Familiarizing The Beep Codes according to types of BIOS for Computer Hardware Servicing NCII Course

AMI BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1 short	DRAM refresh failure	The programmable interrupt timer or programmable interrupt controller has probably failed
2 short	Memory parity error	A memory parity error has occurred in the first 64K of RAM.  The RAM IC is probably bad
3 short	Base 64K memory failure	A memory failure has occurred in the first 64K of RAM.  The RAM IC is probably bad
4 short	System timer failure	The system clock/timer IC has failed or there is a memory error in the first bank of memory
5 short	Processor error	The system CPU has failed
6 short	Gate A20 failure	The keyboard controller IC has failed, which is not allowing Gate A20 to switch the processor to protected mode. Replace the keyboard controller
7 short	Virtual mode processor exception error	The CPU has generated an exception error because of a fault in the CPU or motherboard circuitry
8 short	Display memory read/write error	The system video adapter is missing or defective
9 short	ROM checksum error	The contents of the system BIOS ROM does not match the expected checksum value.  The BIOS ROM is probably defective and should be replaced
10 short	CMOS shutdown register read/write error	The shutdown for the CMOS has failed
11 short	Cache error	The L2 cache is faulty
1 long, 2 short	Failure in video system	An error was encountered in the video BIOS ROM, or a horizontal retrace failure has been encountered
1 long, 3 short	Memory test failure	A fault has been detected in memory above 64KB
1 long, 8 short	Display test failure	The video adapter is either missing or defective
2 short	POST Failure	One of the hardware testa have failed
1 long	POST has passed all tests

AST BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1 short	CPU register test failure	The CPU has failed
2 short	Keyboard controller buffer failure	The keyboard controller has failed
3 short	Keyboard controller reset failure	The keyboard controller has failed or the motherboard circuitry is faulty
4 short	Keyboard communication failure	Either the keyboard controller IC or the associated circuitry has failed.  replace the keyboard first, then is still faulty, replace the keyboard controller IC
5 short	Keyboard input failure	The keyboard controller IC has failed.   Replace the IC
6 short	System board chipset failure	The chipset on the motherboard has failed.  Replace the motherboard
9 short	BIOS ROM checksum error	The BIOS ROM has failed.  If possible, replace the BIOS on the motherboard
10 short	System timer test failure	The system clock IC has failed
11 short	ASIC failure	Motherboard circuitry has failed.   Replace the motherboard
12 short	CMOS RAM shutdown register failure	THE real time clock/CMOS IC failed.   Replace the CMOS or motherboard
1 long	DMA controller 0 failure	The DMA controller IC for channel 0 has failed.  If possible, replace the IC
1 long, 1 short	DMA controller 1 failure	The DMA controller IC for channel 1 has failed.  If possible, replace the IC
1 long, 2 short	Video vertical retrace failure	The video adapter has probably failed.   Replace the video adapter
1 long, 3 short	Video memory test failure	The video adapter's memory has failed.   Replace the video adapter
1 long, 4 short	Video adapter failure	The video adapter has failed.   Replace the video adapter
1 long, 5 short	64KB memory failure	A failure has occurred in the base 64KB of memory.  If possible, replace the RAM IC
1 long, 6 short	Unable to load interrupt vectors	The BIOS was unable to load the interrupt vectors into memory
1 long, 7 short	Unable to initialize video	This a video problem. Replace the video adapter first.  If problem is still present, replace the motherboard
1 long, 8 short	Video memory failure	The is a failure in the video memory.   Replace the video adapter first.  If problem is still present, replace the motherboard

Award BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1long, 2 short	Video adapter error	Either video adapter is bad or is not seated properly.  Also, check to ensure the monitor cable is connected properly.
Repeating (endless loop)	Memory error	Check for improperly seated or missing memory.
1long, 3short	No video card or bad video RAM	Reseat or replace the video card.
High frequency beeeps while running	Overheated CPU	Check the CPU fan for proper operation. Check the case for proper air flow.
Repeating High/Low	CPU	Either the CPU is not seated properly or the CPU is damaged. May also be due to excess heat. Check the CPU fan or BIOS settings for proper fan speed.

Compaq BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1 short	No error	System is booting properly
1 long, 1 short	BIOS ROM checksum error	The contents of the BIOS ROM to not match the expected contents.  If possible, reload the BIOS from the PAQ
2 short	General error	Unknown
1 long, 2 short	Video error	Check the video adapter and ensure it's seated properly.  If possible, replace the video adapter
7 beeps (1 long, 1s, 1l, 1 short, pause, 1 long, 1 short, 1 short	AGP video	The AGP video card is faulty.   Reseat the card or replace it outright.  This beep pertains to Compaq Deskpro systems
1 long neverending beep		Memory error. Bad RAM. Replace and test
1 short, 2 long	Bad RAM	Reseat RAM then retest; replace RAM if failure continues

• IBM Desktop BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1 short	Normal POST	System is booting properly
2 short	Initialization error	Error code is displayed
1 long, 1 short	System board error
1 long, 2 short	Video adapter error
1 long, 3 short	EGA/VGA adapter error
3 long	3270 keyboard adapter error
Continuous	Power supply error	Replace the power supply
999s	Power supply error	Replace the power supply
No beep	Power supply	Replace the power supply

IBM Thinkpad BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps/Error	Description
Continuous beeping	System board failure
One beep; Unreadable, blank or flashing LCD	LCD connector problem; LCD backlight inverter failure; video adapter faulty; LCD assembly faulty; System board failure; power supply failure
One beep; Message "Unable to access boot source"	Boot device failure; system board failure
One long, two short beeps	System board failure; Video adapter problem; LCD assembly failure
One long, four short beeps	Low battery voltage
One beep every second	Low battery voltage
Two short beeps with error codes	POST error message
Two short beeps	System board failure

• Mylex BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1	Normal boot	System is booting normally
2	Video adapter error	The video adapter is either faulty or not seated properly.  Check the adapter
3	Keyboard controller error	The keyboard controller IC is faulty.   Replace the IC if possible
4	Keyboard error	The keyboard controller IC is faulty or the keyboard is faulty.  Replace the keyboard, if problem still persists, replace the keyboard controller IC
5	PIC 0 error	The programmable interrupt controller is faulty.  Replace the IC if possible
6	PIC 1 error	The programmable interrupt controller is faulty.  replace the IC if possible
7	DMA page register error	The DMA controller IC is faulty.   Replace the IC if possible
8	RAM refresh error
9	RAM data error
10	RAM parity error
11	DMA controller 0 error	The DMA controller IC for channel 0 has failed
12	CMOS RAM error	The CMOS RAM has failed
13	DMA controller 1 error	The DMA controller IC for channel 1 has failed
14	CMOS RAM battery error	The CMOS RAM battery has failed.   If possible, replace the CMOS or battery
15	CMOS RAM checksum error	The CMOS RAM has failed.  If possible, replace the CMOS
16	BIOS ROM checksum error	The BIOS ROM has failed.  If possible replace the BIOS or upgrade it

Mylex 386 BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1 long	Normal boot	System is booting normally
2 long	Video adapter failure	Either the video adapter is faulty, not seated properly or is missing
1 long, 1 short, 1 long	Keyboard controller error	Either the keyboard controller IC is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 2 short, 1 long	Keyboard error	Either the keyboard controller is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 3 short, 1 long	PIC 0 error	The programmable interrupt controller IC is faulty
1 long 4 short, 1 long	PIC 1 error	The programmable interrupt controller IC is faulty
1 long, 5 short, 1 long	DMA page register error	The DMA controller IC 1 or 2 is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 6 short, 1 long	RAM refresh error
1 long, 7 short, 1 long	RAM data error
1 long, 8 short, 1 long	RAM parity error
1 long, 9 short, 1 long	DMA controller 1 error	The DMA controller for channel 0 is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 10 short, 1 long	CMOS RAM error	Either the CMOS RAM is faulty.   Replace the CMOS
1 long, 11 short, 1 long	DMA controller 2 error	The DMA controller for channel 1 is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 12 short, 1 long	CMOS RAM battery error	The CMOS RAM battery is faulty or the CMOS RAM is bad.  Replace the battery if possible
1 long, 13 short, 1 long	CMOS checksum error	The CMOS RAM is faulty
1 long 14 short, 1 long	BIOS ROM checksum failure	The BIOS ROM checksum is faulty.   Replace the BIOS or upgrade

Phoenix ISA/MCA/EISA BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Message	Description
1-1-2	CPU test failure	The CPU is faulty.  Replace the CPU
Low 1-1-2	System board select failure	The motherboard is having an undetermined fault.  Replace the motherboard
1-1-3	CMOS read/write error	The real time clock/CMOS is faulty.   Replace the CMOS if possible
Low 1-1-3	Extended CMOS RAM failure	The extended portion of the CMOS RAM has failed.  Replace the CMOS if possible
1-1-4	BIOS ROM checksum error	The BIOS ROM has failed.  Replace the BIOS or upgrade if possible
1-2-1	PIT failure	The programmable interrupt timer has failed.  Replace if possible
1-2-2	DMA failure	The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-2-3	DMA read/write failure	The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-1	RAM refresh failure	The RAM refresh controller has failed
1-3-2	64KB RAM failure	The test of the first 64KB RAM has failed to start
1-3-3	First 64KB RAM failure	The first RAM IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-4	First 64KB logic failure	The first RAM control logic has failed
1-4-1	Address line failure	The address line to the first 64KB RAM has failed
1-4-2	Parity RAM failure	The first RAM IC has failed.   Replace if possible
1-4-3	EISA fail-safe timer test	Replace the motherboard
1-4-4	EISA NMI port 462 test	Replace the motherboard
2-1-1	64KB RAM failure	Bit 0; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-2	64KB RAM failure	Bit 1; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-3	64KB RAM failure	Bit 2; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-4	64KB RAM failure	Bit 3; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-1	64KB RAM failure	Bit 4; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-2	64KB RAM failure	Bit 5; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-3	64KB RAM failure	Bit 6; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-4	64KB RAM failure	Bit 7; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-1	64KB RAM failure	Bit 8; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-2	64KB RAM failure	Bit 9; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-3	64KB RAM failure	Bit 10; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-4	64KB RAM failure	Bit 11; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-1	64KB RAM failure	Bit 12; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-2	64KB RAM failure	Bit 13; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-3	64KB RAM failure	Bit 14; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-4	64KB RAM failure	Bit 15; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
3-1-1	Slave DMA register failure	The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-2	Master DMA register failure	The DMA controller had failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-3	Master interrupt mask register failure	The interrupt controller IC has failed
3-1-4	Slave interrupt mask register failure	The interrupt controller IC has failed
3-2-2	Interrupt vector error	The BIOS was unable to load the interrupt vectors into memory.  Replace the motherboard
3-2-3	Reserved
3-2-4	Keyboard controller failure	The keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
3-3-1	CMOS RAM power bad	Replace the CMOS battery or CMOS RAM if possible
3-3-2	CMOS configuration error	The CMOS configuration has failed.   Restore the configuration or replace the battery if possible
3-3-3	Reserved
3-3-4	Video memory failure	There is a problem with the video memory.  Replace the video adapter if possible
3-4-1	Video initialization failure	There is a problem with the video adapter.  Reseat the adapter or replace the adapter if possible
4-2-1	Timer failure	The system's timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-2	Shutdown failure	The CMOS has failed.  Replace the CMOS IC if possible
4-2-3	Gate A20 failure	The keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-4	Unexpected interrupt in protected mode	This is a CPU problem.  Replace the CPU and retest
4-3-1	RAM test failure	System RAM addressing circuitry is faulty.  Replace the motherboard
4-3-3	Interval timer channel 2 failure	The system timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-3-4	Time of day clock failure	The real time clock/CMOS has failed.   Replace the CMOS if possible
4-4-1	Serial port failure	A error has occurred in the serial port circuitry
4-4-2	Parallel port failure	A error has occurred in the parallel port circuitry
4-4-3	Math coprocessor failure	The math coprocessor has failed.   If possible, replace the MPU

Beeps	Description
1-1-1-3	Verify real mode
1-1-2-1	Get CPU type
1-1-2-3	Initialize system hardware
1-1-3-1	Initialize chipset registers with initial values
1-1-3-2	Set in POST flag
1-1-3-3	Initialize CPU registers
1-1-4-1	Initialize cache to initial values
1-1-4-3	Initialize I/O
1-2-1-1	Initialize power management
1-2-1-2	Load alternative registers with initial POST values
1-2-1-3	Jump to UserPatch0
1-2-2-1	Initialize timer initialization
1-2-3-1	8254 timer initialization
1-2-3-3	8237 DMA controller initialization
1-2-4-1	Reset Programmable Interrupt Controller
1-3-1-1	Test DRAM refresh
1-3-1-3	Test 8742 Keyboard Controller
1-3-2-1	Set ES segment register to 4GB
1-3-3-1	Autosize DRAM
1-3-3-3	Clear 512K base memory
1-3-4-1	Test 512K base address lines
1-3-4-3	Test 51K base memory
1-4-1-3	Test CPU bus-clock frequency
1-4-2-1	CMOS RAM read/write failure (this commonly indicates a problem on the ISA bus such as a card not seated)
1-4-2-4	Reinitialize the chipset
1-4-3-1	Shadow system BIOS ROM
1-4-3-2	Reinitialize the cache
1-4-3-3	Autosize the cache
1-4-4-1	Configure advanced chipset registers
1-4-4-2	Load alternate registers with CMOS values
2-1-1-1	Set initial CPU speed
2-1-1-3	Initialize interrupt vectors
2-1-2-1	Initialize BIOS interrupts
2-1-2-3	Check ROM copyright notice
2-1-2-4	Initialize manager for PCI Options ROMs
2-1-3-1	Check video configuration against CMOS
2-1-3-2	Initialize PCI bus and devices
2-1-3-3	initialize all video adapters in system
2-1-4-1	Shadow video BIOS ROM
2-1-4-3	Display copyright notice
2-2-1-1	Display CPU type and speed
2-2-1-3	Test keyboard
2-2-2-1	Set key click if enabled
2-2-2-3	Enable keyboard
2-2-3-1	Test for unexpected interrupts
2-2-3-3	Display prompt "Press F2 to enter setup"
2-2-4-1	Test RAM between 512K and 640K
2-3-1-1	Test expanded memory
2-3-1-3	Test extended memory address lines
2-3-2-1	Jump to UserPatch1
2-3-2-3	Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-2-3	Configure advanced cache registers
2-3-3-1	Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-3-2	Initialize SMI handler
2-3-3-3	Display external cache size
2-3-4-1	Display shadow message
2-3-4-3	Display non-disposable segments
2-4-1-1	Display error messages
2-4-1-3	Check for configuration errors
2-4-2-1	Test real-time clock
2-4-2-3	Check for keyboard errors
2-4-4-1	Setup hardware interrupt vectors
2-4-4-3	Test coprocessor if present
3-1-1-1	Disable onboard I/O ports
3-1-1-3	Detect and install external RS232 ports
3-1-2-1	Detect and install external parallel ports
3-1-2-3	Reinitialize onboard I/O ports
3-1-3-1	Initialize BIOS Data Area
3-1-3-3	Initialize Extended BIOS Data Area
3-1-4-1	Initialize floppy controller
3-2-1-1	Initialize hard disk controller
3-2-1-2	Initialize local bus hard disk controller
3-2-1-3	Jump to UserPatch2
3-2-2-1	Disable A20 address line
3-2-2-3	Clear huge ES segment register
3-2-3-1	Search for option ROMs
3-2-3-3	Shadow option ROMs
3-2-4-1	Setup power management
3-2-4-3	Enable hardware interrupts
3-3-1-1	Set time of day
3-3-1-3	Check key lock
3-3-3-1	Erase F2 prompt
3-3-3-3	Scan for F2 keystroke
3-3-4-1	Enter SETUP
3-3-4-3	Clear in-POST flag
3-4-1-1	Check for errors
3-4-1-3	POST done - prepare to boot operating system
3-4-2-1	One beep
3-4-2-3	Check password (optional)
3-4-3-1	Clear global descriptor table
3-4-4-1	Clear parity checkers
3-4-4-3	Check virus and backup reminders
4-1-1-1	Try to boot with INT 19
4-2-1-1	Interrupt handler error
4-2-1-3	Unknown interrupt error
4-2-2-1	Pending interrupt error
4-2-2-3	Initialize option ROM error
4-2-3-1	Shutdown error
4-2-3-3	Extended Block Move
4-2-4-1	Shutdown 10 error
4-2-4-3	Keyboard Controller failure (most likely problem is with RAM or cache unless no video is present)
4-3-1-3	Initialize the chipset
4-3-1-4	Initialize refresh counter
4-3-2-1	Check for Forced Flash
4-3-2-2	BIOS ROM is OK
4-3-2-4	Do a complete RAM test
4-3-3-1	Do OEM initialization
4-3-3-2	Initialize interrupt controller
4-3-3-3	Read in bootstrap code
4-3-3-4	Initialize all vectors
4-3-4-2	Initialize the boot device
4-3-4-3	Boot code was read OK

Quadtel BIOS Beep Codes:

Beeps	Error Messages	Description
1 short	Normal boot	System is booting normally
2 short	CMOS IC error	The CMOS RAM is faulty.  Replace the IC if possible
1 long, 2 short	Video failure	The video adapter is faulty.   Reseat the video adapter or replace the adapter if possible
1 long, 3short	Peripheral controller error	One or more of the system peripheral controllers is bad.  Replace the controllers and retest

Source: BIOS CENTRAL