Chosen Solution
I have a laptop that is similar to the Gateway NE56R49u but seem to be having issues recently. It worked a couple days ago, but now all of a sudden it stopped working. The laptop powers up and the LEDs are fine, but the fan starts up for a couple of seconds then stops, and the lights still seem to be on its. just the fan stops. I tried disconnecting everything from the motherboard but nothing seems to fix the issue. I also put new thermal paste on cpu but no luck. I’m unsure if theres anything else I can try because replacing the motherboard is the last resort but its not preferable.
Hi @technoob231 , Wondering if there is a corrupted BIOS preventing a normal start. Try a power refresh and check if this resolves the problem. Here’s how to do this: a. Disconnect the charger if connected b. Remove the main battery from the laptop c. Open the laptop and remove the RTC (real time clock) coin cell battery from the battery holder on the motherboard. Be careful when working inside a laptop. Here’s a image taken from a teardown video which shows the location of the battery (or I think that is it -couldn’t find a video for your model so hopefully this is the same or similar). Remember the orientation of the battery for when it has to be reinserted. Usually it is +ve on top - marked on the battery. Also when the battery is out, if possible measure the voltage. If it is <2.6V DC replace it. The battery type is printed on the battery. The RTC battery is non rechargeable battery that has a life span of ~5 years Once it gets too low (or is flat - no pun intended) it is possible for the BIOS to become corrupted and prevent a normal startup. Removing all the power sources including the RTC battery allows corrupted BIOS settings (if any) to revert back to their factory default condition.
(click on image to enlarge for better viewing) d. Press and hold the laptop’s Power button for 30 seconds to drain any residual power from the laptop. e. Reinsert the RTC battery - remember the orientation. f. Reassemble the laptop and reinsert the main battery. g. Connect the charger and switch on and check if it starts OK. If it starts there may be a message about the date and time being incorrect. This is normal as the BIOS has been reset. Once the date and time have been corrected the message won’t appear the next time that the laptop is started.
