Won't boot at all -- just beeps

[rdoor]

I have an older Win98SE PII 233mHz machine which I had removed an old version of Java2 getting ready to update some software. I downloaded j2sdk1.4.2_05, installed it and rebooted.

It didn't reboot. It beeps 5 times, the screen stays dark and the "CapsLock" light is blinking. That's it. Nothing more. I tried to boot from a floppy as well as CD but no happiness. It just blinks and beeps and sits there. The fan is on. The floppy light never comes on. The CD light briefly comes on.

Any suggestions? Dump it?

Roy from Iowa

 

[michbar]

The beeps are an error code. The PC did not pass the POST and this is it's way of giving you an idea of whats wrong. What the code means depends on what BIOS you have in your computer. Also the duration of the beeps counts as well. Is it five short beeps? Are any beeps long?

If you have a AMI BIOS five short beeps means you have a problem with the motherboard or processor. You also might want to try taking out the memory and reseating it.

 

[mattjurado]

This should be helpful...

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

Matt J.

Please always take the time to backup any and all data before performing any actions suggested for ANY problem, regardless of how minor a change it might seem. Also test the backup to make sure it is intact.

 

[rdoor]

Thanks for the reply!

It sounds like 5 short beeps, although the last one is maybe a little shorter than the rest. How do I find out what kind of BIOS I have?

Roy

 

[TekTippy4U]

doesn't make sense that a software install would cause a hardware error, though stranger things have been known to occur...so....Assume it's an AMI, Award or Pheonix BIOS, b/c of the age of the PC - Unless - it's a Compaq? IBM or PB? perhaps?

Sounds like a stuck key or bad keyboard error - or just in the detection....
Try a diff keyboard
You can see this only IF you can get into the BIOS (try the DELete key (or F1 , or F2) to enter CMOS setup at boot)

Could shutdown, unplug everthing and reboot...hard shutdown again, plug in Key, Mouse and Monitor only and try to Boot

Either way you'll need to run Scandisk (in DOS first then in WINDOWS) unless you'll fully reinstall the OS.

Could open the Case and ReSeat all the components (again, can't see why a software install would do this, unless it had a Boot Sector Virus)
unfortunately 5 beeps if an AMI's means a processor error

Need to Boot from floppy or CD "somehow" to Fdisk /mbr to fix a Boot sector virus.

Could eventually end up pulling the CMOS Battery for a few min and then reinstall it and boot to clear the BIOS and load system defaults

TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[rdoor]

Thanks again for your time.

I unplugged the keyboard without any change. I like the idea of pulling the battery to reset the BIOS. If that fails, I guess the thing goes!

I find it hard to imagine a virus. The software came straight from Sun. Anything could happen. . .

Roy