the System is now just bleeping constantly when I turn it on
so I hit the F2 button and then just exited setup and windows kicked up as it should
(my bold added)
How old is this system? This "sounds" like your battery is shot and has failed to hold a "high" (enough voltage) on the CMOS. CMOS is a special kind of memory device (integrated circuit - IC or "chip") that almost instantly forgets everything once power is removed. That's their advantage because if something goes wrong, they can instantly be "reset".
On a motherboard, these integrated circuits are used by the BIOS to hold custom BIOS settings, date & time, attached hardware, bus speeds, boot order, etc. If the battery is too weak to keep the computer's settings in CMOS, then the BIOS is reset back to factory defaults, and continues to be reset every time the computer is turned
power off. Upon next boot, the motherboard knows nothing of the CPU attached, RAM, or drives, freaks out, beeps and prompts for the Setup Menu again. In your case, by "just exiting" the BIOS Setup Menu, nothing set into CMOS was saved. So during the next boot the motherboard knew nothing again. You might try going back into the BIOS setup menu and make sure your drives are properly identified, then verify your date and time are correct. Then most importantly, "Save" and Exit and see what happens.
By "power off" I meant left off for a couple minutes to hours. This is because during a Windows Restart, or when you press the reset button, surrounding capacitors discharge their stored voltage back into the circuit. Since capacitors typically have a decay rate of several seconds, that discharged voltage provides enough holding power to the CMOS for the few milliseconds system power is off. My point here is a weak battery is often overlooked if the computer is never actually powered off for any length of time, allowing the capacitors to discharge fully, causing the CMOS to go blank again.
That said, I would replace the battery - even new ones can be bad or die prematurely. And they are cheap, about $2USD at your local battery/watch/camera counter, so the financial risk is minimal. Typically a CR2032 (verify to be sure) wafer type battery about the size of a US Nickel, they are not hard to spot. Do NOT toss the old Lithium battery in the trash, but take it with you as many battery centers recycle Lithium and rechargeable batteries. Radio Shack, for example will recycle your old SLA (sealed lead-acid) UPS batteries too! Check your motherboard manual for battery location and special precautions.
- Power off AND UNPLUG the computer from the wall,
- Open the side of the case and locate battery on motherboard,
- Touch bare metal of case with fingers to discharge any static in your body, putting you and case at the same "potential",
- Locate battery and note polarity for future reference,
- Use thumbnail, wood or plastic prying device and pry out battery, being very careful not to damage or allow the battery to touch surrounding surfaces,
- Do NOT touch new battery with bare skin - the oils promote corrosion and attract dust - use a clean cloth (I put a clean sock over my hand),
- Observing battery polarity, touch bare metal, insert battery,
- Inspect interior for loose wires, connections, excess dust, or leaky capacitors, clean if necessary,
- Replace side panel, connect cables,
- Boot computer going directly into the BIOS Setup Menu,
- Set date and time, check for proper identification of drives, Save and Exit.
Cross fingers and see what happens. And keep us posted.
