[gumby701]

I need someone to do me a favor. Can someone please download the manual located Here and tell me what an indefinate amount of long beeps mean.

Right now, I am using a tabletop build consisting of:

P965t-a Motherboard by ECS (crappy I know)
1GB of RAM (I have two to choose from)
8600GTOC edition by MSi (hooked up to a CRT using an adapter, an LCD with VGA+adapter or plain DVI, or my TV using the SVIDEO port, depending on what I feel like plugging in)
A PSU that should still be ok
Some 2.66 GHz CPU by Intel
My case speaker

When I start up I hear

BEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP etc.

. On and on and on, the beeps being approx. 3 seconds each. No video signal.

I may have fried my HDD when the computer decided to restart continuously

I lost the manual, and I don't have access to a computer I can view it on to check the beep codes. My best guess is it is RAM issue, but who knows? It might be the MB, and I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Please help me I really need to know what I need to fix this piece of junk.

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Hello, and welcome to Geeks To Go.
The good news is that your mother board is good.
The bad news is that RAM problems are a pain.
Please remove the RAM and reseat it.
How many pieces of RAM do you have?
If you have more than one please put them back in one at a time, and boot the machine.

[hfcg]

Hello, and welcome to Geeks To Go.
The good news is that your mother board is good.
The bad news is that RAM problems are a pain.
Please remove the RAM and reseat it.
How many pieces of RAM do you have?
If you have more than one please put them back in one at a time, and boot the machine.

[gumby701]

Ok, I already tried that a few minutes before I read this...I found that one piece of RAM makes ugly beeping noises and the other doesn't >_<

Unfortunately, the other piece makes no sound at all...isn't it supposed to make one short beep when everything is alright?

Either way, still no video signal, not with that or the ATI vid card I found...is there anything else I need to have plugged in for the computer to POST properly?

Another question: Does it matter which slot I plug the RAM into? I have it plugged into slot 1...could a different slot work too? ...just looking for alternatives...

I usually can fix things like this, but I have had a string of bad luck...and the only accessable computer having major website blocking issues is no help at all...

(BTW I am by no means new to GTG, compare our join dates I just jump around in different forums a lot, so never get lots of posts...but thanks for the welcome!)

---

EDIT: I lied, now it is doing it with both sticks again...

Man, this sucks, one of them is only a month or two old

Edited by gumby701, 10 February 2008 - 07:46 PM.

[Troy]

Hi there,

ECS motherboards are know for being picky with the RAM modules they work with. I had a system once with an ECS motherboard, I literally just got rid of it, it wasn't worth the hassle. It might not be what you want to hear, but...

Of course, you might find the magical sweet spot and it could work fine, but it wasn't worth the hassle in my instance.

Troy

[Doby]

Try the ram in another dimm/slot its possible you have a bad slot

[hfcg]

(BTW I am by no means new to GTG, compare our join dates I just jump around in different forums a lot, so never get lots of posts...but thanks for the welcome!)

I use the welcome so the brass does not get on to me.
This is not the first time that I have encountered this dilemma with an ECS motherboard.
That is why I stated the memory problem can be a pain.
Easy way out? Buy a new board. Or you can work it until it is working properly.
Can you try a different piece of memory?

[gumby701]

Ehh, unless I steal from a working computer, no. And I'm not touching the two computers that are working. The RAM has been mishandled recently, so I first need to rule that out. Hopefully I can get it tested...I am planning on buying a new board soon though, this one has had problems since the beginning.

I saw this board in another thread:

http://www.newegg.co...mp;Tpk=P35-DS3L

Would you recommend that for someone on a tight budget?

[hfcg]

Do you have a processor for it?
I have a Gigabyte board and am pleased with it, but I do not game.
If you have two pieces of bad ram at the same time I have to ask why?
May be that your board took a power spike, but that would be a problem with the board.

[gumby701]

Isn't the processor the same time as the board I have right now? Is the board bad for gaming?

My mother took the RAM and I'm not sure what happened to it while she had it.

[hfcg]

My mother took the RAM and I'm not sure what happened to it while she had it.

This puts a new light on the problem.
Before you go buying new motherboards and processors we need to test the memory slot with a known good piece of memory.
If something happened to both pieces of memory outside of the system than the other components should be fine.

[gumby701]

Yeah, I just realized what could have happened...

It sat on top of a wooden board for a few days...unfortunately, that board was on top of a TV

Could TV ambient static+RAM=Worthless piece of plastic? I think so...

And I so wanted to get rid of that Motherboard too

Why didn't I think of it sooner?

---

EDIT: I've been told that shouldn't happen by someone who knows hardware very well...any thoughts?

Edited by gumby701, 11 February 2008 - 01:12 PM.

[Troy]

Hi there,

Well it's not the best way to treat it. If it's faulty, RAM is cheap these days anyway. Here is an example of some top-notch cheap RAM that will match well with your Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L motherboard (this board is an excellent choice). Make use of the rebates and you're laughing.

Please can you confirm the exact processor model number you have, that way we can check if it's socket LGA775 to fit that Gigabyte motherboard.

Also can you confirm exactly what "A PSU that should still be ok" is? Make and model if you can find it, also the total wattage and amps output on the +12V rail(s).

Cheers

Troy

[gumby701]

Well, my motherboard is 775 socket so it should be the same. Unfortunately, I have no idea what model my Processor is, as old thermal gunk has obscured the lettering.

To get the motherboard, I will need to see what kind of cash I have right now...right now, I estimate 50 bucks, plus another 20 I am owed by a friend...I can probably borrow the remaining cash and be good. If I need new RAM I can just return the stick I got for Christmas and buy that deal for the same price.

The Psu is an Ultra ULT-500P and should still be in working condition, less than a year old. (though the only part on my computer older than a year is my processor...)

Either way, I still need my RAM tested...I wonder if any computer stores do that for free\cheap...

Edit: Also, there is no way right now for me to test the PSU's voltage...

Edited by gumby701, 11 February 2008 - 09:44 PM.

[Troy]

Those Ultra PSUs are rather poor quality, but it should get the job done for now. (Emphasis on should)

You need to clean off the "thermal gunk" and reapply fresh thermal paste.

Do you currently have DDR RAM or DDR2?

Troy

[gumby701]

The problem is that it is a very thin layer...the processor hasn't had fresh paste for a while and only gets contact because of the fan unit being screwed into the motherboard (not good, I know, its on my list of to do things...)

I'm using DDR2 memory as it is what my board asks for...