Member Avatar for RRingg

My Hewlet packard 8750 model with windows xp froze on me the other day and now won't boot any furher than power tothe fan and the hard drives spinning. I've uninstalled the cmos batery no luck, flipped the jumpers no luck. I get 2 beeps now but it just stalls after the power light and processsing light come on then the processing light goes out. It just froze on me originally so I hit the power button on the power box. I turned it back on using the power button onthe pc but it still wont boot up like it never shut down. switched ram cards uninstalled video cables.

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Good diagnostic flow so far — and pointed to the right starting principle: strip the machine down to the minimum and test components one at a time. The following clarifications and practical checks fill gaps that often lead people to replace parts unnecessarily.

Start with a true minimal POST test: with power off and unplugged, remove all PCI/PCIe cards and data drives, leave only the motherboard, PSU, CPU (with cooler), one known-good RAM stick in the primary slot, keyboard, and monitor. Reconnect power, attach a system speaker if possible, then power on and watch LEDs, fans, and beep patterns. Record the exact beep sequence and any diagnostic LEDs — different BIOS vendors use different codes, so the pattern matters more than a general “two beeps” description.

If there is still no POST display, inspect the PSU and board visually and electrically: look for bulging or leaking capacitors, burn marks, or a strong odor; verify PSU rails with a simple PSU-tester or multimeter (safety first — only do voltage checks if comfortable and equipped). A flaky PSU can mimic many failures, so swapping in a known-good PSU is a high-value test before replacing chips.

When a CPU replacement is considered, confirm socket and BIOS compatibility first and use proper mounting plus fresh thermal compound. To confirm a bad CPU without spare parts: test the board with a known-good CPU or test the CPU in a working board. Also protect the system long term with good cooling, a quality surge protector or UPS, and periodic dust/thermal maintenance. For targeted advice, provide the motherboard make/model, BIOS vendor and version, and the exact POST beep/LED pattern.

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Member Avatar for JemB

It sound like a hardware fault.
the two beeps are the clue, if you check the manufacturers website it should give an indication of what the beep codes mean.
the other option is basic troubleshooting. remove all additional cards drives etc and all but one ram stick.
try booting, if it does the same try swapping the ram. if it works then put one card or device back boot up and see if it works again.
when you get to the card or device and the problem reappears. replace that card/device cos that's yr problem

Member Avatar for RRingg

My Hewlet packard 8750 model with windows xp froze on me the other day and now won't boot any furher than power tothe fan and the hard drives spinning. I've uninstalled the cmos batery no luck, flipped the jumpers no luck. I get 2 beeps now but it just stalls after the power light and processsing light come on then the processing light goes out. It just froze on me originally so I hit the power button on the power box. I turned it back on using the power button onthe pc but it still wont boot up like it never shut down. switched ram cards uninstalled video cables.

It sound like a hardware fault.
the two beeps are the clue, if you check the manufacturers website it should give an indication of what the beep codes mean.
the other option is basic troubleshooting. remove all additional cards drives etc and all but one ram stick.
try booting, if it does the same try swapping the ram. if it works then put one card or device back boot up and see if it works again.
when you get to the card or device and the problem reappears. replace that card/device cos that's yr problem

It feels like it can't find the boot files, so the hard drive just spins.
I got onto another pc and downloaded a boot file I hope will get it to boot, because right now I can only diagnose what i hear and see in the box. I'll check HP about the boot codes. I hope the processor didn't just decide to die all of a sudden its a pentium 111 preaty old. Any thing else to check I would be obliged.

Thanks

Member Avatar for caperjack

Any thing else to check I would be obliged.

Thanks

hi, did you try any of the things JemB suggested [all good suggestions ],as you didn't say if any of it made any difference, had to make suggestion if we don't know what you tried so far

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for JemB

I have just had a look at some possible beep codes. It looks like you Ram or your power supply. as you have swapped the Ram. If and considering the symptoms try a different psu.

Edited by JemB because: n/a
Member Avatar for RRingg

hi, did you try any of the things JemB suggested [all good suggestions ],as you didn't say if any of it made any difference, had to make suggestion if we don't know what you tried so far

I've uninstalled the devices on the backof the pc. I flipped the ram cards front to back and then back to there originall setting and the beeping stopped. I tried a Win XP pro boot program I downloaded yesteday but that didn't make it boot up. Would the Inel Pentium 3 processor have burned out even though the hard drives and cd\rom drives still turn on. Or is the BIOS stuck. Or what progam do you need to install when booting up, that the OS needs to boot up. The problem started originally when I accidently turned the PC off by the power surge box. Flipped it back on and the windows program came back on the screen I hit the power button on the pc to turn it off completely and now it won't boot again.

Any suggestions would be great

Member Avatar for gerbil

"It feels like it can't find the boot files"
You report getting beep codes.... but does BIOS display at all? At beep code stage the BIOS is checking hardware, there is nothing on screen.
Your cpu is obviously working, at least to some extent. RAM? You do not know.... try just ONE stick at a time. Unplug ALL your drives; at this stage of testing you are not interested in booting. See if BIOS will display.
If not, check your psu output levels.

Edited by gerbil because: n/a
Member Avatar for RRingg

"It feels like it can't find the boot files"
You report getting beep codes.... but does BIOS display at all? At beep code stage the BIOS is checking hardware, there is nothing on screen.
Your cpu is obviously working, at least to some extent. RAM? You do not know.... try just ONE stick at a time. Unplug ALL your drives; at this stage of testing you are not interested in booting. See if BIOS will display.
If not, check your psu output levels.

The monitor has never been able to show a display so I can't tell if the BIOS is the problem but I'm preatty sure the monitor works as the power light turns on, but doesn't connect to the PC.

I'm having it diagnosed, but I will let you know what the problem was.

Member Avatar for RRingg

Getting my pc back, the Intel pentium 3 processor was fried. For some reason thought the built in video card also went as I'm using a backup pci video card and installed a 600 Mhz processor. Not sure if I just over worked the 450 Mhz originally installed or the fan being unplugged did it. Rule of thum though is don't over heat your system because it can damage you mothere board or monitor and cost you a dime.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Getting my pc back, the Intel pentium 3 processor was fried. For some reason thought the built in video card also went as I'm using a backup pci video card and installed a 600 Mhz processor. Not sure if I just over worked the 450 Mhz originally installed or the fan being unplugged did it. Rule of thum though is don't over heat your system because it can damage you mothere board or monitor and cost you a dime.

wow 450-600 those werethe days .
we i live you can buy a used p4 2.5 full tower for what it would cost at most shops to just to diagnose your computer. good luck hope the 600 works good for you ,
and i would say having no fan on the 450 would have caused it to over heat and die .

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