Some Help Please

Big Chief

ok i will try to explain this the best i can as im a bit bewildered over the whole thing.

Ok i left my computer on all night on thursday night while d/l, i woke up a lil late for work so got ready as quickly as i could and instead of waiting for win2k to shut down i hit the power button on computer so i could leave (i was late enough as it was, + its an atx board so it dosent just switch off right away)

i thoght this would be fine but when i came back home after work on friday my computer wasnt switching on atall, which kind of worried me so i opened it up to see if any connections had came loose.

After turning it on i noticed a lil orange led had came on the motherboard after i tried to switch the computer on (im 95% certain this has NEVER came on before..) and since its right next to the ATX power supply cable i took it for granted that it must be my PSU that was screwed.. so i done the typical thing, punched the wall a bit then proceeded to get very drunk..

anyhow when i came back in to inspect my computer while bored on saturday to see if there was anything i could do for it, i looked at the mother board and the LED was called "ram led".. (i only have 1 stick of ram)

so i tryed putting the ram into another slot to check if maybe was a dodgy slot or something, but still the led light came on (note the computer trys to start up but stops after a split second and that led light comes on), so i tryed removing the ram completely to see if it was even registering but the led came on anyway..

this would lead me to believe that my ram is screwed ??

since there is actually power going to the computer that would mean im wrong about it being the PSU or what?

does this "ram led" mean that the ram i have in just isnt registering and that i need to return it/replace it?

Some help would be greatly appreciated.

Computer Specs --

Gigabyte 7VAXP main board
256 Meg PC2100 DDR ram
Athlon XP 2100+
Geforce 2 GTS 64mb
Sound Blaster Audigy 2
etc...etc...



anyone...?

yellum

Reassigning to correct forum.

Raz

Well if the LED is lighting up it has to be getting power from somewhere to do that so I would assume that your power supply is fine.
It's possible that your RAM didn't like the power button being pressed like that, maybe something got corrupted while it was being emptied and now it just won't go away, or maybe it it got a brief power spike or something.
If you have the possibility try a get a friends RAM to test if it'll boot up with his.
Also, for your consciences sake make sure the RAM is seated properly. (I'm sure you've done this but no harm in trying again.

When you removed the RAM completely and the LED still came on suggests that seeing the LED lit is a bad thing ie. your RAM done gone funny on ye
Also you could try booting up without any othe cards in the machine, just the bare minimum.

At least try some of those steps before you fork out for new RAM.

Inspector Gadget

In one of my less-frequent-than-they-should-be "RTFM" moments, I had a look at page 20 of the aforementioned f'ing manual, which gives this:

9)RAM_LED
Do not remove memory modules while DIMM LED is on. It might cause short or other unexpected damages due to the 2.5V stand by voltage. Remove memory modules only when AC Power cord is disconnected.

What this suggests to me is that your RAM is powered when that light is lit - if the light is on all the time it suggests that your system has gone into stand by, rather than shutting off completely - maybe you need to either

1. Press all the keys on your keyboard to see which one might resume the computer - probably the space bar, although something is putting "Ctrl+F12" in my head, don't know why... or
2. Press and hold the Power button for more than four seconds, and see if the RAM_LED goes out. Your system will probably start as normal then. Ultimately, you could also
3. Try unplugging the PSU for a minute or so and then trying to turn it on...

Unfortunately, that bit from the manual doesn't bode well for pulling the RAM out while that light is on

HTH,
Gadget

astrofool

i got your messages the next day, i was working friday night.

dunno what it could be tbh that led usually just indicates the board is powered and not to remove anything.

I would suggest that you take out all non essentials (sound card, modem, disconnect cd, hard drives etc), and try booting it then. If that fails to work, take the whole thing apart, put the board on the floor and try it with just the ram and graphics card (leave the buttons connected so u can power it mind). Beyond that, it sounds like something may have fried, remember your psu was under rated for AMD's in the first place, so may have surged, esp. at shutdown when hard drive is most active, in which case U could always give peats a go, it all adds up to hassle tho soz can't be more helpful chief, i'm working most days and going to scotland on thursday

Big Chief

my cpu was fried after a quick inspection last night


thx for the help anyway

Blitzkrieger

That blows