Computer problems

so i havent turned on my desktop in like 3 days and now when im trying to turn it on the tower is beeping and the monitor isnt turning on. the monitor goes into powersave mode and the tower keeps beeping. whats wrong?

 

is the monitor plugged in right? what's your os?

 

yes i made sure everything is plugged in right and it is windows vista

 

The beeping you are hearing is a BIOS beep code, you can look up the beep code for your specific motherboard to see what's wrong. Time to troubleshoot. Normally you can take the side off the tower and double check all power connections, make sure your RAM is seated properly, take the RAM out and push it back into the PCI slot until it clicks, if you have another stick of RAM you can try swapping it out to check the PCI slot. Are the tower fans and lights turning on? that would normally tell you your power supply is good. Could also be your video card since your monitor isnt turning on, but probably not. Is it one beep, a constant tone, or a series of beeps? Try to find beep codes for your mobo, and pray that it isnt your processor that went bad.

 

Everything he said.

99% of the time it's the RAM so I would start there.

 

K+ It's great to see young minds haven't going to waste. lol... You are right on, thought I have seen motherboards go completely out causing the BIOS beep. This is to add onto Blue Falcon Post.

Pretty much it could be any of these:
Video card or memory card not seating correctly. (the cards are made of fiberglass, due to hot & cold, they can work themselves out).

One or more of the expansion cards have failed. (This could happen due to it going bad & or static discharge, power surge, or even lightning).

One or more of the memory cards have failed. (This could happen due to heat, it going bad & or static discharge, power surge, or even lightning).

Power supply has failed & not providing the proper voltage. Your power supply just doesn't provide 5 & 12 volts, the motherboard required a range of it, as low as 3.3v. (This could happen due to it going bad & or static discharge, power surge, or even lightning).

Processor & or motherboard failed. If either one happens I always replace both. (This could happen due to it going bad, excess heat, too much heat compound was used on the heatsink on the CPU and has worked it's way into the socket. It has oil in it & just like any oil, on a hot surface it spreads. (TRUST ME I HAVE SEEN THIS MORE THAN ONCE!) & or static discharge, power surge, or even lightning).

Remove all expansion cards & unplug all the drives power & data cables, (NICs, Modems, etc...) Except the Video card, providing it's not onboard. Try it now. If it now works, start plugging each one in one at a time. Make sure you do power down for each time & unplug the power supply & wait 30sec for the power load to drain from the motherboard & power supply. All ATX style motherboards have constant power to them and you'll cook something.

Still no, Remove all cards including memory cards, get can air and blow it out. Especially in the card slots. Caution, do not tilt can air while using it or VERY cold liquid will shoot out & cause condensation. Don't forget the power supply too. Yes you can use your air compressor, but you must have a water separator & you MUST turn down the PSI to 20-30 MAX or you WILL blow jumpers off the board. Also, hold your CPU & chipset fans so they don't spin or you'll burn them up!

Best of luck my friend, I have been doing computer work for almost 25 years and some can still be challenging. ;D

 

Wow y'all bringing back flashbacks. I think my heart is back to normal now.

 

lol.... Glad we could help. ;D

 

it beeps 4 times in a row pauses for a second then beeps twice more. the tower is turning on i hear the fans but i have a xps 420 and i noticed the lcd screen built in the monitor isnt working. fortunally its still under warranty but i much rather trouble shoot it myself then go thru dell. im going to mess with my computer after work and ill give you guys any more details i find out.

 

not disagreeing with above, but IME with vista, I would first try the easiest thing that I found works well.

unplug it. flip the power switch on the power supply in the back. wait a couple minutes, plug it back in and try again.

I've seen vista forget things and need a complete power cycle to remember. I've specifically seen it lose video with the beeps. Try that first, it's super easy. If that doesn't work, then go back and try the more detailed explanations above.

good luck