So I turned the power on this computer and the BIOS doesn't display on the monitor, the CPU speaker gives a continuous series of long beeps, and the processor fan runs non-stop. It's an eMachines D3415, here are the specs from their website: CPU : AMD Sempron™ 3400+ processor (256KB L2 cache, 2GHz, 1600MHz system bus) Operating System : Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home SP2 Monitor : Includes eMachines® E15T4 15" LCD display (15" viewable area, 0.297mm dot pitch) Chipset : NVIDIA® nForce™ 410 Memory : 512MB DDR (1 × 512MB), 400MHz (PC3200) Expandable to 2GB Hard Drive : 160GB (7200rpm, 2MB cache) Optical Drive : 48x max write CD-RW/DVD combo drive Media Reader : 8-in-1 digital media manager (Secure Digital™ (SD), Smart Media, Micro Drive, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick Pro®, Compact Flash, Mulitimedia Card, USB 2.0) Video : NVIDIA® GeForce® 6100 GPU Up to 128MB of shared video memory PCI-Express® (PCI-E x16) slot available Sound : 6-channel (5.1) AC'97 audio Network : 10/100Mbps Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port) Modem : 56K ITU V.92-ready fax/modem (RJ-11 port) Peripherals : Standard multifunction keyboard, 2-button wheel mouse, amplified stereo speakers Ports/Other : 5 USB 2.0 ports (1 in media reader, 4 in back), VGA external connector, serial port, parallel port, 2 PS/2 (keyboard and mouse), 5 audio ports (2 in front, 3 in back) Dimensions : 14.25"H x 7.25"W x 16"D Weight : 22.5 lbs I'm trying to find the beep code for it so I can narrow down the problem, but Gateway's customer support wouldn't help me. They said my serial # wasn't correct then gave me a phone # to a "pay for tech support" line. I searched for the code but no luck, any help would be really appreciated.
what were you doing with the computer before it did this, was there any hardware changes recently? if so check all your connections, make sure your cards are in all the way.
It's my mom's computer, an old one of mine, and she only uses it for web browsing. No recent hardware changes and she said she didn't download or install anything.
Bad memory is what I've been hoping for, rather than a toasted motherboard. I'll replace it later tonight to find out if that's the problem.
It was the RAM causing the problem. I replaced it and everything ran fine. Out of curiosity I simply put the 512MB stick in the other RAM slot and Windows loaded just fine. However, the comp is recognizing it as a 328MB stick, not the 512MB i know it is. Is it possible for only part of the memory to become corrupted?
