Okay, I'm completely useless with computers and normally hand them over to someone else although on this ocasion I have an assignment to write and can't afford the time!

I am having trouble with starting my PC. Sometimes, on turning it on, it just beeps at me, shows nothing on screen, doesn't respond to 'ctrl alt del' and I have to resort to turning it on and off for I don't know how many times until it decides it wants to work!

Any ideas, suggestions as to what could be wrong and how to resolve this?

(It also doesn't like to shut down properly and just starts itself up again).

Apologies for my lack of technical lingo!!! Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, welcome to DAL
It sounds like the bios beep codes, how many beeps are there? also, are they short or long?
What is the make + model of your PC?

Mike

Hello,

Thanks for getting back to me.

It sort of goes beep, beep pause beep, beep, beep, beep (can't help laughing as I'm typing this!). They are short beeps. The PC is quite old I think, I can't see a make but, it does say V770 on it, does that make any sense?

Originally Posted by madmikejt12

Hi, welcome to DAL
It sounds like the bios, how many beeps are there? also, are they short or long?
What is the make + model of your PC?

Mike

ok, could you run a hardware scan here: http://www.d-a-l.com/hardware-scan.php and copy what it says under "BIOS"?

Thanks
Mike

BIOS:
Property Value
Manufacturer American Megatrends Inc.
Name Default System BIOS
Release Date 20020806000000.000000+000
Version AMIINT - 10

Originally Posted by madmikejt12

ok, could you run a hardware scan here: http://www.d-a-l.com/hardware-scan.php and copy what it says under "BIOS"?

Thanks
Mike

AMI BIOS BEEP CODES

Below are the AMI BIOS Beep codes that can occur. However, because of the wide variety of different computer manufacturers with this BIOS, the beep codes may vary.

Beep Code Descriptions
1 short- DRAM refresh failure
2 short- Parity circuit failure
3 short- Base 64K RAM failure
4 short- System timer failure
5 short- Process failure
6 short- Keyboard controller Gate A20 error
7 short- Virtual mode exception error
8 short- Display memory Read/Write test failure
9 short- ROM BIOS checksum failure
10 short- CMOS shutdown Read/Write error
11 short- Cache Memory error
1 long, 3- short Conventional/Extended memory failure
1 long, 8- short Display/Retrace test failed

i have looked around and cannot find anything about 2 short AND 4 short beeps...

I will keep looking and let you know if i find anything

Mike

they all seem to show near enough the same just worded differently:

AMI BIOS ERROR BEEP CODES
1 Beep - Memory Refresh Failure (check memory)
2 Beeps - Memory Parity Error in first 64KB block (check memory)
3 Beeps - Memory Read/Write Error in first 64KB block (check memory)
4 Beeps - Motherboard timer not functioning (possible motherboard replacement)
5 Beeps - Processor Error (may need replacement Processor)
6 Beeps - Gate A20/keyboard controller failure (possible motherboard replacement)
7 Beeps - Processor Exception Interrupt Error (may need replacement Processor)
8 Beeps - Display Memory Read/Write Failure (reseat or replace video card)
9 Beeps - ROM checksum Error (replace BIOS chip or motherboard)
10 Beeps - CMOS shutdown Read/Write error (possible motherboard replacement)
11 Beeps - Bad Cache Memory - test failed (replace cache memory)

My first guess would be a RAM problem.

You can try this diagnostic: http://www.memtest86.com/

Let us know if you need further assistance in setting it up.

You will essentially create a bootable floppy with this diagnostic on it to test your RAM.

For windows installation begin by downloading either the Pre-Compiled Windows package to build a boot-able floppy disk or an ISO (zip version) to create a boot-able CDROM. After the file is downloaded an extract must be done to uncompress the file(s). To extract right click on the downloaded file and select the "Extract All" option. The extract option will let you choose where the files will be extracted to. To build a bootable floppy go the the folder where the files were extracted and click on the Install icon. The floppy disk will appear to be unformatted by Windows after the install is complete.