Pc wont boot.

Soldato
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Hiya folks.

Whenever I go away I seem to come back to a damn PC fault.

My home server running win7 wont boot. It posts then says a hardware/software upgrade etc.

So do I want to start normally or setup repair.

Doesn't seem to matter which one as neither boot up.

It starts to load, then restarts posts and shows that screen again.
Tried it 4 times then PC shuts down and wont switch back on without a mains switch off.

Any Ideas before I try reinstalling windows.


Cheers
Matt
 
Soldato
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it been powerless for 20 mins.

Now wont post just reboots. The monitor displays varying brightness and markings each time it tries to boot. Does that sound like MB?
 
Associate
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you could try resetting the bios /cmos

If your computer is having issues booting, has errors during boot, after adding hardware is running into issues, or you're having other abnormal system behaviors that cannot be resolved though any other method it may be necessary to reset the CMOS settings

Remove CMOS battery causing the computer to forget all settings,To do this locate and remove the CMOS battery on the motherboard for at least five-minutes. After this has been done put the battery back into the computer and turn it back on.

If your computer does not have a CMOS battery or you're unable to find it you'll need to do a hard reset on the CMOS using a jumper on the motherboard
 
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Soldato
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I've reset the cmos.
On switch on I get a beep followed shortly after by 2 quick beeps.

Looks like that means its can't load graphics but points to ram. I have swapped out the ram and no change. I've tried with one stick aswell and it either beeps once followed by 2 beeps then loops or one beep followed by power off.
 
Soldato
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Sounds like either VGA or RAM failure depending on your motherboards Beeps, try reseating the VGA card, also make sure to unplug any external devices connected via USB, if you get it booting normally again, then re connect 1 USB device at a time and reboot to make sure it's not one of them causing the issue...

Other option is PSU not supplying enough power to the VGA!
 
Soldato
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Have you tried seeing what drive it's trying to boot from?
I had this problem after clearing the Cmos on my Htpc following a ram swap, it was trying to boot from a storage drive, not the boot drive lol :)
 
Soldato
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Cheers folks.

Ok its not even getting to post anymore.

Its using onboard graphics.

It only has the monitor connected at the moment.

when I first turned it on it gave me the option to start normally or start setup.

Then it would only post loop

Then post loop but with some weird colours on the screen.

Then no post only beeps.


I have tried with different ram and itll beep once then switch off requiring removal of power. 1 stick 2 sticks both slots and different ram.
 
Soldato
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May have hit a snag.

I have the OS on C:
but i also have 2 500gb running in raid 0 (seen as 1 disk for larger storage) this was done within win7. What do i need to do to get the info off these drives. Can I just move them both to another system or do I need to move C: and raid drives.

Or am I screwed

In the words of Penelope pistop haaaaeeelp
 
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you should check the computer POST and beep codes section of your manual it will tell you exactely whats wrong with your motherboard (usually)

if you havent got it just google it
 
Soldato
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I've reset the cmos.
On switch on I get a beep followed shortly after by 2 quick beeps.

Looks like that means its can't load graphics but points to ram. I have swapped out the ram and no change. I've tried with one stick aswell and it either beeps once followed by 2 beeps then loops or one beep followed by power off.

you should check the computer POST and beep codes section of your manual it will tell you exactely whats wrong with your motherboard (usually)

if you havent got it just google it

I've already done that and the internets says its ram but I've swapped out the ram with no effect. Which points me back to the MB again. I'll try and source another stick of ram to try

Ok with NO ram I get 1 long and 2 short beeps.

with ram I get the normal 1 short beep then a few seconds afterwards get another 2 short beeps. But I'm having trouble finding out what that means
 
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Associate
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Ok with NO ram I get 1 long and 2 short beeps.


Thats normal, your computer wont start if you have no ram in it.
you need to put some new ram in it and see if it works maybe both your sticks have gone however unlikey that seems but it happens ^
 
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Soldato
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I dont think I explained it properly.

I get 3 beeps with original ram in.

But those 3 beeps are NOT the same as the 3 without any ram.

I've tried with another set of ram and get the same 3 original beeps.

without ram 1 long and 2 short beeps.

With ram 1 short and then 2 very quick almost like 1 beep.

If the ram was faulty would that cause it to not switch on. (Like no power) Until I remove the mains power
 
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From what you're describing sounds to me as if the RAM is fine, even though you reset the CMOS with the jumpers it might be worth unplugging it & leaving the CMOS battery out for a bit longer than 5 minutes to ensure no corrupt settings are being retained.

I suspect though as you do the motherboard is dying.
 
Soldato
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Cheers Ghost

I'm in the middle of a spec me a server post. I'm going to order up another board anyhow but also build a more robust server.
 
Soldato
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AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH

Stupid stupid stupid school boy error AAAARRRGHHH

Ok

Looks like the 1 quick beep followed very soon afterwards by 2 very quick beeps may be normal.


So I've changed the ram half a dozen times stripped the PC down to just MB and PSU still nothing on the screen. Just those damn beeps then nothing.


Ok so I've fitted the new MB. Which needed DDR3 not the DDR2 I already had. Luckily one of my drivers was round the corner today so grabbed some DDR3.

Installed all that and


1 beep followed by 2 very quick beeps.


WTF


Was about to throw the damn thing out the window when I noticed the other end of the monitor lead. You know.... the bit that goes into the damn monitor:eek:

Plugged that in and all works now.


So annoyed with myself. It may have been the MB or it may have been the Ram. I dont know. I have a working rig now. And a box with a possibly working MB and a bag of possibly working Ram.



Stooopid Matt

Always check ALL your connections guys.
 
Soldato
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Well after all the above and a few days of testing. Looks like its the damn PSU.

M/B rebooted and displayed a screen saying pc shut down due to PSU fluctuations. Whislt at the same time PSU making a horrible sound.
 
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