computer not turning on

[krazyq]

this problem is happening for a friend of mine.
He says he saw earlier on his monitor that it said some thing about surge power somthing?!?

now when he turns on his pc, the pc turns on, but the monitor is in sleep mode, the mouse and keyboard dont turn on. He hears 3 beeps when turning on the computer? what does this mean?
he does have everything connected to a surge protector...

His computer is a gateway 7000 series....yeah its pretty old

any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[aspire]

Are you sure its a surge protector or a simple power strip?

A power strip that is mainly found used in such a way has no surge protection capabilities whatsoever.

 

[krazyq]

Are you sure its a surge protector or a simple power strip?

A power strip that is mainly found used in such a way has no surge protection capabilities whatsoever.

well im gonna be going to his house to find out...he did say it was a surge protector.
And the pc turns on with the lights and fans moving....except no display and he hears 3 beeps.

 

[aspire]

If i remember 3 beeps is memory...?

 

[krazyq]

If i remember 3 beeps is memory...?

thats was my first thought.... he said he has 3 ram sticks....so im gonna go over and try one at a time.
Ill post back if that works or not.
thanks aspire.

 

[krazyq]

im bak and i tried everythingi knew.
tried all diff ram on all diff slots but it kept beeping 3 times when i turned it on. Theres was a green light on the mobo...so i guess that means the mobo is still working...maybe all the ram sticks were dead?!?!

i tried resetting the cmos and still nothing...

any other ideas guys/.?

 

[rtesta]

Did you try replacing the video card?

 

[veedubfreak]

beep codes vary from board to board. It could be the video card.

 

[krazyq]

beep codes vary from board to board. It could be the video card.

i did have that in mind...but i dont have another spare card to test....

 

[Ewc1307]

Does it have on-board graphics? - If so just whip out the current card

But as already mentioned it's more likely to be the RAM or Vid card.