Gateway's support site is full of possibilities. Above and beyond the expected downloads and FAQs, it offers instant chat and remote assistance/screen sharing where after an applet download and installation, a technician can see your screen simultaneously with you. Both chat and remote assistance, however, do require altering your browser security settings before proceeding.
 
You can also download Big Fix, Gateway's diagnostic repair software, if it isn't already loaded on your model. The Web site is personalized with a series of dropdown boxes for your particular model, but the documents these boxes link to most of the time are within Microsoft's knowledge base.
 
The first tech rep had no idea how to solve our Wi-Fi problem and put us through to the "wireless department." The next rep had us immediately check our wireless light indicator on the front panel, then told us to press F2 to turn the radio on.
 
On our second call, Dustin of Ontario, Canada answered immediately. For the slow boot time he suggested a disk cleanup and disk defragmenter but did not inquire about recently-added software that could be causing the sudden problem.