PC does not Post

My HP6710 does not post when I start it up. The last PC I had that didn't post had a bad processor and crashed--10 days out of warranty, of course. Is there a way to check the processor with something like DiskCheck? I'm trying to avoid unplugging everything and hauling it back to Staples to have it checked [it's still under warranty

 

By "POST", I mean the little BEEP sound the unit makes shortly after you turn it on. Also, there seems to be an issue with the sound associated with events, like when you do something within a program that causes a sound -- the sound does occur, but with a delay of up to 30 seconds. I couldn't find a way to edit my original thread so I have to add info by replying.[??]rolleyes

 

Does anything show up on the screen after you press the power button? HP logo, do you get the options for F2 to enter setup, etc.

Sam

 

I posted this warning before. My co-worker bright me his computer after it 'died' (no post, nada) and he went to Staples to get it fixed, they (pardon the use of this word) 'diagnosed' it with a dead mobo. He bought a new PC at their urging. I took the old computer home pulled all the cards out - NIC and modem, RAM, drive cables, tested the power supply & then it booted right up. Well actually it POSTed a RAM error, which told me it was not dead. Turns out the NIC was bad. Pull everything and put it back one by one, start with the RAM if the systems posts after everything is removed. If the power supply tests ok and the only thing you have is the mobo and CPU in the case and ytou don't get a POST, then you can assume it is the mobo or CPU.
So if your not willing to do the diagnosis then you should take it to someone and hopefully that someone knows what to do with it.

If the system is booting to Windows, then it has POSTed fine even without the beep. Not having sound or system sounds in Windows is something else.

 

Dear Sam, the pc starts right up: I can hear the HDD start up, the HP logo screen w/ F2 etc. options follows immediately, then Windows (Win7Pro) starts right up. ...but never @ any time that well-known beep (post) sound! Very worrisome.

 

Dear foogoo, thanks for your detailed reply! Since my less-than-1-yr-old HP is still under warranty (and I bought Staples extra fancy exxxtended warranty), I will unplug all my stuff and take it in and let them fix it or give me a new pc!.....altho I am sorely tempted to rip out all its guts!!! :-D , Kay

 

Greetings, mizkay59...

I'm in agreement with foogoo - if Windows is starting, then the machine has POSTed. By the way: POST stands for Power-On Self Test, so by definition if Windows is running, you're well past the POST routine...

Is the machine in question the same one that you are using now to access the internet?

 

Dear Caliban (scary name ), yes, I am on the HP in question as we type: works fine in all respects....but, WHERE'S THE BEEP?? :confused

 

Ha! I thought you typed "WHERE'S THE BEEF??"

As far as the beep, no idea. I'm assuming this is a laptop, which is going to make things harder as far as troubleshooting the system speaker (if that turns out to be the problem)...

You could try this: power the machine down, and upon powering up, continually press any key that's not normally used for startup purposes (A, P, \, Space, etc.). Usually when a spurious key is pressed, the system speaker barks - is this the case with your machine?

 

Dear Caliban, 1)this is an HP6710, a full-size desktop pc; and 2)I powered down the machine as instructed, held down the K key when i turned it back on, and got a very faint screeeeee (very fast stutter @ medium pitch), then windows started up just fine. My fear is this: the other pc I had that didn't BEEP @ start up, worked just fine for 3 yrs and 10 days (just enough to get it out of warranty :{), and when I took it in to the geeks @ Best Buy, they found a bad motherboard, which they said was the source of no-beep, and of course told me if I had brought it in under warranty, they'd have replaced the pc.....perhaps i should just rename myself little nobeep and go look for some sheep... :} Thanks for hangin in there with me, Kay

 

Good morning...

Concerning the lack of the POST beep: I wouldn't worry about it - the machine is obviously starting up just fine. I'm sitting here in front of an ASUS CM1630 which has never beeped upon startup...

Concerning the delay in event sounds: make sure you're giving the machine plenty of time to start up before measuring event sound delays - Windows prioritizes its task lists (especially when cranking up), and system sounds are pretty far down in the hierarchy...

 

Not sure if this could be your problem but the motherboard specs shows an audio header on the motherboard. If you have a case speaker, you might want to see if the connection to the header is off of loose.