Member Avatar for sunandoghosh

CPU says it will not start - what do i do now?????

urgent help needed...

Hi people,

I am stuck with a probelm...

Here is how the problem goes...

I have two PCs (not connected) at home both on windows xp...

My PC ONE had originally RAM of 256 MB
My PC TWO had originally RAM of 128 MB

Yesterday I purchased RAM of 512 MB...and I inserted into the slot in PC ONE and took out 256 MB of RAM from PC ONE.

Then I put the RAM of 256 MB taken out of PC ONE into PC TWO (which already had RAM of 128 MB)...

Now PC One is functioning alright BUT PC TWO IS NOT BOOTING/STARTING????????????????????

I took out additional 256 RAM from PC two but even then its not starting...

The monitor of PC two is alright as i can use pc two monitor with cpu of pc one...which to me means that pc two monitor is ok...

the problem is somewhere in pc two CPU...???????????///

Can anyone help...i have openend the cpu box and tried everything....any help would be greatly appreciated...

ANy suggestions, comments, opinions, help would be more than welcome...

thanks in advance...

regards,

sunando

sunandoghosh (at) rediffmail (dot) com

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by imthecheesecake

Dani AI

Generated

Building on the practical points raised by and , the following concise, non-technical triage and prevention checklist adds a few concrete tests and low-cost options that haven't been spelled out yet.

  1. Quick visual and power checks (safe first steps). Work on a non-conductive surface, unplug mains, ground yourself, then inspect the motherboard and DIMM contacts for discoloration, melted plastic, bulging/leaking capacitors or scorch marks. Restore power only to confirm whether fans, drive activity or power LEDs come on—if nothing powers at all the fault may be electrical rather than RAM. A faint burnt-electronics smell is also a strong indicator of hardware damage.

  2. Minimal-configuration POST test (no tools required). Remove all non-essential cards and drives, leave only CPU, one memory module and video output. Fit a single known-good stick into one slot and try to POST. Listen for beep codes (or check the board’s status LEDs) and note any pattern. If a motherboard speaker isn’t fitted, a cheap PC speaker will reveal POST beeps and is worth borrowing before buying parts.

  3. Memory identification and further testing. Identify modules by printed markings (examples: PC133, PC2100/PC2700/PC3200, DDR, part numbers) and by pin/edge type—different standards have different contact counts and notch positions. Test each module one at a time in every slot (or try the stick in a clearly working system) and, if a system will boot, run a memory tester (MemTest86 or similar) from external media.

  4. If damage is confirmed. If visual damage, persistent no-POST or failing power-rail behavior is found, bench diagnostics by a local shop is inexpensive and prevents unnecessary parts purchases. Salvage usable parts (HDD, PSU if healthy) and, when replacing, match socket/chipset and memory standard carefully.

Practical prevention: label modules with machine and speed, keep original configurations together, and check module markings or the board manual before moving sticks between systems.

Recommended Answers

All 12 Replies

Member Avatar for jfountain02

The memory in the second computer, might not have been compatible with the first, and it might have fried the board.

Member Avatar for sunandoghosh

so plz say what to do under such circumstances...?????? :cry: :cry:

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

If you fried the MB you need to replace the MB

You can swap out the other components and test them individually..

We just had someone else do exactly the same thing.

All ram is not created equal...

Just because it fits dosent mean a thing...

Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

Could you please provide the specifications and/or model numbers of your PCs and RAM sticks sunandoghosh?

Member Avatar for sunandoghosh

"If you fried the MB you need to replace the MB"

my GOD its very expensive... :sad:

"You can swap out the other components and test them individually.."

is it possible to test at home each component individually without any help of technicians/engineers...????? (i mean of my own using some instrument/ software etc)??

"All ram is not created equal...

Just because it fits dosent mean a thing..."

how do we know whether it is compatibe assuming it fits...any guidelines for future????

"Could you please provide the specifications and/or model numbers of your PCs and RAM sticks sunandoghosh?"

pc one is p four 3.2 ghz
pc two is celeron 500 mercury motherboard

ram is ddram

thanks

Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

pc one is p four 3.2 ghz
pc two is celeron 500 mercury motherboard

ram is ddram

thanks

That doesn't sound right at all! I only know of a few motherboards released with DDR-RAM support for the socket 370 processor. A Celeron 500 PC will almost certainly come with SD-RAM - an older standard which is incompatible with DDR. If you've tried to jam a DDR stick into an SD-RAM slot, then you may well have fried both the RAM and the motherboard.

In future, make sure you know what kind of RAM your systems are currently using and what sticks and configurations they accept. Such information is available in your motherboard's manual or on the manufacturer's website.

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

I have to agree with you CM...
It is doubtful that the ram would work between those two machines.

About the only thing to try is pulling the cmos battery for an hour, putting the original ram back in and seeing if it will boot.

The notches in those ram chips are different but I agree, you could force them and really mess things up.

Sounds like one of those expensive lessons was learned...

Member Avatar for belama

Try to put your 256mb back in your 3.2ghz pc to see if it still works.

When you TRY to start your Celeron with 128mb in it does it make any beeps or anything??

Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

Try to put your 256mb back in your 3.2ghz pc to see if it still works.

Hmmm. I'd be checking the pins along the bottom of the RAM stick beforehand. Are any blackened/distinctly off-colour?

Member Avatar for belama

lol yeah!! that wouldnt be a good thing ;)

Member Avatar for sunandoghosh

"A Celeron 500 PC will almost certainly come with SD-RAM - an older standard which is incompatible with DDR. If you've tried to jam a DDR stick into an SD-RAM slot, then you may well have fried both the RAM and the motherboard."

yes even i think now for sure thats the problem...a hard lesson learned???

:-| :sad:

Member Avatar for imthecheesecake

have you put everything back to how it was before you bought the new ram- I had the same problem and it turned out to just be a dodgy stick (it was the right kind of ram because an identical stick worked fine)

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