[chippern73]

I hope someone can help me. After reading many threads and posts about non-booting computers I needed to start my own.

My 1995 Gatway computer with Windows XP Media operating system will not boot. I turned it on and I hear the fan going and see the yellow light on the hard drive light up but it never boots up. The screen is completely blank. I inserted my backup operation disk, which is self-booting, and the computer makes three or four beeps and then nothing. All the time the fan is going. So I have power.

Two days ago I booted the computer and a Window's screen came up and said that Windows had to check the disk structure. So I let it do its thing and when it was through it said everything was okay and then I rebooted, as it asked.

I do not believe Malware is invovled since I have not been connected to the internet for 10 months.

I have not checked inside to see if all cables to and from the mother board to the hard drive are connected. Should I do this?

What else can I do?

Otherwise I have had only one other issue about 14 months ago with a Malware attach. Some one here in this forum helped me out with that issue. They helped me promptly, which I appreciated.

So if there is anything anyone can help me with it is appreciated.
Thanks for the help.

Chuck

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Hi chippern73 sorry to hear that you are having this issue.
Wow that computer is 16+ years old you must have looked after it, couple of questions for you;
Has the PSU (power supply unit) ever been replaced?
Do you have data on the HDD that you wish to secure?
How many sticks of Ram do you have?
Do you have an add on video card or an integrated video chip on the MB (motherboard)?

I have not checked inside to see if all cables to and from the mother board to the hard drive are connected. Should I do this?

Yes please and can you also do the following;

If the computer needs cleaning out, first remove the power cord from the wall and open up the case, take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case, remove the video card, blow out the slot and re-seat the card securely, do the same with the memory sticks, clean all internal fans, if you use canned compressed air do not let any fan spin freely this can damage them, use something like a clean lollipop stick to hold the fan.
Make sure all internal connections are secure and that there are no loose components, write down the psu details (make and model) re-assemble the computer, boot up and see how it goes.
Just a cautionary note, if you do use canned compressed air do not upend the can as it is possible for fluid to be emitted.

If the PSU is indeed the original it may be the cause of the issue, a PSU puts out various voltages +3.3V, +5V and +12V and if any one of them is bad you will get issues, the PSU may appear to be ok yet it is not working correctly but that said the error beeps may signify something else an update from you may give us more clues.

[phillpower2]

Hi chippern73 sorry to hear that you are having this issue.
Wow that computer is 16+ years old you must have looked after it, couple of questions for you;
Has the PSU (power supply unit) ever been replaced?
Do you have data on the HDD that you wish to secure?
How many sticks of Ram do you have?
Do you have an add on video card or an integrated video chip on the MB (motherboard)?

I have not checked inside to see if all cables to and from the mother board to the hard drive are connected. Should I do this?

Yes please and can you also do the following;

If the computer needs cleaning out, first remove the power cord from the wall and open up the case, take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case, remove the video card, blow out the slot and re-seat the card securely, do the same with the memory sticks, clean all internal fans, if you use canned compressed air do not let any fan spin freely this can damage them, use something like a clean lollipop stick to hold the fan.
Make sure all internal connections are secure and that there are no loose components, write down the psu details (make and model) re-assemble the computer, boot up and see how it goes.
Just a cautionary note, if you do use canned compressed air do not upend the can as it is possible for fluid to be emitted.

If the PSU is indeed the original it may be the cause of the issue, a PSU puts out various voltages +3.3V, +5V and +12V and if any one of them is bad you will get issues, the PSU may appear to be ok yet it is not working correctly but that said the error beeps may signify something else an update from you may give us more clues.

[chippern73]

Thanks for your help. I'll give it a try.

I'm sorry it is a 2005 model. My car is 1995!

Even a 2005 is old.

Thanks.

[chippern73]

Here is the answers for you.

Do you have data on the HDD that you wish to secure? I will have to get that off the HDD
How many sticks of Ram do you have? Two. Orignal from Gateway.
Do you have an add on video card or an integrated video chip on the MB (motherboard)? Video and sound cards are added to the MB.

I'll try cleaning as you say. I have never had the cover off this computer so after six years it needs it.

thanks.
Chuck

[phillpower2]

Thanks for the update, I will wait for your next update before adding anything further.

[phillpower2]

chippern73
You have duplicated this post on the Xp Forum where rshaffer61 has offered you assistance and after consulting him it is suggested that you continue with this thread.
In the future please remember not to duplicate topics as it is counter productive and confusing, thank you for your understanding.
Xp topic http://www.geekstogo...-it-is-malware/

[chippern73]

Thanks for the info. I was not aware that I duplicated posts.

[phillpower2]

Have you cleaned the computer as described in post #2 and if so did you also make a note of the PSU details?

[chippern73]

I did clean everything. I didn't find the information on the PSU that you requested.

I didn't answer your questions correctly on a previous post.

I do have many images and documents that are important to me. Like a lot people it has been awhile since I backed up my files.

The video card is intregated on the mother board.

Lastly, When I turn on the PC I get three long beeps and nothing on the screen. I do get a green light on my DVD/CD player, and briefly a yellow light, which I believe is for the hard drive. I can hear the two fans going and it sounds like they system is trying to boot up.

Is it possible to hook up an external bootable harddrive? Or can I take out the harddrive and plug it into someone elses to get the data?

Chuck

[phillpower2]

You did indeed provide your PSU details, my apologies
Can I ask what type of keyboard you are using please USB or P/S2 (wired) type?
There are a couple of ways that your data can be retrieved and I will provide suggestions if it is necessary.
Couple of things worth mentioning, your PSU is of a decent quality and brand and the 3 long beeps may suggest a keyboard controller error, let us know the keyboard details and we can move on from there, resetting the BIOS is one option to try.

[chippern73]

My keyboard is a P/S2 type that plugs into a USB port. I have tried to plug it into different USB ports to see if it makes a difference. In case you are wondering, I did make sure that my mouse and video screen were securly plugged in.

Thanks.
Chuck

[phillpower2]

Are you using an adapter such as the one below?
As you can see from post #4 on your other topic RonShaffer61 provided the beep codes and the signal you are getting suggests a keyboard issue, if it requires batteries replace them.

[chippern73]

No I am not using any of these. My keyboard plugs directly into a USB slot. I do notice that the lights on the keyboard do flicker once I turn on the computer. If that is any help.

Chuck

[phillpower2]

What about batteries, there may be a compartment on the base of the keyboard where they go, the picture that I provided is of a USB adapter that allows you to connect to the ordinary PS2 socket at the rear of the computer which is round and purplish in colour, worth mentioning also is to try USB port 1 at the rear of the case, it may be to the top left of the case.

[chippern73]

I'll check the keyboard for batteries. I didn't know they had them. I do have the keyboard attached to an USB port in the back. I have tried all 8 ports with the same result. When I first turn on the computer the keyboard lights light up and then go away, which I believe is normal till the system boots up.

The other thing that I am concerned about is having a blank video screen. It turns on and I get a brief message that there is no signal. Which is normal till the system starts booting up.

Chuck