Need Help Pc Upgrade

[Jelle]

Thank you!

 

[Jelle]

Hello!
It's me again.
I have another problem with my computer.
When I push the turn on button, my pc turns on and starts making an awful lot of sound, just like it should. But here's the problem: my screen just stays black. It is turned on! And sometimes my computer starts making a BEEEEEEEEP-pause-BEEEEEEEEEEEEP-pause-BEEEEEEEEEEEEP sound. I don't know what to do! It worked yesterday. And my cables are connected.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Uh ohhh. Something has failed. Three long beeps? That is a code and is telling you the problem. Try looking it up online for your motherboard.

 

[Thagarr]

Yeah, this is not good, those codes are built in to the BIOS to give you a warning something is wrong. As Hylie points out, there is a meaning behind the codes, have a look at this list : PC Hell: BIOS Error Beep Codes

It should give you an idea of what the problem is. If your lucky, it is just one you your components, like your video card, has become unseated from it's socket.

 

[Jelle]

I think they are not three beeps. I think they would go on forever, if I didn't turn it off. I'll take a look next weekend. But something is seriously messed up...

 

[Thagarr]

Are there any lights anywhere on the case after you turn it on? Just a guess, without knowing for sure what your BIOS is, it sounds like a power supply issue to me.

 

[Jelle]

The lights turn on just fine. A really strong blue one om my moterboard, and a few more.

 

[Thagarr]

If the lights turn on and the fans spin up, then it probably isn't your power supply. check all the connections on the back of your computer, pull the connection and plug it back in, make sure they are seated properly.

Another thing you can try is re-seating your video card and memory, even if they are still seated properly, sometimes electronic components do strange things. Of course, you want to make sure it is fully powered off before you pull and re-seat any of the cards.

 

[Jelle]

I'll do that when I have time, school is very timeconsuming though...

 

[Jelle]

I've got time! Hallelujah!
And I have listened to the beeps of my computer, and I think it's

I have a recording made with my phone too, if someone would like to listen to the beeps for themselves. Mp4 in a zip (don't know why mp4, not mp3) is included.

 

[Thagarr]

Thanks for the file mate, that helps a bit, you have an Award BIOS, and I was able to track down the BIOS beep codes HERE. According to that chart, from what I heard in the audio clip, it is a continuous repeating beep, that tells me it is a memory problem.

There are still a lot of things we can try, first off, have you tried resetting all the connections on the back of your computer? If that doesn't work, the next step is to take the case off and look around inside, it's OK just to leave it off for now. It isn't working now, so you are really not going to screw up anything by playing with the guts. Make sure that you have grounded yourself by touching something metal and discharging any static electricity from your body first, static can cry computer components. Try pulling and re-seatting the memory first. Then the video card, if it is screwed in at the back, you will need to remove that screw. Try to make sure not to touch the actual connectors, the oil from your fingers can cause problems. If there is a power cable on your video card, try resetting that as well. You will also need to unplug the video cable from the back of the card, After it is reset and screwed back in, plug back in the video cable and try powering the system on.

Here is a short video showing what I mean by re-seatting :

 

[Jelle]

That case from the video is exactly like mine!

 

[Thagarr]

Interesting! Any luck with re-seating your components mate?

 

[Jelle]

Doing it right now!

 

[Jelle]

This is so awesome!

 

[Jelle]

First try it doesn't work, not even beep :'(
Second try it doesn't work again. No beeps this time either.

 

[Jelle]

And I took a look at my moterboard and saw the BIOS:
PhoenixBiosTM
D686 BIOS
ΩPHOENIX 1998
293293319

 

[Thagarr]

The manual I found for your motherboard says it is Award, ah well, just goes to show that you can't always trust what you read. Some motherboard makers use their own BIOS regardless of what the chips set says, making things even more confusing. Either way, it doesn't sound good, especially if it is not beeping now with the memory chips in the sockets.

You could try placing one stick in and turning the computer on, just to see if you can get to the BIOS screen. If that works, try replacing the memory one at a time, you may have just one bad stick of ram. Unfortunately, I don't think I can help much beyond this point without having your computer in front of me.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Thought I'd take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts, @Thagarr!

 

[Thagarr]

Anytime mate, I wish I could be of more help though.