POST beeps

[balzito]

Hi all. Working on someone's computer which is really messed up. First, the power button doesn't work on the front of the case. You need to power it on from the back of the case, press the power button on the front, then the reset button to start the boot process. Then, the computer gives one long beep and two short beeps, which I've researched , and it sounds like a video or video card issue. The monitor stays blank so it is impossible to do any troubleshooting that way. I think it is custom-built, so there's no brand or company associated with it. It uses an ASUS M2N-SLI motherboard and it looks like it has two video cards. Any ideas?? I'm lost.

 

[patonb]

Youre gonna have to take out 1 card and try it.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Try taking one out, if he has 2. Using one or the other. See if that resolves anything. If you remove them both, does that beep sequence stop?

You know what he did last before this happened? What is his CPU RAM and PSU manufacturer and volume?

ninja'd

 

[balzito]

ok. I took out video card #1, still get the post beeps. I replaced it with video card #2 continue getting the POST beeps (1 long , 2 short). I took out both video cards with no video cards installed and no beeps (with no monitor plugged in; the beep sequence stopped). The model of the video cards were both MSI NX 7900GT. Were they maybe both fried by using a hard shutdown from the back of the computer as described in first post? CPU RAM is 2 GB; PSU manufacturer is Thermaltake TR2-550w. As far as what they did before all this happened, I don't know.

 

[Slaymate]

Try the cards in a different machine.

The problem could be with the graphics slot and not the cards themselves.

Or it could be a problem with the power being supplied to the video cards.

 

[patonb]

Have you tried card 1 in slot 2?

 

[balzito]

Yes, tried card 1 in slot 2 and vice versa. I will now try them in a known, good computer (different machine).

 

[billy2004]

i had a simialar problem recently and it was a driver issue with the video card. i removed the card deleted/ uninstale interface programs ran ccleaner and then reinstalled the card and it worked.

 

[balzito]

OK. Here is the dilemma. I was going to try the video cards in another computer but they are PCIe and don't fit into the PCI slots on the computer I have access to (which I didn't realize at the time). I'll probably just buy anew video card replacement, but there is a much larger issue with this computer, which I think caused all the problems in the first place. Here is the deal: In order to start and shut down the computer, you need to do a hard start using the switch on the back of the power supply (at the back of the computer). I think this has caused ALL KINDS OF HAVOC with all parts of the system, including and possibly frying the motherboard, the video cards, the memory, and the CPU. Any ideas on how to fix this issue? I think this is the core of all the problems. Should I just replace the Power Supply? Could it possibly not be connected right to the motherboard? I'm hesitant to buy any new component and install it in the system, as it could be fried by this hard shutoff. I have seen this computer in its better days, and it would not shutoff from the Windows Shutdown menu.

 

[patonb]

you know alot of bios have shutdown on pressing the power button.
I'd first make sure the power/reset buttons are properly connected.


But this might be why everythings bad.