[SOLVED] HP/Pegatron Mobo 1 Short Beep, 1 Long

[Pork Chop]

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19260&highlight=long+beep+short

^ I think I may have this same problem with a customer's 'puter, but not sure.
It only gives 1 short beep and 1 long beep. Nothing displays on the monitor.

. I hooked up the computer, turned it on, and smelled a slight burnt odor coming from it. Shut it down, opened the case, sniffed around,
and I'm thinking it may have came from the corner where the memory is located.

. I disconnected everything except the mobo power connectors and turned the system on, but that'd didn't help.
Neither did using a brand new PSU.

. I even reseated the CPU and the memory.
And I swapped memory into different memory banks.

. Capacitors look fine

The first problem with the system was Windows 7 loading way too slow.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What should I do now?
If replacing the mobo is needed then please recommend a seller ~send link

Even though all I did was plug in the computer and turn it on is it my fault?
I live in an 11 year old apartment complex so I'm sure the power isn't to blame.

Should I charge my customer anything? Should I have them buy the mobo and I do all the
work for free because it broke at my house?


System specs:

HP Pavilion a4316f

Pegatron M2N78-LA mobo

2 x 2GB hynix ram - included
2 x 4GB Patriot RAM - ugraded
all are the same speed

AMD Athlon 2 x4 (quad core)

 

[kisk]

Try testing the memory in a different system, one stick at a time. If they are good, reinsert in the original machine, one at a time, alternating slots.

I've have a few systems where the actual bank was bad, and of course a ton where 1 or more sticks were bad.

Took ALL the PCI cards out?

 

[PC-Man]

It might be a video problem. Typical nvidia chipset. Goodluck

 

[nesrinamb]

I looked into the bios code you gave and couldn't find anything the only thing I found was a similar code that indicates a mother board issue (One Long and one Short Beep).

As for testing ram on other computers I recommend that you test it on a computer that you really dont need just in case if the ram is to blame for causing motherboard issues you wont lose a computer thats valuable.

Did you take out the cmos battery? The other thread said thats what fixed it for them.

Also really look and see if their aren't any burn marks or bloated caps

If you do have to replace the motherboard I believe newegg is the your best shot or amazon.

Before telling the customer to check their hard drive to make sure their data is safe. When is comes to telling the customer tell them you smelled something burning once it turned on and tell them what ever else you would like to add. Their not going to be happy but now inform them that their data is safe and sound.

When it comes to charging for labor I really dont know.

It would really be beneficial if other forum members gave their input on whether or not they have charged the customer after a machine gave out in their shop because i really have no idea.

 

[B Trevathan]

It only gives 1 short beep and 1 long beep. Nothing displays on the monitor.

. I hooked up the computer, turned it on, and smelled a slight burnt odor coming from it. Shut it down, opened the case, sniffed around,
and I'm thinking it may have came from the corner where the memory is located.

If you think it is the motherboard that you smell burning, it could be anything on it that has gone bad from a resistor or diode to even a northbridge or southbridge. Hopefully it is just a bad memory stick or a bad memory slot. 1 short beep and 1 long beep does mean a memory problem. Try just one known good memory stick by itself in each one of the memory slots.

Even though all I did was plug in the computer and turn it on is it my fault?

No, if all you did was turn it on how can you be a fault? Think of it like this if your driving down the interstate and your car engine blows up is it the states fault? But if your customer wasn't there at the time convincing them that it was just coincidental may be hard.

It would be a good standard operating procedure, if you don't already, to have your customers sign an engagement form. It is also always good SOP to start the computer when the customer brings it in and also when they come to pick it up so you can always say it was or wasn't working when you got it and it was working when they left with it.

I live in an 11 year old apartment complex so I'm sure the power isn't to blame.

Even though your apartment complex is just 11 years old and your not worried about the power, you should be using a UPS (uninterpretable power supply) you can get one for under $100 that should have the features that you need.

Should I charge my customer anything? Should I have them buy the mobo and I do all the work for free because it broke at my house?

I wouldn't charge anything unless I fixed it. If they want the motherboard replaced I would order it and install it and then bill them for parts and labor.

 

[Pork Chop]

. I tried using different memory sticks in different memory banks
. I inspected the caps and they look fine
. No PCI cards are installed
. Removed the power cables from the optical drive and hard drive
. Removed the CMOS battery and pressed the power button to drain the power


-- Nothing works. Even w/o memory in the system I still get the same beep
code.

This seems to be the best option for a mobo replacement:
http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-Violet6-GL8E...therboards&hash=item3cb8db4f35#ht_7814wt_1139

I wish I could get a cheaper AM3 mobo, but if I don't get this HP OEM mobo the Windows 7 activation
won't work anymore because it'll be considered to be a brand new computer.

I will tell the customer what's up and offer to replace the motherboard.
If she does not want to invest that much money in the system I will offer to purchase it.

If I were to purchase it I would buy a cheaper mobo and install Windows 7 with a retail product key

 

[Pork Chop]

I talked to her yesterday and she agreed to let me:

Replace the motherboard with an Asus board for $60
- This is $110 cheaper than the HP OEM board from Ebay in Hong Kong

Buy a retail Windows 7 Home Premium license for $99

Parts = $~160 ... $10 less than the Ebay board and the license
can be reused on other systems. And, because it's an Asus board, I'm sure
it will last much longer. Plus, it has a 3 year warranty.

Labor = $100
- Install mobo, Backup/Reinstall data, Install Windows 7, tune up

Total = $260

 

[crabig]

Glad you got it worked out. I was going to tell you if you decided to replace the OEM motherboard, be careful. I had a Pavilion come in with a dead board, and it took three months to find the right one... why? Because HP in their wisdom has at least 4 different motherboards with the M2N78-LA designation, and they are NOT interchangeable.

 

[phaZed]

Generally, the only part of a motherboard that "burns up" leaving a smell would be the 12v power section. Everything else is low voltage and usually doesn't have enough voltage/current to burn things. Be sure to check out the power supply and make sure that it is outputting acceptable voltages, otherwise, it could burn up your new motherboard as quick as you put it in.