Computer will not boot! :(

[Perplexed]

Greetings,
In view of the fact that technical support is not available on the weekends... I have decided to make use of the public forums in my quest to get my computer up and running.

Ok, here is the problem: The computer will not boot up past the recognizing RAM stage(I think).

My computer specs:
AMD 1GHz processor/ ABIT KT7A motherboard; 640 MB PC133 SDRAM; Hercules Geforce2 64MB graphics card

All other components were removed to determine what the problem was without the added interference. But here is the rest of it.

SoundBlaster AudioPCI 128D; 10GB(5400RPM,ATA66)+ 30G(7200RPM,ATA100)Hard Drives

About half the time when I boot up I get 4 long beeps (perhaps one perpetual beep) and immediately after that it will turn itself off.

After clearing CMOS (tech friend suggested it) I get it to boot successfully but there is no video output at all.

I have checked all of the connections and the jumpers and such all is installed and connected correctly. I have even tried different hardware variations to try to ascertain the problem. I have tried booting with 128 MB ram and my old Voodoo 3 card with no effect. I have even tried booting without the graphics card and even RAM! Since the computer will not even boot without RAM I think that that must be where the computer is failing. It did not so much as beep without RAM excepting the four long beeps it emits normally even with RAM and graphics card. Also, after clearing CMOS the computer will come on and stay on but there will be no output as I've already stated.

I'm at my wits end trying to figure out what is wrong with my system! Any help would be greatly appreciated. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Sincerely,
James

[Perplexed]

I have just discovered the source of the beeps. Using a link provided in another thread very similar to mine, I found the beep codes that I needed. It turns out that my fan was not connected to header #1 and that my version of Bios must detect a signal there or it will give four beeps and shut down automatically.

HOWEVER, I fixed that problem only to encounter the problem of not booting, so far as I can tell anyway. There is no video output and no beeps at all. It just comes on and sits there. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif Please tell me I bought more than a ludicrously big paperweight.....

Tech support opens tomorrow so I will give em a call... but any help anyone can give me will still be beneficial... sometimes forums offer better support than Tech support. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[Timbob505]

Hmm....unfortunately, this sounds like a bad proc or something else of that nature. Hopefully, it will be nothing, but after fixing the fan problem, wait.....one other idea, try a hard reset after you turn on the computer. I had this work for some strange reason once - turned on pc and no boot. Hard reset (reset button) and it booted up fine. No idea why though. If that doesn't work, I'm inclined to think its either bad proc, memory, or mobo. Good luck, I hope its an easy fix! Let us know what happens!


Timbob

[Atomic Rooster]

Have you looked at the KT7 FAQ?
http://www.viahardware.com/faq/kt7/kt7faq.htm

[Michael Chiew]

Perplexed

There are 3 things that could cause your problem -

Hard disk - damaged area at Cylinder 0, Head 0, Sector 1 where the Master Boot Record lodges itself. You won't boot up if it is damaged.

BIOS chip is faulty. Post will not initialize if the chip is faulty.

Video adapter card - Since you've tested AGP slot with your old Voodoo3 card and still experienced the same problem, you can cross out video output as the cause.

I'm inclined to think that your BIOS chip is faulty together with other motherboard problems.

Look in that direction and you won't be far wrong.

Michael Chiew

[Perplexed]

Thanks for the help. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif I called tech support earlier today and they told me to return it so that they could "test" it. But thanks for the input... at least I know that the problem was not on my end.