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Computer won't start

I went to bed last night and turned off my computer as normal. When I got up this morning I went to turn it on - it sounded like it was starting fine for about 3 seconds, then it just beeps at me. I tried booting from the boot disk, but it did not help. I don't even think it gets to that point, because it stalls 2-3 seconds after turning it on. (I had to turn it off by using the power switch in the back.) Any ideas anyone?

I'm running Windows XP home edition.

Sofonisba

Sofonisba
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3 posts since Dec 2003
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beeps are codes,,how many beeps ,one continuous beep is video ,or one long 2 short is ram you have to count them and they are long and short .like one long and 3 short and so on and so on . pick you bios from the list
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/index-i.htm

caperjack
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It's one long beep (about5 seconds long)
silence for about that same time time
long beep again
silence
and so on....

Sofonisba
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3 posts since Dec 2003
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Problem fixed. I reached in, jiggled stuff around, and it started right up.

Thanks for your help

Sofonisba
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jiggled stuff around,, do you mean on the back of the tower ,if so could be loose video card !!

caperjack
I hate 20 Questions
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yes my computer is doing the same, i start it up, and it will beep for about 5 secs, continous, then stop for a about the same time???

thomo
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2 posts since Oct 2006
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wellnow i have got it to start properly, and it will run, but the mouse, keyboard and moniter act as if they are not plugged in(which they are)

thomo
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2 posts since Oct 2006
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If your computer will not boot and it is making a series of beeps this usually results from some kind of hardware failure.

To find out what kind of hardware failure you are having, listen to the beeps and determine if the beeps are shorter or longer and how many of each. Then get to a computer with internet access and goto a site like http://www.biosbeeps.com - this website will give you information about what the beeps mean but you will also need to know what type of BIOS you have.

To find out what type of BIOS your computer uses, you will have to watch the computer POST, this is when the computer first trys to boot and shows a series of scrolling information on a black screen. The BIOS type is usually indicated by a logo or the first information that pops up when it POST's.

The beeps vary depending on your BIOS manufacturer. Once you know what the beeps are, you then can look up what the cause is on the charts found at http://www.biosbeeps.com

I hope this helps!

:cool:

belablack
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1 post since Nov 2006
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This article has been dead for over three months

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