Computer fails post, 'DRAM or M/B'...?

[706]

My computer keeps failing post. I cheched the beep codes and I believe it is the 'DRAM or M/B' error. It has given the beeps that signal this error before but they were non-fatal. Now the beeps are different but apparently its the same error.
So what does the error mean? I've tried removing the video card and ram but it didn't help. Is this something wrong with the motherboard? Am I going to have to replace it?
Unfortunately I have an exam in 2 days and could really use the computer.

 

[pat2k5]

you've tried removing the video card and ram ? removing the ram wont tell you if it's the ram or not because it wont boot without it.

try testing with other ram if you can get your hands on any...

 

[706]

I thought a computer can still past POST without ram? The only other RAM I have at the moment is SD so I'd have to go out and get some. Hopefully I can get a 'professional' in to check it out, though so far I've only had some moron who told me he'd ask for $150 an hour and if its the motherboard he'd have to take it away for a week to order special parts.

 

[SYL\X/3K]

$150 buck on hour lol , if i were in ur shoes i'd show my middle finger in his face and tell him to go **** a donkey.

if u hav any friends or relatives stick ur RAM into their system and run a memtest :
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Memory-Tweak/Microsoft-Windows-Memory-Diagnostic.shtml

ur gonna hav to create a boot disk or floppy to run the memtest on system boot

its better to know if its really ur RAM thats failing on u then buying the RAM first

 

[MrCoffee]

assuming you have more than 1 stick of ram try just running with one of those sticks, if the problem persists swap the sticks.
its unlikley that both sticks would be bad unless you've cooked them off with overclocking?

Remove all connections and cards from you mobo bar 1 stick of ram, the power connections and you GFX card.

might be worth taking the mobo out of the case to eliminate shorts on the case, that is sometimes a problem if the computer was put together be someone inexperianced.

 

[706]

I'll try the RAM sticks one at a time, if it still fails I might try them in a mate's computer anyway to see if they've fried. I don't overclock anything but my computer does overheat a fair bit.
Though it looks like my parents would rather just send it off to get repaired, I would have liked to try and find the problem myself, but I'm not the one paying for the repairs.

 

[706]

Well i've tried both sticks individually, they both have the same affect. It starts up, gives one long beep then a moment later, 1 short, which is the code for the DRAM or M/B error. It then sounds like it tries to start itself up again, it does a single beep, slows down then tries to start up again, does a single beep... etc.

I imagine this is the computer repeatedly attempting POST. At one point I did manage to get a display that said OC failure, enter setup to 'something' OC; I cant remember it exactly. Before I could enter setup it died again.
So what's OC?