OK fellow experts... (I say "fellow experts", because I normally spend more time ANSWERING questions, and rarely post.).
Here's a funky problem: I have a computer in my house (OK, I have *five* computers), but this one belongs to my son. It was a "barebones" PC purchased from a local computer store last Christmas. System is built from a Gigabyte motherboard (sorry, exact model escape me at moment). This board has a Phoenix bios. Processor is a 2Ghz Celeron D, and I have 2x512 sticks of PC2700 memory.
A few months ago, after several months of rock-solis stability, the system started experiencing random crashes-- mostly when under load. Based on my experiences with such things, I reseated the memory, and that resolved it. About 3 more months of rock-solid stability and performance.
Two evenings ago, the system refused to boot. When the unit is powered on, the system's speaker emits a single very long BEEEEEEEEEEEP. Pause, and then another single long BEEEEEEEEEEP. And so on.
The first thing I did was to look up the BIOS "beep codes" that are posted all over the place. Sadly, a *single* beep is not listed anywhere.
I re-seated the AGP graphics card and also the memory again- and also tried booting with any other extras (disk, etc) unplugged. I also tried removing one and then the other stick of memory, and even tried replacing memory with the original 256MB dimm that the system came with. No change- In all cases, one single long "beep of death".
Since the system was basically built from a "budget" motherboard, I am going to ASSUME that the motherboard is, for whatever reason, "toast". Rare, but can happen I guess. I've ordered a replacement from newegg (insert happy customer reference here), and it should arrive in two days.
MEANWHILE... I am only about 70% sure that the motherboard is at fault. I examined the board for exposed/puffy/leaking capacitors (reference: the famous cap problem that plagued many of us these past few years), but they all looked ok. No apparent leaks.
SO.... while I'm waiting for the new motherboard to arrive, I'm seeking opinions from the other hardware experts that may be able to lay a finger on what else may be wrong. Oh yeah, I did the CMOS reset thing, and the board's battery tested fine for proper voltage. Post your experiences with similar happenings and let me know what you think the cause is.
If the motherboard is not at fault (I'll know in two days), points awarded to the single best answer that identifies what may be wrong.
If the motherboard *is* at fault, points will be split evenly for what I feel are the best alternative suggestions, since other users will find those answers helpful at some future time....
Woooof.
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