Computer help please...

[scooby_doo_m2002]

I have a computer that is about 5yrs. old. never had any problems with it. when we moved I boxed it up for about 6weeks. now that I hook it up and turn it on all I get is a 3sec beep quiet for about 3sec. and solid beep for about 3secs. power light is on hard drive light is on. unplugged all connectors and reconnected. one thing I did notice though is the bottom cover on my harddrive is gone. this is the first time I have ever messed with the hard drive. dunno if that matters or not.


And before you say it, I am too cheap to get a new computer. but if that is honestly the best thing to do then I guess I will. Kinda sucks though due to the fact that all my term papers and all my college stuff is on there..... I know, I know.... I should have backed it up........

[Tulsa]

If it's that old you probably have a floppy disc on it. Do you have a recovery disk you can try to boot it with?

[luckydog]

make sure you don't have a floppy or cd in either drives at startup

have you tried starting it in safe mode?????

[dishpan]

Internal hard drives don't have a cover on the bottom. It is normal for the controller circuit board to be bare and exposed.

If your screen stays black then check that your video card hasn't worked it's way loose from the bus slot. Give it a firm push to ensure that it is seated into the motherboard.

While you have the cover off, check that the small RAM memory cards are also seated and the end clamps are completely closed/vertical.

Ensure that the power is switched off, or better yet unplug the power cable before you go inside the case.

[scooby_doo_m2002]

Thanks guys.... Have the hard drive in my father's computer and it won't boot. Took his hard drive and put in mine, worked like a champ... Guess its a hard drive. Gonna go to the puter place tomorrow and pray to god they can get the over 350 photos that consisted of our wedding, 1st and 2nd pregnancy, and Delievery of both girls..... off the hard drive.....

[hanabi]

I do hope they can get your precious Photos off the Drive for you.....

Good Luck

[slothappy144]

Check if the jumpers on the hard drive are set correctly, if it is the only device on the cable set it to master. The legend for the correct position is printed on most hard drives, it may be abbreviations MA = master CS= cable select, SL SLA = secondary.
Did you learn your lesson about backing up? get a cd writer and get busy when you get it working! or your tech service should make you cd or dvd copies.
Avoid the Geek squad! use a real service!!!

[Trey314159]

...the over 350 photos that consisted of our wedding, 1st and 2nd pregnancy, and Delievery of both girls..... off the hard drive.....

Eek! Good luck.

Some days I worry about this kind of thing. We have family photos that are almost 100 years old. Will any of my digital photos last 100 years? Will my great grand kids be glad they don't have boxes of old photos of people they can't identify?

(I have to run off and back up my photos RIGHT NOW--you should to!)

[luckydog]

I took pictures of a lot of older pictures with my Sony digital camera.

I have them all on floppies and a cd I burned.

I sent copies of the ones of intrest to my brothers and sisters.

everyone was happy to see a lot of pictures of my folks in their early days of marriage and of themselves when they were younger.

[hanabi]

Oh how I just hate Photos of myself........

Someone here thinks it's a good idea to have Memory Cards and Video Tapes and DVD Recorders to burn copies of them......

as fast as I find them - I try to hide them....

but I don't mind looking at other peoples Photos

[dattia]

I hate photos of myself as well, they make me cringe...I am NOT photogenic at ALL!!! ...but it looks as though you are, your profile pic is very nice!

[hanabi]

I hate photos of myself as well, they make me cringe...I am NOT photogenic at ALL!!! ...but it looks as though you are, your profile pic is very nice!

Why thank you - you are most kind - but it's all a fluke - must have been a very hazy day or something.......

In fact if there's anything worse than a Photo - then it's a walking talking Video

[rbinkerd]

What you are hearing is what's called "beep codes"

They indicate what kind of problem your PC is having. I don't think the codes are standardized, so you will need to contact your PC's manufacturer.

Rory

[slothappy144]

Beep codes are specific to the BIOS manufacturer. most common are AMI and Phoenix here is a link

CD-ROMs are estimated to last anywhere from 30 to 200 years.
CD-Rs, before they are recorded, have an estimated shelf life of five to ten years.
CD-Rs, after recording, are estimated to last between 70 and 200 years.
CD-RWs are expected to last at least 30 years.

[computer bob]

Beep codes are specific to the BIOS manufacturer. most common are AMI and Phoenix here is a link

CD-ROMs are estimated to last anywhere from 30 to 200 years.
CD-Rs, before they are recorded, have an estimated shelf life of five to ten years.
CD-Rs, after recording, are estimated to last between 70 and 200 years.
CD-RWs are expected to last at least 30 years.

And buy quality media. I use CD-R's rated for "music". They are a bit more expensive, but your personal data is priceless.

[Trey314159]

And buy quality media. I use CD-R's rated for "music". They are a bit more expensive, but your personal data is priceless.

I have a long-term plan.. transfer (and re-encode) the data to fresh media (and easily read format) every 5 to 7 years.