Question PC starts up after switching the DVD drive.
Question PC starts up after switching the DVD drive.
Hello everyone, I’m facing an unusual issue that’s hard to find online.
I own a PC from the early to mid-2000s and recently swapped my CD-Rom drive for a DVD drive.
After restarting everything and loading the system... I received a beep code, specifically a long one followed by eight short ones.
I looked it up and found it relates to a video card error.
The hard drive starts up, the speakers play briefly, and the Ethernet and activity lights appear, but there’s no fan noise.
I tried reseating all components, and when I switched on the power supply unit, the system booted and Windows XP loaded. However, when I turned it off and reinserted the side panel, the same error persisted.
I attempted to reseat everything again, but nothing changed.
My AGP card (ATI 9800 Pro) is known to have a short lifespan, so I’m surprised it’s failing this way after just changing the drive.
It would be helpful if someone could assist me.
Edit: I’ve restarted it once more, and surprisingly it worked... partially. I reached Windows, but the fans behaved erratically—no steady speed or tone. After a minute, the video froze, the fans stopped, yet the power LED stayed lit.
Could this indicate a power supply problem? I assume it should be fine with the modern Corsair 550W unit I have, which has previously functioned properly.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
It seems like a capacitor is almost about to fail. If it hasn't performed well for a while, it works temporarily before eventually breaking again. Without visible signs of bulging in an optical check, you'll need to replace or remove each component individually until you identify the faulty one. Also, remember to look up beep codes specific to your motherboard, as they don't always align perfectly.
I owned a single motherboard with capacitors that were almost broken around the year 2000. The manufacturer replaced the board but never fixed it. Since then, I haven’t had any more issues. This makes me doubt if those were indeed capacitors, as it functioned properly until the drive was changed.
It's unusual to encounter a failing capacitor within 1-2 years of a new motherboard, yet after 20 years it becomes quite typical.