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one long continuous beep during play

4K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  DJ_BigJack 
#1 ·
Lately my computer has been giving me trouble.

It usually happens when I am playing a game online, I havent noticed it during offline activities/play. This seems to only happen during the hot summer. Here is my problem:


About 5-10 minutes into a game, my system will freeze and the system will put out a long continuous high pitch noise(beep). I used to think it was just because it was getting too hot inside the system, but I now have windows open and extra fans blowing so that is not the problem. Then I thought it was a video card problem, but it would mean that it only malfunctions during the summer. Now I think it has something to do with the power supply. I read in a book that the long continuous POST error code meant a bad power supply and that I should exchange it.


Before I go to the trouble of buying a new one and putting it into the computer, I was hoping that someone could give me some ideas as to why the system is doing this. Here are the specs to my system:

Asus A7A266 Motherboard
AMD Athlon 1.2 GHz CPU
3x 512 MB PC 133 DIMMs (1.5 GB RAM)
60 GB Maxtor 7200 RPM HD (C:/ & Windows 2000)
80 GB Seagate 7200 RPM (D:/ & Windows XP)
(I use dual boot, and always use Win XP.)
Inno3D Kyro II 64 MB Video Card
Soundblaster Live! Platinum Sound Card
8x DVD-ROM/CD-RW Samsung Disc Drive
32x CD-R Pacific Digital CD Burner Drive
Linksys 10/100 Network Adapter
300 W Power Supply (i think this is the problem, i think i need a 350).

As I said before this only happens during the hot summer. Putting the system aside and not using it until fall is not an option. I think the power supply is the problem, but I could be wrong. Help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

P.S.- I forgot to mention that this usually only happens during a warm boot. After a cold boot in the morning, I can play for like half an hour without trouble, but then it starts giving me trouble. If I need to restart for any reason after, then it is a pain.
 
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#2 ·
It really does sound like a overheating problem. Are you using the Asus Probe software to give you an idea of its base running temp vs the temp after heave game play? If it goes up 10+ degrees, that would be another hint of heat problems. If you have had the system running for awhile, pick up a can of the compressed air and carefully clean out the dust on the CPU fan blades and all other fans in the system. Clean off dust on the video card and every thing else at the same time. Dust acts like a fur blanket and raises temp on all surfaces. As it builds up over time, fan efficiency declines. Try moving the computer away from a wall that may raidate heat and make sure all the internal cables are bent to allow the best circulation of air from the front of the case to over the cpu fan and to any rear case fan and the power supply exhaust fan. Remember that space is needed behind the tower to help move the heat away. I have a similar system Asus A7A266/AMD 1.33ghz/512 mb ddr, Cd-rom, Cd-RW, 2 WD hard drives dual booting Win98se/W2kpro with Creative Audigy Platium, Modem, and Nic card. That fills my mid tower case and lately in Michigan the temps have been in the 90s often. Unfortunately that computer is near a South facing wall that for kicks i put a thermometer up next to it and was amazed to see an area temp of 111 degrees near it. I use a Thermaltake MiniOrb which works great until it gets hot like lately. Fortunately, i just take of on side cover and put a small fan blowing across me and my computer. The asus probe shows an average running temp of 49-52 degrees going up after an hour or so of online gamming to about 58-60 degrees. I dont see any system degrading. Just to help the system, try also making sure other non esential apps are off when playing. If you change the power supply, it in itself will probably produce a little more heat, but it is being blown out and not into the system however again make sure the area around the case is conducive to air flow. I upped my power supply from a 300 watt to a 400 watt and it seemed to help as far as system performance when reading info from the hd and using things like the CD-rom and heavy graphics. Cant prove it by tests, but it seems better( just got to at least think my money was not wasted).You did not mention of you are overclocking, but in hot weather, setting it back some would be a real good way to lower temps. I did have trouble with the 2 sticks of DDR memory when i first built the system and it would lockup after 15-30 minutes of heavy graphics use such as a game. You might want to remove 1 stick of memory at a time to see if one of them are sensitive heat build up and fails under thouse conditions. The long beep usually indicates some problem with a hardware device like memory or such.
 
#3 ·
By the way, the continuous beep isn't a long POST code ... it's just the tone that the audio card happened to be playing at the moment that the PC froze up. That's typical when you have a lockup.

As far as overheating ... definetely monitor the temp of your processor and the PC area, as mentioned by others. Remember that, while a fan can make a human feel cooler in high temperatures, it doesn't provide the same cooldown effect on a PC processor or motherboard.
The fan just ensures that room temperature air gets into the case and heat generated by the PC gets out of the case. Thus, once you're moving the air properly, you can add as many more fans as you want, it won't make a difference. Your PC/processor is always going to run 10 to 25 degrees hotter than room temperature. .... a great reason for air conditioning ! :p
 
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