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Computer will not start...


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Conipto's Avatar
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17-Jun-2008, 10:51 PM #1
Computer will not start...
The machine had been running for approximately 30-35 hours, as I had simply left a game running while I was away. I came back to a laggy game, and decided to shut down and let the thing cool off. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I returned to turn it on, I got only a click and a flashing green LED. After unplugging it and having a look inside, I ended up just staring at some circuitry for a while, touching a couple things to ensure nothing was loose. I plugged it back in (to power only) to see if anything had changed, and now I get no response whatsoever as I press either of the buttons.

When I jack in the power cord, I do hear several beeps, and an LED is on inside the machine, but when I hit either of the buttons on the front panel, nothing happens. Naturally I have assumed this must have something to do with the hardware. Now the only indication I even have the the thing has power is the LED inside. I did open it up a while back to look at the audio connections (I was getting wierd static and had proven it had nothing to do with the stereo it was hooked up to) and made sure it was jacked on nicely, a trick I learned from a friend. But my fear is I may have bumped into an important component, a fear compounded thanks to several minutes spent studying the graph at the bottom of the computer. Thankfully, this is only a gaming computer, and I can get by without it. But I have come to enjoy its location, and would really like a fix. The people here at TSG have helped me before, and I sincerely hope to see it happen again.

I'll be standing by for the rest of the night to check this for replies, but tomorrow, I'm leaving town. I will, however, try to check this again.
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17-Jun-2008, 11:14 PM #2
anything happen when you turn it on? lights? sounds? hard drive running? spinning fans? or just... silence?
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17-Jun-2008, 11:22 PM #3
"Several beeps"? This is often a POST message indicating failed hardware... usually either RAM or video card.


You can start by making sure both are plugged in solidly.
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17-Jun-2008, 11:42 PM #4
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yuuuu View Post
anything happen when you turn it on? lights? sounds? hard drive running? spinning fans? or just... silence?
Silence. The beeps, though, I wasn't too clear on. It's more of an extremely high-pitched drone, probably simply from that internal LED I spoke of. It does flash...three times I think when I jack the power cord in, but there are definitely NO sounds from the machine other than that.
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17-Jun-2008, 11:51 PM #5
LEDs don't make any sounds. High-pitched drone is probably your drive(s) running.

It would really help to know exactly what motherboard this is...
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18-Jun-2008, 01:03 AM #6
I'll be honest about not knowing my computers, and it's tough for me to identify what's what, especially when it comes to that.

Here's a picture of what I believe to be the motherboard.

[img=http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/596/pictures3311vc9.th.jpg]

And here's one of the whole thing. If you disagree that the above is the motherboard, PLEASE identify the real one, and dispell my confusion.

[img=http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/2786/pictures3309pq1.th.jpg]
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18-Jun-2008, 01:22 AM #7
That is indeed the motherboard - that whole big green surface

POST (Power On Self Test) beeps will be quite loud and distinct. If there's a pattern or count to them, please note what it is.

It appears to be an Intel DQ965GF motherboard, as seen here: http://www.intel.com/support/motherb...sktop/dq965gf/

Beep error codes are listed here: http://www.intel.com/support/motherb....htm#beepcodes

There's some other possibly useful info here: http://www.intel.com/support/motherb.../CS-010254.htm - check to make sure all your connections are where they belong.
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18-Jun-2008, 01:34 AM #8
Is it possible for it to give both? At the beginning, it seems as if it is giving me a memory error, however, there are 10-12 of those beeps, identical, and it then switches through three sets of alternating beeps, before going to a constant beep that has an extremely short dip into a lower frequency before bringing the frequency back up. It's very much similar to the sound it makes as I plug in the power cord.
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18-Jun-2008, 01:41 AM #9
Try popping the memory module(s) out, and see if it gives the same errors... then re-install the memory and ensure it's seated solidly and locked in by its end clips. If there are more than one module, install only one and try it first... then swap it for the other and try that.
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18-Jun-2008, 01:44 AM #10
Those are the long ones situated (in the photo of the motherboard info) below the motherboard info?
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18-Jun-2008, 01:49 AM #11
This may help:



Note that the memory on these types of boards often needs to be installed into specific slots first - if you have only two modules, they probably need to go into the blue slots first (this is just a guess based on experience, I haven't looked up the manual). A single module likely has to go into a specific slot as well. You can download the manual for the board at the Intel site linked above.
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18-Jun-2008, 01:56 AM #12
Your guess would be right
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18-Jun-2008, 02:24 AM #13
After doing what you suggested, I find that if either or both of the memory modules are missing, I get the same beep code, which is most likely a memory error code. But that's about as different as it gets.

Last edited by Conipto : 18-Jun-2008 02:28 AM. Reason: typo :\
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18-Jun-2008, 03:53 AM #14
First off, since no fans come on at all and nothing happens, my first thing to check would be the power supply. After making sure your power supply isn't faulty or burnt out, I would move onto trying a different memory module. Power supplies can cause these problems, as well as memory that has failed. How old is this computer?
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29-Jun-2008, 03:15 PM #15
I'm not certain as to the age of the computer, but my guess is 3-4 years old. It really wasn't made for gaming, being a computer that was factory-designed for an office, that I happen to know a couple people in. So when they got new computers, I got a surplus one as a gift. And I will try looking at the power supply, thanks for that tip by the way. But if it was the power supply at fault, would I still get beep codes when I plugged the power cord in?
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