HP Pavilion HPE - 6 Beeps on start up - replaced video card - didn't fix it - what now?

[Sue_Gott]

Last week  the computer wouldn't display on the monitor.  it beeped on startup. i googled beeping and found that if an HP beeps six times that means there is an issue with the video card. that explained why it would show on the monitor.

I pulled the video card out of my HP Prodesk and tried it and it displayed but got stuck on something else and wouldn't boot.I wasn't concerned so i put that video card back in the prodesk and ordered an exact replacement for the pavilion hoping it would just be a plug n play.  Unfortunately that's not the case - my Pavilion still beeps on start up and won't display.  

The video card is an EVGA 8 GeForce 8400 GS DirectX 10 512-P3-1300-LR 512MB 32-Bit DDR3 PCI-e C22

all help to get my computer working again would be much appreciated!

[savvy2]

ok, only old PCs beep, now,  consider bad form now,,, but sure.

beeps mean , catastrophic errors, like things key that are dead or things shorted inside any PC.

the manual on all PCs cover beeps and best is only to read the correct boot or go bark up wrong tree of "BEEP" you will..

do not hot swap GPU cards or you will blow it up or mobo or both,  AC line PULLED< and then discharge caps first.

AC line pulled, push power 3 times or until all fans and led stop twitching, now PC is safe to pull things inside.

the problem is what is a HPE 6?,  did you mean the Z6????????????

ive no clue nor does google. never post lacking service tag real model and nnnnnnnABA#

to remove the card, , do this , power on and go to bios and read the GPU video page to auto, most PCs have 3 choices here

auto, PCIe or IGPU.  (zeon PCs do not have this choice, due on IGPU inside)

if set to PCI and then remove the card the PC boots dead. see why, easy it is set to only the card.

use AUTO. and do not hot swap cards OK? do not watch linus  on youtube ever.

HPE  tells me only that it is  an HPE, enterprise grade workstation of some kind.

lacking what PC you have I can not RTM your manual to find the beep codes for just it.

that 8400 card states

350 Watt or greater power supply with a minimum of 18 Amp on the +12 volt rail.(do you)

a very slow card at 40watts Tpd max, so is not the problem (power)

or using A works station with no IGPU at all , as in ZEON's,  no PC told , no simple answers.

RTM page 32

Beeps and blinking lights on the computer are error codes that can help you diagnose problems. For more information on interpreting these codes, see the Diagnostic LED and audible (beep) codes section in the Maintenance and Service Guide for your computer"

I guess HP workstation Z of some kind,

goggling beeps is a fail, there is no world standards on beeps, (no ATX peep spec)

varies by Maker and model PC, or to a specific series of PC and never all generations,

[savvy2]

Z ???????? no PC told but here is , one answer,  if Im lucky playing  Carnac the magnificent.

https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c03599666

This indicates a pre-video graphic card error. (key word PRE)

this can mean , bad DDR ram in the main mobo.

some chip cards  use DDR for VRAM and if bad on mobo the 6 beeps play out.

also try each ram stick 1 by  1, not all at once to find bad DDR. (a first things first thing) and sure RTC coin cell over 2.9v.

run full memory diagnositcs? GPU in or out.

[Sue_Gott]

Thank you for your reply.  apologies for the mistype -- I have an HP Pavilion HPE; When i start the computer the light on the button is white and then turns orange and beeps 6 times.  Upon googling what this means for an HP computer I found multiple results pointing to a bad graphic card.

Because i was able to see something when swapping in a graphics card from my other HP Prodesk I thought that my graphics card was indeed bad and bought the exact same model hoping for an easy fix

now i have a "tested to work" graphics card that i bought from ebay but am experiencing the same issue (6 beeps) and no display on my monitor

[Prométhée]

Hello
give the exact reference of the computer

HP Desktop PCs - How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number? | HP® Customer Support

When you tried the other video card, what exactly happened?

[savvy2]

you did no read my post

the error PRE , Video failure,  the book does not say at all bad GPU card,  I told you to test the MAIN DDR ram first.

you saw the PC fails with no GPU CARD at all why fixate on that which does not exist now. it's removed

first turn the the disktop upside down, a new way to hid the huge service tag is now on bottom of newer HP  desktops.

oK read the full model and post it, or you will get wrong answer, even mine, ok,. is this clear?

To diagnose PCs one needs to know how they work first,  just  guessing cards does not work. ever.

I guess the PC can not be taken to a real shop for real testing:?

again I tell you there is no such thing as a HP Pavilion HPE; , google that see, NO SUCH THING<

learn to read your service tag first, and tell what you have first, ok? (HPE means only  and enterprise grade PC and not anything else) the bottom of PC has tag,  on older pCs, top /sides or top,  yes musical tags at HP just for  fun.

you said in your first post the GPU card removed, then failed to say how the monitor was connect to the PC now?

VGA,DP,DVI, HMDI,    I can not guess connections nor what PC you have nor any thing worth wile.

In shop, we read  the tag and look it up at HP.com see what it had new, first.

then open the case. (age matters most, no PC told no AGE known by me) if over 5 years old

we test the RTC coin cell battery first, 2.9v and up good below bad.( if bd coin BIOS GOES NUTS) how fun is nuts, not.

then we hear it beep six times the Z series, Z200 up" 6 means RAM failure, call PRE GPU memory test)

that means the DDR is bad on the  main board.

we remove the card and test DDR 1 by 1, in this slot 0 bank0 , one at a time, is this hard, some times just reseatiing the DDR fixes the 6 beeps, do no force them on backwards, or fail to kill dead all AC power. or doing  so blows the DDR up.

Ok one DDR is bad, and now PC boots GPU card in or  out, with 1 good DDR stick.

this is just part of  the story, what I can not do is help you fully lacking what PC you own.

gee all I can do is beg, endless, like 10,000,000 more post here endless, begging gee what is your service tag data.

not your serial.#

the endless story, what PC is it. we can not see that tag, ok?

[savvy2]

I pulled the video card out of my HP Prodesk and tried it and it displayed but got stuck on something else

The best thing to do really, pulling it. but.... failed to do next things first.

this makes no sense at all, where is the video cable now?

does BIOS work now, forget windows, that is last.

BIOS must work and pulling the GPU card I'd have gone into BIOS, and made sure the IGPU chip is enabled, i BIOS first

of if panicked, reset BIOS.

again no PC told , learn that HPE, workstation (none told) have Xeno processors,  that have no IGPU at all

and when that is true the rear of PC has no GPU sockets (no VGA<,DVI, DP or HDMI jacks) zero jacks.

is that you , GPU addin card removed, I do know know, no PC told nor photo of rear of your PC.

see? no I can not see.

[savvy2]

what PC do you have?

learn to read the service tag

learn that they are not all the same , see?

[Sue_Gott]

thank you for your reply and the link for me to better understand how to provide information.  I found a sticker and it appears that i have an HP Pavilion HPE, h8-1223 Product# H2M24AAR#ABC

I inserted the replacement video card and plugged in the hdmi cable to the monitor and then started the computer -- the monitor continued to display a message that there was no input and the computer beeped 6 times.

thank you!

[Sue_Gott]

thank you for your reply -- i did read your post - however did not understand most since i am not as technical as you.  I did not know how to specifically provide the model until i read the link above and was able to locate the product number - and then i saw what i believe to be the model number albeit it is not labelled as such -- it appears that i have an HP Pavilion HPE, h8-1223 Product# H2M24AAR#ABC.

below is a photo of the front of my computer and where i was lead to believe it was named HP Pavilion HPE

without a video card I am unable to display at all because it does not appear that i have an integrated vga slot on the motherboard ( i had read this was an option to resetting BIOS to legacy (again i am not a pc technician so please forgive me if my language and terms are not common for the industry)  please advise if you know of something that i can do so display what i need to access the system controls.

here is a photo of the back of my computer which i believe only shows the connections to the monitor to come via he expansion slot where the removable graphics card is located

The reason i initially focused on the video card was because multiple searches on the" 6 beeps from an hp computer" resulted in telling me that it was a video issue  - here is an an example

Thank you for mentioning that i should check the cell battery - i will do that. I think i understand what you say below to test the ddr ram and will attempt that as well thank you!