Why does my computer beep continuously when I turn it on and then not boot Windows?

The number and pattern of beeps are diagnostic. Count them, note the spacing, and RTFM.

Maybe one of the keys are locked in a pushed down position.

@pdworkin is right, that beep system is part of the POST process (Power On Self Test) and helps you diagnose the problem. The Acer Veriton 5600GT should be equipped with an Intel 865G Socket 478 ATX Motherboard, now look at this overview that Intel put together (which includes your motherboard). How many beeps are you getting?

@markyy That article you posted lists up to 11 beeps. My computer just did 46… =S

I’ve noticed that after every beep I can hear the hard drive spin a little bit then stop again. Does this mean I need a new hard drive?

Well, the official manual of that board only goes up to 11. My best and uneducated guess is that you’re counting wrong, or that any beeps beyond 11 are used for the test and repair department of Intel. The manual mentions it could also print a code on your screen, did you happen to catch that?

I never encountered a hard disk from stopping the power on before with any of my computers, if you think that’s it, you could unplug the hard disk and boot it to see if you get past the POST, but I doubt it. Whatever is going on here, you probably want a professional to look at your computer.

Just now I unplugged the power from the disk and it turned on with no beeps. However, if I have the power plugged into the disk, but the data cable unplugged, it gives me the same amount of beeps as if I had the data cable plugged in.

Am I right in thinking this could be caused by a faulty/missing connection between the hard disk and the motherboard?

I have never encountered something like that before, so I’m kind of blanking out. It could be anything from your power supply to the hard disk to the bios settings, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare disk lying around, would you?

Anyone else experienced anything like this?

I don’t have a another HD unfortunately, the rest of the computers in the house are macs lol.
The funny thing is that it was working perfectly fine a couple of days ago. But when I turned it on today, this is what happened.

I don’t know that much about the insides of a computer, but there are multiple spare leads coming from the power supply. Could I take a random stab in the dark and swap the power lead for a spare one?

@chromaBYTE You mean switching the cable from your power supply to the electrical socket? Sure, your last hunch resulted in success so go ahead, the thing is it’s probably not your power supply (and if it was it wouldn’t be the cable, but the unit itself). If I would have it physically in front of me I could snoop around, but I’m not really comfortable taking random guesses that could screw up your computer, besides I’m not schooled to repair computers in the first place.

i cant say for sure without knowing what bios you are using, but do what @pdworkin said, the number of beeps will tell you what the problem is.

long continuous beeps that dont end tend to mean a problem with the CPU. however, it varies from bios to bios.