CPU or Memory failure

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike Stewart
  • Start date Start date
M

Mike Stewart

Hi,
I woke up this morning, went to use my pc and the screen was blank, it
would not turn provide a signal to the monitor, i reset it and it freezes
when the bios starts the memory test.

the screen just outputs:-

mem

and freezes. I suspect it could be the memory or the cpu, anyone able to
tell me which is more likey?

Regards

Mike
 
It said MEM so I'd start there. Remove each RAM stick and
try them one at a time if more than one. It might pass. Or
just buy some new RAM...you have a video output, otherwise
you would have had only a beep code for video failure. If
the CPU was bad, you would not have gotten to the mem test
either, it would have failed prior and given a beep code
again.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


"Mike Stewart" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
| Hi,
| I woke up this morning, went to use my pc and the
screen was blank, it
| would not turn provide a signal to the monitor, i reset it
and it freezes
| when the bios starts the memory test.
|
| the screen just outputs:-
|
| mem
|
| and freezes. I suspect it could be the memory or the cpu,
anyone able to
| tell me which is more likey?
|
| Regards
|
| Mike
|
|
 
If the CPU is faulty your system will not power up. Check your Motherboard manual for the 'beeps': the number and duration correspond to a particular fault.

Your fault is more likely to be memory related, so if you have 2 modules, pull one and try to power up. If it fails remove the one and replace it with the other that was pulled.

If the system still fails, then I'd be more inclined to suspect the power supply.

In either event, by this time you know that it's time to go to a repair centre where they should have proper diagnostic software and hardware tools [axe, hammer and dump bin].
 
The memory is most likely the culprit. Here is what I would suggest
doing. If you are comfortable with doing this, open your computer case
and look for the little battery on your motherboard. Remove this battery
for, say 30 second, and then put it back into place. Now try booting the
computer. It may be that the memory was trying to run at a faster rate
than it was capable of.

After you have reset the BIOS (by removing the battery), your computer
will no longer know what the time is and will ask you to set everything
up. It should give you a little message that will allow you to enter
the BIOS or Setup or whatever they want to call it. Try to find how to
load the defaults (or fail safe) and set the time and save changes. Now
it will reboot and hopefully everything will work alright for you :)

Nathan McNulty
 
Thanks foir that, it was working previously so i doubt its the memory being
over clocked some how, thanks i will get some more memory at lunch time, i
was not sure if the cpu was damaged if it would boot at all.I have got video
so i suspect the graphics card is ok, if not i have a spare somewhere even
if it is an old pci i can use for testing perposes. It only proceduces one
bleep which is always does when its booting up. the board is an aopen
k600-max if anyone has anymore information about the error codes, as far as
i can tell its no producing one.
 
My CPU runs at 266Mhz clock spead, can i put 400MHz memory in it as a
replacement even if it does not run at its full speed so that in the future
i can upgrade the cpu, or should i stick to 266mhz memory. the board is an
aopen k600-max if that makes any difference.
 
Yes


"Mike Stewart" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
| My CPU runs at 266Mhz clock spead, can i put 400MHz memory
in it as a
| replacement even if it does not run at its full speed so
that in the future
| i can upgrade the cpu, or should i stick to 266mhz memory.
the board is an
| aopen k600-max if that makes any difference.
|
|
| "Mike Stewart" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
| | > Hi,
| > I woke up this morning, went to use my pc and the
screen was blank, it
| > would not turn provide a signal to the monitor, i reset
it and it freezes
| > when the bios starts the memory test.
| >
| > the screen just outputs:-
| >
| > mem
| >
| > and freezes. I suspect it could be the memory or the
cpu, anyone able to
| > tell me which is more likey?
| >
| > Regards
| >
| > Mike
| >
| >
|
|
 
Mike Stewart said:
Hi,
I woke up this morning, went to use my pc and the screen was blank, it
would not turn provide a signal to the monitor, i reset it and it freezes
when the bios starts the memory test.
Click to expand...

Reseat your memory module(s): Shut down your computer and
turn off power *at the surge protector* (which cuts off standby
power while leaving your computer grounded) or unplug it. Take
the standard precautions against static electricity (wear a wrist strap
or keep one hand grounded at all times). Then remove the memory
module(s) and put them back.

Turn on your computer, and if it boots, run a few cycles of
"memtest86+" (download from http://www.memtest.org) to
thoroughly check out your memory. You should get zero errors.
If it doesn't boot, shut down and remove your CMOS battery and
check its voltage (or just replace it). In any case, Clear CMOS
(see your mainboard manual for how to do it) and set up your BIOS
again.

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com
 
Back
Top