Computer help: Continueous beep (or buzz)...
Continueous beep (or buzz)...
by christy - 3/19/08 3:19 AMI have a laptop ACER TravelMate 4050. 40G RAM Running Windows XP Pro SP2 Over two years old.
I was working on a MS Excel 2002 worksheet when the computer suddenly hanged. There were no responses from mouse movements, mouse clicks, keys, etc. This has not happened before. I have to press the power switch for some 4 seconds to shut down the laptop.
On powering up the laptop by pressing the power switch, I got a lound continueous beep (or buzz). The laptop did not boot, and the screen was blank (dead). I have to press the power switch for some 4 seconds again to shut off the beep.
One powering up again, there was no loud beep, but as expected chkdsk ran but found no problems. Windows then booted up.
One working on the Excel worksheet, only entering data into a few cells... it hanged again... This happened a few times, and is still happening...
What happened ? I suppose the loud continueous beep is a smoking gun of a clue ? Thanks.
christy
Overheating maybe
by Steven Haninger - 3/19/08 3:43 AM In reply to: Continueous beep (or buzz)... by christyI'm not sure laptops do this but some desktops will give audible warnings if the temperature reaches a trigger level. Laptops have a CPU fan and they do collect dust. Ideally, you'd open up and clean out the case that way but such isn't practical with laptops. There are two ways I can think of. If you get a can of compressed air made for PC cleaning, you can direct the nozzle into the fan outlet grill. You might also be able to use vacuum suction if you have a proper attachment to a vacuum device. I'd go that route first.
yep overheating,
by Nightmares0nwax - 3/19/08 5:13 AM In reply to: Overheating maybe by Steven Haningermy mate had teh same problem a few weeks back, so i shouted at him!! =p
if you are going to be on a laptop for a long time you need to get a docking station, you wouldnt thing it but the heat generated by your legs is only10 - 20c cooler than the laptop, so theres not really mcuch pace for the heat to escape.
you will probably find that the cpu spiked and briefly used a lot of cpu power when loading office, that will in turn increase the heat genrated by it by a lot.
laptops were designed with convenience in mind for people on the move, teh battery only has something liek 1 or 2 hours. so sitting at home for long periods of time without a docking station can cause heat issues.
they dont tell you taht at the shop when you buy it ^^
laptops are evil creations sold by evil creatures =P
if you are still not satisfied contact your manufacturer, or the shop that sold it. give the make and model of your lappy and they should be able to decipher what the problem is by the coded beeps its outputing. yes they do have a purpose =p google can also help. they are called POST beeps. power on self test beeps.
Tell me how long since it was cleaned. VIDEO!!!
by R. Proffitt
- 3/19/08 5:44 AM
In reply to: Continueous beep (or buzz)... by christy
Watch http://reviews.cnet.com/Clean_up_your_laptop/4660-10165_7-6648292.html and share if you are getting this done or doing this yearly.
Many forget about maintenance.
Bob
Yes, overheating is a possibility, but...
by 4Denise - 3/22/08 12:50 AM In reply to: Continueous beep (or buzz)... by christyalso check into the possibility that you have a hardware component going out on you. Each motherboard manufacturer has a "code" built in so that you can diagnose hardware problems. Find out what your motherboard is and check the manufacturer's web site for a key that identifies the codes. You may save yourself some problems if you can identify a part that is about to fail before it actually does so.
Good luck.
Denise
Computer sound
by WAArnold - 3/22/08 9:46 AM In reply to: Continueous beep (or buzz)... by christyIf you are getting a continous sound I would suspect it is the memory. You could pull that module out, clean the contacts and reinstall to see if that would help.
Feedback...
by christy - 3/31/08 5:09 PM In reply to: Continueous beep (or buzz)... by christyThanks for all your replies. In case you all are wondering what happened:
I took the laptop to an authorized ACER retailer(the laptop was still sealed). Took them two days, but they could not find what was wrong. They said they suspect the MOBO, but they need some $30.00 just to inspect it, and if required, replacement will be some $350.00
So, I did some investigations of my own. Belarc Advisor found 1 slot RAM of 256 MB, so did "My Computer". It was 2 slots of 256MB each, totalling 512MB. So I opened up the now unsealed laptop, move around the memory sticks to different slots and found 1 defective memory stick and 1 defective slot. So I purchased a 512 MB stick for the good slot. Cost less than $30.00. Now, laptop working as good as ever...
christy
Bad Memory
by WAArnold - 3/31/08 7:22 PM In reply to: Feedback... by christyThanks Christy for letting us know. I suspected it was the memory to start with. You can pretty well bet it's the memory if you have that type problem. Same with the desktop computer
continuous beep
by LostValley - 3/31/08 8:43 PM In reply to: Continueous beep (or buzz)... by christyAward bios : No Power, Loose Card, or Short. That you are able to boot and it runs for awhile tends to rule out fried CPU but not fried RAM. Look closely at memory found during boot and compare to machine specs, if too low then replace RAM. The heat and blocked airflow stuff other mentioned is highly critical with laptops and a soft surface like bedspread, lap, blanket, etc....is the worst. Well they do hate white wine sumpin' fierce.
You may have logging in bios settings area that will tell you if heat or component readiness is causing the hang.
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