Eek! PC refuses to boot.
 

Thinking there might be a RAM problem (kid's games freeze, blue screen, & spontaneous shutdowns) I ran Simmtester.com's ram diagnostic prog. Several attempts all ended with a freeze.
Decided to switch the 2 ram modules in their sockets but still a freeze. Then tried to test modules individually. Now, no matter which module goes in which socket or even putting both in results in 2 beeps, a pause followed by one beep, and nothing at all on screen. HDD is spinning OK, edge connectors on ram clean, all connections checked fully.

Have I fried the ram modules (can't specifically remember if I earthed my hands on the chassis before removal). Kids dont yet know the true extent of the 'minor glitch'!

Spec: Gateway G6-350 desktop about 5 yrs.old
Win 98SE
Two 128 Meg. ram modules (one original, the second bought from Crucial 2 years ago.

Thanks.

Really does sound memory orientated. Do have the mobo manual? This usually will give a list of BIOS beep error codes.

As a real long shot.. hows your CMOS battery?

Ant,

It could be many things with a computer that old. You could try opening the case and if it is full of dust you could try cleaning out the case with compressed air.

Also you could try removing the RAM, PCI, and AGP cards one at a time and put them back in their slots. (When you do this make sure you unplug the power cord prior to opening the case.)

Take Care,

Richard

The Gateway has a 440BX motherboard with a Phoenix BIOS. With Phoenix, two beeps followed by any other combination is a memory problem.

Richard said:

My standard practice with the UK power cord arrangement is to leave the power cord (kettle lead) connected but turn off the power at the switch. That way the chassis is always at earth potential and gives you something convenient to ground yourself to.

Concur with fobs.

I think the conventional wisdom is that if the powerpoint serving your computer is switched and both it and the lead serving your computer are earthed, then you are best off leaving the power cord in place and plugged in, but with the powerpoint switched off. Keeps everything grounded, keeps the volts away and you only have to touch the chassis prior to handling sensitive bits to discharge any static you might be carrying.

I regularly do it this way here in Oz - much the same household power standards as UK, I believe. So far no grief.

Unearthed 2-wire household supplies with no switches at the powerpoint, as found in USA and Canada, are different - I would follow Richard's advice re unplugging the power cord in that situation.

Cheers

AA

Had the same problem recently. I was told to do a static discharge on the machine which worked (initially). The problem eventually became worse and engineers came out for a look. After replacing just about everything it was finally diagnosed as a duff graphics card!. It's been replaced and all is well!

Could there be two seperate issues here?

1: Overheating CPU (Check operation of fan)

2: RAM damage incurrered when testing / switching modules.

carlos vandango gets the cigar!

Much to my surprise, the Hercules Prophet 4000XT video card (only 2 or so years old) was causing the problem. Took it out and the PC booted up fine and dandy.

Thanks to all contributors.

Ant,

That is great news. Glad to hear you are all set.

Take Care,

Richard