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BIOS
Beeps
Diagnosing System Errors
BIOS
Beep Errors are the beeps you hear from the PC speaker
when you turn on your computer. They are your computer's
way of letting you know what's going on when there is no
video signal. These codes are programmed into the BIOS of
the PC.
There
is no official standard for these codes due to the many
brands of BIOS there are on motherboards, but two popular
brands are American Megatrends (AMI) and Phoenix.
As a
result, these beep code formats are the most common, and
will be covered here. If you don't know who made your BIOS,
you can consult the manual for your motherboard. Normally,
a computer with AMI BIOS doesn't bother with beeps. It will
flash a nice little error message right across your screen.
Its when the video card isn't working or something rather
serious goes wrong that your computer will start beeping.
|
AMI
BIOS
|
| #
of beeps |
What's
Wrong |
| none |
You're
supposed to hear at least one beep.
If you truly don't hear anything, either your computer's
power supply, motherboard or PC speaker is no good. |
| 1 |
One
beep
is good! Everything is OK, that is, if you see things
on the screen. If you don't see anything, check your
monitor and video card first. Is everything connected?
If they seem fine, your motherboard has some bad chips
on it. First reset the SIMMs and reboot. If it does
the same thing, one of the memory chips on the motherboard
is bad, and you most likely need to get another motherboard
since these chips are soldered on. |
| 2 |
Your
computer has memory problems. First, check video. If
video is working, you'll see an error message. If not,
you have a parity error in your first 64K of memory.
Check your SIMMs. Reseat them and reboot. If this doesn't
do it, the memory chips may be bad. You can try switching
the first and second banks memory chips. First banks
are the memory banks in which your CPU finds its first
64K of base memory. You'll need to consult your manual
to see which bank is first. If all of your memory tests
good, you probably need to buy another motherboard. |
| 3 |
Same
as 2 beeps; follow diagnosis above. |
| 4 |
Same
as 2 beeps; follow diagnosis above. Your problem could
also be a bad timer. |
| 5 |
Your
motherboard is complaining. Try reseating the memory
and rebooting. If that doesn't help, you should consider
another motherboard. You could probably get away with
just replacing the CPU, but that's not too cost-effective. |
| 6 |
The
chip on your motherboard that controls your keyboard
isn't working. First, try another keyboard. If that
doesn't help, reseat the chip that controls the keyboard,
if it isn't soldered in. If it still beeps, replace
the chip if possible. Replace the motherboard if the
chip is soldered in. |
| 7 |
Your
CPU is broken and no good. Either replace the CPU or
buy another motherboard. |
| 8 |
Your
video card isn't working. Make sure it is seated well
in the bus. If it still beeps, either the whole card
is bad or the memory on it is. Your best bet is to install
another video card. |
| 9 |
Your
BIOS is bad; replace it. |
| 10 |
Your
problem lies deep inside the CMOS. All chips associated
with the CMOS will likely have to be replaced. Your
best bet is to get a new motherboard. |
| 11 |
Your
cache memory is bad and your computer disabled it for
you. You could reactivate it by pressing -Ctrl- -Alt-
-Shift- -+- , but you probably shouldn't. Instead, replace
your cache memory. |
Phoenix
beep codes are more detailed than are the AMI codes. It
emits three sets of beeps. For example, 1 -pause- 3 -pause
3 -pause-. This is a 1-3-3 combo and each set of beeps is
separated by a brief pause. So, you need to listen and count
when your computer starts doing this.
Reboot
and recount if you have to.
|
Phoenix
Bios
|
| Beep
sequence |
What's
Wrong |
| 1-1-3 |
Your
computer can't read the configuration information stored
in the CMOS. Replace the motherboard. |
| 1-1-4 |
Your
BIOS needs to be replaced. |
| 1-2-1 |
You
have a bad timer chip on the motherboard; you need a
new motherboard. |
| 1-2-2 |
The
motherboard is bad. |
| 1-2-3 |
The
motherboard is bad. |
| 1-3-1 |
The
motherboard is bad. |
| 1-3-3 |
Same
as AMI BIOS 2 beeps. Replace the motherboard. |
| 1-3-4 |
The
motherboard is bad. |
| 1-4-1 |
The
motherboard is bad. |
| 1-4-2 |
Some
of your memory is bad. |
| 2-_-_ |
Any
combination of beeps after two means that some of your
memory is bad, and unless you want to get real
technical, you should probably have the guys in the
lab coats test the memory for you. Take your computer
to the shop. |
| 3-1-_ |
One
of the chips on your motherboard is broken. You'll likely
need to get another board. |
| 3-2-4 |
Same
as AMI BIOS 6 beeps: keyboard controller failure. |
| 3-3-4 |
Your
computer can't find the video card. Is it there? If
so, try swapping it with another one and see if it works. |
| 3-4-_ |
Your
video card isn't working. You'll need to replace it. |
| 4-2-1 |
There's
a bad chip on the motherboard. You need to buy another
board. |
| 4-2-2 |
First,
check the keyboard for problems. If there are none,
you have a bad motherboard. |
| 4-2-3 |
See
4-2-2. |
| 4-2-4 |
One
of the cards is bad. Try taking out the cards one by
one to isolate the culprit. Replace the bad one. The
last possibility is to buy another motherboard. |
| 4-3-1 |
Replace
the motherboard. |
| 4-3-2 |
See
4-3-1 |
| 4-3-3 |
See
4-3-1 |
| 4-3-4 |
Time
of day clock failure. Try running the setup program
that comes with the computer, and check the date and
time. If that doesn't work, replace the battery. If
that doesn't work, replace the power supply. You may
have to replace the motherboard, but that is rare. |
| 4-4-1 |
Your
serial ports are acting up. Reseat or replace the I/O
card. If the I/O is on the motherboard itself, disable
it with a jumper (consult your manual to know which
one) and then add an I/O card. |
| 4-4-2 |
See
4-4-1 |
| 4-4-3 |
Your
math coprocessor is malfunctioning. Run a test program
to double-check it. If it is indeed bad, disable or
replace it. Disabling is fine, because you probably
don't need it anyway. |
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