[xmatrix]

Hey guys i've been repairing computers off and on and i consider it a hobby more than a job, but this problem with MY computer has got me stumped!

The problem: i turn on my computer after about a few seconds the internal speaker continuously beeps (a steady beep no pauses) and does not stop. The computer seems to turn on fine, even though i did not want to go past the winxp logon screen and use the computer normally in case it is a serious issue.

My hardware:

GA-MA78GM-S2H Mobo (heres the link http://www.giga-byte.ca/Products/Mot...ProductID=2814)

AMD Processor - forgot the model (will provide if needed)

ATI 4670 Radeon HD video card (PCI E)

2 x 1gb OCZ gold Ram
2 x 1gb OCZ Fatal1ty Ram

BRAND new Ultra 600w power supply

1 TV tuner

1 350gb SATA Seagate HDD
1 80gb IDE Western Digital HDD

What i`ve tried:

I`ve tried running the system with 1 gb of ram, 1 HDD, and internal video card

I`ve tried reseating the ram in different slots

I`ve tried reseating the pci cards

I`ve tried removing all `nice to have` connectors such as front side usb, sound, and firewire

Please if anyone has any suggestions or has encountered this problem before any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Im also going to try and load the BIOS fail safe defaults tonight to see if that fixs anything, but im not sure if it will do anything. Thanks guys!

[Carbon]

Yeah, reset the CMOS. Also Ultra makes poor to mediocre PSUs, but if that was the case you'd get more of a loud squeal than a beep.

[xmatrix]

Thanks Carbon for replying, the BIOS reset fixed the issue.

This problem all started when i wanted to change my mobo from once case to another. After setting up the computer and trying to turn it on there was no response at all! complete silence. At this point i though i somehow shorted the motherboard because when i completed the transfer i was not wearing a static band and also i was standing on carpet. I contacted gigabyte because they have a 3 year warranty on motherboards (comes with every one i think) and they sent me a RMA acceptance and a bar code to ship the motherboard with. I figured I'd try to play around with it since i was going to get it replaced anyways. Low and behold i removed everything from the case and when to turn it on and it worked! Now i needed a case, because due to some odd reason the computer did not start in my previous case (i wanted a new one anyways) and i did not want to go through more trial and error troubleshooting the problem. I bought the new case and put everything in it, i applied too much thermal paste and some got on my hands and on the processor pins (which of course is not good), i tried wiping it off and it looked pretty good so i went ahead and started the computer and that's when i encountered my problem (posted above). Through surfing the net i came across this post (http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windo...-cpu-pins.html) which describe almost the same problem i was having. I cleaned my mobo and processor with nail polish remover and a tooth brush and let it dry overnight, and to be 100% sure dried it some more with a blow-dryer (set on cold air). I assembled it and sure enough the same problem persisted. So after all this work i reset the BIOS and VIOLA, it worked!!!! Currently im running a prime95 stress test and has been running for 2 hours with no issues.

What I've learned

-Gigabyte has a 3 year warranty on motherboards
-NEVER assemble a computer on carpet without a static band
-If you decide not to use a static band there is always a risk of static shorting the motherboard
-NEVER apply ALOT of thermal paste, your motherboard doesn't need it and it will not benefit you in anyway, instead it may ruin components that you will have to spend a lot of time cleaning and hopefully will work.
-Only change cases if you MUST, otherwise if something works flawlessly LEAVE IT!
-DON'T try and fix a computer when you have mid-terms and assignments coming up because it WILL TAKE UP ALL YOUR TIME! (if your like me and having ur computer out of commission drives you nuts!)

footnote: when i was reconfiguring the bios settings i enabled some error detection settings that inform me of fans being broken and it made the problem occur again. I think this is because i'm not using the other fan slot in the mobo and the bios thinks the fan is broken, in which case it is not.

[philthomas]

If no joy, try a different PSU ...... I know it's brand new, but it's a bit of a junk make

[Carbon]

He got it sorted. :)

In the future, don't use nail polish remover because it has fragrances and additives. Pure isopropyl alcohol is really cheap and useful for more than one reason than cleaning thermal paste - first aid, for example, or as a solvent for other household stuff. The shorting problem probably wasn't your fault - likely it was missing a brass standoff or there was a screw in the case that was shorting the board on the case.

And yeah, I think we've all been there, sometimes the urge to get hardware stuff fixed is so strong that you sort of defy all rationality to try to fix it at the worst times.

[philthomas]

Yeah ..... I missed post #3 ... duh ! .... must of been aslep ;)

Glad it's all sorted :)