Computer gone into off mode after install ?

[Halcyon]

Anyone able to help me out on a little problem a mate has asked me about with his computer.
He is not too sure about RAM and thinks he's got the right type but may be wrong. He doesnt live here and isnt too googd at telling whats what so I havent been able to see anything as yet.

What he did was he wanted to update his ram so he put in a new stick to upgrade it. I assume for the moment it is the right type.
However maybe he has not got the right speed ram, not sure on that info as yet.
He added it and it slotted in fine.

Next thing, he goes and boots up and the system doesnt do anything.
So he sticks his old ram stick back in and boots up again.

Impossible to get back to where he was. All he gets is a message saying "Off mode" or something like that which comes up on screen.

I've never heard of something known as "off mode".

I've suggested he may have dislodged a component or car din the case and to check connections, or that he has incompatible RAM, however I dont know why once he has his normal RAM back in, he is stopped on boot and cant get further than a message saying "off mode".

Anyone able to shed some light.

Thanks.

[TheBlueRaja]

The only thing i can think off is that he may have dislodged a connector to his GFX card and his monitor is showing something like no signal or something.

Off mode - never heard of that specifically.

Perhaps he could also have dislodged his heat sink and his CPU is shutting down his machine due to high temps, but then if that was the case it usually whirrs up for a few seconds before turning off.

Apart from that i have no idea... Whats the make of his Mobo?

EDIT - He could also try and clear the BIOS - could be something to do with timings...

[Halcyon]

Yeah I thought it might be something to do with the monitor may be going into some off mode due to the machine not powering up, but it does power up and actually displays "off mode" from what I've been told.
Dont know much as it was just told to me on the phone tonight.

I'l let him know to check all his cabling and connectors.

Anyone know if by adding ram and then going back to original configuartion you can alter settings, and if so, how you get back as even with his normal ram back in, it doesnt get anywhere.

[Gareth]

Does the machine even POST? Does it make any beeps, and if so, which ones? That will help determine if there's a hardware fault before sending stuff back.