze.I shut it down and restarted it and only the fan runs no beep no lights nothing. Took it to a shopand was told its the motherboard. I have been trying to get the name of the manufacturer and part number from Gateway but keep getting the run around. Gateways part number is 3501244. Can anyone help me out with the name and part number?
:cry:

I have found that most gateway 600's freeze becouse of a flaw in the design of the heat sink. The mounting posts that hold the heat sink to the processor are soldered to the motherboard, the solder then breaks free after some time and heat. When gateway fixes this problem they just re-sloder the posts and send it back. I have created a step-by-step how to, to repair this problem. Best of all it will cost you less then $3.00. I am ataching the how to at the bottem of this post.

I'm having a similar problem with my gateway. I press the start button(from a cold start). Lights flicker once but from then on only the fan spins. To get it to boot I would have to strike the bottom several times in several places. So I figured that somthing was loos or the HD war going.

Why might the above mentioned repair work. When I try to start the machine it is cold. What do you thing about this.

TIA, D.

poepoe12002:
If the heat sink is broken completely loose three or four sides then you are not getting any heat transfer from the processor. This will cause the processor to heat up very quickly. It only takes a few seconds for the processor to hit its max tempture then the computer will freeze. If hitting it makes the problem go away for a short time I would guess that by hitting it you are forceing the heat sink to make limited contact to the processor. The only way to be sure would be to open your machine and see if the heat sink has broken loose. I hope this helps.

The company is Mundo.com The price for the motherboard is 399.95 the Website is http://www.mundocorp.com/600ygr.html. By the way mine died just like yours. The heat sink had broken from the MB and just quit.

Hope this helps

If you refer to my earlier post you will see how this type of problem can be fixed for a few dollers and a little of your free time. If you buy another motherboard it will just break in the same way shortly after you install it.

Kaid, thanks for putting together the presentation on the heat sink repair. I took one apart for a friend tonight and it does have one broken post. Your presentation does not mention if you need to bother with re-soldering or if inserting the screws will take the place of the solder. Also, my friends PC is not booting at all. A couple of lights flash briefly and then only the fan runs. Does this meen that the heat has damaged the processor or will the heat sink fix solve all problems in your opinion. I guess I will find out one way or another but if you think more repair will be necissary I will try to fix that now while I have the 350 screws removed (slight exageration). Thanks again.

Sorry about the late reply. The screws are ment to replace the solder. As for the processor, it is always possible that the heat has damaged the processor. I can only hope that the computers overheat shutdown is why the computer will not start. If the auto shutdown is working then once you make the repair the computer should start just fine. If not then you may need to look into another processor. Please let me know the outcome.

Kaid, I went ahead and did the fix on the four heatsink posts and everything seems to be working now. I have rebooted it several times and it seems to boot up fine each time. I was not able to find any screws at Lowes or Home Depot small enough (3.5mm x 6mm was the smallest they carry) so I borrowed from the key board area and a couple from the bottom of the PC. I will replace those when I find some small enough. Your diagrams were a big help. There are a couple of steps for complete motherboard removal that are not covered in your presentation but I figured it out easy enough. Thanks again for the great instructions.

Hi, I also wanted to thank you for the presentation, nicely done. I followed the process, unfortunately I have a black rather hard looking film on my CPU instead of gel, I cleaned it off, gelled it, and reassembledit and still no joy, I can't get to a boot screen, so I am guessing the CPU is fried. I have been looking for a replacement, any recommendations, and do you know what pin set it is? Gateway, only seems to quote that it is micro-FCPGA2, I can't seem to find one outside of docs on the Intel site? Am I limited to the 1.6Ghz, or can I, should I upgrade it? Or should I just sell it for parts and buy a new laptop? :rolleyes: