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BIOS Beep Code

These are some hints that I found from the internet. Usually we can detect the errors which are related to the beep sound during startup. Maybe these hints are very useful to us.

When a computer is turned on, it goes through what is called a POST (power-on self test) routine.  This is a short diagnostic procedure incorporated into the boot sequence by the BIOS manufacture for troubleshooting purposes. 

Many times when there is an error in your boot sequence you will receive an on-screen error message. This error was printed by the video card. But, in some cases, the error is detected early in the boot process and the error cannot be received by the video card. The problem may even be caused by the video card or the monitor.  This is why the need for beep codes came to be. 

Below, you will find some common codes listed by manufacturer.

 

AMI (American Megatrends') BIOS

Beep Codes

Message

one short

DRAM refresh failure (Problem with memory)

two short

Parity circuit failure

three short

Base 64K RAM failure

four short

System Timer failure

five short

Processor failure

six short

Keyboard Controller / Gate A20 failure

seven short

Virtual Mode Exception error

eight short

Display Memory Read/Write failure (fault with video card)

nine short

ROM BIOS Checksum error (fault with BIOS chip)

ten short

CMOS Shutdown Read/Write error

eleven short

Cache memory

one long

Passed (no errors)

one long, two short

Video failure

one long, three short

Base / Extended Memory failure

one long, eight short

Display / Retrace Test failure

AST Research BIOS

Beep Codes 

Message 

one short

Low level processor verification test failed (POST 1)

two short

Clearing keyboard controller buffers failed (POST 2)

three short

Keyboard controller reset failed (POST 3)

four short

Low level keyboard controller interface test (POST 4) 

five short

Reading data from keyboard controller failed (POST 5) 

six short

System board support chip initialization failed (POST 6)

seven short

Processor register read/write verify test failed (POST 7) 

eight short

CMOS timer initialization failed (POST 8) 

nine short

ROM BIOS checksum test failed (POST 9) 

ten short

Initialize primary video (POST 10) 

eleven short

8254 timer channel 0 test failed (POST 11) 

twelve short

8254 timer channel 1 test failed (POST 12) 

thirteen short

8254 timer channel 2 test failed (POST 13) 

fourteen short

CMOS power-on and time test failed (POST 14) 

fifteen short

CMOS shutdown byte test failed (POST 15) 

one long

DMA channel 0 test failed (POST 16)

one long, one short

DMA channel 1 test failed (POST 17) 

one long, two short

DMA page register test failed (POST 18) 

one long, three short

Keyboard controller interface test failed (POST 19) 

one long, four short

Memory refresh toggle test failed (POST 20) 

one long, five short

First 64 KB memory test failed (POST 21) 

one long, six short

Setup interrupt vector table failed (POST 22) 

one long, seven short

Video initialization failed (POST 23) 

one long, eight short

Video memory test failed (POST 24) 

Award BIOS 

Beep Codes

Message 

one short

Passed (no errors) 

two short

Any non-fatal error 

one long, two short

Video failure 

one long, three short

Keyboard Controller failure (applies to 286, 386 and 486) 

Compaq BIOS

Beep Codes

Message 

one short

Indicates that the system is booting properly

two short

General BIOS error - remedy unknown

one short, two long

Memory Module

one long, one short

BIOS ROM checksum error

one long, two short

Video error

7 Beeps: one long, one short, one long, one short, pause, one long, two short

AGP Video

one long continuous tone

Memory Module

IBM BIOS 

Beep Codes

Message 

none

Power Supply or System Board failure (possible short) 

one short 

Passed (no errors) 

one short (blank screen)

Video error (check cable) 

one short (no boot)

Floppy Drive error 

two short

Configuration Error (displayed on screen) 

repeating short

Power Supply or System Board failure 

continuous

Power Supply or System Board / Keyboard stuck 

one long, one short

System Board failure 

one long, two short

Video (Mono/CGA) failure (check cable) 

one long, three short 

Video (EGA) failure (check cable) 

three long

Keyboard Card error 

Mylex BIOS

Beep Codes

Message 

one

Normal boot

two

Video adapter error

three

Keyboard controller error

four

Keyboard error

five

PIC 0 error

six

PIC 1 error

seven

DMA page register error

eight

RAM refresh error

nine

RAM data error

ten

RAM parity error

eleven

DMA controller 0 error

twelve

CMOS RAM error

thirteen

DMA controller 1 error

fourteen

CMOS RAM battery error

fifteen

CMOS RAM checksum error

sixteen

BIOS ROM checksum error

Mylex 386 BIOS

Beep Codes

Message 

one long

Normal boot

two long

Video adapter error

one long, one short, one long

Keyboard controller error

one long, two short, one long

Keyboard error

one long, three short, one long

PIC 0 error

one long four short, one long

PIC 1 error

one long, five short, one long

DMA page register error

one long, six short, one long

RAM refresh error

one long, seven short, one long

RAM data error

one long, eight short, one long

RAM parity error

one long, nine short, one long

DMA controller 0 error

one long, ten short, one long

CMOS RAM error

one long, eleven short, one long

DMA controller 1 error

one long, twelve short, one long

CMOS RAM battery error

one long, thirteen short, one long

CMOS RAM checksum error

one long fourteen short, one long

BIOS ROM checksum error

Phoenix BIOS 

Beep Codes 

Message 

one, one, three

CMOS Read/Write 

one, one, four

ROM BIOS Checksum failure 

one, two, one

Programmable Interval Timer failure 

one, two, two

DMA Initialisation failure 

one, two, three

DMA Page Register Read/Write failure 

one, three, one

RAM Refresh Verification error 

one, three, three

First 64K RAM Chip/Data Line failure 

one, three, four

First 64K RAM Odd/Even Logic 

one, four, one

First 64K RAM: Address Line 

one, four, two

First 64K RAM: Parity failure 

one, four, three

Fail-Safe Timer Feature (EISA only) 

one, four, four

Software NMI Port failure (EISA only) 

two (followed by various combinations)

First 64K RAM Chip/Data Line failure (combinations indicate which bit) 

three, one, one

Slave DMA Register failure 

three, one, two

Master DMA Register failure 

three, one, three

Master Interrupt Mask Register failure 

three, one, four

Slave Interrupt Mask Register failure 

three, two, four

Keyboard Controller failure 

three, three, four

Display Memory failure 

three, four, one

Display Retrace failure 

three, four, two

Video ROM search proceeding 

four, two, one

Timer Tick failure 

four, two, two

Shutdown failure 

four, two, three

Gate A20 failure 

four, two, four

Unexpected Interrupt in Protected Mode 

four, three, one

RAM test above 64K failure 

four, three, two/three

Programmable Interval Timer, Channel 2 failure 

four, three, four

Realtime Clock failure 

four, four, one

Serial Port error 

four, four, two

Parallel Port error 

four, four, three

Math Co-processor failure 

(tone) one, one, two

System Board Select 

(tone) one, one, three

Extender CMOS RAM 

Quadtel BIOS

Beep Codes

Message 

one short

Indicates that the system is booting properly

two short

CMOS IC error

one long, two short

Video error

one long, three short

Peripheral controller error

 



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