Look what I woke up to this morning.

[nwg]

I have this case coming (complete with Socket 939 mobo and 2GB of RAM).

It is a version in black and silver and has no side windows.

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2464

I still need to order a processor. I can't really afford Athlon X2 but the mobo will take it. I think I will go for a Athlon 64 3700.

[LT. Columbo]

The computer is dead. It just beeps at me with nothing on the screen.

The computer was built two and a half year ago and has WinXP. So far, it has had three PSU's, two motherboards, and two hard disks.

just wondering how this can be? my pc is just over 2 years old and has never been turned off, it's always multi-tasking and i consider it "beat on"...

[nwg]

just wondering how this can be? my pc is just over 2 years old and has never been turned off, it's always multi-tasking and i consider it "beat on"...

Don't know. My other computer is now 8 years old and nothing has gone wrong (except for the CRT monitor which made me upgrade to a LCD).

[LT. Columbo]

hmmmn. strange. i hope when you get this all sorted out, things last much longer for you

[nwg]

I have now ordered this motherboard and use its onboard graphics for the moment (Geforce 6100). It uses shared memory for the video which will not matter as I have also ordered 2GB of DDR400 Memory.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=3VY2&CategorySelectedId=11147&v=2#infoarea

[cynthia]

In old days there was a battery in the computers - does those still exists in modern computers?

[nwg]

There is a battery on the mobo. I am not sure how it comes out.

[cynthia]

It just beeps at me with nothing on the screen.

Beep codes: http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml

[UncasMS]

In old days there was a battery in the computers - does those still exists in modern computers?

they do - in order to keep the rtc ram (real time clock; storing date, time + system setup parameter) running

[cynthia]

Nice. I don't have a modern computer...

[nwg]

How long is a CMOS battery suppose to last?

Looking at this site it mention a CMOS checksum error I got when the battery dies or is dying. It was very quick and I almost missed it.

http://www.smartcomputing.com/Editorial/article.asp?article=articles/2004/w1510/32w10/32w10.asp&guid=

[cynthia]

My current motherboard is five years old and I haven't changed it. (or perhaps I should... )

Life time of a CMOS battery - The standard lifetime of a CMOS battery is around 10 Years; however, this amount of time can change depending on the use and environment that the computer resides.

http://www.computerhope.com/help/cmos.htm

[nwg]

My current motherboard is five years old and I haven't changed it. (or perhaps I should... )

I have never replaced the one in my other computer and that is 8 years old now. I wouldn't think a battery would only last two and a half years.

[UncasMS]

i have many mainboards that are running for years now but maybe that battery simply needs to be changed - give it a try

[soup]

Right now it looks like you have nothing to lose by giving it a shot.I have my fingers crossed for you.