Beep Code Manual, Better Than Gold Techies, American Megatrends Int. & Phoenix

    Beep Code Manual, Better Than Gold Techies, American Megatrends Int. & Phoenix



    BIOS Beep Codes

    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.
    Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS.

    The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix.

    Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems.


    AMI Beep Codes

    Beep Code Meaning
    1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard.
    2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly.
    3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory.
    4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
    5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed.
    6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode.
    7 beeps Virtual mode exception error.
    8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card.
    9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty.
    10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS.
    11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory.
    1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system.
    1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K.
    1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure.
    Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video.
    BIOS Beep Codes


    Phoenix Beep Codes

    Phoenix uses sequences of beeps to indicate problems. The "-" between each number below indicates a pause between each beep sequence. For example, 1-2-3 indicates one beep, followed by a pause and two beeps, followed by a pause and three beeps. Phoenix version before 4.x use 3-beep codes, while Phoenix versions starting with 4.x use 4-beep codes. Click here for AMI BIOS beep codes.
    4-Beep Codes
    Beep Code Meaning
    1-1-1-3 Faulty CPU/motherboard. Verify real mode.
    1-1-2-1 Faulty CPU/motherboard.
    1-1-2-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    1-1-3-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values.
    1-1-3-2 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    1-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize CPU registers.
    1-1-3-2
    1-1-3-3
    1-1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.
    1-1-4-1 Level 2 cache error.
    1-1-4-3 I/O port error.
    1-2-1-1 Power management error.
    1-2-1-2
    1-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    1-2-2-1 Keyboard controller failure.
    1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
    1-2-3-1 System timer error.
    1-2-3-3 DMA error.
    1-2-4-1 IRQ controller error.
    1-3-1-1 DRAM refresh error.
    1-3-1-3 A20 gate failure.
    1-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    1-3-3-1 Extended memory error.
    1-3-3-3
    1-3-4-1
    1-3-4-3 Error in first 1MB of system memory.
    1-4-1-3
    1-4-2-4 CPU error.
    1-4-3-1
    2-1-4-1 BIOS ROM shadow error.
    1-4-3-2
    1-4-3-3 Level 2 cache error.
    1-4-4-1
    1-4-4-2
    2-1-1-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    2-1-1-3
    2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.
    2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
    2-1-2-4
    2-1-3-2 I/O port failure.
    2-1-3-1
    2-1-3-3 Video system failure.
    2-1-1-3
    2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.
    2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.
    2-1-2-4 I/O port failure.
    2-1-4-3
    2-2-1-1 Video card failure.
    2-2-1-3
    2-2-2-1
    2-2-2-3 Keyboard controller failure.
    2-2-3-1 IRQ error.
    2-2-4-1 Error in first 1MB of system memory.
    2-3-1-1
    2-3-3-3 Extended memory failure.
    2-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    2-3-2-3
    2-3-3-1 Level 2 cache error.
    2-3-4-1
    2-3-4-3 Motherboard or video card failure.
    2-3-4-1
    2-3-4-3
    2-4-1-1 Motherboard or video card failure.
    2-4-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    2-4-2-1 RTC error.
    2-4-2-3 Keyboard controller error.
    2-4-4-1 IRQ error.
    3-1-1-1
    3-1-1-3
    3-1-2-1
    3-1-2-3 I/O port error.
    3-1-3-1
    3-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    3-1-4-1
    3-2-1-1
    3-2-1-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
    3-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    3-2-2-1 Keyboard controller error.
    3-2-2-3
    3-2-3-1
    3-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    3-2-4-3 IRQ error.
    3-3-1-1 RTC error.
    3-3-1-3 Key lock error.
    3-3-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    3-3-3-3
    3-3-4-1
    3-3-4-3
    3-4-1-1
    3-4-1-3
    3-4-2-1
    3-4-2-3
    3-4-3-1
    3-4-4-1
    3-4-4-4 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    4-1-1-1 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
    4-2-1-1
    4-2-1-3
    4-2-2-1 IRQ failure.
    4-2-2-3
    4-2-3-1
    4-2-3-3
    4-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    4-2-4-3 Keyboard controller error.
    4-3-1-3
    4-3-1-4
    4-3-2-1
    4-3-2-2
    4-3-3-1
    4-3-4-1
    4-3-4-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.
    4-3-3-2
    4-3-3-4 IRQ failure.
    4-3-3-3
    4-3-4-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.
    3-Beep Codes
    Beep Code Meaning
    1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard.
    1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure.
    1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error.
    1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
    1-2-2
    1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure.
    1-3-1 Memory refresh failure.
    1-3-2
    1-3-3
    1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.
    1-4-1 Address line failure.
    1-4-2 Parity RAM failure.
    1-4-3 Timer failure.
    1-4-4 NMI port failure.
    2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory.
    3-1-1 Master DMA failure.
    3-1-2 Slave DMA failure.
    3-1-3
    3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure.
    3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure.
    3-3-1
    3-3-2 CMOS error.
    3-3-4 Video card failure.
    3-4-1 Video card failure.
    4-2-1 Timer failure.
    4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure.
    4-2-3 Gate A20 failure.
    4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode.
    4-3-1 RAM test failure.
    4-3-3 Timer failure.
    4-3-4 Time of day clock failure.
    4-4-1 Serial port failure.
    4-4-2 Parallel port failure.
    4-4-3 Math coprocessor.

    Beep code error messages 

    After repeated requests for beep codes i have decided to post them here maybe they could be pinned

    Standard Original IBM POST Error Codes
    Code Description

    1 short beep System is OK
    2 short beeps POST Error - error code shown on screen No beep Power supply or system board problem Continuous beep Power supply, system board, or keyboard problem Repeating short beeps Power supply or system board problem
    1 long, 1 short beep System board problem
    1 long, 2 short beeps Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA)
    1 long, 3 short beeps Display adapter problem (EGA)
    3 long beeps 3270 keyboard card
    IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions
    Code Description
    100 - 199 System Board
    200 - 299 Memory
    300 - 399 Keyboard
    400 - 499 Monochrome Display
    500 - 599 Colour/Graphics Display
    600 - 699 Floppy-disk drive and/or Adapter
    700 - 799 Math Coprocessor
    900 - 999 Parallel Printer Port
    1000 - 1099 Alternate Printer Adapter
    1100 - 1299 Asynchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
    1300 - 1399 Game Port
    1400 - 1499 Colour/Graphics Printer
    1500 - 1599 Synchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
    1700 - 1799 Hard Drive and/or Adapter
    1800 - 1899 Expansion Unit (XT)
    2000 - 2199 Bisynchronous Communication Adapter
    2400 - 2599 EGA system-board Video (MCA)
    3000 - 3199 LAN Adapter
    4800 - 4999 Internal Modem
    7000 - 7099 Phoenix BIOS Chips
    7300 - 7399 3.5" Disk Drive
    8900 - 8999 MIDI Adapter
    11200 - 11299 SCSI Adapter
    21000 - 21099 SCSI Fixed Disk and Controller
    21500 - 21599 SCSI CD-ROM System

    AMI BIOS Beep Codes
    Code Description

    1 Short Beep System OK
    2 Short Beeps Parity error in the first 64 KB of memory
    3 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB
    4 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB Operational of memory
    or Timer 1 on the motherboard is not functioning
    5 Short Beeps The CPU on the motherboard generated an error
    6 Short Beeps The keyboard controller may be bad. The BIOS cannot switch to protected mode
    7 Short Beeps The CPU generated an exception interrupt
    8 Short Beeps The system video adapter is either missing, or its memory is faulty
    9 Short Beeps The ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in the BIOS
    10 Short Beeps The shutdown register for CMOS RAM failed
    11 Short Beeps The external cache is faulty
    1 Long, 3 Short Beeps Memory Problems
    1 Long, 8 Short Beeps Video Card Problems

    Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes
    Note - Phoenix BIOS emits three sets of beeps, separated by a brief pause.

    Code Description
    1-1-3 CMOS read/write failure
    1-1-4 ROM BIOS checksum error
    1-2-1 Programmable interval timer failure
    1-2-2 DMA initialisation failure
    1-2-3 DMA page register read/write failure
    1-3-1 RAM refresh verification failure
    1-3-3 First 64k RAM chip or data line failure
    1-3-4 First 64k RAM odd/even logic failure
    1-4-1 Address line failure first 64k RAM
    1-4-2 Parity failure first 64k RAM
    2-_-_ Faulty Memory
    3-1-_ Faulty Motherboard
    3-2-4 Keyboard controller Test failure
    3-3-4 Screen initialisation failure
    3-4-1 Screen retrace test failure
    3-4-2 Search for video ROM in progress
    4-2-1 Timer tick interrupt in progress or failure
    4-2-2 Shutdown test in progress or failure
    4-2-3 Gate A20 failure
    4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode
    4-3-1 RAM test in progress or failure>ffffh
    4-3-2 Faulty Motherboard
    4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 test or failure
    4-3-4 Time of Day clock test failure
    4-4-1 Serial port test or failure
    4-4-2 Parallel port test or failure
    4-4-3 Math coprocessor test or failure
    Low 1-1-2 System Board select failure
    Low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM failureSource URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/11/beep-code-manual-better-than-gold.html
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