Skadoodle

I bought a used EMachine T3095 off of Ebay. Seller said it was working and all it needed was to have RAM installed. So, I bought one stick of 512 MB PC3200 400Mhz DDR low density RAM. After installing the RAM, I attempted to power-on the PC. First of all, the monitor wouldn't come on correctly, then some sort of awful alarm started sounding off. IOW... it's not working. Any idea what the problem could be?

Skadoodle

*bump* Some help would be appreciated. I understand that my problem might not be 'geeky' enough for the gamer-type ilk that roams about the board, but that doesn't mean that it's not important to me.

The MB gives off a high/low alarm, like that which usually indicates CPU overheating. The PSU fan doesn't appear to be running, but the CPU fan is. I figured the reason that the PSU fan doesn't come on is because it never has time to boot? I don't know what to think. It was very dusty inside the case, but I cleaned a lot of it out (especially from out of the CPU fan). The thing is, the guy I bought it from swears up and down that it worked perfectly when he tested it. I'm sure it was as dusty then as it was 3 days later (when I received it), so I don't see how the dust could prevent it from functioning for me. Anyhow, cleaning it out did no good. The longer I wait between boot attempts, the longer it takes for the alarm to sound. The monitor does not display anything, regardless. Power light stays yellow and screen stays black.

EDIT: The PSU fan IS working; it's just so quiet, I didn't realize it.

speedster123

we realize your problem is important to you, also realize our techs are not on line 24/7, and that we donate our time.

clear the cmos, pop the battery out for ten mins after you unplug it. dont be surprised if you have a bad power supply.

the ebay sale of the computer with the missing stick of ram should have sent up red flags to you.

Skadoodle

I have absolutely no idea what a "cmos" is, or how to clear it. Have no idea what "battery" you are talking about, either. LOL

I didn't really think anything about the missing RAM, because the guy had tested it with a stick of RAM from his son's PC, and said it worked great.

I'm thinking it might be a brand incompatibility issue (with the RAM). The alarm that goes off sounds like an ambulance siren, and there is a red light that comes on near the RAM slots.

dai

if the alarm is like a siren the cpu heatsink has been disturbed when it was being transported
redo the paste on the cpu with some arctic silver
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

Skadoodle

Yikes. I've never done anything like that before. Hope I don't mess it up.

Are you sure it might not be the RAM? Would the problem with the CPU heatsink cause the monitor not to come on? And what about that little red light by the RAM slots that comes on? What is that?

dai

you can check the bios code here
www.bioscentral.com

Skadoodle

My monitor has to be on to do that though, right?

Skadoodle

I don't see mine listed. Even if it was, I have no idea what you're talking about. LOL

dai

you click on the listing for your bios and it will bring up a list of codes and you match yours up and read to the right of it what is the cause
look at the bottom one cpu the siren sound is usually an award bios
http://bioscentral.com/beepcodes/awardbeep.htm

Skadoodle

What is "Award"? Is that a brand of motherboards? If so, that's not my brand.

dai

award is one of the brands of bios m/b manufacturers use on their m/b's
they were bought out by phoenix a couple of years ago

Skadoodle

Oh, ok. I understand now. Yeah, I noticed that, right after it shuts itself off (and the alarm continues until I unplug the power), it feels pretty warm around the base of the CPU fan. The fan is working, though. Had a LOT of dust in it, but I sucked it out with a vacuum hose.

What confuses me, is that I read on another board where some guy was having the exact same problem (ambulance-type alarm), but it turned out to just be his RAM. I'm really cringing at the idea of messing with the CPU. I don't even know how to detach the fan. LOL

Skadoodle

Actually, the fan is quite easy to remove. What I mean is, there is some sort of thing under the fan, and I have no idea how to remove it.

1 g0t 0wn3d

Can you post a picture ? i would like to see the inside of the case

Skadoodle

Well, this is weird. I just noticed a sticker on the motherboard that says "Phoenix Bios Pentium IV". This is the original motherboard from the factory, but it's not using an Intel Pentium CPU, it's an AMD Sempron. So, why does that sticker say "Pentium IV"?

Skadoodle

Not at the moment. I don't have a digital camera. Have a webcam, but it's not installed on my laptop, at the moment.

1 g0t 0wn3d

0_o this is what emachines said
CPU: Intel® Celeron® D 325 Processor
Operates at 2.53GHz
256KB L2 cache & 533MHz FSB
Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home

Chipset: Intel® 845GV chipset
Memory: 256MB DDR (PC 2100)
Expandable to 1GB
Hard Drive: 40GB HDD
Optical Drive: 48x Max. CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Media Reader: 8-in-1 digital media manager (USB 2.0, Secure Digital™ (SD), Smart Media, Compact Flash, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO, Micro Drive, Multimedia Card)
Video: Intel® Extreme Graphics 3D
64MB Shared memory
Sound: AC '97 Audio
Network: Intel® PRO 10/100Mbps built-in Ethernet
Modem: 56K ITU v.92-ready Fax/Modem
Peripherals: Standard Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers
Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 ports (1 in Media Manager; 4 in back), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio-In & Out
Dimensions: 7.25"W x 14.125"H x 16"D


If they shoved a amd in an intel motherboard its not going to work take off the heatsink (the thing under the fan) there should be screws holding it in place, clen off the cpu and post waht it says on it.

speedster123

Pentium IV is registered by Phoenix® BIOS company .

Pentium is registered by Intel® .

Pentium IV is Pentium IV ( with IV ) NOT Pentium for Intel .

http://www.fic.com.tw/support/mother...q/faqbios.aspx

1 g0t 0wn3d

Speedster they dont have an amd and intel version with the same model number do they?