System failure, no video, strange beeps

I have an older system based on a P4PE2-X. It's been running without
any trouble until today and suddenly it's dead. The symptoms are
these:

I turn on the system and it appears to power up (fans run, I can hear
the HDD spin up) but there is nothing on the monitor. In fact the
monitor indicates "No signal." There are no beeps from the speaker

After about 5 seconds the system shuts down, then after a few seconds
it starts up again, and stays on. Now there is a constant, very rapid
stream of beeps from the speaker. (I mean like machine-gun rapid, not
like anythng I'd expect for bee codes.) The fans are turning, the HDD
access light stays on for maybe 30 seconds then goes off, and the
CDROM access light blinks for a while then stops. But the monitor
still indicates "No signal"

The lack of any output to the monitor makes me think the video card
has died. But this doesn't seem to explain the
power-down/power-back-up behavior, and I don't think the beeping is
right for a video card failure. (I haven't been able to find a list
of beep codes for this board, but this doesn't sound typical of any
deliberately-generated error code.)

Does anybody have any thoughts about what's going on? Is it likely to
be something other than the video card, and if so, what?

Reply-to address is real
John
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: System failure, no video, strange beeps
    ... the HDD spin up) but there is nothing on the monitor. ... There are no beeps from the speaker ... The lack of any output to the monitor makes me think the video card ... of beep codes for this board, but this doesn't sound typical of any ...
    (alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus)
  • Re: Quick question about computer post beeps
    ... >>> yanking on the monitor plug instead of unscrewing it,, and now all ... >>> i'm getting is a blank screen and then the computer beeps,,,,first ... >>> I feel that the motherboard is toast due to her yanking on the ... >> You don't mention if the VGA connector is on a video card or on the ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: BIOS cannot boot
    ... I got about 4 beeps at startup. ... the video card should be seated properly because the system was able ... >> Therefore, the monitor is working. ... >>> analysis of the beeps would depend on the motherboard make as different ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: New Computer
    ... Just built myself a new pc, ... PC does not turn on the monitor, I know the monitor works, i ... Is this a video card problem or could it be motherboard, ... On reboots there are no beeps at all. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: new monitor
    ... As an afterthought, the manufacturer might have released a later driver for your on-board video card, which provides support for widescreen monitors. ... If your video card does not support widescreen ratios, then it will never provide a satisfactory display on a widescreen monitor. ... If you have a widescreen monitor - and the display options do not include any 16:9 ratios, then you will definitely need to install a new video card. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)