Desktop computer is acting weird - making bleeping noises

Jumpstart

Jumpstart

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About a week ago, it started shutting down suddenly and making short bleeping sounds.

I'd disconnected it from the mains and switch it on again and all was fine. Then the next day, it would do the
same thing. It did this about four times then it shut down last night but wouldn't come on at all. :(

So this morning I switched it on and all was fine. Now it's still working. I have reinstalled Windows to clear all the bugs out, but they half an hour ago it shut down again. :eek:

Someone told me I need new ram. Why would that be? Any answers? It's an EMachines computer. :)

Thanks in advance. :)
 
It could be any number of things

ram failure
overheating if the processor fans are clogged with dust
motherboard failure

Fixing these problems are often a case of trial and error.
 
Well it could be many things, however the first thing I would check is that all removable componants i.e. memory strips are seated correctly. Whilst doing that you could check to see if any of the capacitors on the mother board have swollen tops (they should be flat). It could be the PSU of the computer, but with the information given so far it is not really possible to do more apart from guess. The website for eMachines would I suspect be able to advise what the sequence of bleeping means exactly. Overheating is a likely scenario

EDIT Darn it I must be slowing up
 
Thanks for the replies. I will try cleaning it tomorrow. :)

It's usually three short bleeps and the picture goes off completely But the computer lights stay on.
 
BIOS Battery ??
 
I think what you're all basically saying it might pack up completely any day. It's only 2 years old. :(
 
Well in that case, scrub "BIOS Battery" as I've never had one last less than 5 years.

(But you never know ..............)
 
I would give it a good vacuuming inside and clean all fans, also a can of air to spray out the power supply would help, dust is the nemesis of all PC's, it gets into everything and plugs up the small air passages in and around the CPU heat-sink, a small never used makeup brush works good as a PC feather duster.

Go to their web site and look up your modle see if they have a boot error code for the beeps, this should tell you what is going on, all beep codes are different it depends on the systems BIOS.

Also be careful on how you spray the caned air, if you get the liquid on the mother board you can thermal shock the components and you could do more damage then good.


One question, does anyone smoke around the computer? (you should see what a chain smoker can do to a PC)
 
Try popping the ram out and reseating it - on some of them the connections oxidise so you get a bad connection.
 
Short sharp beeps mean your CPU is overheating, pull out the heatsink, take it apart, vacuum out the dust (using the dusting brush attachment) from both the fan and heatsink itself and then reassemble, clean off the heat transfer compound from both heatsink and CPU and apply new stuff, then put it all back together and you should be fine, hoping that the CPU hasn't been damaged from overheating... :)
 
And if the heatsink pulls off the CPU with it just lever it off and straighten the pins with a knife. I panicked when it happened to me but it only took a few minutes to get the pins straight again.
 
Thanks for the replies once again.

I was gonna vacuum the fan and motherboard, but the computer's been working all right for the past 36 hours.

It's really weird. I'll keep you informed. Thanks again for taking the time to give me advice. :)

It's much appreciated. ;)

PS. We're all none smokers but it does get dusty in this room. ;)
 
2cvbloke said:
Short sharp beeps mean your CPU is overheating, pull out the heatsink, take it apart, vacuum out the dust (using the dusting brush attachment) from both the fan and heatsink itself and then reassemble, clean off the heat transfer compound from both heatsink and CPU and apply new stuff, then put it all back together and you should be fine, hoping that the CPU hasn't been damaged from overheating... :)
Click to expand...

If it is a 2 year old PC, the chances are it is a one time heatsink strip. I haven't seen (barium?) paste on a processor for years.


Generic beep codes

_http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

and one person's eMachine fix

_http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/551095-solved-emachine-not-booting-3-a.html
 
ChannelHopper, I'm not into the really technical stuff.

All's I can best deal with is a vacuum. But I'll have to make sure I don't suck out the motherboard's components! :D So, suction will be on low. ;)
 
From the above, the most likely culprit is the RAM, either faulty, or as AS has mentioned, dislodged / corrosion.

On all eMachines I've seen, the RAM specification is usually stuck on the front part of the chassis, next to hard drive capacity.
 
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