Boot up error

I have a HP Pavillion laptop. When I turn it on there are three beeps, the first louder than the next two, and then nothing else happens. There is no message or image on the screen, the fan starts but then goes off. This happens when the laptop is plugged in and when its running of battery. Any suggestions?

Sounds like the RAM chips are loose.

not so sure... according to this
http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/dellbios.htm
that pattern on a Dell means missing graphics card (or faulty). However would loose memory on a machine where the graphics shares system memory generate that code?

There were some HP laptops that had a cooling problem and resulted in the graphics card burning out. Check the HP web site for more details quoting your specific model number. HP did offer an extended warranty for these machines, but I am not sure if it has run out now. I think the machines involved were made between 18 and 30 months ago. Does that fit the age of your laptop?