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Thread ID: 90150 2008-05-24 19:43:00 Problems starting PC hval91 (13787) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
672194 2008-05-24 19:43:00 I'm having trouble starting up my PC when i do it gives beeps in a series of 1 beep then 3 beeps then 2 beeps also nothing displays on the monitor. When it is hooked up to the monitor the fan also runs rather loudly and seems to be overworking. But when only the power is going to the PC the fan doesn't seem to be a problem. Wondering if anyone could tell me whats wrong and also any fixed you know.
Thanks 		hval91 (13787)
672195 2008-05-24 20:21:00 Welcome to PressF1.

Try the link below which will tell you what the beeps are.

www.pchell.com

Hope this helps. 		Sweep (90)
672196 2008-05-24 21:18:00 thanks for the link but that series of beeps doesn't seem to be listed. if anyone knows what those 1-3-2 beeps mean let me no please. hval91 (13787)
672197 2008-05-24 22:27:00 Generally its either graphics or RAM.

Start troubleshooting components. 		pctek (84)
672198 2008-05-24 22:48:00 thanks for the link but that series of beeps doesn't seem to be listed. if anyone knows what those 1-3-2 beeps mean let me no please.

So which BIOS are you using? 		Sweep (90)
672199 2008-05-24 23:01:00 Below is a table of the most common AMI, Phoenix and Award BIOS beep codes .

AMI (American Megatrends International) BIOS Beep Codes .
AMI BIOS uses beeps of the same length and pitch . The error is displayed as a number of beeps . For example, 4 beeps indicated a timer failure .
BEEP CODE MEANING POSSIBLE CAUSE
1 Beep (No video) Memory refresh failure Bad memory
2 Beeps Memory parity error Bad memory
3 Beeps Base 64K mem failure Bad memory
4 Beeps Timer not operational Bad motherboard
5 Beeps Processor error Bad processor
6 Beeps 8042 Gate A20 failure Bad CPU or Motherboard
7 Beeps Processor exception Bad processor
8 Beeps Video memory error Bad video card or memory
9 Beeps ROM checksum error Bad BIOS
10 Beeps CMOS checksum error Bad motherboard
11 Beeps Cache memory bad Bad CPU or motherboard



Award BIOS Beep Codes
Award BIOS uses beeps of varying duration . A long beep will typically last for 2 seconds while a short beep will last only 1 second . Award BIOS also uses beeps of different frequency to indicate critical errors . If an Award BIOS detects that the CPU is overheating it may play a high pitched repeating beep while the computer is running .
BEEP CODE MEANING POSSIBLE CAUSE
1 Long, 2 Short Video adapter failure Bad video adapter
Repeating (Endless loop) Memory error Bad memory or bad connection
1 Long, 3 Short Video adapter failure Bad video adapter or memory
High freq . beeps (while running) CPU is overheating CPU fan failure
Repeating High, Low beeps CPU failure Bad processor



Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes
Phoenix BIOS uses beep code patterns to indicate problems . In the table below the '-' indicates a brief pause between beeps .
Example: 1 - 1 - 2 would sound like BEEP <pause> BEEP <pause> BEEP BEEP

BEEP CODE MEANING POSSIBLE CAUSE
1 - 1 - 2 CPU / motherboard failure Bad CPU / motherboard
1 - 1 - 3 CMOS read/write failure Bad motherboard
1 - 1 - 4 BIOS ROM failure Bad BIOS chip
1 - 2 - 1 Timer failure Bad motherboard
1 - 2 - 2 DMA failure Bad motherboard
1 - 2 - 3 DMA failure Bad motherboard
1 - 3 - 1 Memory refresh failure Bad memory
1 - 3 - 2 64K memory failure Bad memory
1 - 3 - 3 64K memory failure Bad memory
1 - 3 - 4 64K memory failure Bad memory
1 - 4 - 1 Address line failure Bad memory
1 - 4 - 2 Parity error Bad memory
1 - 4 - 3 Timer failure Bad motherboard
1 - 4 - 4 NMI port failure Bad motherboard
2 - 1 - 1 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 1 - 2 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 1 - 3 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 1 - 4 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 2 - 1 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 2 - 2 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 2 - 3 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 2 - 4 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 3 - 1 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 3 - 2 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 3 - 3 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 3 - 4 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 4 - 1 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 4 - 2 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 4 - 4 64K memory failure Bad memory
2 - 4 - 4 64K memory failure Bad memory
3 - 1 - 1 Slave DMA failure Bad motherboard
3 - 1 - 2 Master DMA failure Bad motherboard
3 - 1 - 3 Interrupt controller failure Bad motherboard
3 - 1 -4 Slave IC failure Bad motherboard
3 - 2 -2 Interrupt Controller failure Bad motherboard
3 - 2 - 3 <RESERVED>
3 - 2 - 4 Keyboard control failure Bad motherboard
3 - 3 - 1 CMOS batter failure Bad CMOS battery
3 - 3 - 2 CMOS configuration error Incorrect setting
3 - 3 - 3 <RESERVED>
3 - 3 - 4 Video memory failure Bad video card or memory
3 - 4 - 1 Video init failure Bad video card or memory
4 - 2 - 1 Timer failure Bad motherboard
4 - 2 - 2 CMOS shutdown failure Bad motherboard
4 - 2 - 3 Gate A20 failure Bad motherboard
4 - 2 - 4 Unexpected interrupt Bad processor
4 - 3 - 1 RAM test failure Bad memory
4 - 3 - 3 Timer failure Bad motherboard
4 - 3 - 4 RTC failure Bad motherboard
4 - 4 - 1 Serial port failure Bad motherboard
4 - 4 - 2 Parallel port failure Bad motherboard
4 - 4 - 3 Coprocessor failure Bad motherboard or CPU .
9 - 2 - 1 Video adapter incompatibility Use a different brand of video card

. . . Try cleaning contacts then reseating your RAM & video card . 		fnphoto (2434)
672200 2008-05-24 23:30:00 So 1-3-2 looks like bad memory in a Phoenix BIOS.
I do not know which BIOS the original poster has as he/she has not mentioned yet.

As to the other problem hval91 you might look at the PSU.

What make and model are we looking at? 		Sweep (90)
672201 2008-05-25 00:43:00 hey sorry for not responding but I'm not very good at this where can i find the BIOS?
Also if it is a 64K memory problem how could i solve that? 		hval91 (13787)
672202 2008-05-25 01:13:00 If youve got more than 1 stick of ram, turn it off first, take 1 out and see if it works.

If it doesnt, take the other stick out.

Or make sure the sticks of ram are in properly

The BIOS is the main chip on a mobo, without it you get nothing.

Its where you set everything up, so a system actually does something.

You may get into it, by pressing the delete key after you reboot, or F1/F2/F10. Depending on what kind of system it is. 		Speedy Gonzales (78)
672203 2008-05-25 01:16:00 Is your monitor powered by the PSU?, with the loud fan mentioned, we maybe looking at a failed PSU.. SolMiester (139)
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