This seems to be a serious problem

My laptop which runs on XP pro, is not working at all. When I turn on the power button, it just beeps, nothing appears on the screen, just loud beeps. What could possibly be the problem? I have never seen this before.

 

usually that happens when the ram has a fault, or the processor, or the graphics card. need more information to tell. but i'd reseat the ram anyway, as that is a common cause

 

Thanks. Before that happened, I first got a blue screen, then black screen that says "Window could not start because of an error in the software... Please report problem as... Load needed dlls for kernel". I restarted a few times, the same thing. But the last time, it wouldn't even start, just beep, beep. Does this error sound like Windows XP or the above problems? I didn't do anything unusual, was in the middle of web browsing.

 

ok that sounds like a corrupt windows. you can try repairing the install with the windows CD.

possible reasons for corruption: misbehaving software, malware/virus, or maybe a bad sector on your hard drive. if it is a bad sector on your hard drive i strongly recommend replacing it.

did the BIOS POST screen appear when you tried starting it?

 

Not sure what is "BIOS POST" screen . Here is what happened: first, while browsing the Web, out of the blue, a blue screen with error messages (too long to remember what it said). Restart, got the above "DLLs" error message. Same thing after restarting again. Then I got in the Rescue and Recovery and did a "quick restore" of windows (without affecting my files). After this, the same error message still appeared. Repeated several times (maybe 3-5 times), but then even that message would not come, just beep, beep, beep. It looks like dead now

I have the recovery CD's for this machine, which is not Microsoft windows XP CD. I also have Microsoft Windows 7 CD for the machine (still factory sealed). Which one is better to try? (I've never used Window 7) I suppose any solution to this problem will definitely erase all my files (which will be bad)?

 

well you should ALWAYS back up your files. ALWAYS.

what model laptop do you have?

 

It's thinkpad X200s, very nice until now. I updated my files a week ago (thank God), so will lose the changes made during last week. Also I didn't take note what software I had installed on my machine, so it'll be a headache to recall and reinstall...

 

how many beeps and in what sequence?

 

did it get past the lenovo thinkpad screen when you tried to start it?

 

The beep is even and doesn't seem to end, just beep, beep, beep, beep...

In the beginning, I could tap the F11 key and got into Rescue and Recovery, but then it no longer worked, just the "...DLLs..." error message, and finally (after 4 or 5 tries), it simply didn't even start, just beep without screen, as soon as I press the power button.

 

First off, downgrading to XP is a bad idea. I can state with certainty that XP is a far less stable OS than Windows 7, or even the much maligned Vista. Second of all, I'd try to recover all data before trying to XP. Use a Linux Live CD and run it from a CD or a USB thumbedrive and back up all data to an external HDD. Personally, if I didn't have XP backup discs, I'd just recovery my data and install Windows 7. Repairing XP is a crapshoot - probably not worth the trouble if you already have a Windows 7 license and disc.

 

sounds worse than a windows issue then. ram/processor/graphics/motherboard failure. except for the ram, the other components are integrated onto the motherboard, which means replacement of motherboard which is basically like buying a new computer.

but try reseating the ram, and check to see if you have a decent charge on your battery or if the power adaptor is working.

 

First off, it might be a hardware failure, but I'd advise the OP to see if he could do a one time boot from USB or CD to do data recovery. Actually, the OP seemed a little hazy about BIOS, so that's the first step.

As far as a motherboard replacement, the cost is significant, and it cam be a lot of work, depending on the design. Is it worth it? It all depends on the price of the motherboard and whether you're confident enough to do it yourself.

By all means, reseat the RAM, but also consider the coin cell/CMOS/BIOS battery. They do eventually require replacement.

 

CMOS on a thinkpad rarely results in such an error. not to mention the errors regarding the DLL's.

he seems hazy about bios, but its quite obvious that even the bios splash screen is not showing up. its pretty hard to miss it, even for a basic user.

 

The XP was not downgraded. It was there when I bought the laptop. That was when Win 7 was just about to become available, so I also got Win 7 license & disc, which I haven't even opened.

From what say, it seems it's still possible to recover the data? I'm not famiilar with Linux Live CD; what is it and where to get it? The files that I didn't save are very small.

Regardless the data recovery, in this beeping state, is it still possible to install Windows 7? I mean, if I put in the Windows 7 CD, wouldn't it still just beep, and there will be no screen to follow to install anything or do anything... ?

The power is no problem. What could have caused the failures? I had been using it with utmost care and wasn't doing anything to it.

 

there are lots of possible causes, from dust shorting out pins to the expansion and contraction of components due to heating and cooling resulting in something to crack or slip.

if your thinkpad is not even showing the Think! screen when you turn it on, it is not possible to recover the data on the current computer, however it may be possible to recover if you plug the hard drive into a working computer.

 

Thanks for every input.

I'll reseat the RAM when I get home (I'm now using computer in a library. I have no 2nd computer at home). I was not using battery at all, always using AC adapter. The AC/plug light was on, so I thought no problem there?
Re "one time boot from USB or CD to do data recovery", that is only if I can see the BIOS screen, isn't it? And even so, what CD do I put in?

I think I now know the BIOS screen you are talking about, which has menus for choosing boot from HD or CD drive, exit, etc.... That was supposed to come out if I tap F11 key, but it didn't show up.

 

Most Linux distributions can be run directly from a CD or USB thumbdrive, meaning that there is no persistant install or changes made to your HDD, but you can recovery the files from your HDD. There are specific distros for data recovery, but for a simple general purpose distro, I'd suggest Ubuntu. You can either burn an .iso to a CD/DVD or install it to a FAT32 formatted USB drive using a Unetbootin. You can read and write all FAT32 and NTFS formatted files with Linux, and recovery and save to any external HDD, thumbdrive, or even the thumbdrive with Ubuntu installed, if you have space and selected the option to create a swap space partition.

Worst case scenario, you have a hardware failure. Not to worry, you can deal with it.

But your next step depends on whether you can get into BIOS options. Worst case scenario, if it is major motherboard issue, you might have to yank the HDD and put it in an external enclosure and recover the data using another computer.

But don't worry yet. If you can't get to the BIOS options, you can worry.....just a little. If that's the case, you can't do any diagnostics, so you go on to checking the power adapter, opening the case, checking to see if the RAM is seated, check the coin cell battery......and then you can worry just a little bit more but not too much.

 

Well, it was worth a shot. A dead coin cell battery can be catastrophic, at least in laptops of this vintage. There was a time, long, long ago, that a dead or dying coin cell battery would only mess us the time.

 

Do you have another machine? You could pull the hard disk out and place it in an external enclosure and USB it to another machine to recover your data. If the data is valuable to you the cost of an enclosure >$20 is no big deal.

 

That's the problem, that's my only computer . But the data lost is not terribly crucial, I just lost the updated versions of some files. It happened at a very bad time for me as I have some urgent jwork to do. This machine has had no problem before, I almost never even moved it--it stays on my desk all the time. I was expecting to stay with it for at least 1-2 years more. If these things are so unpredictable and unreliable, I might well buy a cheaper desktop or network in future

 

Beside the factors mentioned, could this by any chance have to do with the fan? I often felt heat from upper left side, though the temp reading was not too high. (I'm still not home to reseat the RAM yet...). How to tell if the fan is broken or not--just by looking?

 

If the fan turns on when you power up the pc then it is probably OK. Replacing a non-functioning fan at this point will not solve your problems.

When you get to re-seating the RAM also try running with one stick of RAM at a time (I would guess you have at least two sticks of RAM in your laptop). If one stick of RAM is bad re-seating will not identify that issue.

 

Typically the number of peeps my identify the problem. When you machine boot it does a check and it you Mobo, memory or graphics card is bad it could cause the system to halt.

I had and issue were my system was pausing and taking 15 to boot. I called the manufacturer and the told me to reinstall Windows. I told them it pauses before it trys to load windows. I took the laptop to another location and it booted with no pause. When i took it back home i removed all external drives and it still paused. Then i noticed my printer was on and I turned it off and it booted and continues to boot without a pause whenever my printer is off.

 

Thank you all so much for coming with help. After I got home last night I tried it again, now it is beep like one long, two short, like: beeeeep beep beep, beeeep beep beep (I don't know why yesterday I said it was "even" without stop, not sure if it changed or I did not pay attention to the beep pattern). I took out the RAMs and reseated them. No change. (I'll try running with one tonight). I searched for beep codes, and found that IBM and most other BIOS beep code for "one long, two short" means " video error". I opened the cover, blew some dusts, was not sure which was the video card (sorry for being a dummy). Does anyone know where it is located in Thinkpad X200s? All the cables looked fine, not broken or disconnected as far as I could see. So now the question I have are:

a) If it's video error, what to do? Do I need to buy a new video card or what?

b) Perhaps more important: Given that initially it said its windows software error and "load needed DLLs for kernel", and now nothing even comes up to screen but only beep sound, is it likely that video is not the only problem, maybe something more serious that caused the video problem?

Thanks a ton!

 

Unlike a desktop, the GPU in a notebook is typically integral with the motherboard, so if the GPU goes, you replace the motherboard.

However, I do suggest that you refer to the Lenovo site for the relevent service manuals. I'm not sure if this is the right one, but it's might be a start:



http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/43y6632_03.pdf

I hope you don't require a motherboard replacement, but maybe the documentation will help.