Stopped PC: Causes and Solutions

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Lucky for you though, it is usually easy for a technician to watch the POST messages that are displayed on your Computer’s screen – and the Beeps that are played through your Computer’s Internal Speakers, and tell you exactly what is wrong with your Computer. Yes you heard right, the Beeps made by your Computer while undergoing the POST are diagnostic in nature – a single false Beep and you are almost certain to have located the failed part! So when your technician watches your Computer's POST progress and tells you that your Memory SIMM is faulty, its not as if a "Higher Power" has whispered the fault in his ear! The corollary here is that nothing prevents you from arriving at the right conclusion too - if you know the Beep Error Codes of your Computer!

In addition to Audio Beeps, you also have Code Numbers displayed on your Screen. These tell the technician (and you!) exactly where the fault lies too. Diagnostic Cards are also available for fitment into Desktop Computers - these tell you the exact error more explicitly. If you do not have a diagnostic Card – and most of us do not – then, the following Tables will be very helpful in determining the exact problem with your Computer: the pattern of Beeps or the Code Number displayed on your screen can be deciphered and the fault corrected easily.

Although most of us do not own the Original IBM Machine, the following Table for Original IBM Machines is presented below:

Table – 1: Original IBM PC Beep Error Diagnosis
Beep Sequence	Error Diagnosis
1 Beep	Normal POST (Power On Self Test) - System is OK
2 Short Beeps	Error is shown on Screen
No Beep	Power Supply or Motherboard Error
Continuous Beep	Power Supply, Motherboard or Keyboard Error
Repeating Short Beeps	Power Supply or Motherboard Error
1 Long, 1 Short Beep	Motherboard Error
1 Long, 2 Short Beeps	Display Adapter Problem (older Displays – MDA and CGA)
1 long, 3 short beeps	Display Adapter Problem (older Displays – EGA Boards)
3 long beeps	3270 Keyboard Card

American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) are popular manufacturers of Motherboards, BIOS and Chip Sets. If your machine uses one of the many AMI BIOS, this is the Table that you should refer to:

Table - 2: AMI BIOS Beep Error Diagnosis
Beep Sequence	Error Diagnosis
1 Beep	System is OK! If you do not see anything on your screen, check whether your Monitor is switched on! If Yes, check your Video Cable. That should solve your problem! If your video cable too is OK, your Motherboard has faulty Chips. Open your CPU if Desktop, or open the backside of your Notebook where the Memory SIMMs are, press them into place. Reboot. If your machine still does not boot up properly, one of the Memory Chips on your Motherboard is bad. You are most likely to need a new Motherboard, since these chips are soldered onto the Motherboard!
2 Beeps	Your computer has memory problems. First check video. If video is working, you'll see an error message. If not, you have a parity error in your first 64K of memory. First check your SIMM's. Reseat them and reboot. If this does not do it, the memory chips may be bad. You can try switching the first and second banks memory chips. First banks are the memory banks that your CPU finds its first 64K of base memory in. You will need to consult your manual to see which bank is first. If all your memory tests good, you probably need to buy another motherboard.
3 Beeps	Similar to 2 Beeps, follow the same diagnosis as 2 Beeps
4 Beeps	Similar to 2 Beeps, follow the same diagnosis as 2 Beeps. The fault may also be because of a faulty timer
5 Beeps	Motherboard at fault! You may be lucky - reseating the memory and rebooting may cause the error to disappear If the error does not disappear, consider replacing the Motherboard If your Motherboard is old, this may be your cue to replace it with a faster Motherboard! Only, check out what else will have to be changed along with the Motherboard: RAM SIMMs, Hard Disks – even Processor - may no longer be compatible with newer Motherboards, therefore your total cost may be a lot more than the cost of a new Motherboard alone!
6 Beeps	The Motherboard Chip that controls the Keyboard (A20 Gate) is cooked. Try using another Keyboard. If the problem does not disappear, reseat the chip that controls the keyboard, if it is not soldered in. If the problem still remains, replace the chip on the Motherboard, if possible. If the Keyboard Chip is soldered in or reseating it does not solve the problem, replace the Motherboard, weighing in the option of upgrading to a faster Motherboard, as discussed under 5 Beeps above
7 Beeps	Good Night to your Motherboard! Replace it or upgrade, as discussed under 5 Beeps above!
8 Beeps	Video Card is to blame. Reseat it in the bus. If problem persists, either the Card itself or your Video Memory is faulty. It is then best bet is to install another video card.
9 Beeps	The BIOS is bad. Reseat your BIOS or replace it
10 Beeps	The problem lies somewhere deep inside your CMOS. It is best to replace all chips associated with the CMOS. In fact, the best option here is to replace or upgrade your Motherboard, following the same Motherboard upgradation norms that were discussed under 5 Beeps
11 Beeps	Cache Memory chips on the Motherboard are at fault. Reseat them. If reseating does not solve the issue, Replace them
1 Long, 3 Short Beeps	This is a Conventional or Extended Memory failure and it usually happens when you have just added a Memory SIMM to the Motherboard. Many times, it is caused by an improperly-seated Memory SIMM. Reseat the memory chips and usually, the problem goes away. If problem not resolved, change Memory SIMM
1 Long, 8 Short Beeps	This error tells you that the Display/ Retrace test has failed. Reseat the video card. If Reseating does not make the problem go away, Replace it

Phoenix is yet another popular BIOS manufacturer. If your machine uses the Phoenix BIOS, the following Table is your reference point:

Award make fine BIOS as well. Unfortunately, there are many versions of the Award BIOS and they are manufactured by different companies too. Therefore, they are supported not by the BIOS maker but by the motherboard maker. In fact, the hardware vendor that designed your system is usually the best source for bug fixes and answers about your system.

Contact Unicore Software (1-800-800-BIOS) for any help on Award Software BIOS and upgrade products. Their e-mail address is sales@unicore.com.

Unicore Software specializes in BIOS upgrades when the hardware vendor no longer supports your system. In addition, upgrades from Unicore Software often support new technologies (such as larger hard drives, removable boot media, and new processors) that were unavailable when your system was designed.

With so many advances in technology, your computer may need a BIOS upgrade to take advantage of new devices, or make your computer perform better. Usually BIOS Upgrades are “Flashed”, i.e., the new information is burnt into the BIOS Chip, replacing the earlier information on it. Many System manufacturers make available the latest BIOS, once you purchase their Notebook or Desktop Computer.

eSupport.com is the world's oldest and largest provider of BIOS Upgrade technology with nearly 15 years of unparalleled excellence in the industry. eSupport.com is the official authorized BIOS upgrade and support center for Award BIOS and AMI BIOS (American Megatrends Inc.).

Some of the free tools they have to examine your BIOS and thus, letting you learn more are;

The BIOS Agent is a simple, easy to use program that will automatically identify your Computer’s BIOS and other System Information. You can quickly identify the following:

The BIOS Wizard is a simple and easy to use program that will examine and identify the BIOS and Chipset on your system.

Table - 3: Phoenix BIOS Beep Error Diagnosis
Beep Sequence	Error Diagnosis
1-1-3	Your computer is unable to read the configuration info stored in the CMOS. It is best to replace your Motherboard. Consider upgrading your Motherboard if the faulty one is old. However, you need to look at whether the new Motherboard can work with your existing RAM, Processor, Video Card (if any) and Hard Disk – the total cost of upgradation may well be the cost of upgrading all these components as well!
1-1-4	Replace your BIOS, it is faulty
1-2-1	It is very likely that your Motherboard’s Timer is at fault. The solution is to replace your Motherboard – or upgrade it, if it is an old one, as mentioned under 1-1-3
1-2-2	It is curtains for your Motherboard. Replace or upgrade if it is an old one, as per 1-1-3
1-2-3	Curtains again for your Motherboard. Replace or upgrade if it is an old one, as per 1-1-3
1-3-1	Motherboard is a goner. Replace or upgrade if it is an old one, as per 1-1-3
1-3-3	Your Motherboard is at fault. Replace or upgrade if it is an old one, as per 1-1-3
1-3-4	Bid goodbye to your Motherboard! Replace or upgrade if it is an old one, as per 1-1-3
1-4-1	Its your cue to replace or upgrade your Motherboard. Replace if it is a fairly new one or upgrade if it is an old one, as per 1-1-3
1-4-2	It is most likely that one or more of your Memory SIMMs are at fault. Replace them and the problem should be overcome
2-_-_	Any combination of Beeps after two Beeps points to some of your Memory SIMMs going bad. Get your Memory tested. If found faulty, replacing the faulty SIMM(s) will solve the problem. If Memory SIMMs not faulty, it is again time to replace/ upgrade your Motherboard!
3-1-_	One of the Chips on your Motherboard is has conked off. Time for a Motherboard replacement/ upgrade!
3-2-4	The Motherboard Chip that checks your Keyboard is dead. Rather than try and replace the faulty Chip, it is better to replace or upgrade your Motherboard!
3-3-4	Your Computer is unable to detect your Video Card. Press and reseat your Video Card. If that does not solve the problem, swap your Video Card with a working one. If it works fine, it is time to get yourself a new Video Card. If the second one too does not work, try changing the Slot on which the Video Card is fixed. If either or both the Video Cards work, the Motherboard Slot is at fault. If you have a spare Slot, you can continue without replacing anything. However if you do not have a spare slot (or you do not have more than 1 AGP or specialized Video Slot), you will need to replace/ upgrade your Motherboard!
3-4-_	Video Card Problem once again! Check out 3-3-4 above
4-2-1	One of the Chips on your Motherboard has retired from service. Time for a Motherboard replacement or upgrade!
4-2-2	This is a Keyboard problem. Try fixing the Keyboard back in once again. If that fails, try using a different Keyboard. If that too fails, your Motherboard has copped it – replace or upgrade your Motherboard!
4-2-3	Same as 4-2-2
4-2-4	One of the Cards fixed to your Motherboard is refusing to work! Press the Cards firmly back in place and check if the problem is gone. If problem persists, change the slots where possible and check again. If problem persists, try swapping each Card with a working Card of the same type. You need to yank out and swap each Card one-by-one, to isolate the faulty one. Replace the bad one. If the problem continues, replace/ upgrade your Motherboard
4-3-1	Your Motherboard has gone BOOM. Replace, perhaps upgrade it with the latest and fastest one!
4-3-2	Your Motherboard is History - Replace, perhaps upgrade it with the latest and fastest one!
4-3-3	Your Motherboard has gone kaput! Replace or Upgrade it
4-3-4	This is a failure of your Computer’s Clock. Run the setup program that came with the Computer or Motherboard. Adjust the date and time. If the problem persists, replace the CMOS battery. If that too fails to bring results, replace the power supply. The final thing to do here is to replace the motherboard, but that is a rare possibility
4-4-1	Your Serial Ports are acting up! Reseat or Replace, the I/O card. If the I/O is on the Motherboard itself, disable them with a jumper (consult your manual to know which one) and then add an I/O card.
4-4-2	See 4-4-1, but this time, it is your Parallel Port that is acting up!
4-4-3	You Math Coprocessor is experiencing difficulties. Run a test program to double-check it. If it is indeed bad, disable it, or replace it. If it is not bad, it is time for a Motherboard change – replacement or upgradation!
Low 1-1-2	Your Motherboard has gone kaput! Replace, perhaps upgrade it with the latest and fastest one!
Low 1-1-3	This is an Extended CMOS RAM problem. Check your Motherboard CMOS Battery and Motherboard. If replacing the CMOS Battery (or swapping with working CMOS Batteries from a similar machine) solves your problem, pat yourself on the back for saving you a nice pile of money! If replacing the CMOS Battery does nothing to solve the problem, you need to shell out money and get yourself a new Motherboard!

BIOS Date	Motherboard OEM data	CPU data
BIOS Type	Motherboard Chipset	BIOS ROM data
BIOS ID String	Super I/O data	Memory data

FAQs:

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Table – 1: Original IBM PC Beep Error Diagnosis

Table - 2: AMI BIOS Beep Error Diagnosis

Table - 3: Phoenix BIOS Beep Error Diagnosis