Pc beeps on startup then shuts down, am i screwed?

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zombiehacker

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Firstly, I'm having to write this on my ps4, so apologies for any poor grammar. My pc was fine last night but this morning when i go to turn it on, it just lets out 20 or so quick consecutive beeps thens restarts and does it again. What is the cause of this? Is it something simmple like just needing to replace the ram, orshould i assume the worst i.e my power suplly dying and taking my $2k worth of components with it... Thanks.
 
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R_1
the beeps are telling you what is wrong. they are called beep codes. one beep indicates all is well. more than one beep is a problem.
you can lookup the beep codes and what they mean, you'll need the motherboard model number or BIOS type (award, AMI). the beep codes vary by BIOS maker and motherboard manufacturer.
http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm
this is a list of common beep codes and their meaning.
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R_1

R_1

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the beeps are telling you what is wrong. they are called beep codes. one beep indicates all is well. more than one beep is a problem.
you can lookup the beep codes and what they mean, you'll need the motherboard model number or BIOS type (award, AMI). the beep codes vary by BIOS maker and motherboard manufacturer.
http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm
this is a list of common beep codes and their meaning.
 
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zombiehacker

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Thanks heaps. Repeating beeps suggested ram was the issue and low and behold, after removing my 2 week old ram and adding my old one it works perfectly. Thanks.
 
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Chicano

Chicano

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You may have installed the new RAM incorrectly... I'd suggest reinstalling it making sure it bottoms down on the slots and the plastic latches click, and run memtest to check it.

First make sure the RAM notch matches the slot indentation, and push the RAM module in with slightly less force on one side so you can hear both sides of each module click independently into place. If Memtest finds issues and/or the problem returns, it would be a case of bad RAM.

http://memtest86.com/
 
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zombiehacker

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I'm not home at the moment but i will test this when i get home. One question though (which might be stupid), how could the ram run without issue for several weeks if i had installed it incorrectly? Would i not get the repeating beeps the first time i started up the computer, rather than 2 weeks later? I'm 90% certain i installed them correctly (plastic latches were clicked in, indents matched up etc), but i'll still check just to make sure before asking for a refund.
 
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R_1

R_1

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If I had to guess, I'd say the ram was not completely seated, but the contacts were. after two weeks of use and shutdowns thermal creep (repeated expansion and contraction of materials) caused the connections to part.
If I had to guess.
 
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Chicano

Chicano

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I would agree with that description... besides your's is not an isolated case, ram installation issues happen all the time, with BIOS beep codes and without them. RAM slots can also get contaminated so I would also suggest cleaning them if you haven't done so already... they can accumulate dust or residue from cigarette smoke or smog, depending on the computer age and exposure. These shouldn't be a problem but a very small amount of either contaminant can prevent ram-to-slot pins from making good contact. A Memtest check would help identify the cause... either ram defect, or installation error if no RAM issue is detected.


5 Symptoms of a RAM Problem and How to Fix It
https://turbofuture.com/computers/5-Symptoms-of-a-RAM-Problem-and-How-to-Fix-It
 
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zombiehacker

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Know i'm really late to respond, but it was a Defunct RAM stick that was the issue. Tested 3 different old sticks in every slot in my pc and they worked every time, this one bad ram stick didn't work in any of them. Pretty obvious after that.
 
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