BIOS Beeps.

I was trying to install more RAM into my computer and was unsuccesful because i could not get to the motherboard.

Upon putting it back together, I realized I forgot to keep track of the power supply connector for the master cd rom drive. Since it needed a 4 pin connector, i picked one at random. When I rebooted, BIOS sent out 3 beeps and i couldn't see anything on the screen. I was able to operate the cd-rom though.

I did not remove the old memory, nor could I upgrade it. I'm not sure if I damaged it. =( But, after switching the 4 pin connector w/ another one, my computer was able to reboot. This seems strange as all of the 4 pin connectors should work.

Today, it crashed and then refused to reboot at all. Now BIOS is giving out a 4 beep signal. For an HP Pavilion, it's either the timer on the mother board or the memory.

Is there anyway to figure out which it is?

It shouldn't really matter what power connector that you use. What you need to do is check to make sure all connectors are in properly and also make sure and cards are seated in their slots properly. Sometimes a card can move out a tiny bit and cause a problem like this.

one of the switches on the old RAM was a little loose.

the computer is now able to boot... thanks!!

the reason why i was messing around w/ the RAM is because my computer keeps running out of memory. even w/ some firefox windows. Once, upon trying to get it out of standby, it did this:
https://home.comcast.net/~deepuks/Computer.mpg

I ran two memory tests but they all came out fine. I guess I just need to add in more memory.

Ugh.