Vista Home Premium 64bit blackout!

M

MattW

New Member
Gateway/Acer NV14u laptop

Problem:
Pointer freezes and seconds later the screen goes black while external mouse is plugged in.


Here is a link to the computer specs.
Gateway Official Site: Shop - Notebooks - NV5214u Laptop Product Details

Other info:
I've owned it for almost a month with no problems at all. I was aware at the time of other people having this happen, but noticed almost every laptop on the market has issues with a few or more of them. Everything worked just fine with an external mouse used. Never had one problem...

I then formated my harddrive and everything seemed to be ok. Now, when I plug in the external mouse, every 5-15 minutes the pointer will freeze and shortly afterwards the screen goes black. Everything appears to be running still, but won't shut down unless you hold in the power button. It has no problems at all with it not plugged in.

I assumed it was a driver issue, or possibly a bad reinstall. After about a hour of looking through search results I have no idea what the deal is.

I have tried updating the graphics card drivers and installing all updates, but still get the same errors. Before I do anything else, thought it would be smart to seek help.

I don't believe it is a hardware issue, as it worked just fine up until the format.
I just hope it is something that can be solved with out another reinstall. I already loaded my backup files on to it lol.

Any idea's or solutions?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
What external mouse is it?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
Pretty much any mouse. I have three different ones, same result everytime. There seems to be a major problem with this. Lots of other people are having this issue. Gateway is offering no real support. Just the normal scripted help.

I am not sure if it has to do with the restore disc, owners have to creat once you frist use it, the install it's self, or just as simple as a driver. Two guy's who said on another forum that they installed Windows 7, say they still had the problem. But they never answered if they unplugged the external mouse.

I have never in all my years seen something like this. I really am not sure what to think. hardware, software, or driver issue, it has to be one of the three that much I know lol. I didn't think to try and plug in anything else into the usb ports, maybe there is some kind of internal conflict going on where the rest of my pc hate the usb ports lol. I'll look for some devices to try out, see if they yeild the same end results.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
Can you try a wireless mouse? It might be a mobo problem. Is device manager showing any exclamation marks?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
No, device manager is all good. And wireless was the first mouse used, a old dell optical, and then a targus mini mouse. Also, I tried Sony digital camra, PsP, and a Zune. None of them caused any problems, even when pluged in at the same time for upto 20 minutes. The mice all cause it to freeze with in 15 minutes everytime.

I do not however own a gateway mouse, and I really hope that is not it lol.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
Do any other USB devices freeze up? It's probably the mobo.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
The camara, psp, and zune all work fine. No issues at all, even when I had two or more pluged in.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
Get updates for the mouse you want to plug in and then update your drivers. Especially your gpu.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
I will do, and thanks for your help so far.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
Ok, looks like the mouse driver took care of it. I had to get the device manager open then plug in the mouse of choice, then hurry up and update the driver over the internet before it froze up. Strange that it caused it to freeze up and black out, but it worked.


Thanks again for your help.

Matt W.

Edit: Seems I spoke to soon lol. It worked for longer then normal this last time, but it froze up shortly after this post. I guess it's back to trying until I get it.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
What mouse driver is it? Look for the driver direct from the manufacturer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
Here is a list of everything I have done.

Formated the hard drive twice
" well three times total, it was after the first install that this started. worked fine prior"
Updated graphics drivers
Updated mouse drivers
Updated Bios
Updated touch pad
Updayed key board
Chat with a Gateway Rep who suggested to do the above.

Maybe I was wrong and it's not the install. Could it be a hardware issue with the USB ports? I tired plugging in other devices, none of them cause it to freeze up and black out.

It's just getting really fusturating. It's a good computer, runs smooth, lots of memory and storage and doesn't have any problems aslong as I don't use a exturnal mouse. Which just isn't any good.

Anyone know of anything I haven't tried or if it could be faulty hardware or signs of hardware failure?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
I would be curious to know what it would do with the laptop plugged in, the power management set to 'always on' and the screen saver disabled.
 

My Computer

System One

It's been plugged in everytime set to High proformence. Which I edited to keep everything on always when pluged in or not.

Update: I just got off the phone with a friend who is a IT guy. He said since the mice I was using are a little bit old, 4-2 years old, so to try and enable the usb 1.0 support from the bios menu. Could that of been some how changed during the format I did? I am using a new Microsoft mouse right now and it hasn't caused any problems for almost two hours. Which is very good news.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
As an aside, you could try a clean boot. But a new mouse should do it. Check your bios in the peripheral menu.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
But a new mouse should do it
Click to expand...

Boy I wish I would of known that two or three days ago lol. Thanks for everyones help. I guess it was just a mouse age problem. I'm not going to worry about the legacy usb enable unless this happends again. Not much know how with it comes to Bios, other then you could really mess some stuff up if you screw around.

As is right now it's been 4 hours and all is well. I'll just brake down and get a newer wireless mouse, probably need to anyways.

I'll say it's solved.


For now! "creepy X files music"
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
The BIOS is relatively simple. Just don't set a password by mistake. What mouse are you using now? Mark this thread as solved by clicking on the exclamation mark.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
Frostmourne said:
The BIOS is relatively simple. Just don't set a password by mistake. What mouse are you using now? Mark this thread as solved by clicking on the exclamation mark.
Click to expand...

I am using a new Microsoft wired mouse. A extra one I got from work the other day. I'll go shopping this weekend for a new wireless mouse.

As for the BIOS, I couldn't find the peripheral menu. Like I said, I have very little experience when it comes to the BIOS. Is it abnormal not to have that menu on the BIOS screen?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway/Acer NV5214u
    CPU
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 QL-64 Dual-Core Processor (2.1GHz, 667MHz
    Memory
    4096MB Dual-Channel DDR2 sDRAM Support
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon® HD 3200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic pnp
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA hard drive
    Mouse
    alps pointing device touchpad
    Internet Speed
    comcast broadband plus
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