Need help with PC unable to boot

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[rip|mrkavanagh]

I am hoping some of you guys can help me diagnose my pc problem. Currently when I turn it on I get 1 long and 2 short beeps. It seems no one can make up their mind if this is a video card error or memory error.

First off PC Specs:

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX
ASUS M4N75TD AM3 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9
Thermaltake TR2 W0379RU - power supply - 500 Watt


First I will give a little back story.

Ever since moving into my new place I have been getting random freezes, bsod, power fluxuations on stereo equipment and weird stuff like that. The more periphials I installed in my pc the weirder things got until I just reduced it down to running CPU, GPU, 1 HDD, 3 fans, 16gig of ram. I question whether or not my apartment breaker box has the correct breakers for the outlets and lights. 15amp? I am curious if my 500watt psu has been underpowered by the electrical socket.

Now this is what happened. I was having freezing and bsod problems so I removed 2 sticks of ram and went on computing. After I turned off the pc it would never turn back on and only would give 1 lng 2 short post beeps.

Things I have tried to get it to post or to get a different post beep error.

1. Pc with only cpu installed. 1 long 2 short
2. CPU and 1 stick of ram (tried all 4 sticks in every slot and combination). 1 long 2 short
3. CPU, GPU with power, 1 stick of ram (tried all 4 sticks in every slot and combination). 1 long 2 short
4. CPU, GPU with power, 1 stick of ram, HDD. 1 long 2 short
5. I have reset CMOS, etc
6. Tried both PCI-e slots

Now here is the kicker....the only time I don't get any post codes and still don't get a boot is when the GPU is plugged into the mobo with no 12v power applied. PC turns on gpu fan starts full blast.

I really want to figure out what part has gone bad before I just willy nilly start replacing unneeded items.

[rip|buzinator]

http://support.asus.com/Troubleshooting/detail.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=1&m=M4N75TD&s=24&hashedid=b6R5QXWNOAJzwcUx&os=&no=978

Is pretty clear on that page that the beep code indicates ram.
Ideally, test your RAM in some other motherboard and also some other ram sticks in your motherboard.

Another thing I would try to eliminate is possible shorting out on the case. I would pull the mobo (complete with RAM, CPU & GPU) and power supply out of the case. sit them on some cardboard or wood (non-conductive) and see if it will boot-or-beep that way.


Overall it does sound like you're having domestic voltage inconsistancy (if it were the breakers the power would go out altogether, that's what they do, break). Browning out/spiking theoretically may have damaged every component.

UPSes or power conditioners would probably be wise, going forward.

[rip|mrkavanagh]

Thanks buz! I will pull everything out this weekend

Right the lights dim when you turn on the psu