ZehDon

Join Date 04/2009

+115

Strange PC Issue, some advice please.

Weird problem, came and went. Could use some advice.

Firstly, let me say that I'm a long time PC User and have built my last three computer single-handedly and they are all still functioning without error. I have helped countless people with their weird and wonderful PC related problems. Although I have encountered a lot of really strange problems that have confused me, usually a little self-education, Google and a lot of coffee sees the problem solved.
I've tried a few other Hardware-centric forums I frequent, and no one there has been able to shed any light on this issue, which is why I'm posting it here in the hopes someone, somewhere might have some advice.

I have recently encountered a new problem which I haven't seen or heard of before but what makes things strange is it seem to have fixed itself, leaving no trace of the issue.
I attempted to turn my PC on about a week and a half ago and was greeted with system beeps (one long, two short) and a blank screen. I thought it might have been a memory issue, however a quick glance at my MoBo's manual revealed a Video Device error. I replaced the Video Card with a spare I have and it didn't change anything - a blank screen, no drive noises, and the system beeps. This repeated even with no Video Card in the MoBo. I consulted some friend of mine, who advised removing every component and letting the board power up to see if the board itself was damaged. Doing this, the MoBo didn't beep at all. A Google search of this revealed no one with my MoBo and this issue, however a variety of other people with other MoBos had encountered this; it appeared to be a MoBo malfunction and it was best to replace the MoBo. Now for the weird part: I turned it on two days ago after over a week of the PC not working at all and at least 100 power ups, and it now works perfectly. BIOS and Windows reported no errors, and the computer works perfectly in all conditions and under all diagnostic tools I can get my hands on for free. I ran the Crysis 3D Benchmark on loop for over 4 hours to test the Video Card and it reported the exact same FPS averages as it had prior to the malfunction and the card didn't overheat. Nothing smells burnt, there is no scoring on any components or power cables.

I have no idea what could've caused this problem, why it magically appears to have fixed itself and why it appears to have had no residual effects on the PC, it's software or any of its components. Any one have any ideas what might have caused it? I tripple checked for anyone else encountering this issue with my MoBo, and it doesn't appear to be a known issue.
I don't mind having to replace the MoBo if it's called for, however since it's all back to working order I'm fairly tempted to simply continue using it as is and see what happens. Any suggestions?

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Snowman

Join Date 03/2001

+343

A couple of things could have caused the initial 'screwup':

1) Something weren't seated properly the first time around, causing the diagnostic tools to think that something was wrong/defective.

2) Mobo is about to 'self destruct'. Basically... it's on it's way down the final stretch.

If '2' then I'd replace it before it possibly nukes any more components in a catastrophic meltdown.

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too much things connceted to one power point and the PSU had enough power to start ur graphic card (since cards uses the most power in pc) and thats why the beep come up. U didnt noticed changes because its soo ridicilus no one would think about it.

For me it was my lcd tv, wii console, monitor and pc tower using same socket thru few splitters.

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I had a similar issue with a pc system I build for a friend. I got the beep code for a

bad video card. I replaced the video card and it still was beeping .. So, I then started

removing connecting to dvd drives and hds. Still got the error beep for a bad video

card .. I replaced the system memory with and did a reboot. It works ... So I put all

the system back together and did a new install of the OS and restored the users

data. The system is working now and I really still don't under stand why I got a error

code for a bad video.

The only thing that might have cause the issue is a stuck bit or stuck bits in memory where the

video data is stored on the memory card. I just RMA'd the memory and got it replaced ..

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I had symptoms like this on my laptop last year. I took it into Microcenter (computer hardware/software store) where they ran an $80 diagnostic and told me they needed to replace the motherboard for another ~$175. Then the laptop ran fine until a little more than a month later when it had the same problems and died again; out of warranty, of course. So it's probably not the motherboard, is the lesson, I suppose.

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Motherboard or PSU error for sure.

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Hmmm, thanks guys. It's still working great, and I'm trying to really put it through its paces to get it to self-destruct now; I'd prefer it to happen now than in a months time.

Quoting NeVeR-FuCKWiT-aOaK,

reply 2

Interesting idea, I'll have to try this one out as I haven't actually thought of this. I do actually have less plugged in at the moment than I did when the issue happened. If this is the cause, I'll have to write this one down. Thanks for the suggestion!

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