Gateway 300LE Desktop- No Start-up

[adam]

Hi:

I have not used my Gateway desktop in over a month. I powered-up this
morning and the BIOS screen was the first splaash screen to come up, asking
me to check the date and time (both were incorrect). I assumed I had a CMOS
battery issue. This PC was manufactured in 2002. I changed the date and time
and hit F10 and the computer failed to continue booting or reboot (not sure
what should have happened). In any event, now I get three short beeps when
the power button is pushed in, with nothing on the monitor. I swapped
monitors, and the same 3 short beeps with the PC power remaining on, but the
monitor remains black. I reseated the Memory card (256 MB SDRAM) and reseated
all cables. Same 3 short beeps. The processor is an Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz,
running Win XP Home SP3. I removed the 3V CMOS battery and it read 0 V. I
replaced with a new 3V battery but the 3 short beeps remain. I would
appreciate any further assistance.

Thank you.

 

[philo]

Hi:

I have not used my Gateway desktop in over a month. I powered-up this
morning and the BIOS screen was the first splaash screen to come up, asking
me to check the date and time (both were incorrect). I assumed I had a CMOS
battery issue. This PC was manufactured in 2002. I changed the date and time
and hit F10 and the computer failed to continue booting or reboot (not sure
what should have happened). In any event, now I get three short beeps when
the power button is pushed in, with nothing on the monitor. I swapped
monitors, and the same 3 short beeps with the PC power remaining on, but the
monitor remains black. I reseated the Memory card (256 MB SDRAM) and reseated
all cables. Same 3 short beeps. The processor is an Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz,
running Win XP Home SP3. I removed the 3V CMOS battery and it read 0 V. I
replaced with a new 3V battery but the 3 short beeps remain. I would
appreciate any further assistance.

Thank you.

I did a quick web search and it looks like the 3 beeps are memory related.

I'd remove the memory (again) and clean the connections
and even try another slot.

If it still does not work I'd get some new memory


But before doing so, just for the heck of it,
I'd probably try reseating the video card

 

[JS]

After you replaced the CMOS battery did you enter the BIOS setup a verify
the settings (which are now most likely at their default settings since the
battery was dead) as they may need to be changed.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 

[adam]

I am assuming the dead CMOS battery has nothing to do with my issue. I am in
the same situation I was in before I replaced the battery: the monitor is
black. There is no way to "enter the BIOS setup" as I can't see what I am
doing. Three short beeps and no monitor picture.

Adam

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am assuming the dead CMOS battery has nothing to do with my issue. I am in
the same situation I was in before I replaced the battery: the monitor is
black. There is no way to "enter the BIOS setup" as I can't see what I am
doing. Three short beeps and no monitor picture.

If the black monitor keeps you from entering the BIOS setup. let me
make it clear that you have a hardware problem, not a Windows one.

 

[adam]

The video is integrated in the motherboard, so I can't reseat the card. I
relocated the RAM card to another slot and I have the same issue. I am going
to use the RAM card in another PC and see if the same issue surfaces: if so,
I will purchase new memory and hope that this is the only problem.

Thank you.

Adam

 

[philo]

The video is integrated in the motherboard, so I can't reseat the card. I
relocated the RAM card to another slot and I have the same issue. I am going
to use the RAM card in another PC and see if the same issue surfaces: if so,
I will purchase new memory and hope that this is the only problem.

Thank you.

Ok

or else try know good RAM in your computer


Please post back with the results.


LOL: I guess there would be no need to reseat an onboard video "card"

 

[JS]

If you have another monitor try swapping monitors.

JS

 

[adam]

Hardware meaning RAM memory? I swapped monitors and the power light on each
monitor turns green for a few seconds and then goes to amber, with each
screen remaining black.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

I am assuming the dead CMOS battery has nothing to do with my issue. I am
in
the same situation I was in before I replaced the battery: the monitor is
black. There is no way to "enter the BIOS setup" as I can't see what I am
doing. Three short beeps and no monitor picture.

Adam

See if you can locate the BIOS reset pins on the mobo.. generally a grouping
of three pins in the lower right quadrant of the mobo..

If you can't find them, try removing the CMOS battery for maybe 30 mins..


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

 

[Elmo]

Hardware meaning RAM memory? I swapped monitors and the power light on each
monitor turns green for a few seconds and then goes to amber, with each
screen remaining black.

If both monitors are black, there's a problem with the graphics card,
mobo, or power supply. A hardware group may have some suggestions, or a
computer tech.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hardware meaning RAM memory?

No, not necessarily limited to RAM.

It can be a number of things, and if you go and buy memory, you may well
waste the money. RAM for a 6-year old system will be expensive because it
has lost its economy of scale.

I swapped monitors and the power light on each
monitor turns green for a few seconds and then goes to amber, with each
screen remaining black.

It's not the monitor, it's a problem on the motherboard somewhere, or
possibly the power supply has failed. This isn't uncommon. It's also
possible for the power supply to have damaged other components as it failed.

If obvious and free troubleshooting steps don't work, you may well find
yourself in the situation where you have to buy parts blindly to eliminate
possibilities, and it'll be $70 there, $50 here, $100 there, until you
either find the broken part or have replaced *everything*.

With a 6-year old PC, I would be very hesitant about putting *any* funds
into the system. You may very well find that a 2-year old used system is
much faster and cheaper than the repairs would be. For example, it's not
hard to find a 3gHz Pentium 4 system, with a valid XP Pro license, for
around $200 (no monitor). Simply attach your old drive to that system and
copy your files to the newer drive.

HTH
-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hardware meaning RAM memory?

Unlikely. Video card? Monitor? Those are the more obvious thing that
come to my mind, but perhaps something else.

 

[Unknown]

Look in your users guide for the meaning of three short beeps.

 

[adam]

Intel (Kittyhawk 1.5) MOB:
256 MB 133/100/66-MHz SDRAM:

Three (3) beeps with my BIOS suggests "Memory failure in the first 64 KB."
Does this imply the RAM memory card is faulty, or do the "first 64 KB of
memory" reside somewhere else? If the RAM card is faulty, will it definitely
produce the same fault in another Gateway system? If I can isolate the RAM as
the source of the fault, obviously this is the only money I want to throw at
the troubleshooting issue.

Thank you.

Adam

 

[JS]

Did you reset the BIOS as Mike Hall suggested?

JS

 

[adam]

I did a GOOGLE search but I have no idea how to do this. Near the CMOS
battery is a terminal plug with three pins, but I have no idea if these are
the BIOS pins that are referred to.

 

[JS]

The quick way:
Just remove the AC power cord, then remove the
battery for 5 minutes. Then reinsert the battery
and then the AC power cord and power up.
If that does not work then use the jumper.

Using the Jumpers:
The pins you mentioned are most likely the pins,
you will find the small plastic jumper block inserted
on two of the three pins.
(Having a flash light to see what you are doing helps.)

First remove the AC power cord from the PC and wait about
2 minutes.

Next if for example you find the jumper across pins 1 and 2,
just remove the jumper and reinsert in on pins 2 and 3.
Wait 10 seconds and remove the jumper then put it back to
original location (pins 2 & 3).

Plug in the power cord and power up.
See if you still have the problem.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 

[adam]

Hi:

The battery was dead (0 Volts) so the PC remained unplugged while I went to
Radioshack and returned with a new 3 V battery. So, I performed this activity
without knowing it. Anyway, went to the office this morning, swapped a 256 MB
SDRAM RAM card from another tower and my PC booted up without any beeps. I
needed only to reset the time and date. So, kids, RAM does go bad. Why?? Who
knows? Thank you for helping me troubleshoot this issue.

Adam

 

[adam]

"let me make it clear that you have a hardware problem, not a Windows one."

Please see my final post. The RAM card was bad. Three beeps with my Intel
MOB (Kitty Hawk) indeed pointed to the culprit: first 64 KB of memory was
faulty.

Adam