help for a computer not turning on
December 14, 2008 2:42 PM Subscribe
Help! Computer not turning on after installing new RAM
I'm no computer pro, but every holiday season I seem to get roped into doing basic upgrades on my mom's computer. So far so good, then this year she wanted me to put in more RAM.
I had a bit of trouble getting the RAM in properly because of the position of the sockets, and I'm afraid that in fiddling around I might have bumped or knocked something because when I went to turn it back on, I pressed the power button, the fan and front light came on for about half a second, then nothing. I've tried removing the new RAM in case it's causing any problems, and looked for any obvious loose wires but I can't find anything that's suspect.
Could anyone with a bit more know-how tell me what usually causes this, and (hopefully!!) how to remedy it?
I'm no computer pro, but every holiday season I seem to get roped into doing basic upgrades on my mom's computer. So far so good, then this year she wanted me to put in more RAM.
I had a bit of trouble getting the RAM in properly because of the position of the sockets, and I'm afraid that in fiddling around I might have bumped or knocked something because when I went to turn it back on, I pressed the power button, the fan and front light came on for about half a second, then nothing. I've tried removing the new RAM in case it's causing any problems, and looked for any obvious loose wires but I can't find anything that's suspect.
Could anyone with a bit more know-how tell me what usually causes this, and (hopefully!!) how to remedy it?
My first thought was also that the RAM was not seated properly. This has happened to me every time I have upgraded my RAM. Try sticking the old RAM back in and see if you can get it to boot-up.
posted by 517 at 3:05 PM on December 14, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by 517 at 3:05 PM on December 14, 2008 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks both, but I am pretty sure that the RAM is in properly (I have also taken out the new one and put back in the old to make sure it's not that), as on the first go it was not quite properly seated and at that point the computer turned on enough to give a beep code. It was only once I had it properly installed that the computer stopped turning on.
posted by vodkaboots at 3:15 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by vodkaboots at 3:15 PM on December 14, 2008
I wonder if the initial power-up was actually from the power supply, or if it was the residual static charge? Did you push the power button after you unplugged the box to install the ram?
Double check your cable connections inside the box, especially between the power supply and the motherboard. There will be one or two plugs for it, most likely in the form of one big rectangular block with a whole bunch of colored wires going into it.
Make sure your ram is not only in the slot, but the little locks on either end have popped up into place into the tiny slots on the ends of the stick. That's how you know it's in right.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 3:17 PM on December 14, 2008
Double check your cable connections inside the box, especially between the power supply and the motherboard. There will be one or two plugs for it, most likely in the form of one big rectangular block with a whole bunch of colored wires going into it.
Make sure your ram is not only in the slot, but the little locks on either end have popped up into place into the tiny slots on the ends of the stick. That's how you know it's in right.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 3:17 PM on December 14, 2008
When you turn your PC on, does it beep?
posted by popcassady at 3:20 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by popcassady at 3:20 PM on December 14, 2008
Response by poster: Nope, no beeping at all, and it doesn't do anything at all if I try to turn it on repeatedly. But, if I unplug the power cable completely and then plug it back in, the fan turns slightly and the light in the front turns on for half a second.
posted by vodkaboots at 3:29 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by vodkaboots at 3:29 PM on December 14, 2008
...and with the RAM removed, the computer works fine?
posted by popcassady at 3:34 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by popcassady at 3:34 PM on December 14, 2008
It might help us if you could tell us what brand and model this PC is.
posted by mrbarrett.com at 3:42 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by mrbarrett.com at 3:42 PM on December 14, 2008
Silly question, I know, but you are turning on the power rocker switch in the back of the computer AND then pressing the power button in the front, right?
posted by shinybeast at 4:30 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by shinybeast at 4:30 PM on December 14, 2008
Sounds like you're tripping the safety on the power supply. You almost certainly created a short of some sort when you opened the case. You'll need to remove the power lead, leave a few seconds, and then plug back in, leave another couple of seconds, and then turn on to test, every time.
Check all the loose leads inside the case - it could be as simple as a spare molex power plug resting against the case side. I'd also remove all pci/pci-e/agp plugin cards, and try turning it on without them - if it boots, turn it off, and add them back in one at a time. Also, give a good blow across the slots for both the RAM and cards when they're out, to remove any dust in the socket. Also visually inspect the RAM sockets to make sure there's nothing jammed in there, and the pins are all straight and separate.
Does it turn on ok (but beep) without the RAM? If it does, you may have static shocked both old and new RAM and killed both sets when installing, though that's not particularly likely. They way to test that is to borrow some compatible RAM from another PC, taking care to touch metal earth first (radiators, or the pc case itself when it's plugged in and off will do).
Finally, give the case a bit of a shake - checking for the sound of sliding or rattling screws. You may have accidentally dislodged or dropped one in there.
posted by ArkhanJG at 4:53 PM on December 14, 2008
Check all the loose leads inside the case - it could be as simple as a spare molex power plug resting against the case side. I'd also remove all pci/pci-e/agp plugin cards, and try turning it on without them - if it boots, turn it off, and add them back in one at a time. Also, give a good blow across the slots for both the RAM and cards when they're out, to remove any dust in the socket. Also visually inspect the RAM sockets to make sure there's nothing jammed in there, and the pins are all straight and separate.
Does it turn on ok (but beep) without the RAM? If it does, you may have static shocked both old and new RAM and killed both sets when installing, though that's not particularly likely. They way to test that is to borrow some compatible RAM from another PC, taking care to touch metal earth first (radiators, or the pc case itself when it's plugged in and off will do).
Finally, give the case a bit of a shake - checking for the sound of sliding or rattling screws. You may have accidentally dislodged or dropped one in there.
posted by ArkhanJG at 4:53 PM on December 14, 2008
Might be worth clearing the BIOS, just to rule it out - I've had this problem myself. It's simply a question of finding the battery on the motherboard, removing it for a couple of seconds and sticking it back in again. Or, if you can find the right jumper (it should be near the battery), just short that for a couple of seconds with a metal screwdriver or a pen. Just make sure the computer's turned off when you do this.
It's also worth trying each stick of RAM in all the different slots, just to rule out faulty components.
posted by hnnrs at 5:10 PM on December 14, 2008
It's also worth trying each stick of RAM in all the different slots, just to rule out faulty components.
posted by hnnrs at 5:10 PM on December 14, 2008
Don't just reseat the RAM; examine and reseat everything nearby. The motherboard flexed a little when you pushed the RAM in, so anything that was maybe making marginal contact before may be suspect. (This is especially true if you use anything as a fulcrum while moving RAM in and out.)
posted by IvyMike at 5:25 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by IvyMike at 5:25 PM on December 14, 2008
This is a crazy long shot answer, but the same thing happened to me once. I definitely didn't have the RAM seated right at first, but after i fixed it, it still wouldn't boot up. I tried a lot of other things, including taking out the RAM and all the cards and making sure they were all seated properly, but eventually i took out the video card, replaced it with an old one I had around, and it worked. I took it out and put the newer card back in, and everything was back to normal.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 9:31 PM on December 14, 2008
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 9:31 PM on December 14, 2008
on my toshiba satellite, i just had to update the bios and everything worked fine. go to the manufacturer's website, download the update and run it. then try the ram again.
posted by klanawa at 12:44 AM on December 15, 2008
posted by klanawa at 12:44 AM on December 15, 2008
uh... running a BIOS update is going to be hard to achieve on a computer that won't turn on.
Unplug the power cable from the computer, wait 20 seconds for the standby power to cut out, remove all plug-in cards including RAM, remove the IDE cable and the floppy cable, blow out all the empty card slots with compressed air, and plug the computer back in and turn it on. You should get a beep code. If you don't, the most likely thing is that you've zapped it the mobo with electrostatic discharge and killed it or the processor or both.
If you do get a beep code, do the power cable unplugging dance again, and while you're waiting for the standby power to cut out, clean the edge connectors on all the unplugged cards with a clean piece of cotton cloth that's only just damp (about as damp as a once-used bath towel; certainly nowhere near as damp as a well-wrung washcloth).
Refit and check startup with (a) just the video card, and make sure you get the "missing RAM" beep code (b) just the RAM, and make sure you get the "no video card" beep code (c) RAM + video; you should get at least as far as the Power On Self Test screen with just those two (d) RAM + new RAM + video (e) RAM + new RAM + video + floppy (f) RAM + video + floppy + IDE.
Always do the unplug-wait-refit-plug-powerup dance - never plug a card into a mobo whose standby power is still on.
If all looks OK, make sure you can run Memtest86+ overnight without a single error before attempting to boot Windows.
posted by flabdablet at 5:02 AM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
Unplug the power cable from the computer, wait 20 seconds for the standby power to cut out, remove all plug-in cards including RAM, remove the IDE cable and the floppy cable, blow out all the empty card slots with compressed air, and plug the computer back in and turn it on. You should get a beep code. If you don't, the most likely thing is that you've zapped it the mobo with electrostatic discharge and killed it or the processor or both.
If you do get a beep code, do the power cable unplugging dance again, and while you're waiting for the standby power to cut out, clean the edge connectors on all the unplugged cards with a clean piece of cotton cloth that's only just damp (about as damp as a once-used bath towel; certainly nowhere near as damp as a well-wrung washcloth).
Refit and check startup with (a) just the video card, and make sure you get the "missing RAM" beep code (b) just the RAM, and make sure you get the "no video card" beep code (c) RAM + video; you should get at least as far as the Power On Self Test screen with just those two (d) RAM + new RAM + video (e) RAM + new RAM + video + floppy (f) RAM + video + floppy + IDE.
Always do the unplug-wait-refit-plug-powerup dance - never plug a card into a mobo whose standby power is still on.
If all looks OK, make sure you can run Memtest86+ overnight without a single error before attempting to boot Windows.
posted by flabdablet at 5:02 AM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
Unplug computer from wall, put the original memory back in, press power button for 10 seconds or so, plug back in and see if it will boot.
That symptom is a sign that the motherboard/processor isn't "firing up". You press the button, the motherboard commands the power supply to turn on. This is a very basic circuit that can work even if the rest of the motherboard is "bad". It turns on, and the motherboard waits for signs of life. If it doesn't see any, it shuts down.
It's possible you zapped the motherboard with static and fried it. Also possible you knocked a component off the board. But more likely it's a temporary problem.
Things to check for:
1- 20 or 24 pin power cable to motherboard seated correctly.
2- 4 pin (square) power cable to motherboard seated correctly.
3- 4 pin power cables to floppy, hard and cd drives.
4- Ribbon cables to same seated correctly- I've seen this happen when a ribbon cable is half in.
5- (Or SATA cables not seated all the way, although probably not likely)
6- Fan connector not in right. Again, not likely because this would cause beep codes or an error.
If you try clearing the BIOS by removing the battery, make sure you hit the power switch for 10 seconds while the battery is out or the jumper is on the clear cmos position.
What's the model of the computer, and what RAM did you get?
posted by gjc at 5:42 AM on December 15, 2008
That symptom is a sign that the motherboard/processor isn't "firing up". You press the button, the motherboard commands the power supply to turn on. This is a very basic circuit that can work even if the rest of the motherboard is "bad". It turns on, and the motherboard waits for signs of life. If it doesn't see any, it shuts down.
It's possible you zapped the motherboard with static and fried it. Also possible you knocked a component off the board. But more likely it's a temporary problem.
Things to check for:
1- 20 or 24 pin power cable to motherboard seated correctly.
2- 4 pin (square) power cable to motherboard seated correctly.
3- 4 pin power cables to floppy, hard and cd drives.
4- Ribbon cables to same seated correctly- I've seen this happen when a ribbon cable is half in.
5- (Or SATA cables not seated all the way, although probably not likely)
6- Fan connector not in right. Again, not likely because this would cause beep codes or an error.
If you try clearing the BIOS by removing the battery, make sure you hit the power switch for 10 seconds while the battery is out or the jumper is on the clear cmos position.
What's the model of the computer, and what RAM did you get?
posted by gjc at 5:42 AM on December 15, 2008
I also purchased some RAM to bulk up my PC and my computer wouldn't start when I installed it.
After some wrangling, and trying the same RAM in a different PC I contacted the seller. They're saying that my computers might not be compatible with the "high density" memory they sold me.
Moral of the story is try the RAM in another PC if possible to rule out bad or incompatible memory.
posted by SteveInMaine at 10:44 AM on December 15, 2008
After some wrangling, and trying the same RAM in a different PC I contacted the seller. They're saying that my computers might not be compatible with the "high density" memory they sold me.
Moral of the story is try the RAM in another PC if possible to rule out bad or incompatible memory.
posted by SteveInMaine at 10:44 AM on December 15, 2008
Is it a Dell, by chance? I tried to upgrade the RAM in my girlfriend's Dell computer a few years ago and it wouldn't work- and I knew I had the right stuff. Turns out that Dell (at least in that model) required a specific proprietary RAM chip. I could either order it from them at $75 for 256MB or go without.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 5:30 PM on January 12, 2009
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 5:30 PM on January 12, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
I've learned since (and also experienced with RAM upgrades on my desktop) that the RAM slots are really quite sturdy, so make sure you push it in hard. (this is of course assuming you removed the old memory. If that's still as was... well, I'm sure others will have suggestions. You could of course have fried the motherboard, heh)
posted by ClarissaWAM at 2:57 PM on December 14, 2008