To solve quadratic eigenvalue problems (QEPs), especially the gyroscopic systems, two methods are proposed: an iterative direct detection method (DDM) of the complex eigenvalues of the original QEP, and a split-linearization method (SLM) for finding the solvent matrix, which results to a standard linear eigenvalue problem (LEP) being solved to compute all eigenvalues by the symmetry extension. Reducing the dimension to one-half, the LEP is recast in a simpler QEP involving the square of the solvent. We set up two new merit functions which are minimized to detect the complex eigenvalues from the original QEP and a simpler QEP. For each eigen-parameter the merit function consists of the Euclidean norm of each derived eigen-equation, whose vector variable is solved from a derived inhomogeneous linear system. Then, the golden section search algorithm is employed to minimize the merit functions and locate the complex eigenvalue as a local minimal point. The results are compared with that computed by the cyclic-reduction-based solvent (CRS) method.