• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Hmm what could be wrong with this computer

F

flyinpolak

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
401
System specs are in my sig.


it has worked fine for quite some time but lately the system will not boot... wont post bios just gives me on looooooong beep over and over until about 10 min later when it finally gets into bios.... itll get into windows and then lets me see the desktop even starts to load start up programs and then shuts down. If i hit the power button to turn it back on it boots fine and gives me the option of the three safe mode boots, start windows normally or run a memory diagnostics..

ive done the memory diagnostics with two passes and it completed with 0 errors detected... ive ran mem test etc etc etc... i cannot find anything wrong... booting with individual ram sticks does nothing


I also have a second hard drive with a different version of windows on it but the problems have not occurred until recently...


any idea what could be the cause... ive googled it and it says theres a possibility of a defective power supply if the ram is good.
 
What motherboard or BIOS does the motherboard use? The beeping noise you hear is a diagnostic telling you what the problem is.

Since it matters which BIOS you are using, to determine what the code means we'll need that information.
 
Try a different PSU. That Thermaltake PSU is crap so even if wasn't the issue, would still be a smart idea to replace it ASAP.
 
Will do any recommended PSU's for under $50 if that is even reasonable. im a student so i dont have any money... ever LOL
 
flyinpolak said:
Will do any recommended PSU's for under $50 if that is even reasonable. im a student so i dont have any money... ever LOL
Click to expand...

The truth is, none of them. Most of them are of really crappy quality. You're very lucky to even have a computer system at all. At this rate you will no longer have a computer system at all - EVER, because that cheap PSU would explode under your system's typical load, taking practically the entire system with it. (Or, that cheap PSU might not explode, but would instead end up operating with ripple way out of spec, causing stability problems and early death to one or more major components.) In other words, with your particular setup, if you spend $50 now, you may very well have to spend $1,500 later (in fact, in as soon as just a few days) for a completely new system.
 
Last edited:
E4g1e said:
The truth is, none of them. Most of them are of really crappy quality. You're very lucky to even have a computer system at all. At this rate you will no longer have a computer system at all - EVER, because that cheap PSU would explode under your system's typical load, taking practically the entire system with it. (Or, that cheap PSU might not explode, but would instead end up operating with ripple way out of spec, causing stability problems and early death to one or more major components.) In other words, with your particular setup, if you spend $50 now, you may very well have to spend $1,500 later (in fact, in as soon as just a few days) for a completely new system.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that; ive been using this PSU for about 6 years LOL with the same specs and 0 problems... never overheats... to be honest it never really gets hot.. my system is very well cooled and i mean it.... it may be noisy as all hell but its never overheating (minus the GPU's due to a crappy design)
 
flyinpolak said:
Why do you say that; ive been using this PSU for about 6 years LOL with the same specs and 0 problems... never overheats... to be honest it never really gets hot.. my system is very well cooled and i mean it.... it may be noisy as all hell but its never overheating (minus the GPU's due to a crappy design)
Click to expand...

Count yourself lucky then.

Pick up the Antec Neo Eco 400C
 
flyinpolak said:
Thats less power than the 550 i have now


both are rated 80 plus.
Click to expand...

Your sig says Thermaltake 500W. If that is true, than that Antec Neo Eco actually has more power on the +12V rail tahn the Thermaltake 500W despite being rated 100W lower. Remember it's all about the +12V rail these days.
 
And also back onto the bigger issue.. what can be causing the Bios Beep and failure to post?
 
flyinpolak said:
Gotcha.... well this seems like a good PSU but again whats your opinion

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4362117&CatId=106
Click to expand...
That PSU isn't that good.
flyinpolak said:
And also back onto the bigger issue.. what can be causing the Bios Beep and failure to post?
Click to expand...
Check the Beep codes for your BIOs:
http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/awardbeep.htm
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/tp/award-beep-codes.htm

not sure if you described the beeping correctly so the above links should help you figure out the issue.
 
seems its still either the PSU or the Memory... well ill keep playing with it and try and let you guys know


and in terms of a PSU i need something with a bit more juice im not planning on keeping these weak 9600gt's much longer (except one for PhysX) so i need something that will supply the power the computer; especially the video cards, will demand.
 
flyinpolak said:
Ok i know OCZ's PSU are very iffy and many people stay away from them... ive previously owned one on another rig and never had issues... so here it goes...

good or bad??


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL111110&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL111110-_-EMC-111110-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17341018-L0B
Click to expand...

Not a good choice, either. It can't provide the full 700W under realistic operating conditions (an internal PSU operating temperature of 45°C to 50°C, in which it barely surpasses 500W without having a lot of things go funky). The [H]ardOCP actually reviewed that PSU, and it flunked testing at 700W.

Another reason to stay away from OCZ-branded products in general:
The company's customer service quality is much worse than average of late.

Oh, and one more thing:

Just because a PSU is rated at a high wattage does not necessarily mean that it can provide anywhere near that much power without blowing up. In fact, I have run into quite a few so-called "700W" PSUs that shut down or blew up when trying to output only 300W. (They did not blow up on me personally, but they blew up while under the stewardship of their owners who brought the systems to me to look at.)
 
Last edited:
ok so tell me this how is one to tell what PSU is actually good.. sorry im no guru at building computers but i can surely stick ram in the correct slots... and after swapping ram in and out including video cards and checking post codes on the mobo i have conlcuded nothing but now the system boots a bit easier... it will get into bios just flips out because i have two different speeds of ram... it never had a problem with that before but now it does... it wants me to reset the CMOS or CPU speeds??? wtf i dont know how to do that... ill get a pic of it later once im home im in class now...


lemme know how to check for a good PSU
 
flyinpolak said:
ok so tell me this how is one to tell what PSU is actually good.. sorry im no guru at building computers but i can surely stick ram in the correct slots... and after swapping ram in and out including video cards and checking post codes on the mobo i have conlcuded nothing but now the system boots a bit easier... it will get into bios just flips out because i have two different speeds of ram... it never had a problem with that before but now it does... it wants me to reset the CMOS or CPU speeds??? wtf i dont know how to do that... ill get a pic of it later once im home im in class now...


lemme know how to check for a good PSU
Click to expand...

Google some professional test lab reviews of a given make and model of PSU. Don't rely on consumer or user reviews since most such reviewers have no other PSUs to compare them with (and thus user reviews are mostly useless).
 
E4g1e said:
Don't rely on consumer or user reviews since most such reviewers have no other PSUs to compare them with (and thus user reviews are mostly useless).
Click to expand...

I add to that statement that many of those user reviewers were not running those PSUs to anywhere near half of their claimed ratings even at full load. Another reason why most user/consumer reviews of PSUs are useless.
 
Ok cool thanks for the tips guys.... i figured since you said it was based upon the 12v rail i was supposed to look for something in particular...


well every day seems to make my computer get worse like any cold or flue... especially when its cold it takes longer and longer to get past the no post bios (that started happening again) and one continuous long beep... i keep checking the mobo but no codes show up on the display ....


now my computer hates my ram which it never did before and this is the error message i get... i dont get it ive gone into the bios and under the cmos config and changed the ram speeds to both be 800 (to match the lower of the sticks)

ive talked to many computer builders out here including techs and all say the computer should have no issues with the ram speeds being different as it will automatically pick the lowest and set that as the standard.


downsized_1113000958.jpg
 
flyinpolak said:
well every day seems to make my computer get worse like any cold or flue... especially when its cold it takes longer and longer to get past the no post bios (that started happening again) and one continuous long beep... i keep checking the mobo but no codes show up on the display ....
Click to expand...

The beep code indicates that you have a RAM issue.

flyinpolak said:
now my computer hates my ram which it never did before and this is the error message i get... i dont get it ive gone into the bios and under the cmos config and changed the ram speeds to both be 800 (to match the lower of the sticks)
Click to expand...

Did you literally set RAM speed to DDR2 800 speeds or did you set the DRAM to 400 to get DDR2 800? Basically, show us a screenshot of your memory config in the BIOs.
 
will do but they are all DDR2 sticks set to 800 i have no idea how to set dram at 400 to get 800

just weird because once the comptuer has been on for a while... 0 problems.... its only cold boots that it hates... first step is getting past the beeps and no post... next step is one failure at bios screen then it'll cycle through with that error in the pic i can log into windows... the moment i do the computer shuts down and turns off... the next time i boot no errors its all perfect.

if i just let it cycle through the beeps for a while it will do a successful boot into windows then shut down, once restarted again it works...


of course it gives me the option (start windows normally)


computer was perfect and just started doing this im leaning more towards a failing PSU more and more i think this ram thing is just because i swapped the slots that the ram is usually in.

but just my 2 cents... again im no computer whiz but i can build one (apparently one that cant last longer than 6 years)
 
Had this issue with an old antec power supply going bad on my old system, system would beep and say something weird about the BIOS and shut off, changed the power supply and right as rain after that.


One of two things it will most likely be, memory is the most common long beep code, with a pause, but as I had learned, ailing power supplies can also create the same error code beep.
 
Outamyhead said:
Had this issue with an old antec power supply going bad on my old system, system would beep and say something weird about the BIOS and shut off, changed the power supply and right as rain after that.


One of two things it will most likely be, memory is the most common long beep code, with a pause, but as I had learned, ailing power supplies can also create the same error code beep.
Click to expand...

well ill look into some PSU's and see where it goes.
 
You do know that you won't get any warranty with any of those PSUs?
 
Danny Bui said:
You do know that you won't get any warranty with any of those PSUs?
Click to expand...

I agree. Any warranty on PSUs, even from companies that are still in operation, apply only to the ORIGINAL purchaser of the PSU and not transferrable at all to a new owner.
 
Danny Bui said:
You do know that you won't get any warranty with any of those PSUs?
Click to expand...


very true

E4g1e said:
I agree. Any warranty on PSUs, even from companies that are still in operation, apply only to the ORIGINAL purchaser of the PSU and not transferrable at all to a new owner.
Click to expand...



never really thought of it that way... checked the load on my computer right now... only drawing 1.4 amps PEAK and 1.3 normally.

If and this is hypothetical; it were a good psu it has 2.2 amp quad 12v rails. Now with my math that's over what i need by a LONG shot.

so if thats the case the question lies in the fact that is it still a good PSU? i was unable to find Lab tests by google-ing
 
i was never a big fan of corsair after i went through four sticks of ram in under a year and a buddy has his Corsiar PSU completely melt down on him a few years back... true it lasted like 4 years but the computer was built by PC club back in the day when they still existed (So was mine until the ASUS board they sold me completely fried and then i upped the ram and did stronger video cards)

had that PSU in it since my sophomore year in high school and now im a sophomore in college LOL


love this computer hate these little things popping up... its still fast as hell and im maxing out the video setting on COD:BO and MW2 plus other games with shadows on and 0 lag... just dont like these booting issue... thats why i guess ill cough up the $100 ish to get a good PSU... to be honest im only drawing about 200-250w *(we measured it last night)* and thats tops...

system idles at like 150w


some may say 600-650w is over kill but better be safe than sorry and better have more power for future upgrades and not have the PSU struggling to actually put out that power.


idk any objections to that XFX PSU? or should i try that BFG not from the FS thread but from a retailer. XFX only has a 3 year warranty but to be honest their customer support has been unmatched (in my experiences) they still help me with any slight issues i have with my XFX board and Video Card the BFG has a lifetime warranty and is about 200w stronger and about $30 more
 
flyinpolak said:
i was never a big fan of corsair after i went through four sticks of ram in under a year and a buddy has his Corsiar PSU completely melt down on him a few years back... true it lasted like 4 years but the computer was built by PC club back in the day when they still existed (So was mine until the ASUS board they sold me completely fried and then i upped the ram and did stronger video cards)

had that PSU in it since my sophomore year in high school and now im a sophomore in college LOL


love this computer hate these little things popping up... its still fast as hell and im maxing out the video setting on COD:BO and MW2 plus other games with shadows on and 0 lag... just dont like these booting issue... thats why i guess ill cough up the $100 ish to get a good PSU... to be honest im only drawing about 200-250w *(we measured it last night)* and thats tops...

system idles at like 150w


some may say 600-650w is over kill but better be safe than sorry and better have more power for future upgrades and not have the PSU struggling to actually put out that power.


idk any objections to that XFX PSU? or should i try that BFG not from the FS thread but from a retailer. XFX only has a 3 year warranty but to be honest their customer support has been unmatched (in my experiences) they still help me with any slight issues i have with my XFX board and Video Card the BFG has a lifetime warranty and is about 200w stronger and about $30 more
Click to expand...

Sorry, but the BFG now no longer has a warranty at all. It turned out to be for the lifetime of the (original) company, which went out of business this past August. Best Data, the owner of the Diamond brand, bought certain assets of BFG. Plans are at this point unknown for the BFG brand, but I am suspecting that Best Data might be using the BFG brand for NVIDIA-based graphics cards distributed by Best Data (the same way that the Diamond name is now used for AMD-based graphics cards).

And you did not read my previous post clearly: If you buy any PSU used or from someone other than an authorized reseller, you have NO WARRANTY AT ALL! In other words, if you go ahead and buy any of them from that private seller, if the PSU breaks on you, the company will not even repair or replace the PSU at all even if you pay $999,999,999,999,999.99 to them for repair (but instead they will return the blown PSU back to you unrepaired)! You will have to purchase a brand-new PSU from a larger (authorized) reseller all over again even if the PSU that you bought on the For Sale forum breaks on Day 1. You quoted my previous post (about the warranty), yet you went off topic by actually responding to the post I made before that (referring to the fact that most user reviewers don't even use half of the PSU's rating in actual power draw even at full load).

And don't rely on the wattage ratings when comparing across brands or lines (in fact, the difference in wattage ratings is meaningful only if you're comparing PSUs within the same make and line). In fact, I have run into high-wattage PSUs that cannot provide even one-tenth of its rating under realistic conditions. (For example, a so-called "850W" PSU from a known shitty brand that blew up at only 50W - in fact, that PSU blew just after it was powered on trying to power an admittedly low-end system with shitty onboard graphics!)
 
Last edited:
E4g1e said:
Sorry, but the BFG now no longer has a warranty at all. It turned out to be for the lifetime of the (original) company, which went out of business this past August. Best Data, the owner of the Diamond brand, bought certain assets of BFG. Plans are at this point unknown for the BFG brand, but I am suspecting that Best Data might be using the BFG brand for NVIDIA-based graphics cards distributed by Best Data (the same way that the Diamond name is now used for AMD-based graphics cards).

And you did not read my previous post clearly: If you buy any PSU used or from someone other than an authorized reseller, you have NO WARRANTY AT ALL! In other words, if you go ahead and buy any of them from that private seller, if the PSU breaks on you, the company will not even repair or replace the PSU at all even if you pay $999,999,999,999,999.99 to them for repair (but instead they will return the blown PSU back to you unrepaired)! You will have to purchase a brand-new PSU from a larger (authorized) reseller all over again even if the PSU that you bought on the For Sale forum breaks on Day 1. You quoted my previous post (about the warranty), yet you went off topic by actually responding to the post I made before that (referring to the fact that most user reviewers don't even use half of the PSU's rating in actual power draw even at full load).

And don't rely on the wattage ratings when comparing across brands or lines (in fact, the difference in wattage ratings is meaningful only if you're comparing PSUs within the same make and line). In fact, I have run into high-wattage PSUs that cannot provide even one-tenth of its rating under realistic conditions. (For example, a so-called "850W" PSU from a known shitty brand that blew up at only 50W - in fact, that PSU blew just after it was powered on trying to power an admittedly low-end system with shitty onboard graphics!)
Click to expand...


No i got that i shouldn't buy from a forum member.. i did say from a retailer.. and when i said retailer i meant some one who was authorized..

and yes i know that i cant rely on wattage ratings across companies... but i cannot find any actual tests on the XFX therefore i have nothing to go off of but the website that reviewed it and what people are saying about it after purchase...

thanks for the tip about BFG though... ill try to stay away from that. and understandable that certain PSU's are junk... my current system only needs 200-250w (true i will be upgrading soon) but the max i think im going to need is about 400w im no serious gamer and i have stopped folding for a while because of hardware issues i had

so 600w is about what i will need anything more than that is serious overkill. I only plan on upping my video cards and after that ill build a new system in a few more years and retire this one...

but i really appreciate all the input guys... seriously.


and i replied to your quote in the first sentence the rest was a general thing to everyone not that i was going off on a tangent particularly to you.
 
flyinpolak said:
No i got that i shouldn't buy from a forum member.. i did say from a retailer.. and when i said retailer i meant some one who was authorized..

and yes i know that i cant rely on wattage ratings across companies... but i cannot find any actual tests on the XFX therefore i have nothing to go off of but the website that reviewed it and what people are saying about it after purchase...

thanks for the tip about BFG though... ill try to stay away from that. and understandable that certain PSU's are junk... my current system only needs 200-250w (true i will be upgrading soon) but the max i think im going to need is about 400w im no serious gamer and i have stopped folding for a while because of hardware issues i had

so 600w is about what i will need anything more than that is serious overkill. I only plan on upping my video cards and after that ill build a new system in a few more years and retire this one...

but i really appreciate all the input guys... seriously.


and i replied to your quote in the first sentence the rest was a general thing to everyone not that i was going off on a tangent particularly to you.
Click to expand...

Sorry that I had to repeat it in my last post. Point taken.
 
no problem


well bad news computer is literalyl flipping out toda... taking ages!!!!! to boot.. (into main profile) no problem booting into windows 64 bit just my 32 bit os is skrewey...


for some reason the Ram is going into 667 mhz now??? wtf...


noooo clue what my system is trying to do at this point but we'll see im trying to fix it now


windows boots fine into the log in screen but lags out when i click my user profile.


any who im still looking into PSU's
 
You sure you can't just try out another motherboard? The 780i chipset was well known for being unstable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top