PC Not booting!

[Guest_imported]

Hi,

A friend of mine has a PC which is just over a year old! It's an intel Pentium 600EB with 128Mb 133Mhz RAM, a 3Dfx Voodoo 3 3000 AGP graphics card, SBLive OEM sound card and an internal modem.

When he tried to boot it the power lights and fans came on but nothing else! The internal speaker then sounded a two-tone alarm after about ten seconds!

It did that for a while then nothing but a quick flicker on the power light and nothing else. I always suspected a faulty mothboard but others have suggested RAM and the PSU. The latter have been tried unsuccessfully. Before I tell him to risk buying another motherboard, are there any other suggestions? Oh, he has a Jetway mothboard!

 

[butchrecon]

Its the main board. He should replace it. James Collins
Computer Hardware Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

 

[CitrixEngineer]

...could be the CPU AND the PSU. I had my "old faithful" machine die over the weekend - it gave exactly these symptoms.

I replaced the PSU, and CPU with parts raided from another machine, stuck it in - and off it went.


Hope this helps

 

[mhughes]

Check the CPU, I have had this happen a couple times and found the CPU was DOA.

 

[bra1niac]

Try reading the manual on the mobo. See what that tone is supposed to mean in the troubleshooting section.

It could mean that the ram is bad or not properly seated; the battery is going dead; the power supply is dying; etc.

I have had a ton of mobo's cause system alarms at boot and they were all for various problems, most easily fixable after I figured out what it was tryin to tell me.

If that doesn't work, do what I do and throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder w/right hand, turn in place counterclockwise 7 times while chanting the lyrics to a Hank Williams Jr. song under the light of a full moon. Works everytime. "Absorb what is useful, discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own." - Bruce Lee - The Tao of Jeet Kune Do

 

[batchoychoy]

WAIT!!! dont buy a new mobo yet. Check the connections first. See if all the cards are inserted properly. Remove all memory cards and leave only one, making sure it is properly inserted in the slot. If it still doesnt work, try the other memory modules. Check the video card if it is properly inserted. This could save you a lot of money. See if the processor is fastened to the board. The processor and the board should be stable. Meaning, the mobo hardly bends when you insert a card.

 

[Spock7291]

You must be very careful when responding to beep codes. They vary from one BIOS manufacturer to another. Two of the major BIOSs are now owned by the same company. Below are some URLs which may assist you in finding further information:

http://www.ami.com/

http://www.award.com/

http://www.wimsbios.com/

Best of luck. Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

C. Vining
BECS, MSCS, A+