Please help! Can't boot into Windows, only get one short POST beep.

Akarinata · April 16

So, this isn't my problem, but rather a family member's, who is currently abroad. They had bought an Acer Nitro N50-600-UR15 from a retail store nearest them as a replacement for another PC that had gone down for another problem that wasn't their doing, but rather a result of the PC being rather ancient. They upgraded around December of last year- but over the last week or so, had begun encountering some issues.

About 4 days ago, their Nitro began crashing to a hard power off, and upon a reboot, were greeted with a BSOD. I believe they were able to ignore this for the time being and use the computer- up until last night, when it BSOD'd, then lost video. I gave them the steps to do a power flush, and it restored video just fine upon reboot afterwards, as the PC was receiving proper power- I just suspected it was a caching problem. Now, it won't go past POST. The first time it tried to boot after the power flush, it mentioned recompiling the cache, but now it just refuses to boot into Windows, only giving the Windows 10 loading dots before staying black, giving no indication anything is running except for the fans in the case being audible.

I suspect faulty ram- I can't be sure, and I certainly can't find a single documentation on what the singular beep means to an Acer Nitro's mobo- but from knowledge of other OEMs, it usually indicates a memory problem. Can anyone help, or give some insight on what the POST beep indicates in this case, or what steps should be taken next? I've planned to have them attempt to reseat the RAM module first thing tomorrow, as it's the middle of the night where they are- and if that doesn't work, possibly taking it back to the shop they bought it from, and seeing if they can swap the ram.

Any responses are appreciated in advance!

egydiocoelho · April 16

Can you access the bios? Is hd recognized in the main section and does windows boot manager come first in the boot section?

Akarinata · April 16

egydiocoelho said:

Can you access the bios? Is hd recognized in the main section and does windows boot manager come first in the boot section?

We can access the BIOS, yes. And yes, Windows Boot Manager is first in the BIOS' Boot Order. The HDD appeared to be detected, but I had not actually had them check for that yet, as I didn't suspect it to be the hard drive failing at all. It made no clicks, and the CMOS battery wasn't removed, so the BIOS has stayed intact as it was since factory.

I shall have them check and get back to me as soon as they can, though. Thank you so much for the reply!

Akarinata · April 17

The HDD does *not* appear to be recognized. In neither the Main, Boot Options, or the Hard Drive priority, the specific hard drive is not recognized, but the Windows Boot Manager is. All cables are still attached, none have been disconnected.

egydiocoelho · April 17

I would like you to send some bios photos and report the exact model of the disc!

Akarinata · April 17

I've got a few pictures of the BIOS from them, but I actually don't think it's a hard drive issue, as it booted to Windows 10's Advanced Options after reseating RAM. Honestly, more than anything, I just wish I knew what the POST code meant, so that I could determine what the issue is.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483904657757044738/567395606822125587/image0.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483904657757044738/567396597374255104/image0.jpg
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483904657757044738/567397343570296832/image0.jpg

egydiocoelho · April 17

When you try to turn on the computer, do you hear any beep? Try doing this procedure to reset the battery: unplug the desktop from the electrical outlet and press the power button for thirty seconds! Then plug the desktop directly into a properly grounded outlet and test it!

Akarinata · April 17

egydiocoelho said:

When you try to turn on the computer, do you hear any beep? Try doing this procedure to reset the battery: unplug the desktop from the electrical outlet and press the power button for thirty seconds! Then plug the desktop directly into a properly grounded outlet and test it!

Yes, as mentioned in both the first post and the post title, I get a singular short beep from the POST speaker. I have also already had them power flush the PC, and reset the battery using this method to no avail.

egydiocoelho · April 17

have you checked if connecting the monitor to the hdmi port of the onbord video card, if the windows image is displayed? Have you tried disconnecting the hd, the rams memories and the offboard video card to see if it solved the problem?

Akarinata · April 17

Yes, I have tried all of this. None of this has solved my boot/video issue past the BIOS.

egydiocoelho · April 17

Have you tried reinstalling windows using a USB stick with Microsoft's iso?

Akarinata · April 17

No, but I would like to avoid that if possible, as the people operating the system are not very tech-savvy, and they do not have any means to load a USB with the Windows 10 iso, as it is their only computer.

Akarinata · April 17

This may be my frustration speaking, but it is rather concerning that no one has any documentation on what a simple, singular POST code beep means in this line of computer systems, as it should have been in the user's manual. But it wasn't.

WFox · April 17

You could try to boot a live usb with a RAM test like memtest86. The cache thing could be the intel rapid storage technology which would meant something went wrong with the HDD.

Akarinata · April 18

WFox said:

You could try to boot a live usb with a RAM test like memtest86. The cache thing could be the intel rapid storage technology which would meant something went wrong with the HDD.

I don't mean to sound like a broken record here, but: Akarinata said:

I would like to avoid that if possible, as the people operating the system are not very tech-savvy, and they do not have any means to load a USB with the Windows 10 iso(much less any other kind of iso, file, or liveusb), as it is their only computer.