Beeeeeep! bep! bep!

[adelante]

When I turn on my computer, it says "beeeeeeep bep bep"
I have to turn on/off more and more times before it finally is running... this time it was for 20 minutes!?

What is wrong??

------- Details ------
I click on the powerbutton, I can hear the harddisks and coolers start to rotate, but then instead of a single "bep" it says the "beeeep bep bep". The light in the mouse gets on, but the monitors stays black. The harddisks and the coolers are running. I turn off the computer again and then turn it on again, and again, until I suddently hear one of my monitors begin to lighten up and hear the single "bep". my computer is a few years old. Someone said it might be the battery, I have tried to change that, but no result...

What can it be??

 

[Auger282]

you need to find the manual for your motherboard. those beeps are service codes .. but there are no standards it depends on the manufacturer

 

[DTSMAN]

Possibly the memory.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[maxthedork]

Kinda sounds like a video problem. What make/model motherboard do you have? More specifically, what BIOS is it? Different BIOSes have different beep codes, but the one you describe sounds like a video issue. Try opening the system and re-seating the video card.

 

[adelante]

It is a MSI motherboard but I cant really find any version numbers on it.

I have taken out my PCI videocard, and now it boots without any problems.

My BIOS is:
Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG

After a few seconds it says:
FastTrak100 TM "Lite" Bios Version 1.13M (Build 24)
... but I think its something different

Can I do anything to make the videocard work again?
- 3 days ago it worked
- 2 days ago I had to turn the power on and off 20 times before it would boot
- yesterday, I put it into another PCI slot, and it worked for a while then when I laer tried to change the monitor settings the computer frooze

 

[paparazi]

adelante
Well at least it looks like you have traced the source of your problem (video card) it sounds like it just isn't initializing (starting) which would indicate a bad card BUT:
You could try using an eraser (pencil rubber) on the terminals (both sides) these contacts can tarnish creating resistance.
It is also possible that the start voltage is too low indicating poor voltage control from the power supply.

Martin


We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[dglienna]

I concur. Try a new PSU first. Easiest way.

-David
2006 Microsoft Most Valueable Professional (MVP)
2006 Dell Certified System Professional (CSP)

 

[adelante]

Thanks alot, alot!!

I actually heard a guy having a problem with the PSU (power supply unit) too.

What exactly am I going to check and how do I do it??
... in the BIOS? in Windows? I would really like to know cuz this guy never told me how he diagnized the problem.

I just tried the eraser trick on the terminals and "rubbed" the videocard a few times in and out the slot to make sure there was no dust or anything inthere, and it worked on the first boot! ..BUT.. on the next 20 tries nothing happend... "beeeep bepbep" again... it's SO unstable...

---- if I'm going to giving up ----
2 weeks ago I had 3 monitors, now I only got 1 connected, I feel so limited! I'm planning to buy a new computer soon, but if I can wait a few months I would prefer that.

In my current machine I got PCI slots and 1x AGP. Can I buy a new PCI videocard for this old PC and use it in the new one? or is PCI outdated on new computers? .. I hear about "PCI-express" everywhere, so I dont know if "PCI" is gone.

 

[paparazi]

adelante
It might also be worth inspecting the motherboard for bad capacitors (buldging, leaking)
See this site, it will give you some pointers on what to look for:

http://www.badcaps.com

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[funkytunaa]

It sort of sounds more like a memory problem, try reseating your RAM.

When you took out the video card and rubbed it and it worked, did you have the case side open at that stage and the next 20 times that it didn't work did you have the case side closed? I've had quite a few times where the physical case created problems as when you screw the side on it warps the cards and memory seating so that there is a bad connection.

 

[maxthedork]

Have you tried the PCI video card in a different machine? If you can isolate it down to just that video card, then I'd recommend just replacing the faulty card. As for PCI-Express, if your current motherboard doesn't support it, don't even bother looking into it. PCIE don't fit in PCI slots, a PCIE slot is a whole other animal, like AGP.