I am posting this on my old computer cause my new computer “died”.
I had been running slower and slower over the weeks, despite my daily anti-virus/anti-spyware purges and defragging.
I figured the dust inside was keeping the cooling fans from doing their job, so I opened up the tower and vaccuumed it with a Dust Devil hand Vaccuum: something I’d dome several times before with no ill effects.
However, this time, the computer simply won’t turn back on. On startup it simply emits a long beeb, followed by a long silence, and repeat.
A Computer savvy coworker says this is indicitave of hard drive failure, but my neighbor says the beep is a code which means a memory or video card failure.
Remove your RAM card(s) and reseat them. Remove the display adaptor and reseat it.
Using a vacuum is not advised when cleaning inside the case of your computer. A vacuum can generate strong static electricity charges that can damage your components if they attract a discharge.
Always use compressed air to blow out the computer. Never vacuum unless you are using a vacuum cleaner specifically designed for electronic equipment. While you may have been lucky in the past, you run a risk of a static discharge that can fry your machine.
For all the don’t do people, don’t blow out he dust with the fans connected. They generate power when they turn and can burn out the motherboard. If you use canned air and leave the fan connected bad on you.
I think your looking a a memory or video problem. Do like has been said and reseat the components.
I keep a long, thin, pencil-like object to keep the fan blades from turning when I blow them out. I guess this would keep them from generating power, too, right?
Anyway, Enola Straight, everybody else’s suggestions are the first thing I would try, too, but if the computer still doesn’t work, make sure all the jumpers are in the right places on the motherboard and reseat the CMOS battery. You can go to the motherboard manufacturer’s website and get the default configuration for all the jumpers if you don’t know. The battery won’t keep the computer from posting, but it will cause some beeps so you might as well check it out.
That said, I agree it is probably just the memory.
No way. The fan will be turning the same way and will generate the same polarity, won’t it? It won’t do anything except briefly charge a few capacitors. That’s if the current doesn’t just get lost in the PSU, which is still perfectly connected by traces to the 12V fan with no resistors or anything in the way. Even negative voltage will either get lost or not be nearly high enough to burn through the diodes or transistors. A few resistors will turn warm, but these aren’t the multiple kilovolts that static does damage with.
It can burn out the board. It generates DC with polarity based on which side of the fan you blow in the air and turn the blades. It generates enough power to light the leds on the fan. Please remember that some fans are connected directly to the motherboard too. You can easily damage the motherboard. I have seen one motherboard I know was damaged in this way. The cost of cleaning was a new motherboard.
While I cant say with absolute certainty I do know that I have never seen this in 20+ years of computer repair. I supoose its possible but I use a air compresser set at 130 psi to clean my personal computer all the time. no problems…