[OjBinge]

Today, while I was in another room, I heard my computer make a terribly annoying buzzing sound. The sound lasted about five to seven seconds, and was over before I could get to the computer, so I couldn't tell if it was coming from the speakers or the tower itself. Now, my monitor receives no signal from my computer. Naturally, I assume this is a video card situation, but there's no reason I can think of that this would have happened. This seems to be the end in a few problems I've been having in the past few days. A couple days ago, my computer froze at the BIOS startup screen, just after the processor loaded. Earlier today, my monitor failed to receive a signal from the computer, but after a reboot, it worked fine. I haven't had the chance to try my computer with a different video card or on a different monitor, so I'm really just looking for conjectures as to what could have caused this. Specs are below. Thanks for your time.

Processor: AMD Athlon 2500+ Barton
Mobo: Epox EP-8RDA+ (nForce2 U400 chipset)
Video Card: ATI Radeon 8500 LE
120 gig WD HD
1 gig RAM
Windows XP Pro

I built this computer a couple years ago, and ran into a problem last year with the video card. At that time, I was using an nVidia card, but ran into a similar problem. That was when I switch to this video card, which has been working fine for the past year. All of the fans and drives seem to be running properly, but since I have no visual output, I can't say for sure. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I forgot to add that the diagnostic LED on the mobo reads "CF," instead of the normal "FF."

Edited by OjBinge, 07 November 2005 - 07:01 PM.

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The manual deals with POST codes in two sections, so "CF" is discussed twice. First, in an FAQ section, it gives a list of problems: 1. BIOS chip inserted incorrectly, 2. Incorrect BIOS update version, 3. Mainboard problem, 4. Add-on card inserted incorrectly. Later, in the listing of all the codes, it reads "Test CMOS R/W Functionality." What seems to be the culprit?

[OjBinge]

The manual deals with POST codes in two sections, so "CF" is discussed twice. First, in an FAQ section, it gives a list of problems: 1. BIOS chip inserted incorrectly, 2. Incorrect BIOS update version, 3. Mainboard problem, 4. Add-on card inserted incorrectly. Later, in the listing of all the codes, it reads "Test CMOS R/W Functionality." What seems to be the culprit?

[OjBinge]

I've just completed resetting the CMOS (I removed the battery for half an hour, and reset the CMOS jumper). I still get no response from the monitor, and the tower still doesn't beep, but the POST code has changed to "C1," which is described as follows:

Detect Memory
-Auto-detection of DRAM size, type and ECC
-Auto-detection of L2 Cache (socket 7 or below)

I'm a little wary of these POST codes, though. After replacing the CMOS battery, it gave "26," to which a value is not assigned in the manual, and the first time booted after resetting the jumpers, it gave "01," which is described as "Expand the Xgroup codes locating in physical address 1000:0." I'm not sure what to make of all this.

[morfius]

here are a list of things to do:

1. check the conncetion between your agp card and mobo - open up the case.
2. Go on another computer and download a bios update.
3. check other components - are they burnt out or full connected?

Good luck

[OjBinge]

All of those seem to be fine. What good will downloading the BIOS on another computer do?