[EtherShock]

I'm having problems with my desktop.

When I turn it on, I get no video and two high pitched beeps. I've also been told keystrokes aren't being registered and that the system would spontaneously reboot before it got to this point. I just formatted the thing about a month ago and it worked fine, except I didn't always get video at first, so I would have to turn off the system, let it sit a while, then try again until I got a signal. I checked the connections and everything seems secure. I haven't tried logging in without the video yet. Does anyone know what the problem could be? Did my video card just die?

[StratComm]

Those two high-pitched beeps are probably your error code (unless your computer always does that in POST) so you probably need to consult your mobo guide as to what the beeps mean.  It could be RAM, it could be the video, it could be something else.  But that's about as generic a hardware problem as you can have.

[WMCoolmon]

If you're sure you haven't changed anything, and resetting the CMOS doesn't work, you're probably screwed.

But only a little; it could just be a RAM issue.

The best thing to do would be to try swapping out video cards, RAM, etc. with cheap-but-working versions (incase the mobo itself is fried, you don't want to turn your friend's new GF7800 into a barbecue )

If you can find out what the beep code means you might be able to narrow down the problem, some mobos have special codes for "your RAM is f*cked" or "your video card's been punked, foo!"

[EtherShock]

OK, these beep codes aren't straightforward in the documentation. They go like this:

1-1-2
1-1-3
etc.

Can anyone decipher this?

There is a light code however. It hasn't proved to be much help though. The code tells me "other failure, call support." I'll be damned if I'm going to call Dell tech support because some stupid lights say I should, especially since the warranty expired.

Grr, it doesn't even say what kind of mobo is in there. >.<

[achtung]

Originally posted by EtherShock

Grr, it doesn't even say what kind of mobo is in there. >.<

If it's dell it'll be a dell or an intel one.