One of my computers has started locking up right after it is turned on. Before it even starts the boot process, a long, continuous beep sounds, and it does nothing. It locks on the first boot screen, and shows a message that says I need to go into BIOS to set the correct CPU speed.
It only does this sometimes. Sometimes if I restart it, it will start like normal. Today, however, I went to restart it, and it just kept giving me the same message. I went into BIOS to check the CPU speed. It is not overclocked, I have never done that. The speed was set to auto. I tried starting after checking it, but it still said to set the correct speed.
So, I set the CPU to slower than what it's supposed to run. It is an AMD Athlon 2000+, and now I have it set to run at about 1.7 ghz. After I did this, it started up without complaining.
I fear this means my processor is dying. I've had this computer for almost 4 years. Any other ideas?
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
I had the same problem with my emachines POS. I had to open up the case and reseat the power switches, then it worked. It's happened again a few times, so I've left the side off the case so I can get to the switches faster.
Posted by Wonder Dog (Member # 5691) on :
Overheating? Dead power supply? The beep makes it sound more like a power supply problem than a heat issue. Does your computer smell at all? (Acrid, smokey, like ozone, whatever?)
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
note: AMD processors run at slower speeds than their numbered rating. basically your 2000+ actually runs at 1.66 ghz. (could be part of the problem)
others that I've run into were when I had either bad RAM chips or RAM that wasn't seated properly
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
As TheGrimace pointed out, the regular speed for an Athlon XP 2000+ is 1.66 GHz. I'd check the power supply first; I believe a failing power supply can screw with the CMOS and cause it to lose the BIOS settings for the CPU speed.
Posted by Wonder Dog (Member # 5691) on :
So to sum it up: It's almost certainly not your processor. Most likely your power supply. And fugu's link should help you figure out what the beep means.