PC doesn't power on but beeps after 3 seconds 1

[junwebhead]

Hello there!

I'm fixing this PC because the display is always like in safe mode. So I checked the video card and found out that the monitor cable is connected to the built in video card but a matrox video card is inserted on the board. While the case is open, I checked some connections (Memory, Floppy, etc.) then removed the matrox video card.
But when i power on the PC, it wont start. The LED turns off when I let go of the power button and then after 3 seconds or so. It will beep long with inconsistent pitch then two consecutive beeps with the same length. What could it be?
I've checked the memory(reseated it a couple of times but still got nothing. It's a HP branded PC. PIII 800 128 RAM. Please help!!!

Jun

 

[karmic]

One long and two short beeps is the video card. The onboard card may have been disabled for a reason.

Best bet is to get the manual ( you can normally get them off the internet).

Try reinstalling the matrox video card and installing a set of new drivers for it.

~ K.I.S.S - Don't make it any more complex than it has to be ~

 

[junwebhead]

thanks karmic for the reply. Yes that's my plan. Actually, I have a driver for matrox from the internet ready to be installed. But the floppy drive is malfunctioning which is one of the reason I decided to open it. Could it be the floppy drive which causes it to not turning on?

Jun

 

[karmic]

No, the floppy won't cause it not to turn on. But if in doubt, unplug the floppy.

PC's have beep codes to give you a general idea of what's wrong hardware wise. If it were a memory problem for example, you'd hear one long beep over and over.

http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

If the floppy doesn't work, they are pretty cheap to replace.

~ K.I.S.S - Don't make it any more complex than it has to be ~

 

[junwebhead]

thanks for the good link I'll try to fix it using the information I got. Thanks!!!

Jun

 

[paparazi]

It's likely that if you had of just connected the monitor lead to the matrox everything would have worked fine.
My guess is whoever fitted the Matrox card in the first place disabled onboard or something in the bios and then fitted the add on VGA.
What OS have you got?
XP usually loads it's own drivers for most of the Matrox range but obviously the latest available will be better.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[junwebhead]

thanks martin. I think your guess is right. Actually, I'm planning of upgrading it to WinXP or Win2K. Which is better by the way with P III 800 Mhz. WinXP or Win2K?

About the powering on issue. I solve it! I just tigthen the connection of the switch cable to the motherboard. And also about the weird beeps, I think it's the floppy drive. Because it has a lost pin. What I did was removed the floppy drive then start again then it boots! But my problem on video is still there. Which I'm hoping could get fix when I upgrade it. But I have a worry. Because the CD-ROM drive is not detected by the installed OS(win98). Even if I use my other CD-ROM. I'm planning of using floppy boot disk for Win2K. Will the CD-ROM works when I do that? Thanks!

Jun

 

[1quickdraw]

When you boot your puter, get into the bios setup by whatever means your computer uses (i.e. pressing the delete, f2, or what ever key) as soon as the post comes up. Once inside the bios setup find the section on the boot order of the drives. Make the cd rom drive the first to boot from. This should allow you to boot from the cd and install the OS. You can change this after you get your system back up.

Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[junwebhead]

Thanks steve. I already did what you said but still not working. I also try XP CD and nothing happens. What I did was create a boot disk from Windows 2000 and run the setup then insert the win 2000 CD. It also not work. But on the next boot, I try XP CD, then it works. I don't know if the boot disks helps. Maybe because I formatted the drive before I run XP. So now the computer is running on XP. and everything seems fine except some devices are not recognized but thats ok. Thanks to you all!!!

Jun