Troubleshooting

From TheBestCaseScenario

[edit] Beep....beeep....beeep.... what now?!?

So you've just built your super awesome mean machine thats gonna help you pwn all sorts of noobs in Call of Duty...you turn it on and it starts beeping incessently. What the hell do you do now?

This section will aim to help you troubleshoot your problems. This is not a be-all and end-all of all problems/solutions that will occur in your build, but hopefully it will assist in some ways.

First and foremost do not panic. It is extremely unlikely that you've broken anything. Computers nowadays will beep or shut down if they figure out something is wrong.

This section is split into two sections. Non-POST and partial boot (so your PC POST's but fails after this).

[edit] Non-POST

My computers beeping!

Usually this indicates a problem that the system POST (Power on Self Test) has picked up, and wont let the boot process proceed. If you're getting this beeping problem, check:

- RAM is in the correct slots (don't laugh, had an INTEL board that wouldn't boot because the RAM was in channel 1, not channel 0). If your board has four slots, they will probably be split into two different colours. Alternate these (so if your slots are blue and black, and all your rams in the blue slot, then change the sticks into the black slots) - Additional power supply (usually a 6-pin MOLEX) for the video card is plugged in. Some video cards, like a 8800GTX, will beep if they're not getting enough power

My computer won't turn on, or turns on quickly and then turns back off

This can sometimes indicate a short. I know the word "short" sounds scary in an electrical context, but again, don't freak out. Remember, the reason your computer is turning off so quickly is to prevent damage.

Check that you've spaced your motherboard correctly. When you bought your case you would have got a bag of screws etc. These aren't to throw at people. In this bag you will have little copper spacers (I think they're copper, someone feel free to correct me). In some cases these will be preinstalled in the case, or the actual case will be pockmarked achieving the same result. If these spacers are not used, and the board is mounted directly to the chasis, the system will not start. Again, don't laugh, I've seen this happen.

The computer hangs during the first splash screen (the one that usually has the motherboard manufacturers name on it

It can be difficult to figure these problems out. For more hints, right after this splash screen comes up hammer the escape key repeatedly. What this does is gets rid of the splash screen and lets you watch the bootup process. So if it hangs during the RAM check, its a RAM problem ,if it hangs during the HDD check, its a HDD problem, so on so forth.

[edit] Partial boot

Computer displays an error like "No bootable media"

You don't have your Windows install disk in, or your hard drive isnt hooked up properly. If you have your disc in and its still saying this error, then press either F8, F10 or F12 (depending on what board you have, alternatively mash all 3 during bootup) to get to your boot menu. Then select the DVD drive and away you go.