Beginners Guides: Computer Error Beep Codes Since I'm the "computer expert" among my friends and family,

I often get those l ate night phone calls and e-mails asking me what's wrong with their computer. I' ll be honest. It does get quite frustrating and annoying at times when people st art off with "What did I do?" I understand that they're only asking me because t hey trust I can do a good job, and they really don't have anyone else to turn to . When I start fixing a computer, 99% of the problems I see are software related. Most of the time it is you, the user that wrecks, breaks, crashes, or kills your computer. Sorry, I have to be blunt about it, but it's true. New processors, ha rd drives, video cards, memory and motherboards are just inanimate objects we ca n lay blame to. Most of the time the main problem with these broken computers I tend to are due to too many programs loading up at start up. All those little programs add up, a nd sometimes eat up all the system resources. Every now and then though, I do see a hardware problem and the first thing I do when I turn the computer on is listen to how it beeps. When the computer makes those funny sound via the system speaker, it's not doing it because it wants to be heard. The computer is trying to talk to the operator /technician and tell them what's wrong. In testing computer components on and of f for the last three to four years, I find that almost all motherboards adhere t o the IBM BIOS standard beep codes... I think a few OEM's have developed their o wn or use Phoenix or AMI beep codes, but for the most part motherboard manufactu rers uses the IBM based ones because they are grandfathered in. Beep Code: Description of Problem: No Beeps Short, No power, Bad CPU/MB, Loose Peripherals One Beep Everything is normal and Computer POSTed fine Two Beeps POST/CMOS Error One Long Beep, One Short Beep Motherboard Problem One Long Beep, Two Short Beeps Video Problem One Long Beep, Three Short Beeps Video Problem Three Long Beeps Keyboard Error Repeated Long Beeps Memory Error Continuous Hi-Lo Beeps CPU Overheating So as you can see, if your computer doesn't start up and starts beeping away lik e a mime you can start the process of figuring out what is wrong by stopping for a second and listening. From a single beep which tells you everything is okay, to three long beeps which indicate a keyboard error to the siren like Hi-Lo beep s that tell you the CPU is overheating - listening to your computer is good! As you become more and more experienced with computers, friends and family will naturally start to bring sick computers to your door to fix. When that happens, or when your own machine suddenly stops working, try listening to it first and s ee if it tells you what's wrong. If you are able to diagnose the problem just by listening to it, you will surely impress all your computer friends! Question POST troubleshooting steps. Additional information This document is intended to help users who are experiencing issues with the POS T and may have any of the below symptoms.

Computer beeps irregularly when the computer is turned on. Computer turns on but does not boot or do anything. Computer reboots every few seconds. Answer Tip Make sure the computer turns on, if nothing happens (no lights, no sound, no fans, etc.) the computer has a power related issue. Warning Some of the below steps recommend removing physical parts within the com puter. While in the computer it is highly recommend that you be aware of Electro Static Discharge (ESD) and its potential hazards. Remove new hardware If any new hardware has been recently added to the computer, remove that hardwar e to make sure it is not the cause of your issue. If after removing the new hard ware your computer works it's likely the computer is either not compatible with the new hardware or a system setting needs to be changed to work with the new ha rdware device. Remove any disks or USB devices Remove any disks, CD's, DVD's that are in the computer and if any USB devices (i Pods, drives, phones, etc) are connected disconnect all of them as well. Reboot the computer and see if anything changes. Disconnect external devices Remove everything from the back of the computer except the power cable. Turn on the computer and see if it beeps normally. If the computer has never beeped keep the monitor or display connected to see if any change occurs. Identify beep code If you are receiving a sequence of beeps see the beep code page for a listing of different beep codes and their explanation or your motherboard or computer docu mentation. These beep codes are meant to help identify what computer component i s failing or bad. If your beep code is not listed, continue troubleshooting. Check all fans Make sure all fans are running in the computer. If a fan has failed (especially the heat sink fan for the CPU) your computer could be overheating or detecting t he fan failure causing the computer not to boot. Check all cables Verify that all the cables are properly connected at that there are no loose cab les by firmly pressing in each cable. All disk drives should have a data cable and power cable connected to them. Your power supply should have at least one cable going to the motherboard. M any motherboards may also have additional cables connected to them to supply pow er to the fans. Disconnect all expansion cards If the above recommendations still have not resolved the irregular POST, disconn

ect the riser board (if applicable) and each of the expansion cards. If this res olves the issue or allows the computer to POST connect one card at a time until you determine what card is causing the issue. Disconnect all drives If you were unable to determine by the beep code what is failing or do not have a beep code disconnect the IDE, SATA, SCSI, or other data cables from the CD-ROM , hard drive, and floppy drive from the Motherboard. If this resolves your irregular POST or generates error messages re-connect each device until you determine what device or cable is causing the issue. In some s ituations it can also be a loose cable connection that causes the issue. Remove the RAM If you continue to to receive the same problem with all the above hardware remov ed, disconnect the RAM from the Motherboard and turn on the computer. If the com puter has a different beep code or if your computer was not beeping and is now b eeping turn off your computer and try the below suggestions. Making sure to turn off the computer each time you're adding and removing the memory and then turni ng the computer back on to see if the suggestion resolves the issue. Re-insert the memory into the same slot. If you have more than one stick of memory remove all but one stick of memory , try rotating through each stick. Try one stick of memory in each slot. If you're able to get the computer to boot with one or more of the sticks of mem ory it's likely you're dealing with some bad memory. Try to identify what stick of memory is bad and replace it. If you're able to get memory to work in one slot but not another slot. You're mo therboard is defective you can either workaround the issue by running the memory in a different slot or replace the motherboard. Power cycle the computer In some situations a computer may have power related issues often caused by eith er the power supply or the motherboard. To help determine if this is the cause o f your issue try turning the computer on, off, and back on as fast as possible, making sure the computer power light goes on and off each time. In some situatio ns you may be able to temporarily get the computer to boot. This should only be used as a temporary workaround if you're able to get this to work. Often this is good for users who may have not done a backup and need to g et the computer up one more time to copy files before starting to replace hardwa re. Disconnect and reconnect the CPU For users who are more comfortable working with the inside of their computer or who have built their computer one last recommendation before assuming hardware i s bad is to reseat the CPU by removing it and putting it back into the computer. Bad motherboard, CPU, RAM, or power supply If after doing all of the above recommendations you continue to have the same is sue unfortunately it is likely that you have bad Motherboard, PSU, CPU, or RAM. The next step would be either to replace these components or have the computer s

erviced. If you plan on doing the repairs yourself or you are a repair shop it i s suggested that you replace the Motherboard first, RAM, CPU, and then power sup ply in that order or try swappable parts from other computers