[Lothar]

well unfortunatly for me my computer died this evening, After uninstalling steam realising it was crashing my computer it failed to restart except 1 long constant beep, Thus implying the memory cannot be accessed, I have no idea in hell what to do and this is kind of a plea, unfortunatly i cannot give the specs to my computer but i really need to know if there is hope for the 1200 dollars worth of computer? Can memory be replaced?

[Lothar]

Amazingly the computer well... Fixed itself!, Not pushing religion on people but i kinda hoped and... Well O.o Beats me but i'm so on best behavior from now on

[Yum]

O.o it ''Fixed itself''? I would be wary of that, it may have just died down for the time being.(Whatever ''it'' is, applying that it is something internally broken or a virus.)

[Lothar]

No chance on it being a virus, More likely something inside is dodgy, Wasn't smart to clean it out with a hover tbh... Going to get my distant cousin who works with computer hardware to have a look, Believe my best bet is just to custom make my own so i can just blame myself when it mucks.

[RVCA]

Yes, the memory can be replaced but before you spend any money lets try to figure out whats wrong.

When you turn on the computer does it sound like it's turning on? Fans kicking in and power LED lighting up? If so, that rules out the power supply.

If it's one long continuous beep, it will most likely be the ram as you pointed out but could also be the video card, motherboard or the cpu.

The first thing you should do is disconnect the power cord from the computer, open up the side panel and make sure all components and cables inside are seating and connected properly.

Second, if you have multiple chips of ram, try testing each chip individually. It possible only one chip might be what's locking up your system.

I'm guessing you're not familiar with removing and installing ram, in which case this video will help.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4445703_remov ... board.html

[jawfin]

Another couple of pointers for self-maintenance. As you said, vacuum all the dust out - use a small brush to get dust off the fan blades (I use a toothbrush!). Side point about brushes, if its got synthetic brushes (like a toothbrush) then be wary of rubbing it over soldiered joints, only use natural fiber brushes on ICs and motherboards, etc. As you remove the RAM or any cards on the slots use a soft, white eraser on the contact points. The contacts can get graphite and such deposits on them, carefully erase them off, and don't do it so the little rubber bits fall into the PC !!!


Edit: Oh and, if you do as RVCA says, and pull the power out, you have no means of grounding yourself (for static electricity buildup that we all get) whilst working inside the box - so, don't wear shoes, don't have an air conditioner running, be even more careful at night and ground yourself often (touching something metallic that's huge, or that runs into the earth itself).

And finally, you won't get advice from our resident experts Melissa and Chantelle by posting in M.O. !!

[Lothar]

In that case jon would you mind moving this topicto General discussion? or the related forum section. danke

[Phoenix]

Moved from Members Only => Anything Goes.

[Lothar]

Yes, the memory can be replaced but before you spend any money lets try to figure out whats wrong.

When you turn on the computer does it sound like it's turning on? Fans kicking in and power LED lighting up? If so, that rules out the power supply.

If it's one long continuous beep, it will most likely be the ram as you pointed out but could also be the video card, motherboard or the cpu.

The first thing you should do is disconnect the power cord from the computer, open up the side panel and make sure all components and cables inside are seating and connected properly.

Second, if you have multiple chips of ram, try testing each chip individually. It possible only one chip might be what's locking up your system.

I'm guessing you're not familiar with removing and installing ram, in which case this video will help.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4445703_remov ... board.html

The power supply is fine i've ruled that out already, However this might help, Recently over a long period of time my graphics drivers have been failing, Tryed updating and tryed downdating however so im willing to put my money on the video card, possibly the motherboard, i have been inside the computer and as far as my in experienced eye can see everything is how it should be " Multiple chips of ram" i do not have enough knowledge of computer hardware to be able to do this, i would not even know where i should look going to watch your video now and will get back to you ( Strangly im on the tower now its mysteriously working again ( sorta) however i'm in confidence it will break down again soon)

[Lothar]

Ok i know what the ram is now, i have 4 chips of ram it would see however when you say " remove them" do you mean leave 1 in and test all 4 seperatly checking for crashs? Also wouldn't this make my computer un useable?

[Melissa]

Chan's much more an expert than, but I think I know this one

Btw dont use a vaccum cleaner inside your PC, the static can break it!!

Moving your computer around can cause the contact points on the RAM (typically) or graphics card to move even just very slightly throw a wobbly..

I have seen Chantelle carry a PC from one end of the room to the other and then it do this. Normally reseating this solves the problem. But maybe yours shifted back.

If the computer seems okay now , I would just keep an eye on it, if it does it again, reseat the memory as in the previous video someone posted and any graphics card installed.

Probably nothing, but could be something. Just keep an eye on it

[Chantelle]

Ok i know what the ram is now, i have 4 chips of ram it would see however when you say " remove them" do you mean leave 1 in and test all 4 seperatly checking for crashs? Also wouldn't this make my computer un useable?

No, just pop them all out and back in.

For the beep sounds like it could have just been moved.. has it been okay since?

[Lothar]

Strangely not a single crash :-p