Well...

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

So guys, my PC seems to have taken a shit. Seeing as today was literally my first day of training at my new job, I don't have the money to replace anything and as such the energy or will to figure out the problem. When I try to boot it up, it beeps a few times and I get nothing. I checked the connections, and don't currently have the tools to check all the internal parts.

 

Well the point is, I have been a bit inactive on the server I play on. Starting work was supposed to help me clear my mind and eventually get back into the groove. Now my PC is dead, so despite that plan, I just will not be able to play any games. The good news (if you can call it that) is that I still have a phone. I'll still be around on the forums and discord. 

 

Basically this is just me informing those who it may concern about my current situation. I sadly have many other things I need to put my money towards, so I don't know when I'll have a working computer again. Other then my lack of games, hopefully not much else should change from Discord and here on the forums. 

 

Let me tell you, after being exhausted at work all day due to my shitty sleep schedule, this definitely wasn't a pleasant thing to come home to. 

[Joshy 4,364 / 44,945]

That's a common problem.  Try re-seating the RAM.  Pop it open; take the RAM out and put it back in.  You'd be surprised how often this works.

 

I just copied a random Google image

 

Handle it by the sides/corners only and not directly against the surface of the card.  See the little white clips on the side of the image.  Use those first (push outward) then pull the RAM up.  When you put it back in it'll *click* in.

 

If it truly has gone bad, then I would recommend buying some more RAM.  It's usually a lot less than a whole computer...  like $30-50 USD.  If it doesn't work and you don't break it, then make sure the store has a return policy that'll support you (usually need to at least keep the packaging).  I know Fry's has a TERRIBLE return policy and they allow 15-days even if you open it and use it.

Edited September 17, 2019 by Joshy

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

So far what I've discovered is that from a previous roach problem, there are at least two dead near the ram. Didn't see them before. That said, I'm a bit... jumpy with bugs. Dead or not. I'll still give it a try though, just gonna take me a little bit. 

 

Man today just sucks.

[Joshy 4,364 / 44,945]

I can live with the hissing.  If it has wings..

 

[Male_08 403 / 0]

Well that's a rip. Hope it gets fixed soon.

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

After shaking it out and finding WAY more roaches then I'd ever have wanted to see or like to admit, moving to reseating the ram now. They were all dead, and I pulled out a vacuum to get the ones I found out. 

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

I swear, this is like a nightmare. First of all, I've been awake for 24 hours now. Second, there are too many that died and got stuck in between each stick of RAM. I absolutely hate my life right now.

[VilhjalmrF 2,099 / 30,689]

It happens gamer. I found bugs in my computer but weren't roaches. Worst part is that they were alive and caused my hard drive to overheat. Anyways good luck man.

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

Well, things are different. After taking out, cleaning a bit, and reseating the ram it's not beeping at me anymore. And doesn't turn back off instantly when I hit the power button. My TV even recognizes the input when powered on/off. However my monitor still shows nothing, and my mouse/keyboard aren't lighting up. 

[Joshy 4,364 / 44,945]

Couldn't hurt to try again.  Do you have a little compressed air?  Sounds dirty.  I would try getting something to blow it a bit.  Do NOT use a vacuum unless you have a special one built for electronics (needs to be ESD safe).  If re-seating it made a difference, then that's probably the suspect.  If you have multiple pieces of RAM, then try repeating the process, but only turning on the computer with one stick of RAM in there at a time.  If one of the multiple sticks are bad, then you'll have the same problem, but the computer can still work with less RAM.

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

Yes dirty, no air. First stick alone worked. So sir, you are certainly onto something.

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

Well, I'm 100% lost again. Two worked alone, two didn't. The two that worked alone didn't work together. Now they don't work alone, either. I have no fucking idea at this point.

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

I give up. I've spent far too long on this already. With the ram working then not working anymore, I just think the motherboard could be part of the issue. I just can't. I've been awake too long, I gotta be at work tomorrow, and when I get back I still won't want to keep fucking around with this. Maybe I take the whole thing apart? But let me tell you, I'm not prepared for the rest of the bugs that would reveal. So I'm back to just being out of a PC until I win the lottery so I actually have extra money. 

[Joshy 4,364 / 44,945]

Get some sleep.  Re-seat.  Live with the 1 or 2 alone.  If you get it to work, then stop.  Rest well :).  If it worked and now it's not, then it's probably because it's dirty or not seated well.  Good luck!

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

I cleaned the sticks all when I took them out the first time. I tried all of them again when it stopped working and got nothing. I suppose I could grab a can of air on my way home from work tomorrow, spray out the slots. 

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

After getting sleep then taking a look, I feel like a complete dumbass. 

When I was doing my testing, I wasn't seating the ram properly. I wasn't getting it all the way in. That's why it stopped working. Which brings me around to my discovery. 

Whenever I booted up computer, it beeped a few times. When I got it to work a few times the other day, it beeped a few times and booted up to a boot menu. On my TV instead of my monitor. (Sometimes I use my TV as a second monitor, but not very often. Too big. Youtube/Twitch mainly.) I had my TV set to PC during the testing because every time I booted up, I saw it receive the signal, but not show anything. 

Basically, this brings me back to the original issue. My computer likely restarted while at work. Booted up, but went to a boot menu. Honestly, I need to get some new parts anyways, it's no surprise SOMETHING's wrong that sends it there. But press F1, click a few things and I can boot it up from there. 

 

FOR SOME REASON, the boot menu was showing up on my TV instead of my monitor. My TV set to the source for my PS4 most of the time, I didn't see that. I'm pretty sure when the problem was first happening, switching the source would have avoided all of this. But in my sleep deprived state, I ended up fucking things up and making it seem much worse then it actually was. 

All in all, I'm an idiot. I apologize for being a bit snappy, and I thank you for your help. I'm back in business for now. 😄

[_Rocket_ 656 / 8,277]

4 minutes ago, Lunar Blade said:

 I apologize for being a bit snappy, and I thank you for your help. I'm back in business for now. 

This is your PC. Being snappy is completely understandable. I mean if my computer was messing up and I had no idea why, I'd be pretty frustrated myself.

 

Replacing computers is something I would hate doing. And when my PC is acting up, I get really worried and frankly mad. So if I were helping you out and you got a little snappy, I would most definitely understand and I wouldn't fault you there. I mean especially considering I've had pretty much the same PC for the past 5 years says a lot on that subject. I love my PC. it's my babi ❤️

[Lunar Blade 178 / 3,309]

It's not the best computer, but it's mine and does everything I need it to do. It has had it's share of problems. It crashing is not a rare occurrence. But other then getting a little annoyed by it crashing, nothing has really come of it yet. People I talked to IRL about it assumed the worst, that the motherboard fried. Tried to explain it as the fans not working or something (They all worked every time I turned it on, whether it booted up or not) and my discovery of dead bugs only made them use that as an explanation for maybe preventing heat from escaping or whatever. 

 

Don't get me wrong, it WAS dusty, and the amount of... debris was certainly not something you'd like to see. But those obstacles have been there for at least a year, as I haven't seen any living pests for that long or longer. (Very thankful too, I REALLY hate bugs. That definitely wasn't helping my mood) So really, nothing had changed. In the end, nothing really had. The only strange thing was that the boot menu was showing up on my second "monitor" that wasn't turned on instead of the first. Then my trying to fix it while sleep deprived, I wasn't seating the RAM back in properly. 

 

I definitely feel stupid, but I also know I really hadn't had enough sleep. Starting from Sunday night, I woke up at 8PM. Had maybe a 3 hour nap between that time and 9AM when I started work. Got off at 5, traffic and all home maybe around 6 PM. Find the computer not showing up on my monitor. Hit power, and it goes off immediately. Start up again, beeps at me, and doesn't show up. At this point, I was already exhausted and planning on watching some Youtube then sleeping. But instead I find this and panic and can't sleep without trying to figure out the issue. Three hours of messing around and no success, long time awake, I'm just tired, irritated, depressed, whatever. Hated life. 
 

Slept a bit more, went to work. As we're in training, they let us out a bit early. Watched some Youtube off my PS4, and at 5 decided I was falling asleep, so went to sleep. Wake up at 10 PM... decide to take another look. I've had sleep, and thought about it, and don't understand where the issue lies. So I take all the RAM out again, wipe it down one more time, and carefully seat it back in. The SECOND I feel an extra click, an extra push as I'm putting one back in, I realize and hope. So I boot it up with the one. It worked. Add a second, worked. Add in the other two, and it worked. All I had to do was put the RAM back in properly, and have my TV turned on so I could see the boot menu. 

 

I'm relieved I got it working, I feel like an idiot, but I do know I was starting to get snappy here. It may have been justified, but that doesn't change the fact that I was being rude to people only trying to help. Even as I was being snappy, @Joshy was still being helpful. So I just want to make sure it's said that I'm sorry I was getting a bit rude there, and I am thankful for the help you provided me with. 

[MooTheCow 656 / 9,760]

Pc trouble shooting in a nutshell 

 

[SS PigeonShit 231 / 0]

14 minutes ago, MooTheCow said:

Pc trouble shooting in a nutshell 

 

No u