Dead pc, power but signs of life

[Jedix123]

Hi,
Recently my pc was acting up so I decided to test my ram in a friend's pc. However it didn't seat properly and the mobo made some beeping sounds (in triplets if you need to know). So I redid them and now the pc won't boot or even post. The only signs of life is that the cdrom turns on (LED lights blink on power) and the Hard drive spins (whirling and the HD leds blink). However the CPU fan doesn't spin nor does the power led light up so this really has me on a stump. Furthermore, I've been playing around with moving the sticks of RAM around to no avail. Once the beeping came back and the cpu fan spins but the monitor still showed nothing.

I phoned HP tech support and they said the beeping is usually due to misalignment of the RAM. However since I've messed with the ram so much I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the contacts. I really don't see how a misaligned stick can break a motherboard or even a CPU. I've also tried resetting the BIOS and unplugging all the drives.

Do you guys think I screwed up my friend's computer simply because of my bad RAM/misalignment? This has never happened before. Please help! Thanks.

PC config:
HP Pavilion 522n
Celeron CPU
Imperial GLVE motherboard by Trigem
PC2100 original ram by hynix (3rd party reseller) 256 mb
PC2100 test ram by crucial 512 mb
Bestec PS
Onboard everything
Samsung HD

 

[mechBgon]

Can you try some known-working RAM in the HP? Unplug the system and punch the power button so it definitely has the power drained. Make sure to align the module correctly (I know that can be tough in an HP chassis sometimes). Once it's seated, get a flashlight and eyeball it closely to make sure the module really is seated all the way across. No gold contacts visible there.

 

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Can you try some known-working RAM in the HP? Unplug the system and punch the power button so it definitely has the power drained. Make sure to align the module correctly (I know that can be tough in an HP chassis sometimes). Once it's seated, get a flashlight and eyeball it closely to make sure the module really is seated all the way across. No gold contacts visible there.

mechBgon isn't kidding about how difficult it can be in some HPs to install a ram module. I surely hope you didn't put it in backwards .... because if you did and you forced it hard enough to make it seat, you probably fried the mobo and the ram. I've seen this problem twice on systems that have been brought to me for repair. The worst one I saw took all the ram, the mobo, the CPU and the video card with it. You could actually see the burnt track left in the mobo in this instance. Lets pray that this isn't whats happened to you.

I'd do what mechBgon suggested .... but I'd also be testing all my components in a known good system. Lets make sure we know the total scope of the problem you have on your hands. Once again .... I hope this isn't what you did. Its easy in some HPs if you install the ram without sliding out the front so that you can see exactly what you're doing.

 

[Jedix123]

Dang, I didn't know having the ram backwards can fry the mobo and the ram? This is unbelievable.. but I guess since HP resorts to dirt cheap parts now it's not that crazy. The problem is all of my mobos have ram slots that take ram with the stickers facing the back of the case. This is the first mobo that reverses it. I'll try to find some ram that work or test my 256 sticks in ANOTHER friend's mobo. I'm pretty the 512 is totally fried now so I'm not even going to test that one (for fear of frying another pc).

After that I'll try what mech suggested although I'm mostly positive that the ram is all the way in and I've cycled the power. Stupid HP and their stupid eMachine mobos!

 

[DetroitSportsFan]

I'm pretty the 512 is totally fried now so I'm not even going to test that one (for fear of frying another pc).

Take the 512 to your local computer shop and have it tested. They should have a device that will test it without putting it in a machine. Most shops won't charge/charge very little for such things. It only takes a brief moment to know if the ram is good or bad from the standpoint that either the current flows through it or it doesn't. If it tests good .... you may have gotten lucky. Unless of course, you see its already charred and missing some of those gold contacts.

 

[Double Trouble]

Putting in memory incorrectly (backwards, or not seated properly) can definitely zap the memory and/or the mobo. You won't hurt another mobo by trying out your memory in it (provided you carefully put it in and make sure it's seated properly before putting power back on). Try a stick of "known good" memory on the mobo to see what it does. Sounds like the mobo may have issues though.....