I just killed my PC by cleaning it

[mjmacky]

The problems you describe only point me in these directions

- Try running on just one stick of RAM, any more than that won't let anything boot (MB-RAM compatibility issue)
- PSU no longer good. If you have a digital multimeter, you can test voltages on the 5 V and 12 V from the molex (4-pin connector for old EIDE drives, fans, etc.). Black or chassis for ground, yellow for 12 V, red for 5 V. (edit: even if they are good, doesn't necessarily mean you don't have a good PSU, but it's still one way to track down and identify problems).

[worldpease]

Are you sure you hooked up all the power connects for that mainboard?...

Yeah, CPU power is connected, it is also appart from the other power conections, it's a 4 pin connector on mine.
I know what was connected and what wasn't before I screwed it all, but still I've verified just in case I missed something and I don't think so, of the few free cables there is none that matches any of the free slots on the board.
And also, now that you mention it, my machine does have a system speaker that beeps three times everytime I turn it on, but it has done that for years, literaly.
Finally, my board has no display, I don't think it is that expensive; the case has a frontal display but it's basic, you know, HDD activity, fans, tem, etc. and there is no more useful data on it, lol.

PSU no longer good. If you have a digital multimeter, you can test voltages on the 5 V and 12 V from the molex (4-pin connector for old EIDE drives, fans, etc.)

Hey that is a good idea, I mean I don't plan on putting more effort on this but still I do have a multimeter, thanks for pionting me in that direction.


Anyway I think I am done with it, I won't trow her away, will keep it for parts and stuff,
it could come in handy later.

Rest In Peace my loyal friend, and thank you for all those large torrents and the late nights of online gamin; the music and the e-mails.
you will be remembered as the meanest beatch' I've ever had.

[sandman_1]

Because you never posted anything about your motherboard, but if you have AMI BIOS, 3 beeps indicate a memory issue, specifically the first 64K. Even if you have Phoenix or Award, it appears that they essentially point to the same problem, memory. I suggest you start checking your memory like others have suggested.

[worldpease]

Because you never posted anything about your motherboard, but if you have AMI BIOS, 3 beeps indicate a memory issue, specifically the first 64K. Even if you have Phoenix or Award, it appears that they essentially point to the same problem, memory. I suggest you start checking your memory like others have suggested.

You are right, I never did post my board, it is a 'P4M890-M7 SE', Award Bios
and it does have a small table of Beep Codes in it's users manual:

-one long beep + two short beeps = video card not found or video card memory bad.
-high-low siren sound = CPU overheated, will shut down automatically
-long beeps every other second = no DRAM detected or install
-one short beep at boot-up = no error found during post.

as you see, the closest one is the first description,
although in my case is just three short beeps.

And I did mention I checked the memory, as I've seen first hand it can cause this kind of trubles
when it is inserted wrong or a stick fails or something like that.
I checked that both 1 Gig sticks where inserted correctly, that the small hooks (or whatever they are called)
where secured in the indentations on the side of the stick; I also switched sticks,
then removed those sticks and used a single spare 512M stick I have.
None of it seems to make any difference.

[FaithFXu]

It's a wildcard but try changing RAM slots. I've seen some temperamental crap from many a PC due to RAM being in the "wrong" slot.

[sandman_1]

On page 17 of your manual, it tells you how to reset CMOS using the jumper. Try doing that and see if you get any results. [I forgot you mentioned that] Everywhere I have looked on the net in regards to Award beep codes say that anything not usually defined is usually a memory error.

[Appzalien]

I suspect that somehow during your cleaning the cmos got reset to factory default, if the battery is low and you leave it unpowered for any length of time, its a good idea to go thru your bios tab by tab and check things like which hard drive is first in the boot order and what video type is first etcetera. I'm willing to bet your problem is in there somewhere.

Reseting the cmos with the jumper will often change things you had set, especially if something was changed for the video. I have had PC's that changed the boot order on me and one that failed a bio's update which then resulted in a black screen for onboard and pci video, but pci-e worked and allowed me (after pulling a card from another pc) to then use a floppy to redo the bios update. Since then, I never depend on auto bios updates from the manufacturer since they screwed it up and then went into denial. Also be sure you didn't accidentally unplug anything or replug to the wrong place. For instance, if you plug the CPU fan into a regular fan header, the fan will turn, but the PC will see no fan on the correct header and refuse to start.

[superpagla]

If ur monitor is ok then three things can happen with ur pc.

1. This is weird...but Format ur hdd I mean C: drive (now See if it works )then install a new windows....Face same prb 2 months ago and solved it myself.
**If your monitor comes(starts and shows your motherboard details) without your HDD, then your pc is alright.
2. Your RAM may be dead...Try to confirm it from another pc. Before u use it again....take a thin piece of cotton cloth and try to wash (without water/anything) the golden/silver connector...best way: warp the RAM's corner with the cloth and press the corner hardly(dont use too much force and only press in the connector) and move the RAM up and down.
3.Your motherboard may have a problem....To check it use another working RAM and start ur pc without the HDD...see if your monitor starts and shows shows. If it doesn't you have send it to the shop.

I once worked in a cyber cafe and faced this problem more 30 times.....
Try those and post the result. I think Power Supply is working all right.

After doing those, give me the report....

P.S. I think I posted this too late.....

[worldpease]

Hey, this thread keep coming back, lol.
Well you see, as I mentioned back then, the monitor is Ok but still, no signal appears to get to it
it turns on and all, the puts the small window saying 'no signal detected' then goes idle.

And yeah I know what you mean, the HDD formatting always did the trick for me too.
Anyways, that PC is now stored as spare parts,
I bought a new one since then (discussed here)
Thank you.