just recently my computer started acting up on me. whenever i "restart" the computer, it will not restart and just make beeping noises for 20 seconds or so and won't boot at all. i turn the computer off and then i have to wait 20 to 30 minutes before booting up my computer (if i try turning it on before then, it will make those beep noises and won't boot). i thought the hard drive was the problem so i went out and bought myself a new hard drive but am still having the same problem. so now i know that the hard drive was ok...what can it be? i'm not really good with computers and any info/comments would be appreciated.
I'm not a computer expert, but I do recall having a computer beep at me and not boot properly after I installed new RAM memory that turned out to be incompatible with the existing RAM that was already in the machine. Is there any chance that you just added some RAM to the machine? If not, it might be possible that one of your RAM sticks has gone bad (or is occasionally showing bad upon startup). When I was troubleshooting the problem with the Dell technician a number of years ago, they pointed out that the 'beep codes' were in the instructions that came with the computer. The number of beeps is an indication of what the problem is. You may want to take a look at the documentation that came with your computer, then see if you can decipher the 'meaning' of the beeps. Good luck, -Eric
That may be something overheating in the computer. If you leave it off for 20 or 30 minutes that gives it time to cool. I would check that all the fans are working in your computer and make sure that there is a fan on your CPU.
why not take it to a repair shop rather than throw parts at it? it could be something even as simple as a bad power supply.. -qwik
Here's a site that decodes the beep codes for different manufacturers: http://www.compworks.faithweb.com/computers/pc/hardware/bios001.html
It's nice if you can pay someone to fix it for you but that can get expensive and sometimes you may tie your computer up for weeks. Things like that forced me into learning to fix things myself. I've made a couple of mistakes and I still do but at least now I don't have to wait or depend on someone else to help me. If you can't return the extra hard drive that you bought, save it and with it you can build a second/spare computer. All you need now is an upgrade kit for about $200 and a CDROM to build it. Most upgrade kits have the case, motherboard with CPU, RAM, built in networking, built in sound and video card etc. For about the same as you would pay for a few hours of a technicians time you have another computer. Then if something goes wrong with one, you always have a backup. Now if you're making hundreds or thousands of dollars a day trading it would be silly to waste your time fixing computers. As for myself, I'm still hoping for the day I'm in the position to justify calling a technician to work on my computers.
Two guesses: 1) Your CPU is going to die on you soon. 2) One of your memory sticks has gone bad. 3) The MB itself may be damaged. I would label the memory sticks, and then take them out one by one (if the MB allows it) and see what happens. Otherwise, you you can try replacing the memory sticks. The problem with doing what you are asking is, that by the time you have figured out what is wrong with your machine, you might have spent close to 1/4 - 1/2 of what a new one would cost these days. nitro
i thank you all for your replies. i added more ram last year and worked fine but i guess it could be the sticks going bad. i'll try adding my original stick and see what happens. i hope it's not the motherboard that's damaged...from what i've heard isn't it hard to replace? anyway, i'll look into it further (i don't have the $$ to take to repair shop) and try to fix it. again, i appreciate the information.
Sounds a lot like a virus/spyware problem to me. However, the fact that you have changed the disk puts me at doubt. How did you replace it? Did you "ghosted" your old disk and restored it on the new one? Or did you start from scratch, clean OS, reinstall aps etc. In the second case, you clearly have some other HW problem in your box (overheating?, check your BIOS, grounding problem, interference with other equipment around, especially is you use Wifi). In the first case, well, you may have simple restored the virus/spyware cr*p that was causing the problems in the first place. Install Avast and Adaware (both free, available from download.com) and get rid of all stinking viruses and crapware. Hope this helps TFD
1.Try open the case and remove the VGA card from the slot and then plug it back. 2. Remove the RAM and again plug it into the slot. VGA 60% probability, RAM 30%, it is my regular daily job.