Did I break it? Three short beeps at boot time...

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lasergtx

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Wannabe Geek

#13572 17-May-2007 22:18

Today i opened up my (old) computer to reinstall a pci card that had become mislodged. When i turned it back on, there was no picture, and there was about 3 short beeps from the pc speaker. Just wondering what the beeps mean, why there's no picture and if my pc has finally broken.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#71083 17-May-2007 22:25

According to this page, three short beeps is a memory errory. Have you touched anything else without being fully grounded? If so it could have zapped the memory, controller or motherboard. You might have to take to a repair shop to check it now.

lasergtx

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#71086 17-May-2007 22:56

how do i know what bios i have? it's actually one long, 2 short beeps

lasergtx

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#71087 17-May-2007 23:01

Turns out it's award bios. Ill have a look tomorrow

bradstewart

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#71089 17-May-2007 23:09

Award BIOS + 3 beeps = dead RAM

rscole86

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#71091 17-May-2007 23:24

here are some beep codes for award

So it looks like it is cideo related to me. I had a similar problem, and fixed it by updating my bios.

grant_k

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#71094 17-May-2007 23:55

lasergtx: how do i know what bios i have? it's actually one long, 2 short beeps

That particular combination of Long + Short + Short beeps indicates a Video Card problem.

Maybe it isn't seated correctly in the slot, or maybe it has failed.

If you decide to buy a replacement, make sure that it is the correct version of AGP (4x or 8x). The edge connector is different for these 2 types and if you get the wrong one, you will damage the Video Card and / or motherboard.

pando

235 posts

Master Geek

#71114 18-May-2007 09:29

Beeeep beep beep and video card sounds family. Had a PC with the video card half seated and I suspect it broke something as that card never worked again and the beeeep beep beep was all too familiar.

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bradstewart

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#71121 18-May-2007 10:42

Odd, I got those same three beeps but the problem was the RAM.

weblordpepe

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#71176 18-May-2007 18:20

We've all been there.

'Yesss my new computer bits from the store all assembled. This is going to be one killer of a gaming rig.'

Press power button..

'BEEEEEP BEP BEP'

....If you've got a AGP or PCI-E video card in there then its pretty easy to bump those things. Lots of tiny wee pins. I had a situation not long ago where a user's monitor fell off the table and the video card wasn't screwed in correctly or tight enough. Turns out the monitor falling off actually pulled the graphics card out of its socket ever so slightly. ..BEEEEP BEP BEP.

Gollam

47 posts

Geek

#71485 21-May-2007 11:52

If you are confident - get yourself a static wrist strap from somewhere like Dick Smith - and wear it!!.
Turn off the computer and disconnect from the mains.

Try removing and reseating any cards plugged into the PCI sockets (sockets on the motherboard towards back of machine usually)
You can also try removing and reseating the memory strips also located on the main board.
If you have more then the video card plugged into the PCI sockets, try removeing them all and test to see if machine still beebs.

If you are not confident - find a PC person who is....

Cheers

Gollam

lasergtx

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#71998 23-May-2007 21:39

Computer no longer beeps. Now it doesn't load. Stays on the windows blue screen with a very long hourglass.

grafyx

18 posts

Geek

#73414 5-Jun-2007 03:55

Don't give up too quickly on the machine.

In my experience, unless you are careless with connectors and physically damage them or connect them incorrectly in some way, it's relatively rare to actually break something while you're prodding around inside, even if you've been a bit sloppy with antistatic precautions.

If there is a problem, it's nearly always that something has become dislodged after pulling stuff around.

it goes without saying that you should always make sure the PC is switched off and unplugged before doing anything, and if possible, ground yourself with an anti-static wrist strap.

Check that all connectors are properly seated, not just the PCI, AGP etc. cards but also the RAM strips, ribbon cables to the hard disks and CD / DVD drives and so on.

Particularly with video cards, especially if the PC case isn't exactly square and rigid, (often the way with older machines) the card might seem to fit OK in its slot until you tighten the screw that holds it to the back of the case, and then it pulls out slightly at the opposite end. If that's the case, it may well cause a problem, which you might be able to sort out by carefully bending either the card's mounting bracket or the PC case flange where the card attaches.

Blue screen faults can be caused by RAM failing to seat properly, as I found out myself recently.