Yet more computer problems

[kozak6]

I am having yet more computer problems.

Normally, when I turn it on, it beeps once and turns on.

Now, half the time, it continuously makes longer beeps, and doesn't procede past a black screen.

The other half of the time, it just doesn't do anything at all.

Any ideas?

We tried a system restore, and that didn't help.

[Psychcf]

have you tried updating your BIOS? Also mabie your hard drive died. Does it say anything? If not try turning off the silent boot feature of the system and see if it says anything then. Also if a fan died then a part or two could have been fried. It would probably tell you when the thing boots what the problem is though.

[kozak6]

I don't know how to update the BIOS or turn off the silent boot.

Very occasionally, it does start up, and last night it seemed to run ok after the system restore, but not now.

It doesn't say anything of note the few times it actually does work.

[Psychcf]

well, if it has to do with a broken fan, your computer would shut off in the middle of you doing something. So, I'm assuming that doesn't happen when it does work.

It could be the hard drive. If it has experienced shock, or if your hard drive is really old, you would need to replace it. Somehow the system files could have been corrupted. You may have even gotten a virus.

The bios is still applicable here. Go over to your computer provider's web site, and look for bios updates there. If it's a homebuilt PC or a local shop made it, look up your mainboard's model, and go over to the company's site. They will give you instructions on how to flash and update your bios. However, it's a risky process, so make sure you do this if all else fails, and make sure the power won't die in the middle of the update.

My last guess would be that there's a floppy or CD in the drive, and when it's not in the drive it boots normally. Also this tends to happen with flash keys, portable hard drives, and Ipods.

[tChr]

Chek that your ram is properly inserted.. push it in firmly, but not hard. and that might (very well) help.

[tZork]

This kinda sounds indicate I/O error, so like tChr wrote try pushing the ram, also make sure other add in cards and not the least the cpu in firmly in place.

And do not try and update bios while the computer is unstable, if it is indeed a ram chip with bad contact it could well crash in the middle of the flash, and that would proly kill yer mobo.

[Vendor]

The beeps when initialising are messages from your PC telling you what is going on during POST. If the beeps change from normal, it indicates that some of your hardware is playing up. A useful starting point to find out what is going wrong can be found at:

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

Although if you know the exact motherboard, you may find more accurate info via a google "motherboardmodel POST beep" search.

hth

[Urmel]

exactly.

[Psychcf]

either that or your cat is sleeping on your keyboard half the time

[kozak6]

We don't have a cat. We do have 2 dogs, though .

Alright, when I get home, I'll open it up and try pushing the components back in.

My brother's external hardrive was attached to backup data. I'll disconnect it.

I don't feel very good about updating the bios. The last time we had the computer repaired, I think the people at the shop may have installed the wrong motherboard.

When it still worked, occasionally it would just restart out of nowhere, but it said it was a driver error or conflict or something like that.

How old is really old? It's also possible it might be a virus. My father used the computer, and he admitted to doing something he didn't understand online.