Computer boots up-then shuts down-Help

I had the same issue. It was the power supply.

Matt B

You might try replacing the battery on the motherboard. The power button on most desktops is a lot like the Start button on Windows. It is used to start and stop the computer depending on setting in the BIOS and how log the button is held in. If the motherboard battery is dead the BIOS settings get lost so the computer may be confused about what it should be doing when the power button is depressed.

If it is immediately shutting down during boot, it is not overheating. It takes a while to overheat. I would look at the power supply. A bad battery on the mother board will not keep it from booting.

Fizz wrote:
It could be overheating.
Open it up and look inside, blow out the dust.

I've heard this as an issue many times. Could also be the fan has failed.

You might try to run diagnostics. When it starts to boot, do you see a message saying "Press F8 to enter setup mode" or something to that effect? Not sure what is standard on Gateways. Some computers use F10.

When booting the computer, you have to press that key when you initially see the "Gateway" splash screen, before Windows starts to load. If successful, it will take you to the setup menu where you should be able to run diagnostics. You will likely need to use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the highlight around on the menu to select what you want to do.

It could be overheating.
Open it up and look inside, blow out the dust.

Bad battery/power source.