Motherboard error signals. Computer motherboard beeps. Decoding BIOS beeps

Greetings, friends! Today I will tell you about BIOS sound signals. You may have noticed that when you turn on your computer, it makes a beeping sound or, in other words, beeps. This actually beeps your computer's BIOS, thereby telling you whether everything is fine with your computer or if there is any problem. Let's try to understand this topic in as much detail as possible.

What do the BIOS beeps mean when you turn on your computer?

Whatever BIOS is installed on your motherboard, you should hear one short beep when you turn on your PC. This means that everything is working fine and Windows will start loading after it. However, sometimes the opposite is true. The BIOS beeps like crazy, and the computer either doesn’t turn on at all, or the startup ends on the very first black screen - the BIOS bootloader.

This is where today's knowledge will come in handy. Because by this beeping you can determine what exactly is out of order in your PC.

Well, have you already looked at what BIOS you have? Now you can look at the transcripts of BIOS sound signals.

BIOS AMI beeps. Full transcript

Decoding sound signals BIOS AWARD

This is how the Phoenix BIOS beeps in a special way

BIOS Phoenix squeaks a little differently than its brothers. It is more melodic, so to speak in this context. Dotted sound signals from the Phoenix BIOS alternate with pauses between them. And absolutely all signals from that BIOS are always short.

BIOS does not beep when you turn on the PC

Quite often it happens that when you turn on the PC, the BIOS does not beep at all. Why? Depends on the specific situation. To be on topic, first you need to know what a speaker is and why it is needed.

What is a motherboard speaker?

Motherboard speaker is a miniature high-frequency speaker that warns the user about malfunctions in the operation of your computer even before it is turned on. In other words, a speaker is a means of displaying information about the state of the computer. Also, a speaker is a device that produces BIOS sound signals!

This is what the speaker looks like on the motherboard. It is he who helps emit BIOS signals!

Some reasons why your PC may not beep at startup

It often happens that manufacturers of budget computers (and not only budget ones) either forget to install a speaker on the motherboard, or deliberately save on this spare part. Accordingly, the BIOS does not beep, because there is simply nothing to beep. If you urgently need to diagnose a problem with your computer, you can simply borrow your friend's speaker for the day. Fortunately, pulling it out and inserting it will not be difficult for you.

Another reason why you may not hear BIOS beeps when you turn on your computer is that you accidentally touched it or pulled it, and it just became a little disconnected. In this case, insert it more tightly and everything will beep. By the way, there are also motherboards in which the speaker is not disconnected at all.

On laptops, the BIOS does not beep because speakers are not installed on them for aesthetic reasons. Imagine if every time you turned on your laptop, it gave you a characteristic, high-frequency signal. It's annoying.

Especially if your wife has already fallen asleep, and you decide to play tanks in secret, you turn on the laptop, and here you are wearing BIIIIIIIP!!! Your wife immediately woke up and hit you with a star. In general, the speaker is not so relevant on a laptop.

Although some laptops can produce similar audio signals through external speakers and even headphones. Everyone who encounters this is trying to get rid of this squeak (pipiska) as soon as possible by any means.

Where and how to connect the speaker on the motherboard?

This will be useful for you to know if you decide to borrow the missing speaker from a friend or buy it. When you removed the speaker from a friend’s motherboard, you should have noticed that the place where it is connected is marked with characteristic inscriptions, most often it appears there Speaker or spk or spkr. The polarity of the speaker does not matter, so you can connect the speaker without error.

Several examples of motherboards with designated places for connecting a speaker.

Let's summarize

The article turned out to be quite lengthy, but I hope it helped you understand today’s topic. At a minimum, you can now connect the speaker to the motherboard and know why it is needed. We also looked at the decoding of sound signals for the main and most popular BIOS versions. If your BIOS version differs from those considered, then simply specify your request in a search engine, for example “ decoding BIOS sound signals IBM/DELL».

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When you turn on the computer, it must undergo a self-diagnosis process and if you hear one short signal, then there is nothing to worry about, the computer is working properly. But if errors are detected during the self-test and the BIOS cannot display information on the monitor, you can hear various beeps. Different BIOS versions have different error notification options, and it’s worth mentioning right away that POST diagnostics is not a panacea; the BIOS tells us about “possible” system problems.

The BIOS version can be found out when the computer boots; the BIOS name usually appears on the screen first, or the BIOS brand can also be found by entering it using the DEL key (F 2, F 12, F 4, depending on the version). Alternatively, you can look at the chip markings on the motherboard. Below are tables of BIOS beeps from various manufacturers.

If, after successfully booting your computer, some data turns out to be damaged, contact our specialists, who perform high-quality and fast repairs.

AWARD BIOS signals:

Messages AwardBIOS displayed on the monitor screen:

AMI BIOS signals

AST BIOS signals:

Phoenix BIOS Signals:

Compaq BIOS Signals:

IBM Desktop BIOS signals:

IBM Thinkpad BIOS signals:

Mylex BIOS Signals:

Mylex 386 BIOS Signals:

Signals Quadtel BIOS:

Greetings to all readers of the IT Country website. In this article I want to tell you about BIOS sound signals. If your computer has a built-in speaker, you will hear a single beep when you restart or turn on the computer. It tells us that the computer components are working properly and the POST system did not reveal any problems. But it often happens that if with , then it starts making BIOS sounds.

Many users do not know what they mean and take the computer to the workshop. We will try to figure out on our own what the BIOS is beeping about and identify the cause of the malfunction. Since different motherboards have different basic input/output systems, first you need to determine which motherboard is on your computer. But everything is in order.

As I said above, we need BIOS sound signals in order to find out which component of the computer is faulty. As a rule, if it works properly, then when turned on we hear one short signal. Such signals are produced by a special speaker connected to the computer motherboard.

Note! Your computer may not make any beeps if there is no speaker physically connected to the motherboard. The absence of a speaker on many boards is most likely because the manufacturer is trying to make the production of their product as cheap as possible.

Many of you have probably already asked the question: “What are the risks for me of using a computer without a speaker?” It would seem like such a small thing that is not needed at all if the computer is working, but many people start thinking about it when the computer breaks down. In this case, if a speaker is connected, the computer will emit a special beep or series of beeps in a specific sequence. To decipher such signals, you can refer to the motherboard manual. But as a rule, this book either does not exist, or nothing in it is clear to many of us. Therefore, below we will look at how to decipher BIOS sound signals. But first you need to determine its manufacturer.

To decipher BIOS beeps, you need to know the manufacturer. Since different motherboards had different basic input/output systems installed. You can find out this information in different ways. For example, when you turn on your computer, you see a black screen with data about your hard drives. On this screen, as a rule, the BIOS version and manufacturer are indicated at the top.

If the necessary information is quickly replaced by another, and you do not have time to see everything, then you need to press the “Pause” key. If, when you turn on your computer, you see a screensaver from the motherboard manufacturer, you need to press the “Tab” key to remove it.

The next way to find out the version of the basic input/output system is to log into it. To do this, when you turn on the computer, press the “Del”, “F1”, “F2” or other key. Depending on the . After that, find the System Information section and look at the BIOS version and manufacturer.

Another way, which is quite simple, to find out the BIOS version and manufacturer is to look using the “System Information” utility. To do this, press the hotkey combination “Windows + R”, and in the “Run” command window that opens, type “MSINFO32”. A window with system information will open, in which we look at the line “BIOS version”

Finally, we will find out the version of the basic input/output system through the “CPU-Z” program.

We have already used it more than once in previous articles. Therefore, we launch the program, go to the board tab and look at the BIOS information.

Decoding BIOS signals.

Once we were able to determine the BIOS manufacturer. You and I need to move on to deciphering the signals.

AMI BIOS (American Megatrends Inc.) is probably the most famous manufacturer of BIOS for motherboards. If during the self-test, POST does not detect any problems, you will hear a single short beep. After it, the operating system will immediately begin loading. If you hear other signals, then you should be wary, listen and decipher them.

Below is a table with a breakdown of AMI BIOS sound signals.

As a rule, if the computer starts beeping, sometimes a simple reboot or turning off the power to the system unit for a while helps. If this does not solve the problem, then at the end of the article I will tell you how to deal with the main malfunctions.

If you have a motherboard with this BIOS version, then it is characterized by special sounds. Which look like this. For example, the code 1-1-4 would sound like one pip, pause, another pip, pause again, and then four pips. This sound will indicate an incorrect BIOS ROM checksum. To decipher BIOS beeps on a motherboard with Phoenix BIOS, see the table below.

Another popular manufacturer of BIOS for motherboards. It is installed on many motherboards. Its display interface is classic and has not undergone any major changes for 10 years.

The sound signals are somewhat similar to the AMI BIOS. Therefore, it will not be difficult for you to decipher them. The table is presented below.

The most common BIOS sounds and what they mean.

I propose to consider the most common sound signals that we can hear when there is a problem with a computer.

• A long, single BIOS sound when you turn on the computer most often indicates problems with RAM;
• One long and two short - if you hear such a signal, then there is a high probability that there are problems with the video adapter. To begin with, just pull it out and clean the contacts. For example, an eraser will do. Also clean your computer from dust if you haven’t done this for a long time;
• One long and three short signals - this signal configuration indicates problems with the video card, RAM or keyboard;
• Three short beeps often indicate problems with the RAM. To solve the problem yourself, remove the memory module from the connector and clean it. If there are several memory modules, try starting the computer first with one, then with two, and so on;
• Five short BIOS signals tell us that the central processor is faulty. If you hear these beeps after installing a new CPU, it may be misaligned with the motherboard or you may have done something wrong. If the processor has not been changed, then perhaps it has failed or there is no contact in some place;
• Four long beeps - often tell us that the speed of the cooler cooling the processor is low;
• There are no signals, the computer does not turn on - most likely you have a problem with the power supply. Replace it with a good one.

Let's summarize.

Today we looked at BIOS sound signals. As a rule, if when you turn on your computer you hear a whole serenade from your computer instead of the usual single squeak, then you now know that you need to decipher the signals. In most cases, you can solve the problem yourself. Very often the problem is solved after cleaning the contacts of the computer components or by simply rebooting and de-energizing the system.

IBM Intellistation BIOS:

Phoenix ISA/MCA/EISA BIOS:

The beep codes are represented in the number of beeps. E.g. 1-1-2 would mean 1 beep, a pause, 1 beep, a pause, and 2 beeps.

• With a Dell computer, a 1-2 beep code can also indicate that a bootable add-in card is installed but no boot device is attached. For example, in you insert a Promise Ultra-66 card but do not connect a hard drive to it, you will get the beep code. I verified this with a SIIG (crap -- avoid like the plague) Ultra-66 card, and then confirmed the results with Dell.

Quadtel BIOS:

When you turn on the computer, the BIOS performs a process of diagnosing the hardware of the motherboard and all connected devices: processor, RAM, power supply, graphics subsystem and other devices. If the POST request is not completed correctly, the beep device plays a signal or group of signals in a specific sequence of tones. To test your computer at startup, you only need to know the following table of BIOS beeps.

Signals from different BIOS manufacturers.

IBM BIOS

Award BIOS

AMI BIOS

AST BIOS

Phoenix BIOS

Compaq BIOS

DELL BIOS

Quadtel BIOS

The list is updated regularly.