How to recognize computer beep errors

When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the

system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the system's hardware components are working

properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS

detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will

produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has

detected. 
 

AMI BIOS beep codes

Beep Code	Descriptions
1 short	DRAM refresh failure
2 short	Parity circuit failure
3 short	Base 64K RAM failure
4 short	System timer failure
5 short	Process failure
6 short	Keyboard controller Gate A20 error
7 short	Virtual mode exception error
8 short	Display memory Read/Write test failure
9 short	ROM BIOS checksum failure
10 short	CMOS shutdown Read/Write error
11 short	Cache Memory error
1 long, 3 short	Conventional/Extended memory failure
1 long, 8 short	Display/Retrace test failed
two-tone siren	Low CPU Fan speed, Voltage Level issue

AWARD BIOS beep codes

Beep Code	Description
1 long, 2 short	Indicates a video error has occurred and the BIOS cannot initialize the video screen to display any additional information
1 long, 3 short	Video card not detected (reseat video card) or bad video card
Beeps repeating endlessly	RAM problem.
Repeated high frequency beeps while PC is running	Overheating processor (CPU)
Repeated beeps alternating high & low frequency	Issue with the processor (CPU), possibly damage

If any other correctable hardware issues are found, the BIOS displays a message.

Dell beep codes

Beep Code	Description
1 beep	BIOS ROM corruption or failure
2 beeps	Memory (RAM) not detected
3 beeps	Motherboard failure
4 beeps	Memory (RAM) failure
5 beeps	CMOS Battery failure
6 beeps	Video card failure
7 beeps	Bad processor (CPU)

IBM BIOS beep codes

Beep Code	Description
No Beeps	No Power, Loose Card, or Short.
1 Short Beep	Normal POST, computer is ok.
2 Short Beep	POST error, review screen for error code.
Continuous Beep	No Power, Loose Card, or Short.
Repeating Short Beep	No Power, Loose Card, or Short.
1 Long and 1 Short Beep	Motherboard issue.
1 Long and 2 Short Beeps	Video (Mono/CGA Display Circuitry) issue.
1 Long and 3 Short Beeps.	Video (EGA) Display Circuitry.
3 Long Beeps	Keyboard or Keyboard card error.
1 Beep, Blank or Incorrect Display	Video Display Circuitry.

Macintosh startup tones

Tones	Error
Error Tone. (two sets of  different tones)	Problem with logic board or SCSI bus.
Startup tone, drive spins, no video	Problem with video controller.
Powers on, no tone.	Logic board problem.
High Tone, four higher tones.	Problem with SIMM.

Phoenix BIOS beep codes

Beep Code	Description and what to check
1-1-1-1	Unconfirmed beep code. Reseat RAM chips or replace RAM chips as possible solution
1-1-1-3	Verify Real Mode.
1-1-2-1	Get CPU Type.
1-1-2-3	Initialize system hardware.
1-1-3-1	Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values.
1-1-3-2	Set in POST flag.
1-1-3-3	Initialize CPU registers.
1-1-4-1	Initialize cache to initial POST values.
1-1-4-3	Initialize I/O.
1-2-1-1	Initialize Power Management.
1-2-1-2	Load alternate registers with initial POST values.
1-2-1-3	Jump to UserPatch0.
1-2-2-1	Initialize keyboard controller.
1-2-2-3	BIOS ROM checksum.
1-2-3-1	8254 timer initialization.
1-2-3-3	8237 DMA controller initialization.
1-2-4-1	Reset Programmable Interrupt Controller.
1-3-1-1	Test DRAM refresh.
1-3-1-3	Test 8742 Keyboard Controller.
1-3-2-1	Set ES segment to register to 4 GB.
1-3-3-1	28 Autosize DRAM.
1-3-3-3	Clear 512K base RAM.
1-3-4-1	Test 512 base address lines.
1-3-4-3	Test 512K base memory.
1-4-1-3	Test CPU bus-clock frequency.
1-4-2-4	Reinitialize the chipset.
1-4-3-1	Shadow system BIOS ROM.
1-4-3-2	Reinitialize the cache.
1-4-3-3	Autosize cache.
1-4-4-1	Configure advanced chipset registers.
1-4-4-2	Load alternate registers with CMOS values.
2-1-1-1	Set Initial CPU speed.
2-1-1-3	Initialize interrupt vectors.
2-1-2-1	Initialize BIOS interrupts.
2-1-2-3	Check ROM copyright notice.
2-1-2-4	Initialize manager for PCI Options ROMs.
2-1-3-1	Check video configuration against CMOS.
2-1-3-2	Initialize PCI bus and devices.
2-1-3-3	Initialize all video adapters in system.
2-1-4-1	Shadow video BIOS ROM.
2-1-4-3	Display copyright notice.
2-2-1-1	Display CPU Type and speed.
2-2-1-3	Test keyboard.
2-2-2-1	Set key click if enabled.
2-2-2-3	56 Enable keyboard.
2-2-3-1	Test for unexpected interrupts.
2-2-3-3	Display prompt Press F2 to enter SETUP.
2-2-4-1	Test RAM between 512 and 640k.
2-3-1-1	Test expanded memory.
2-3-1-3	Test extended memory address lines.
2-3-2-1	Jump to UserPatch1.
2-3-2-3	Configure advanced cache registers.
2-3-3-1	Enable external and CPU caches.
2-3-3-3	Display external cache size.
2-3-4-1	Display shadow message.
2-3-4-3	Display non-disposable segments.
2-4-1-1	Display error messages.
2-4-1-3	Check for configuration errors.
2-4-2-1	Test real-time clock.
2-4-2-3	Check for keyboard errors
2-4-4-1	Set up hardware interrupts vectors.
2-4-4-3	Test coprocessor if present.
3-1-1-1	Disable onboard I/O ports.
3-1-1-3	Detect and install external RS232 ports.
3-1-2-1	Detect and install external parallel ports.
3-1-2-3	Re-initialize onboard I/O ports.
3-1-3-1	Initialize BIOS Data Area.
3-1-3-3	Initialize Extended BIOS Data Area.
3-1-4-1	Initialize floppy controller.
3-2-1-1	Initialize hard disk controller.
3-2-1-2	Initialize local bus hard disk controller.
3-2-1-3	Jump to UserPatch2.
3-2-2-1	Disable A20 address line.
3-2-2-3	Clear huge ES segment register.
3-2-3-1	Search for option ROMs.
3-2-3-3	Shadow option ROMs.
3-2-4-1	Set up Power Management.
3-2-4-3	Enable hardware interrupts.
3-3-1-1	Set time of day.
3-3-1-3	Check key lock.
3-3-3-1	Erase F2 prompt.
3-3-3-3	Scan for F2 key stroke.
3-3-4-1	Enter SETUP.
3-3-4-3	Clear in POST flag.
3-4-1-1	Check for errors
3-4-1-3	POST done - prepare to boot operating system.
3-4-2-1	One beep.
3-4-2-3	Check password (optional).
3-4-3-1	Clear global descriptor table.
3-4-4-1	Clear parity checkers.
3-4-4-3	Clear screen (optional).
3-4-4-4	Check virus and backup reminders.
4-1-1-1	Try to boot with INT 19.
4-2-1-1	Interrupt handler error.
4-2-1-3	Unknown interrupt error.
4-2-2-1	Pending interrupt error.
4-2-2-3	Initialize option ROM error.
4-2-3-1	Shutdown error.
4-2-3-3	Extended Block Move.
4-2-4-1	Shutdown 10 error.
4-3-1-3	Initialize the chipset.
4-3-1-4	Initialize refresh counter.
4-3-2-1	Check for Forced Flash.
4-3-2-2	Check HW status of ROM.
4-3-2-3	BIOS ROM is OK.
4-3-2-4	Do a complete RAM test.
4-3-3-1	Do OEM initialization.
4-3-3-2	Initialize interrupt controller.
4-3-3-3	Read in bootstrap code.
4-3-3-4	Initialize all vectors.
4-3-4-1	Boot the Flash program.
4-3-4-2	Initialize the boot device.
4-3-4-3	Boot code was read OK.
two-tone siren	Low CPU Fan speed, Voltage Level issue

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HOW TO DO THE POWER SUPPLY PAPER CLIP TEST?

There are various reasons why a computer will shut down. Chief among these is component

overheating. The most common cause of computer overheating is a fan going bad and failing

to cool down a component. Most computers have power supplies similar to this one:

When a PSU fan goes bad, it is not able to cool down the power supply hence the device will heat up. The excess heat generated by the PSU will add to the overall temperature of the system unit. If this failure is not corrected, the PSU will become damage. A damaged PSU can, potentially, damage the components as well as the motherboard, itself.

If your system appears to be exhibiting an, abnormally, high temperature and you suspect that

the PSU’s fan has gone bad but are not sure, there is a test you can perform which should

prove weather the fan is working or not. This test is called, “The PSU Paper Clip Test.”

The first things we need to identify are the main power connectors that run from the PSU and

attach to the motherboard to supply the voltage and current that your motherboard and its

components need. Most power supplies have a 20 or 24 pin ATX Connector like the one

shown in the picture on the left and a 4 pin ATX Connector like the one shown in the picture

on the right:

 

These connectors are needed by your motherboard in order to function properly. As

mentioned above, they supply the proper voltages and currents that the various components

attached to the motherboard need in order to work properly. These components include, the

motherboard itself, the CPU, the memory modules, the hard drive and the optical drive as well

as any video cards that your system my use.

To perform the PSU Paper Clip test, we’ll need to examine the power supply connectors

closely and find the one that has a lone green wire. Ninety nine percent of the time, this green

wire is located on pin 14 on the bigger connector. In addition to the green wire, locate the

other black wires that are present in the connector. Here’s an image of the wires in question:

Once the wires are located, you will need a paper clip such as the one shown here:

It is now time for the fun part. First you need to reshape the paper clip into a shape that is

similar to the letter C as follows: 

Once this is done, make sure that the power cord is NOT connected to the power supply then

connect one end of the paper clip to the green wire and the other end to one of the black

wires present on the connector as shown below: 

Once the paper clip has been attached to the green and black wires, this will enable the power

supply to turn on while it is disconnected from the motherboard something not possible,

otherwise. After this is done, turn off the power switch, if one is present, and connect the

power cord to the PSU as shown below: 

If the PSU does not have a switch, then as soon as you connect the power cord, power should

flow through the PSU and you can then observe the fan on that power supply to see if it turns

as shown in the image that follows:

If the fans turns, then this means that the PSU is, at least, delivering some voltages out and

overheating might not be occurring. If, on the other hand, the fan does not turn, then

overheating is, most, likely occurring and the PSU will eventually fail and may damage some

other components, in the process. This test works ninety nine percent of the time. There is,

however, that one percent. If you want to be sure of the power supply’s functionality I would

suggest that you purchase a power supply tester. This will give you, more, accurate results

then the PSU Paper Clip test. 

Download This PDF file

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