Gateway laptop won't charge or turn on

Hello,
Just got a used laptop from a friend, the battery is new, but now when I try to turn it on it won't even start up. Even with the battery plugged in nothing happens. After I got it I got the wireless fixed then got online using wii-fi at a cafe for about half an hour. I took it home and charged it all night, leaving the laptop off. Then I went to class the next night and used it for about two hours before it suddenly shut down. My friend told me that it was "fried" but that I should just plug it in at home. While at school the light was on telling me that it was charging. I took it home and tried to continue charging it but the lights wouldn't turn on anymore and the computer itself refuses to turn on. I have no idea what to do, I've tried charging it without the battery. I tried leaving the battery in. I tried charging it with the battery in but nothing works. My power is working fine in both sockets because I tested it with a lamp thats working fine. If anyone knows if I can do anything without getting it checked/repaired, I would greatly appreciate it. The laptop is a Gateway using Windows XP, so its somewhat old. According to my friend, nothing is broken on the inside due to shortouts or by dropping it.