Computemer issues. Please help.

Former Member

Hello. I'm having Laptop issues and not having my laptop scares me. I need it. I was wondering if anyone could help. Etc.

Basicially this is what's happening, I tried to turn on my laptop, however the screen remains black. After a few minutes of the black screen, it starts beeping. However the scream remains black. I'm nit to sure what's going on? :-$

Help?

Skive

RAM possibly needs resitting.

Former Member

How do I reset the RAM? Will my laptop loose any files?

Indrid Cold

If you haven't messed with a computer's innards before, don't do it yourself. Especially on a laptop.
Take it to someone who has done it before or, better, to a technician. If it's still under warranty, take it to where you bought it or the company that made it.

Former Member

Can you tell me the causes of the issue?

Former Member

How many beeps is it making?
Can you see any BIOS information?
Can you film it with a phone and upload a video perhaps?

The most common reason for a PC to beep at startup is either a problem with the RAM or a problem with the graphics. Both are easily repaired and won't result in a loss of data.
However if it's beeping for another reason it could indicate a myriad of things, all of them serious and all of them requiring a professional to repair it.

Former Member

Easiest test for a graphic problem, if you have an external monitor you can plug into it, plug it in. If it displays video, it's not that. Check if there's a function key that swaps internal/external displays too. But it sounds like a possible RAM issue, even the non-tech people can check that themselves, its easily accessible. Just make sure you ground yourself before you touch it. Depending how many sticks you have installed, take one out, try turning it on again. Swap them around and power it on again. If it doesn't boot, get another stick of new RAM to test (all your RAM could be faulty), if it still doesn't work then something else is broken.

Former Member

Not sure if this applies to laptops, but I know on PC's the beep patterns have certain meanings. Might be worth looking into that?

Indrid Cold

It's the same way, but what each beep is should be in the motherboard's documentation. In my experience, the documentation you get with pre-built computers (including laptops) isn't that detailed.
Still, searching by the laptop's model online the information may exist.

Former Member

Yea if you do a google of your laptop model and the number of beeps you should find out. The beeps depend on the motherboard I think, so if you find out the specifications of the motherboard you can look up the beep codes for that if you don't find any for your specific laptop.

Former Member

The beeps depend on the BIOS that's used on the mobo. I always found the beeps useless to follow, they mean different things for different ones. I prefer to use a POST card. You can buy them off eBay quite cheaply.

Former Member

Your data isn't lost, that's stored on your hard drive. Open the laptop up, take the drive out. Buy a 2.5" SATA enclosure and you can use it elsewhere.