xp pc starts, beeps, turns off.. starts, beeps....

this pc was ok last night. no loose ram or aNYTHING. THINK I MIGHT HAVE DELETED SOME DUPLICATE FILES BUT CANT GET PAST THE VERY FIRST SCREEN (WHERE IT OFFERS BIOS AND SO ON) THEN IT TURNS OFF AND BACK ON AND SO ON! ANY SUGGESTIONS?

 

Dont think it would be os related, check to be sure heat sink is attached. ed

 

When I was working in a large tech room we saw that lots. It COULD be your OS, but first try new ram, then put new paste on your heatsink. If that doesn't work it is probably your OS.

 

First of all - how many beeps ?
AMD, OR, INTEL CPU, /--TO ENABLE US TO CHECK BEEP CODES.
Operating system - XP?

 

Ive taken everything out and put back. 3 short beeps now. not sure how to check heatsink though. advice would be good!!

 

its intel 4 and hewlett packard 3 really fast beeps

 

its xp too sorry

 

its xp, intel, 3 very short beeps (sorry im new to this forum)

 

These seem to indicate a memory eror in the first 64mb.
Unplug machine, and remove ram.
Re-install, one first to see if it posts properly, - if not try another stick of ram.

 

If it's an AMI bios then the 3 quick beeps indicate that.
If you have a Phoenix Bios, it's the same problem, if you get a series of beeps (but 1 beep-3,beeps-3 beeps)
I was directed to this site for HP bios---
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/reference/biosb.htm

 

Sorry, forgot to tell you, leave heatsink, and fan for now. Just look to see the cpu fan is working, and that it is not loose(clip come loose)
If you have not removed it, see if you can get into bios. Than check computer health in bios, and see what temperatures the cpu is running at - if it's less than 40 C, then leave it alone - Then try started by introducing, graphics card, hard drive, then, cd/rom rom, one at a time, restarting after each one to see if all is o.k - this should show if any of them are giving you a problem.

 

tried most things now. although the bios said the cpu is 72 degrees C i put the HDD into my own pc and it did the same so there's ya problem! do you think this is buggered?

 

72 C, it's way too hot!
If your hard drive is connected to your other pc as a slave, see if you can read off it- Right click My Computer, click manage, click disc management, click on the new drive, click explore- if it still has life, you might just be able to copy files you need from it.
If it makes a clicking noise- it's going if not gone to the heap in the sky.
If it stops your other computer starting, when fitted as a slave drive, it gone.
If it does not stop your other pc starting, when fitted as a slave drive, you could try a hard disk repair , by running CHKDSK /F, FROM MANAGEMENT CONSOL, BUT YOU WILL NEED TO SHUT DOWN, AND RESTARTING FOR CHKDSK /F TO RUN .
Let us know how you get on.

 

Now , the problem computer needs a health check.
Ideally get youself a wrist strap, to ensure you do not cause static electricity damage to the pc components when touching them, and do not touch the top of the cpu- this will free to take out, by use of a small lever, at one side.
You need an aerosol air spray, and blow out all the dust, and fluff.
The cpu heatsink/fan now will need to be checked.
Depending on the cpu, it has a band, which clips it to the motherboard, and you must be careful when removing it not to damage the motherboard, /parts. Usually you need to push one clip down, and lever outwards gently to release it, and the other side will then release fairly easily.If it,s a later board, you may have for push and twist knobs .
When the heatsink/fan is removed you will need to blow out the dust/fluff with the aerosol.
You should wipe the cpu, and heatsink base with a non fluffy rag, or I often use a paper tissue, carefully , so as to not damage the cpu, or contaminate it, and an alcohol based cleaner, to remove the old paste.
Replace , very carefully, keeping fingers off the top, and pins of the cpu, close lever, Apply a small drop the size of a heavy raindrop of paste to the cpu centre, only (it can be spread with an old credit card, and as thin as possible to fill any deviations in the heatsink, and cpu surface, and still make good contact - too little/too much=hot cpu.

You will need some heatsink paste- Arctic silver is one of the best.

 

ok. i set the HDD as a slave on my own pc and could access it fine. i copied the data and put it back in its original machine. (of course, every piece of hardware was checked and removed and restarted etc) it just wasn't going to work so anyway i went for a partial recovery... no such luck! in the end i did a factory recovery which is painfull but its fine now (albeit a bit out of date!) still dont know what was wrong!!! thanks for your support guys.

graham

 

Glad to see you got the data off it first.
Watch that temperature- if you have not got it download Everest from majorgeeks, it does not use a lot of resources, and you can open and close it periodically to check the temperatures if the temperatures persist..It could be worth you getting a better heatsink and fan, or, a larger base unit rear fan to improve the airflow, tidy up cables also improves airflow.
Good luck.

 

Also run the hard disk manufacturers test tool to determine the state of the hard drive. Most hard drive manufacturers have their own- look on majorgeeks downloads.