HP Pavilion a6305 beeping and won't start.

LoveHearts · 26 Oct 2011

Hi, i have a HP Pavilion a6305 with a nettle motherboard and phoenix bios. For a while now i'd been having trouble booting, sometimes white lines or dots would flicker once at the HP Invent screen and just freeze there. But for the past 3 days now I haven't been able to boot at all, whenever I turn it on it just goes beeep-beeeeeeeep and doesn't show anything on the screen, when looking up the beep codes I couldn't find what this one meant. I've tried unplugging all leads and just use the power cord but this made no difference. I've also had a brief look inside, the fans are working fine and it's not clogged with dust. I don't really know much about computers so I'd appreciate it if someone could help me find the problem. Thanks
in advance

TVeblen · 27 Oct 2011

Hello LoveHearts. Welcome to the Forum.

The first thing we need to know is if you are running off of the on-board graphics chip, or do you have an actual video card.
The second is if you have a manual for that PC - one that shows how to install the RAM in the slots.

As you already suspect, there is a device in your system that has faulted or failed.

There is a standard diagnostic procedure to narrow down which device is causing the fault, but it requires you to be able to work inside your computer to remove and replace parts. If you are mechanically inclined (or even just handy with a screwdriver!) you can do it.

If you are uncomfortable then just bring it in to a computer shop or big box store.

If you want to try the diagnostic yourself let us know. Either I or one of the others will post the step by step for you.

LoveHearts · 05 Nov 2011

Sorry for the late reply, there's good and bad news; the good news is I've managed to get it to boot. The bad news is it's my stepdad's computer and he doesn't have the manual for it anymore, but he said it does run off the on-board graphics. It still has problems though, I've noticed sometimes a screen will come up while booting with different messages, one saying its set the BIOS to default due to update or checksum issues. Another is 'detecting arrays' and the most recent is 'Warning: Have option ROM can not be invoke (vendor ID: FFFFh, Deivce ID: FFFFh) resu'. I'm not sure if this will be relevant to any of these messages, but I've noticed that when i'm able to boot properly sometimes the system clock resets itself and I have to correct it again, also occasionally the network connection will drop and I know there's nothing wrong with the internet or my modem.

TVeblen · 06 Nov 2011

Your symptoms and errors are very common when the 3v battery on the motherboard is weak or dead.

The good news is that these batteries are cheap and can be purchased almost anywhere. It is usually a CR2032.

After replacing the battery you will want to perform a Clear CMOS (or CLRTC) to reset the BIOS. That is done like so:

Note all your current BIOS settings
Shut down the computer > remove the power cord.
Remove the 3v battery.
Move the CLRTC jumper from pins 1-2 to 2-3.
Touch a metal part of the case and Press and Hold the reset button for approx. 30 seconds to discharge all power from the board.
Put the CLRTC jumper back on pins 1-2.
Replace the 3v battery > replace the power cord > boot.
Immediately go back into BIOS and reset all your preferred settings. If the CLRTC worked you will need to reset the date and time.

Some modern PC motherboards have a RESET button on them to perform the BIOS reset, but I believe the a6305 is not that new.

As I've said, if you are uncomfortable inside a computer case, or can't find the CLRTC jumpers, then it makes sense to take it to a shop or find someone you know who knows how to do this procedure. It is a very simple procedure and will take no more than 15 minutes. They should be able to do it while you wait for a minimal charge.