That is, as they say, a real bummer!

Turning on a system while on its side - with everything else as it should be - will not damage anything. In fact, that's how I work on my own machines (including powering up), i.e., with cases open and on their sides, and I've never had a problem doing so in 25 years.

Three short beeps is usually the error code for bad memory. That makes sense if you had a memory stick partially plugged into its slot when little brother did his thing. If that's all you were doing at the time, and everything else was in good order, you may only have a blown memory stick.

If you know which memory stick it was, try taking it out and booting up. Or take out all of the sticks except for one, place that stick in the primary or #1 memory slot (usually the one closest to the CPU), and try booting up. Hopefully, the one you choose won't be the one that you were working on when....

Thanks for the help!


When my little brother did his thing, I had three sticks in slots 1, 3, and 4 and one in my hand but not partially in the slot. I pulled out all the sticks in all but the #1 slot and my computer started up, but now slots 2-4 won't acknowledge any memory sticks I put in them. I even tried putting in the old 512MB sticks that came with the system. When I first tried putting memory sticks back in slot 2, it would cause the CPU to beep at me again instead of starting up, but it doesn't seem care now.

I realize this is probably beyond your mandate, but I'll be more than happy with jitters if I can just get my system to run normally again. Thanks again for your help.

<Ahem> I'm a volunteer who doesn't work for Ubisoft, so my mandate is essentially whatever I want it to be. So long as I don't attract the attention of the Ubi Forum Admins or Ubi lawyers, of course. (Said lawyers are reputed to eat their own young....)

For reference, you have an Intel (Cortez G2) 945G Viiv Motherboard, Gateway part number 106007.

With some motherboards, turning off the power supply switch doesn't kill standby power. (To me, that's just plain stupid!) There's a standby power LED on your motherboard which, if lit, indicates that it is NOT safe to install or remove memory sticks. Nasty things are likely to happen if you mess with memory while that LED is lit. See Standby Power Indicator LED.

Enter your system BIOS Setup Utility by pressing the F2 key as the computer is starting up, then load the BIOS defaults (not optimized defaults, if an option). Save what you've done, exit the BIOS, and continue booting up.

When bootup is complete, power down your PC, lock little brother in a closet and put a memory stick in each of the two slots with white release tabs. These are slots #1 (closest to the CPU) and #3. Power up. If the system boots properly, shut down and put a memory stick in each of the remaining gray (black) tab slots, which are #2 and #4. Cross fingers/toes/eyes, and power up.

Good luck!

Update: I decided to test my other memory sticks in slot 1 since it was the only port that I was sure worked, or so I thought. I found that none of my other sticks worked in that slot, so I put the original, which was the only stick I was sure worked, back in and found that it didn't work either. After taking some deep calming breaths, I began methodically testing that stick in each port one at a time and found that the original stick now only works in slot 2, which was the one I was sure didn't work. Now, slots 1, 3, and 4 are the ones that don't work. I'm more than a little confused at this point, so I'm not going to mess around with it anymore until I have a better idea of what I'm doing.

By the way, I'm numbering the slots as 1 being vertically highest and 4 being the vertically lowest, in case that clarifies anything.

Oops, we posted at same time. I'll try what you said, thanks!

See my post of Fri July 06 2007 14:01, above, which I revised while you replied. Great minds, and all that!

I'm not certain how you define "vertical", but slot #1 is the slot with the white release tabs closest to the CPU. See Intel (Cortez G2) 945G Viiv Motherboard and Memory Slots.

Heimdall
Semper ubi sub ubi

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Heimdall G,

Heimdall G,

Sorry for my belated response. I not trying to haunt you with old problems. I just got a little busy with school admission, registration, finance, ect.

I tried installing the memory sticks correctly, as you proscribed, but it didn't work and now I can't get my system to work at all no matter how I shuffle memory sticks.

I realize that I probably need a new motherboard , but if you have any other suggestions, I would appreciate them. Thanks in advance.

Does the PC boot up far enough to allow you to press F2 in order to enter BIOS setup?

No. The console just beeps three times and doesn't even wake up the monitor.

If that's one long and two short beeps, it means there's a video error, and the BIOS cannot initialize the video chipset. This indicates a CMOS-ROM and/or system BIOS problem.

Try the following:

1. Replace the CR-2032 CMOS ("BIOS memory") battery. See E - Battery. The tiny clip on the right side of the battery in the graphic must be pushed away from the battery to free it up for removal. The tiny clip may also need to be pushed aside to allow inserting the new battery. Note that the battery goes into the holder with the "+" side up. Wait for at least 15 minutes after removing the original battery (to clear the CMOS-ROM), then insert the new battery, close the case, and boot up.

2. Replace your motherboard. I'd recommend replacing with the exact same board, since that'll avoid having to back up the data on your hard disks - which can be especially nasty with a Gateway machine. Plus, you can use your existing CPU and memory sticks (assuming they're not damaged). The exact same board is available here.

If you aren't familiar with removing and replacing CPU's, you might want to consider having a professional computer person do it. There can be problems getting the CPU off of the original motherboard without damaging the CPU and/or the CPU heat sink and fan assembly.

It's three 1 second duration beeps, and given past experience with suffling memory sticks around and having the exact same thing happen, I think it might be my memory slots that are fried which I'm pretty sure takes the whole motherboard with it, so it looks like I'm stuck with suggestion #2.

My current financial situation with another semester of college starting up makes that a long term goal. I appreciate all your help, but it looks like you can't save me from shooting myself in the foot. When I'm up and running again, I'll let you know what happened.

Yeah, I know what you mean about college making some things long-term goals.

Three long beeps means a base memory error. It's possible that your motherboard is fried, of course, but if you have the chance, you might try replacing the CMOS battery as in suggestion 1, above. Just to see if something that simple will fix the problem.

If suggestion 1 doesn't work as stated, the memory sticks you're using may be bad, not the slots or board. So, it would help if you could try the new battery with other memory sticks, preferably one in each of the two slots with white release tabs (slots #1 and #3). Any memory stick removal/installation should be done with the PC unplugged from the wall, of course.

Please do let me know what happens. And best of luck with college!