My computer decided to die on me.

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I was woken up this morning with the new that my computer had, "started beeping, and then shut off." It was trying to reboot, but told me I had to do something with the BIOS (same kind of deal that happened the one time I accidentally disconnected my external DVD writer without properly removing first.) Anyways, I checked that over, then restarted. This time I got the alarm and then it shut off again, and now it won't start anymore.

I thought maybe it was a problem with the power source, but the CD-ROM and the DVD-ROM both start up when I turn the power on and there's a yellow loading light, just nothing else happens. My laser mouse also turns on, but not the keyboard.

So, any ideas? And any chance that I'll be able to keep the HDD?

Buttcleft

what was the beep pattern and board brand/model

thats usually an error code to tell you exactly whats wrong

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I'd have to open it up and check, since it's second hand and I didn't make.

The beep, I can't really say. I'd recognize, I think, but I was half asleep at the time. It was just some beeping.

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Aright, I found the box and installation disk. It's an Abit AN7 uGuru motherboard. But I don't have the manuals anymore.

Hahnsoo1

ftp://ftp.abit.com.tw/pub/download/manual/english/an7.pdf

That's the PDF of the manual for your motherboard. Motherboard manuals are hard to find because they mostly come from outside the US, so they aren't indexed by Google. You typically have to go to the manufacturer's site to find them.

EDIT: POST codes are near the end. Apparently, POST codes are displayed as a two digit LED. Just match the number of what you see with the number that is in the manual, I guess.

It would really help if you knew the sequence of beeps that you hear. It's similar to morse code, like "long short short short".

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Thanks, hope I can get some help from it.

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Alright, read through the manual. I tried the troubleshooting advice, but didn't get any results. Not sure what to do next besides take it into a shop.

I've looked at the POST codes, but they're not showing any errors. When I turn the computer on it shows a "90," which is what it's supposed to show when you turn it on. It doesn't deep anymore, either. It beeped once when it first screwed up (I wasn't there for that) and again when I turned it back on the first time. Since then it's done nothing at all when I turn it on.

Hahnsoo1

Okay, if the computer is turning on, but not POSTing (does it normally beep once when it boots?), then you will have to eliminate/replace the source. The typical culprits are Video Card, RAM, CPU, Motherboard, Keyboard, and Power Supply. If you aren't technically inclined, there are really few ways of testing each one other than swapping in a known good part for the potential culprit. I'd try Keyboard, Video Card, RAM, and Power Supply first (in that order), because those are the easiest to swap. Hopefully, you have spare parts around or know someone with spares.

Another possibility is that you have a faulty BIOS. If it was trying to update the BIOS and failed, then you could be in a world of hurt.

One thing to try is taking out the CMOS battery (a small watch battery on the motherboard) while the system is powered down for about 15 minutes. For most installations, I usually unplug the computer, then press the power button to get rid of residual power, then pop out the CMOS battery. Most motherboards have a jumper that you can move to do the same thing (power down the motherboard). This will reset the BIOS to factory settings (assuming it's not screwed).

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When I turn the power on the keyboard flashes once, but there's no beep. The POST readout stays at 90 (Complete uGuru initial process, AWARD BIOS take over booting job).

One of the 3 (it was the last one) troubleshooting options in the manual was to reset the CCMOS by changing the jumper position while also removing the button battery (which is next to the CMOS jumper, so I imagine it's the one you're referring to) and pulling out the AGX power connectors. Didn't make in perceivable difference.

I can try swapping out parts somewhere else, because I may have a spare keyboard lying around, but I don't have another power supply or video card.

Also, I can't remember if this is normal or not, but when I start it up the big heatsink fan for the CPU starts, but the smaller one for the chipset doesn't.