VGX-XL201 just constantly beeps when switched on!

[CiaraJansonFan]

Hi all,

A friend of ours has asked me to take a look at his 'Living Room PC' - model number VGX-XL201.

Basically all that happens when you press the power button is you get a constant beeping and when you connect to a TV using the HDMI cable, nothing appears on screen.

I've had the RAM and HDMI card out and re-seated them, and replaced the CMOS backup battery with a new one, but none of this has helped.

Could anyone please let me know what the constant beeping noise is trying to tell me?!!?

Thanks

Steven

[Blencogo · Accepted solution]

Hi Steven,

Is it a series of beeps or is it one continuous beep?

All BIOS systems have a series of 'beep codes' which sound when the system encounters a problem before the screen is capable of showing the error.

One continuous beep is not an actual recognised code but usually represents something fatal - like a CPU failure.  In this case reseating the CPU and all the Cards (Video,etc) sometimes works.

However, if it is a series of beeps, then see if you can recognise the fault from this list of Beep Codes: -

http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm#08

[CiaraJansonFan]

Hi,

Thanks for your response. Yeah, it is a continuous beep - never stops!

Tried looking online for what a continuous beep meant but couldn't find anything, and I didn't know what make of BIOS the Sony uses.

I haven't removed the CPU yet so I'll try that and get back to you!

Thanks

Steven

[CiaraJansonFan]

Hi again,

I removed the MASSIVE heatsink on top of the CPU and then re-seated the CPU itself, but it turned out that it was one of the memory modules that seems to have gone bad! With just one 512Mb module it works OK, but whichever slot I put the second module into, I just get the continuous beeping when I turn it on 😞

So it's now working but obviously not at peak performance with half the original memory!

Thanks for your help

Steven