beeps but no boot

[Relztrah]

A friend gave me his HP Media Center PC m7000 to look at because it won't boot. It powers up OK, fans start, power lights come on, HDD spins, but I have no video output and hear a steady beep...beep...beep...beep.

I stuck an old PCI video card in and plugged the monitor into it with the same result. Ditto a PCI-e card in the PCI-e slot. No video output whatsoever, and the steady beeps.

I took the battery out and replaced it and it made no difference.

Where do I start troubleshooting this problem?

[kiosk]

A friend gave me his HP Media Center PC m7000 to look at because it won't boot. It powers up OK, fans start, power lights come on, HDD spins, but I have no video output and hear a steady beep...beep...beep...beep.

Depending on the BIOS type, this could signify RAM error. Reseat the ram sticks; if it doesn't help, try a known-good RAM.

Other thing that comes to my mind is that the processor is overclocked to high hell and won't start up.

Removing the battery doesn't really clear CMOS in most cases, you need to find a "clear cmos" jumper to do the job right.

[Paul Komski]

I stuck an old PCI video card in and plugged the monitor into it with the same result.

Was there a video card in the PC when this error first occurred or was the video on board?

How many beeps? and what make/model of PC or motherboard?

Just about any errors can be RAM related so does removing all the RAM or only running with one RAM stick cause any difference to the error beeps?

[Relztrah]

The RAM was the culprit. Thanks so much for your help.

[kiosk]

The RAM was the culprit. Thanks so much for your help.

Glad we could help you out.