How To Diagnose a PC That Won't Turn On / How to Decipher PC Beep Codes-gctid44018

[Ajamu]

.

How To Diagnose a PC That Won't Turn On

How To Diagnose a PC That Won't Turn On | PCWorld

By Christopher Null, PCWorld
           Jul 14, 2011 9:00 am

There's no easy way to determine exactly why a PC won't boot (we're assuming that you tried booting from an optical drive or a bootable USB disk, and it failed), but the following steps will take you through the most common hardware reasons for a PC that won't load Windows.

'"

n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace('
', '', '

• Check all of the external cables, including the power cable. Confirm that your monitor is turned on.
• Do you hear beeps while the PC tries to boot? Write down the

number or the sequence of beeps (for instance, one long, three short)
and search the Web to learn their meaning. If you know the manufacturer
of your BIOS, that will simplify the search. For example, try a search
for "Phoenix 1-2-2-3 beep code" (for a PhoenixBIOS PC with a pattern of
one beep, two beeps, two beeps, three beeps); in this case, you'll see
that the PC has likely experienced a motherboard hardware failure. Even
if you don't know the BIOS maker, you should be able to determine the
issue this way.

• If your PC doesn't produce beeps, open the case and verify that

the internal cables--especially cables from the power supply and cables
linking the hard drive to the motherboard--are properly connected.

• Make sure the RAM is properly seated; remove and reinsert it, and

try booting with one RAM stick at a time (if dual RAM sticks are not
required, of course). If you have a spare RAM module or two, try subbing
 them in.

• Your system's power supply
   may have gone bad--many are cheap and prone to failure. Try connecting a
   spare power supply to your system (you needn't install it inside the
  case), and see if the PC will boot. Don't be tricked by whirring fans: A
   power supply may have enough juice to keep the fans going, but not
  enough to power everything else.
  
• If your PC has a discrete graphics card, try removing it and attaching the monitor to the integrated graphics connector.

').'")."n[/list type=decimal]"'
Finally, if all of the above steps fail, you're probably dealing with a bad motherboard or (less likely) a fried CPU.

============================
How to Decipher PC Beep Codes

How to Decipher PC Beep Codes | PCWorld

                 By Rick Broida, PCWorld            Jan 23, 2011 8:45 pm

Have you been hearing beeps from your PC, and wondering what they mean?

Those beeps come from your machine's BIOS  (a little piece of software built into the motherboard), and they're  its R2-D2-esque way of communicating with you. "Beep codes" vary a bit  from BIOS to BIOS, but in general one quick beep means that everything  is working fine. If you hear two long beeps followed by three short  ones, that could mean that the system failed its keyboard-controller  interface test (one of many that run during a typical PC boot). One long  followed by two shorts usually points to some kind of video failure.  And so on.

If you hear anything other than a single happy startup beep, check  your system manual, which should list the various beep codes. Failing  that, an Internet search from a PC that isn't beeping cryptically should  produce the information you need, though most listings are divided by  BIOS manufacturer (AMI, Award, and the like). To learn who made yours,  check your manual, call the seller of the PC, or carefully pop the hood  (if it's a desktop) and try a visual inspection: Most BIOS chips have  the manufacturer's name printed clearly on top. Figuring out what BIOS  beeps mean can greatly assist your troubleshooting efforts.
========================================================

.