Problem re-installing OS on Gateway laptop.

[Joelitozv]

Hi there! Need help with my uncle's laptop (Gateway M-6843) which is now useless. Why? Because the HDD went dead and when I try to install its original win7 Home 32 bits on a new HDD, the BIOS doesn't allow the keyboard to work in the final steps. At the beginning, I get this message "X:\windows\system32>". I make it go through, but when I need to type the Computer's name, the keyboard is dead. I have tried with an external USB keyboard but it didn't work either. Please, help me to solve this problem.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

Have you tried resetting the BIOS to factory defaults? The keyboard and built in mouse are controlled initially by the bios.

Remove all power from the laptop. Then remove the main battery, then remove the CMOS battery for at least 30 minutes to totally reset the BIOS memory.

Restore the CMOS battery, main battery and power supply/charger and see if the laptop will boot up and accept the keyboard. If not, look for a new laptop. Used laptops, even ones running Windows 7, are pretty easy come by. I have several I'd sell really cheap.

Good Luck!

 

[Snick]

Here's a like to lifewire in regards to BIOS (basic input/output system) reset click here.

 

[Megahertz07]

You should have mentioned that you're trying to install Vista 32 Bits Problem re-installing OS on Gateway M-6843 — Acer Community

Where did you get the Vista installation disk?

 

[SIW2]

You seem to be missing drivers.

You should be able to find vista/win 7 drivers.

Integrate them into boot.wim image 2 and install.wim ( whatever image number you are installing).If you are installing win7 Ideally you should integrate into winre.wim image 1 also.

https://drp.su/en/laptops/gateway/m-6843?os=windows-7-x86

 

[Joelitozv]

I'm trying to install the original Win Vista Home 32 bits that came with the laptop. It's the original disc from Gateway!!!

 

[SIW2]

Is there a driver disc also?

 

[mrjimphelps]

Have you tried a different keyboard, or have you tried plugging your keyboard into a different USB port?

If that doesn't work, then you could test the condition of your laptop by installing Linux Mint on it. The new hard drive is empty, so you won't erase anything in the process. And you might find that you like Linux Mint better than Windows.

Go to the following website and click on the Xfce 32-bit link:

https://linuxmint.com/download.php

This will download an ISO file to your hard drive. Put a writeable DVD (DVD+R) in your drive and then double click on the ISO file that you downloaded. This will allow you to make the DVD into a bootable Linux disk.

Boot the laptop with the DVD, and this will bring you into Linux Mint. At this point, you can either run it from the DVD (which means that you don't need to install anything on the hard drive), or you can click on the Install icon to install it.

If you got this far, and your keyboard works, then there is nothing wrong with the keyboard or with the computer. However, if your keyboard doesn't work in Linux, then you likely have a hardware problem with the computer or the keyboard.

 

[looked]

I'm trying to install the original Win Vista Home 32 bits that came with the laptop. It's the original disc from Gateway!!!

The original installation disc might not have the SATA drivers for the hard disk (during installation Windows might ask for it) so you'll need to disable SATA from within the BIOS (sorry don't remember how it's called there) and once the installation is finalized you can install the SATA drivers and enable the function in the BIOS.

 

[Megahertz07]

If he disable the SATA drivers, how is he going to install Vista on a SATA disk?

 

[Joelitozv]

Hello nice and wonderful people! I have advanced a bit because I managed to install Win 7 Home without the keyboard (I could copy "PC" and pasted as Computer name "PC"), and after that everything was fine with the mouse. However, I have founded out that for the laptop to boot Win 7 I have to press ESCAPE once or twice, and that sometimes the external keyboard works, but sometimes it doesn't work. The internal keyboard sometimes works with some keys (about 70% of the keys). So, it seems to be a Bios problem. It has version 95.10 and I don't think there is a newer version.

 

[Joelitozv]

Hi there nice people! After I could install a fresh Win 7 on this Gateway M-6843 laptop, now I cannot enter the BIOS because the internal and the external keyboards don't work. The laptop boots up with the CTRL key pressed (I know it because of the virtual keyboard shows it), and later only some keys of the internal keyboard work (the external keyboard never works). How am I going to solve this mess? Help me, please!

 

[Megahertz07]

During POST you can't enter BIOS? Some OEM computers uses F2 or esc to enter BIOS.
Does the external keyboard has PS2 or USB interface?
Open Device Manager. Is there any yellow alerts of missing drivers?

 

[Joelitozv]

Hi Megahertz07! It's a USB external keyboard, it works after Windows 7 loads, but not before. The internal keyboard is a piece of crap. No yellow marks in Device manager. I'm about to give up with this bad product (I have read a lot of people dealing with this type of problems in the same model: Gateway M-6843). Thanks for your interest in helping me.