My first self-made PC, unknown problem.

[deadhand31]

Hello guys, this is my first post here, and I just built my first PC. It's beeping at me, but i don't know what it means. I'll be using it, and I get a short, low toned beep, followed by a short, high toned beep. Now, I'm assuming this is coming from my mother board. I was wondering if this could be a heat warning, and i've constatntly checked CPU temperature, and it never exceeds 102 degrees fahrenheit. Here are my system specs:

Elitegroup K7S5A Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 2200+
512MB PC2100 DDR RAM
80 GB Western Digital
Radeon 9700 Pro Grahics Card
Sound Blaster Live 5.1
Generic Modem
16X Aopen DVD-ROM
40X12X48 CD-RW

Help!

[AllGamer]

Sounds like MEMORY RAM problem

try replacing it and using another kind

:t

[Peter M]

With all that power hungry stuff in there, is the power supply unit up to the job?

[Strawbs]

Welcome to sysopt.

system beeps are usually in code, have you checked your MoBo Manual for the key? also does the system show a boot\BIOS screen, or is the screen blank?

[deadhand31]

Well, I was told the more power the better, so I purchased a 520 Watt power supply. I put in a cold-cathode neon kit, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra juice.

My Mobo manual doesn't have any keys to what the code may be. When my system boots, it goes through the normal system screen. No error message comes on screen, it just beeps while Windows XP is running.

[Strawbs]

have a look at >These (http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm)< codes to see if you recognise any.

Merry Christmas http://216.40.249.192/mysmilies/otn/holiday/noel.gif

[Strawbs]

are you using the correct creative driver? have you disabled onboard sound in the BIOS? (assuming you have onboard sound).

[Tick]

I have a K7S5A mobo. They are particular on which memory is used. Check with the manufacturer on approved memory and go from there

Tick

[deadhand31]

You know, I think it could be the sound card issue. I disabled it in windows, but not in the BIOS.

As for the memory, I bought the midgrade option from www.1stchoicememory.com.

I'll definitely try disabling the onboard sound card (in researching, i found that this board has terrible sound). During use, however, there haven't been any noticable problems. Is there anything going on that could be damaging my pc?

[Peter M]

The onboard sound isn't as bad as the rumours have it. Not at all in fact.

But anyway, WHEN does it beep?

[Giblet Plus!]

Sounds like it beeps during startup. I doubt it's a sound issue, I still think memory could be a problem.

Check your beep codes in the manual. :t

[deadhand31]

There's really no specific times it beeps. It has beeped when:

1.The system was sitting idle
2.Playing UT 2003
3.Dialing up for my internet
4.Playing an MP3

[BigBlue66]

Where are you getting the CPU temp? BIOS? Third party software, such as Motherboard Monitor?

If it's third party s/w you're using, check the settings to see if you have inadvertently set something for an alarm to go off when certain levels are reached, either with fan speeds, voltage settings or temps.

If you're getting your temps from BIOS, double check in there that there is no alarm setting that's turned on or something.

Edit: Does it always beep after the system has been running for awhile? I'm trying to get at whether it's a heat issue or not.

Additionally, what kind of HSF are you using to cool that 2200? How many cfms does the fan kick out? Did you use thermal grease, such as Arctic Silver III, or a thermal pad?

[the xenon]

Its not RAM thats for sure, (since it boots and works fine)

first figure out what exactly beeps... the mobo speaker or the speakers connected to ur audio card.

If its mobo speaker then it must be ur CPU or mobo chipset overheating, new mobos have all those protective feature that warn u when something starts overheating

If its the speakers then it must be some prog thats running on ur comp that makes the beeping. Tell us what ur running...

[MailAndre]

102f !? I think that's too hot. Did you get cpu fan retail with cpu or is it oem? Amd's do get hot!

[Tick]

Try this link for your Proc Athlon XP 2200 (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_869_4348,00.html)! And here for your Mobo main support page ECS Support (http://www.ecsusa.com/support/supportCenter.html)! Hope this helps.

Tick

[omega31]

102f !? I think that's too hot. Did you get cpu fan retail with cpu or is it oem? Amd's do get hot!
Actually, that's not too hot. It's only about 39C, which is quite low.

[Brennan]

I have an 750 amd Duron overclocked to 840 mhz i am running aim, aol, ie and it is running at about 109.9F i also turned off the cpu tempt protect thing in the bios try that before i had a problem with the tempt thing and it would shut my computer down...hope that works peace

[deadhand31]

I doubt it's a heat issue. I've seen what happens to my PC when it overheats. I put it in my old desk, which pretty much locked it in a cabinet. Considering the specs of my system, it pretty much overheated in there. When that happened, it slowed down considerably, requiring 10 seconds to move the mouse. I have since moved to it a more open environment.

That said, I've been using my PC for a few days, the beep constantly reocurring. I've been running UT 2003 in full detail and resolution, and I never had any problems. I haven't noticed any problems when I get the beep. I also do not see any data corruption, which I believe would be a result of a memory error. I had my brother's friend take a look at it (he builds PCs for fun), and he's baffled.

I built this system with heat management in mind. There's an 80mm fan in the front blowing fresh air up the drive bays, and another in the back for exhaust. The power supply has dual 80mm fans, and I have an expansion slot fan right below the graphics card, sucking air directly off the heat sink. As for the processor, I have a ThermalTake Volcano 7 copper core heat sink on that. In my pre-purchase research, I found that the Volcano 7 is more than adequate for my processor. I also bought the round IDE and floppy control cables to ensure proper airflow.

I've really appreciated the help I've been able to recieve on this board. Thank you to everyone who'se shared their input.

:)