System: emachines 433i, AMIBIOS, ATI Rage Pro AGP on-board video.

Sequence of events: I left the pc running, downloading files. I powered off the monitor and went to sleep.

In the morning, the pc was apparently 'asleep'. The power LED on the pc was lit. Stupidly, I hit the power-button and turned it off.

When I tried to turn it on later (monitor first, then pc power) the monitor would not display, and the monitor LED didn't light up.

I got one beep, as normal, and the HDD sounded like it was booting normally. I even put in my password, and, judging by the sound of the HDD, Windows loaded normally.

I tried all the things I could think of to get the monitor to display, with no results.

I disconnected the CMOS battery, without really understaning what it might do (someone suggested it, and I was going to try it anyway, out of desperation, to try and reset *something*!)

After that, no boot-up. I get this beep-code: beep-beep (pause) beep.

(I cannot find this exact sequence under AMIBIOS)

The nearest I can find is parity- and memory-errors.

My question is: What could have gone wrong, by my switching off the pc while it was 'asleep'? I mean, what are the likely problems associated with doing something like that? I don't see how I could've gotten a power-surge, considering that the monitor was already off.... (I know that that is bad practice, turning off the monitor while the pc is powered up, but I'm been doing it for a while, having read that it really doesn't matter. Maybe it did, at least this one time?)

I've tried removing and reseating the RAM, and using only one module at a time (I have two.) None of these things had any effect.

I'm about to take it to a shop, I guess, but was hoping someone could give me some insight as to what might have gone wrong.

Also, regarding the clearing of the CMOS: How will I be able to boot, after having cleared the CMOS??

I mean, even if it is the video card, and I put in a new one, if the CMOS has been cleared, how can it boot??

Thanks for any input! I'm getting quite an education in computers the last few days!

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If I am reading the AMIBIOS beep-codes properly, this is what I've getting:

2 short beeps - hardware test failure

1 short beep - The programmable interrupt timer or programmable interrupt controller has probably failed.

I haven't the vaguest idea what this means --- any help?

I'm using a WebTV right now, so it's kind of hard to copy and paste, but that's the gist of what I got.

If I am interpreting the beep-codes properly... I got them from www.bioscentral.com (http://www.bioscentral.com)

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AMI may have changed the way their boot up beep codes operate. The smae code sequence for Award means video problems. I would suggest to first reseat the video cable attached to the back of the computer. If this fails, then try another video card. Typically, these emachines have a jumper on the motherboard for disabling th onboard video (in case it does in fact go bad) to allow for it's replacement. Another option is that Windows may have booted back into the sleep state. In this case the only thing I can suggest is trying to wake it up trough the use of keystokes or mouse movements. Lame, but it's all I can think of.

The user manual should indicate the proper jumpers to short for the disabling of the onboard video. Another options is try to boot to the restore CD to see if the monitor works in this fashion.

Did you jump the jumper to clear the CMOS? If so, then you have to remove the jumper from the Clear position and place it either back into the Normal position or remove it. With the jumper in the clear position, you will not get video.

Clearing the CMOS will not prohibit you from booting the computer. You may have to reconfigure it for use, but you should still be able to boot the computer just fine. WIndows may squak about new devices found, for example, if a serial port was diable, clearing the CMOS may have reenabled it. However, you should still be able to boot the computer. Hope some of this helps.

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BiosCentral (http://www.bioscentral.com)
BiosCentral Forums (http://www.bioscentral.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.cgi)

Postcode: do ya think in Ami two to three beeps could be the Ram maybe remove plug modules back in blow dust out mabe try replacing the ram???
what i'm looking at just tells what the beeps could mean doesn't give to much trouble shooting?

Your right. Safe to cover all possibilites. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif Like YODA74 says, remove and reseat the RAM modules. When you do, you might use either a can of air or a small, non-metalic brush to ensure the RAM slots are cleared of any dust/dirt. Be careful to not touch the contacts on the RAM modules themselves. Handles them from the top of the modules itself to ensure no ESD. Also, while doing this, remain in contact with the case. Use one hand to hold the case and the other to remove and replace the memory modules. This will ensure some protection from ESD.

Good call YODA74. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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BiosCentral (http://www.bioscentral.com)
BiosCentral Forums (http://www.bioscentral.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.cgi)

I am learning a lot from you all thanks to you pro's even i can learn. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

I already tried reseating the RAM, and switching them around, and using them one at a time (I have two modules), no effect.

I'm wondering about the AMIBIOS beeps. I'm getting "beep-beep (pause) beep" They all sound of the same length, short.

Am I interpreting them correctly, that really I'm getting *two* messages:

2 short beeps - hardware test failure

1 short beep - The programmable interrupt timer or programmable interrupt controller has probably failed.

I don't know what the interrupt timer or -controller is, does anyone here? By the sound of it, maybe this is applicable -- ie, is the power-management on the pc part of this interrupt timer or -controller. *Something* got interrupted, and it won't start back up!

My AMIBIOS sticker on the chip reads Copyright 1985-95. The pc was made in 1999. I also got the same code listing from the AMI website www.ami.com (http://www.ami.com) So I think that the codes are right.

But am I 'reading' them correctly? All beeps sound of the same length, short.

And thanks for the info about the CMOS and booting. Also, I've already found the jumper to disable AGP, should it be my video-card.

I've posted my problem to another group, and someone answered that they have a similar problem, from a similar cause (powering off while pc was sleeping) and said her memory and video cards checked out fine, but she still gets the identical beep-errors, and has to try multiple times to get it to boot. That's not doing it for me, though.

To reiterate my question:

2 short beeps - hardware test failure
1 short beep - The programmable interrupt timer or programmable interrupt controller has probably failed.

Are the beeps being interpreted correctly by me?

What are these interrupt timer and controller??

Thanks again.


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Well, for a definition of what it is...here (http://www.pcguide.com/ref/mbsys/chip/func/busInterrupt-c.html)

and troubleshooting it...here (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/booterrGBER29-c.html)

I would say if you have a PCI video card available go ahead and disable the on board AGP, install the PCI card, and then try to boot...get into the BIOS setup and thensee if you have the option to disable the power management (all settings should be either disabled or never), then try again with the onbaorad AGP, if not just use the PCI video card...

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

Gun Control...hitting what you aim at!

If this is the case, the the motherboard itself is dead. The programmable interrupt controller (PIC) and the programmable interrupt timer (PIT) are both integrated into the motherboards chipset. The only way to fix that is replace the chipset. That would be the south bridge chip. Very costly to remove and chip that is soldered on the motherboard as it takes specialized equipment to do it. I suspect the hardware test failure is actually pointing to the PIC/PIT problem is this is the case. The PIT and PIC controller the hardware interrupt lines running fromt he CPU to the various devices on the PC. There are 16 of these. These are used to talk to the CPU and gain access to the CPU's time without causing the system to crash. Kind of like a policeman controlling an intersection.Only in this case, the intersection has 16 of them and the policeman is the PIC.

Another option to try is to press and hold down the Delete key then apply power to the system. This may also be done with the Insert key in some cases. Typically, the Insert key is the one that works. This is not guaranteed to work though. This may or may not reset the system. Hope this helps.



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BiosCentral (http://www.bioscentral.com)
BiosCentral Forums (http://www.bioscentral.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.cgi)

Thanks all, for your help.

I'll be taking it into a shop next week. Unfortunately, I don't have parts to swap to test it out. I suspect that I'm going to be in for a big repair or, more likely, a new pc.

One more question: Can anyone tell me what this means? It is a snip from www.wimsbios.com (http://www.wimsbios.com) >BIOS Settings >Power Management (I can't link directly w/ my WebTV box).

---snip---
Suspend Switch:
This setting is used for enabling or disabling the hardware suspend switch on the motherboard. Many MBs have those two pins, in most cases near other connetion pins ( pins for turbo sw, turbo led, reset sw, power led, etc.).
---unsnip---

The rest of the page is about changes to the BIOS made via the keyboard, but this apparently is a hardware change.

I'm still hoping that there's something I can do to the motherboard.

Does anyone know what this refers to? I haven't been able to spot these pins. I can't even determine my motherboard make and model....

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You know, i thought Compaqs were bad-until i worked on a couple of emachines! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif

Go here, eonehelp site (http://eonehelp.tripod.com/) it's dedicated to just emachine owners.

I helped a woman with a similar problem to yours; i wound up stripping every peripheral off the mother board ( like it was new out of the box ) blowing out every little nook and cranny, then replacing the items 1 at a time ( like building a new system ). Make sure it's unplugged then remove the CMOS batt again ( if it has CMOS clearing jumpers use them instead ) then plug it back in, put in the memory, attach the VID card-don't hook up the floppy or harddrives/cd drives yet, and see if you can get it to POST. If you're successful-then start re-attaching the drives and go from there.

I nearly pulled what hair i have left out when dealing with this emachine! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif Almost took out my universal tool on it!! ( the Hammer of Fix-it-all! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif )



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iisbob
"Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." --Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

lisbob

Well, I tried all that, every combination I could think of, and still nothing.

Re: emachines. What do you think is wrong with them, I mean, why do people generally think they're crappy? I got mine in Jan. 2000, and had no problems with it at all. (Till now. But I blame myself, for shutting it down while it was in sleep-mode. Maybe a better computer would have survived that mistake, though. I wouldn't have thought that it'd kill it, for god's sake!)

I know that they have a puny power-supply (145W in mine, I believe), only 2 memory slots in mine, for a total of 256 MB, maybe not enough slots, as compared to others. But for my relatively simple computer-usage (word-processing, some business-apps, digital photos) it worked quite well...

OK, here's why I'm asking --- I'm thinking of getting another one!

(I don't have a lot of do-re-mi, or I'd get a make with better features).

But for $420 (after $275 in mail-in rebates), this is what I can get from BestBuy this week:

800 Mhz Celeron
128 MB SDRAM
17" Samtron monitor
20 GB HDD
Intel Direct AGP 3D Graphics
Lexmark Z23 Printer
1 year MSN
Keyboard, Mouse, and tiny little speakers
Upgrade to WinXP for $15 (which I don't particularly want. I don't know what OS it has, ME I presume)

This sounds like a reasonable deal to me. I've been looking at the price of motherboards, for instance: roughly $100 plus $45 just for shipping!??

Just trying to fix the one I have would probably cost me who knows what, and who knows how much time...

And at least I'd have some spare parts to switch around, should something go bad...

Then, maybe I can fix my current emachines, at my leisure...

Does this sound reasonable, in your opinion?

What're the main faults in the emachines??

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[This message has been edited by Blandings (edited 09-02-2001).]

I scanned your post and am not that familiar with the WEB TV hookup, however, I am assuming that you are continually hooked up by modem. This could be a long shot, but it was a problem I ran into when my system went into hibernate/sleep. I could not resurrect it, so I shut down and it attempted to reboot...should mention that it was still connected to the Internet when it went nighty night!

What happens upon reboot, since it was not shut down properly, is that Windows scans through the shutdown data upon reboot. It determined that my modem was still operational (or it was still hooked up)still had an IRQ assigned and I would not be able to make it through POST. The solution was to remove the modem card, restart, and then shut down and reinstall the modem card. Sounds like you may have experienced a similar situation still connected to the WEB TV modem when you went into dreamland.

I would suggest, as I think in a previous answer, to go into your power management and change everything to never. Enable your screen saver, but never let the thing sleep/hibernate!

May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

Whyzman:

My pc's modem *might* still have been connected to the Internet when the pc went to sleep. But I took out the modem card --- disconnected everything, in fact --- and still could not pass the POST.

The WebTV doesn't have anything to do with it. It's a separate unit; I have only one phone-line, so I can only have either the WebTV or the pc online at any given time.

I'm still debating whether I should go with the cheapie emachines I described above your post, or if I should try and just get a new motherboard... I never thought I'd set out to learn so much about pc's, but I admit it's getting kind of interesting! I'm even halfway considering building my own pc! (Maybe I'm not thinking clearly, it's late!)

Anyone: Do you know what kind of socket/motherboard a Celeron 433 uses?

I've found a couple links, will edit them in in a minute.

OK... Would my cpu fit in this motherboard, anyone?

We Build PCs -- ABIT VH6-II Motherboard
Address: http://www.webuildpcs.com/wbpc/MOB018.html

This seem like one heck of a case:

We Build PCs -- 4Q Full Tower ATX Case, 300 Watt
Address: http://www.webuildpcs.com/wbpc/CAS003.html Only $45, with the psu included. They have a mid-tower w/ 400W psu, for only $35. Lot cheaper than I thought.

If anyone can point me to good suppliers, I'd appreciate it.

I guess I might have to take this to another forum, yet...

But if anyone can point out the faults in emachines, such as the one I described two posts above, I'd appreciate it! As I said, I've got simple computing needs, I'm not a gamer at all. But I'd still of course like to get a decent system!

Probably will end up getting it, and fool around building a system or rebuilding my dead pc at my leisure...

Thanks all for your input and help!
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[This message has been edited by Blandings (edited 09-02-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Blandings (edited 09-02-2001).]

We bought an EMachine for my husband's office. Researched it by reading through mostly consumer reviews. Seemed to us that those who had the most problems were those who didn't know what they were doing...so we bought extra RAM at the same time we purchased the EMachine. Also, we read that EMachine's support is a joke..so purchased a three or four year service plan. It's been running fine every day of the week (except Sundays) for 8 months now, and we've not had any complaints except for the ME part. I have heard that EMachine uses cheapie parts...but have also heard that of other brands too. You can go to CNet or a similar site and get reviews on the EMachine you're thinking of buying. Only thing that I remember that might be a strong consideration is that seems like I read about the modem not being up to par..like that's unusual..but my husband's office is not online anyway so we didn't care about that part. Would highly recommend some kind of service/support plan though...shipping your new puter back to China (or wherever) is kind of ludicrous. The service plan was something just over a hundred and they basically said if anything went wrong, they would just replace the "broken" one with a new one.

GEEE Kay that emachine of yours sounds like one i need, Does not work on Sundays, I like that. thats a machine after my own heart. heh heh. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Before building a new one you could try a fresh install of Windows. Reformat the HDD and load er up again. If your stored data is expendable you may want to just consider a RE-DO!

Oh, I was not connected to anything when I attempted to reboot from the deep sleep...WinMe data was showing that it was still in use. Had to have Microsoft Tech-Support get me out of that one.

May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

I read your post and thought I should say something. I went to this women's house with the same problem, the monitor wouldn't work (they had physically turned the monitor off). It was a brand new computer and monitor and nobody Know what is wrong with it however the company agreed to exchange the monitor but they had to pay the shipping. I did everything I could and was ready to pack the monitor but thought I should recheck it again. It start to work. I don't know if it is a circuit breaker inside the monitor but by unplugging and plugginig it the back (AC outlet) it reset the brraker and it has been working fine.

Update: It lives!

I finally was able to take my system to a shop --- it's the monitor, after all!

Apparently the improper shutdown had nothing to do with it. The pc works fine, but the monitor is dead.

I took it apart and checked the fuse: A-OK.

I wanted to test the switch, but it's buried.

So, time for a new monitor.

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know, and to say thanks for your help!

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