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Thread ID: 78178	2007-04-06 06:38:00	CMOS Battery Dead?	Sherman (9181)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
538571	2007-04-06 06:38:00	Hey All. I got home today fro the hols, to be told by my parents that their computer wasn't working. Apparently it has been randomly restarting lately, and when mum went to watch a dvd, the computer froze so she had to hard reset the machine. And the computer never turned back on... Ive had a quick look, and basically what is happening is that when the button is pressed, all the fans, lights etc power up, and it beeps. And it beeps. And it beeps.... Nothing appears on screen. Is this a sign of a dead CMOS battery?	Sherman (9181)
538572	2007-04-06 06:49:00	The beeps indicate an error code. Do the beeps appear in a pattern or are they continuous? It will not be a dead CMOS battery, but a hardware issue. Depending on the beep code it could be a memory fault, CPU overheating etc.	Jen (38)
538573	2007-04-06 07:46:00	What is it with dead batteries? People seem to blame all sorts of stuff on them. A dead battery causes the BIOS to revert to its default settings, wrong date and time, all that. It sure doesn't stop the PC booting unless theres some special drive arrangement, nor cause beeps not sit there blank screened and dead.	pctek (84)
538574	2007-04-06 08:19:00	Thanks for the replies. It is a continuous beeping. No pattern to them. It seems strange, as no new hardware has been changed/added/removed (except for a new hard disk - wich has been in for a few months). Thanks for clarifying about the dead battery issue also. I wouldn't have thought it should be flat, as I have much older computers that are still fine... The computer hasn't given a moments trouble (hardware wise) since we got it. Ok, now for more info: Mobo: MSI K7T TURBO2 CPU: AMD Athalon XP 1600+ RAM: 2 x 256MB SDRAM (dont know brand or speed) DVD-ROM drive and CD-RW drive (both original) 40GB (original) and 80GB hardisk (a few months old) NVIDIA G-Force2 mx Modem Any Idea as to what may be causing the problems? I will try testing each ram stick to see if that is the fault. Otherwise I don't know what else to try. Thanks for all your help so far	Sherman (9181)
538575	2007-04-06 08:25:00	could be bad ram.......try removing it and if the puter still beeps the same that's possibly it......also could be bad video card.......very possible either has simply failed or perhaps gotten fried from a voltage surge .....	drcspy (146)
538576	2007-04-06 08:26:00	ps: i've had cmos batteries go dead on a 3month old board.....you just dont know when the battery was made.......anyway it wont be that ....	drcspy (146)
538577	2007-04-06 08:26:00	Without knowing your brand of BIOS eg Award, Phoenix etc you cannot be certain, but a continuous beep from an Award BIOS indicated a memory fault. Seeing as the machine was locking up prior to this happening, that could tie in with it. Trying one stick of RAM at a time is a good idea. :)	Jen (38)
538578	2007-04-06 08:49:00	What is it with dead batteries? People seem to blame all sorts of stuff on them. A dead battery causes the BIOS to revert to its default settings, wrong date and time, all that. It sure doesn't stop the PC booting unless theres some special drive arrangement, nor cause beeps not sit there blank screened and dead. Some Compaqs go rather peculiar when their flattery goes bat. More random that the lotto numbers :badpc:	R2x1 (4628)
538579	2007-04-06 12:02:00	Well Well Well... I changed the vid card out, and put in a known working old pci card, and the comp booted witout any problems whatsoever - it didn't LOOK very pretty, but it did boot. So it would seem that the vid card has given up the ghost... Either that or the AGP slot has. Hmm, a quite different result than from a dead CMOS battery. it shows that one should never assume things or jump to certain conclusions.	Sherman (9181)
538580	2007-04-06 16:25:00	it shows that one should never assume things or jump to certain conclusions. quite right ........the ONLY way is to do a series of logical steps leading to a conclusion........this is called a process of elimination........of course the more knowledge you have the easier this can become......	drcspy (146)
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