[binsch]

well i read that pinned article
let me tell the whole story
this computer was built mostly by me about 4 years ago it worked fine then.
a couple of months ago i added a second hard drive more memory and a new video card after this it worked fine
when it started(4 years ago) it had a celeron (1.7 ghtz i think) 256 ddr sdram 1(card) had a 20 gig hard drive and onboard graphics.
when i updated it i added an nvidia fx5200 256 mb graphics card a 40 gig hard drive and a 512 mb ram.
at the time i knew that some machines cant handle 2 different size memory but i tried it anyway and it wotked like a charm.
around 2 weeks ago when i turned it on there was a long beep and it wouldnt boot. i didnt know what it was then but i opened it up and took out the 256 mb ram card and then put it back in and it worked.
today i tried to turn it on again and it went on but while it was booting it mentioned something about a new devise being installed (even though there was none) and it suggested to boot into safe mode so i did but as it was booting into safe mode it froze(during the partition thing it just stopped and was like that for ten min) so i turned it off then back on and it started that long annoying nonstopping beeep again so i turned it off and took out the 256 mb card and left it out then i turned it on again and i heard some weird clicking sounds and then it sounded like it was booting up but nothing was on the screen.

i am clueless on what to do now could you help guide me.

also if need be i am ready to throw the computer out but i just want to geth the data off it but it would be nice too keep the computer.

if you need any more information about the computer ill gladly help
thank you so much

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well the first couple things I'd try are..... try just the 256 mb of ram...... or try taking out the added video card... if still no go then upplug everything except one stick of memory and the cpu/hsf.... if still nothing try adding just the new video card.... if still nothing try a different power supply....

[shard92]

well the first couple things I'd try are..... try just the 256 mb of ram...... or try taking out the added video card... if still no go then upplug everything except one stick of memory and the cpu/hsf.... if still nothing try adding just the new video card.... if still nothing try a different power supply....

[binsch]

well im gonna get home pretty late today and ill try the stuff that you said but last time i was not able to take out the added video card ill try again though

[binsch]

hey sorry it took so long
i tried the with the 256 and still no go and i realized that even when the comp was on i couldnt open either of the 2 cd drives

[shard92]

Kind of sounds like a bad power supply..... try a different one.

[happyrock]

have you tried booting into safe mode....?

[binsch]

sorry if i didnt say earlier but currently i cannot see anything on the screen when i turn the computer on
so i cant try booting in safe mode
and i have tried both the onboard video and the added on one but no screen is displayed when i turn the comp on

[binsch]

also when i press the power button to turn it on i hear regular booting noises
but i cant see anything on the screen so i doubt its the power supply
any other suggestions

[happyrock]

if you can boot into safe mode...and not normally then the problem is a device or driver problem.....during the post..(Power On Self Test ) the bios looks to see (among other things) if the proper voltage's is present and what hardware is connected to the system...it then attempts to load the drivers for the hardware connected to the motherboard...if during this process there is a problem it will inform you with beep codes...when the process gets past loading a video driver you will then see any error message's on the screen...the beep codes for the different bio's mean different things...you need to figure out what mobo and chipset you use and from there we can get the right beep codes for your build
the quick and dirty way is to R & R parts until the problem part is found...this isn't a problem for me or anyone else that builds computers and has all kinds of KNOWN GOOD PARTS to swap in and out....if you have your old video card try reinstalling it..pay attention when you try to boot ..listen for any beep codes and post them back here...
one question though....when you said " but as it was booting into safe mode it froze(during the partition thing it just stopped and was like that for ten min".....what partition thing????

Edited by happyrck, 05 October 2006 - 07:47 AM.

[binsch]

its not a real partiotion but it just display's something that says partition something it was always like that if i wanted to get into safe mode
i thiunk it just cuts off all autoloading programs
which is why its safe mode

im gonna try to boot up again
soon

[happyrock]

another thing to try is getting into your bios....to do this ...after turning on the power start tapping the delete key about once per second...also disconnect everything from the computer except monitor, keyboard, and mouse....have only 1 stick of ram installed when you try start trying to boot...no joy..swap out the stick of ram for the other one...let me know it goes

[binsch]

im gonna go try that but just to say
i also tried to connect it to a diff monitor but it still didnt work

[binsch]

ok so i was looking at the motherboard and one of the power plugs were a little loose and i pushed it in more
then i turned it on after connecting video mouse keyboard and power
the screen was still blank but then i heard a whirring sound
then it emitted a long beeb(about 8 seconds each) and currently it is still doing that
this was with the 512 mb memory stick only
also it is making a clicking like sound
also it is making a wirring noise that seems to be coming from one of the hard drive i may be wrong about that
if you need my motherboard company and stuff i can give it
right now im gonna try with the 256 mb memory only
thanks so much

[binsch]

ok so i tried with the 256 and it worked and then it sayd total memory 257 mb or somthin
but then it said invalid boot.ini file booting from c:windows
or somthing like that
this was happening for a while before the computer started not turning on

also the memory card which it did not work on i got a couple of months ago
it was a corsair something i even have the model number and everything
do you think i can get my money back or even a new one
i am not sure if i have the pakaging still

[binsch]

oh no
well when i said before that it booted up fine
i booted into safe mode and it showed me the logon screen and i couldnt move the mouse or the keyboard so i restarted and it showed the scrren where it calculates the mem and it frose
i restarted again and now it is not showing anything on the screen but its beeping again
8 seconds per
im so confused
this is without the 512 mb ram chip