BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

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greypanther
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BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by greypanther » Mon, 8. Nov 21, 20:43

I have a PC, that I got new September last year, everything has been running fine. However the last few days I have been getting beeps as it boots, it does still boot fine though, just as fast as normal. I am getting one long beep followed by three short ones. I have looked it up and find this: 1 Long & 3 Short Beeps: Conventional/Extended Memory Failure. https://www.registryrecycler.com/blog/2 ... eep-codes/
There are two types of memories stated in the above title. The Conventional Memory, also called the Base Memory, has the memory cells under 1 byte. These cells are just used for testing the RAM. While the Extended Memory can also be referred as RAM and always has the capacity higher than 1 byte. On initial startup of the computer, BIOS carries out certain tests including Conventional Memory Test and Extended Memory Test. If any error is discovered in these tests, the system beeps with one long and three short beeps.
There appear to be several different interpretations of this. Some seem to say it could be RAM failing; others that the video card could be failing; others that it could be overheating; ( I rule this out because it is just starting and I monitor the temps, ) others that maybe the keyboard is failing and lastly one claiming that the motherboard is failing!

I am a little shocked that there are so many interpretations of the same code, it should be straight forward. Shouldn't it?

Anyone of you great techie minds have any idea which is most likely? I have already reseated the RAM and GPU. Dust is minimal.

If a dxdiag would be useful, could someone remind me how to get one...

Thanks in anticipation. :)
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Alan Phipps
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by Alan Phipps » Mon, 8. Nov 21, 21:04

DxDiag posting info although I'm not too sure how it may help with a BIOS test issue though. It may be worth a check that you have the latest approriate and recommended BIOS for your system.

You can separately test your RAM using Win10's built in RAM check. One how to.

It *might* just be a timing issue in that perhaps the BIOS is progressing too fast for the test to complete properly if something is causing the test to take longer for some reason.

Imperial Good will have some better advice for you, I have no doubt. :wink:

Oh, and this sounds like a question for the system supplier under the warranty too.
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by red assassin » Mon, 8. Nov 21, 21:21

That article is from 2014 and is about an AMI BIOS. I have no idea if your system uses the same beep codes. You should check your motherboard manual, which ought to discuss beep codes, or failing that figure out what firmware your motherboard is using (nobody uses BIOS any more, thank god) and look the beep codes up from that.
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by greypanther » Mon, 8. Nov 21, 23:07

Thank you Alan, Red, I will test the memory tomorrow now, though following Red's suggestion, it seems according to Asus, that it means that no VGA was detected, or alternatively: An anomaly is detected in the graphic card. I will possibly stress test it to see if that shows anything, but it is still running fairly demanding games no problem. The problem seems to be only on startup and I have been told in the past to be cautious with stress testing a GPU. I think I will leave making it a warranty issue just for now, though it is still in warranty. :)

I presume Imperial Good is a person? :roll:
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by burger1 » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 08:49

Beep codes are specific to the mainboard manufacturer. Like msi, asus, rog, etc... So google beep codes for msi if its an msi board. There might also be an online manual.

If you built the pc yourself and end up needing to rma the mainboard you'll need to put the plastic cover cap back on the cpu socket. Some people throw these out then can't rma the mainboard.

What are the system specs?

Windows built in memory test is at default settings a light test. Theres memtest 86 also. Memoryy tests can take hours and make sure the pc has good cooling. Any memory errors are bad.

Any post codes or diagnostic lights on the mainboard?

Unplug the pc , press the power button a few times and pull out and put back in the ram sticks. If the pc is dusty maybe dust it before pulling out the ram sticks. Careful not bump other stuff around like the cpu cooler. Also keep 1 arm on the metal case to kind of ground yourself.

Pc under warranty? prebuilt?

You can look at the cpu temperature in the bios. You can also look at the power supply voltages in the bios. Usually accepted voltage variance is about +/- 5%. So +/- 5% on the 12v, 5v and 3.3v.

Any crashes or blue screens?

Press windows key + x and click on event viewer. Wait for a list to generate. See if theres any critical errors or stuff. Ignore kernal power 41.

press windows key + x and click on device manager. Any warnings or unknown devices.

Can run userbenchmark and link results webpage. Will provide a lot of info.

If you want a light stress test unigine heaven is free and can be run lightly.

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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by Alan Phipps » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 10:04

I wasn't suggesting a warranty RMA of hardware at this stage, just that you contact the supplier who built the system for you, describe the issue and ask their advice (under warranty terms if necessary). At least then the start of the issue within the warranty period is formally recorded with them.
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by Chips » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 11:31

As others have already pointed out, beep codes are specific to manufacturer and is likely why you've found a number of explanations as to possible cause :) Can find your motherboard manufacturer and model via the console (cmd) window as per below link.

https://techguided.com/what-motherboard-do-i-have/

Have you replaced/upgraded/changed anything recently? If you bought a completed system from a supplier, i'd check what their policies are - as you may "void" something (warranty?) if you start taking it apart to reseat memory etc so prudent to check and/or call them up.

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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by Redvers Ganderpoke » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 12:24

Try replacing the bios battery? It's a cheap thing to check, but sometimes if it is low voltage it can produce errors. It would be unusual to fail after a year though.
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by greypanther » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 12:34

Thanks for the help so far. :)

I have looked up what the beep codes mean for my motherboard, ( ASUS, ) I also stated what the answer was above: no VGA was detected, or alternatively: An anomaly is detected in the graphic card.

My system is running Win10 Pro, i9 9000K 3.6 ghz; has 32Gig Ram; a 1 TB SSD and 4 TB old fashioned HD. Plenty of space on both drives. ( Any other info needed? )

There are no unknown devices on the system. I have checked for errors in the event log, there are no critical ones, but there are a couple of others.
Kernel event tracing. Op code: stop; event id 3; perf diag logger oxc 0000188. op code start; event id 2; oxc 0000035. Also an error with defrag: couldn't complete trim of main data, the operation is not supported by the hardware backing the volume. This is D, so the old fashioned drive.

Whilst I have had no crashes, or blue screens, since I got it it does boot rather strangely. It will start, then pause the screen go black, then continue. Boot up is very fast compared to my last PC, which did not have an SSD. Windows is on the SSD. The beeps are very recent.

Before I contact the sellers under warranty, I will clean everything, ( even though there is minimal dust, ) reseat the RAM and GPU, then run the memory test suggested by Alan. :)
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by Chips » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 14:50

You didn't list a graphics card, is it using onboard graphics or you have a dedicated card (reseating it indicates you do have one)? Have you tried updating graphics drivers etc? You could try disconnecting the card and using onboard graphics if applicable and check if it still beeps etc. I'd have expected you not to be able to see any display/use computer if it's saying no vga detected... possibly insufficient power? No idea, depends upon many factors at that point.

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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by burger1 » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 20:05

You can run a quick hard drive test on the D volume hdd. Right click on the drive in file explorer and select properties then click on the tools tab.

Switching graphics card slots if theres 2 might fix it. Reseating the gpu as you plan to do might also fix it.

i9-9900K has graphics on it if your card dies or the mainboard slot quits in the mean time. Intel® UHD Graphics 630

You could also just unplug the little beep code speaker in the meantime if it bothers you. Should be by the front panel power button, etc... little plug ins.

If your system has a builders warranty then I would use it. They could just disable the beep code speaker either physically or through settings I guess if they don't want to deal with the issue?

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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by greypanther » Tue, 9. Nov 21, 21:32

Again thank you. :)

I do in fact have a half decent GPU, a GeForce RTX 2060, should have said that. I ran the memory test as suggested by Alan, it said it would offer a report on the diagnostic as I re booted/ logged in, but in fact did not. Any idea where that report can be found?

Anyway, I also disconnected everything as I said I would, then reconnected it all, ( with a little clean whilst I was there, :roll: ) the beeps are now gone, I presume a loose connection somewhere. I am however still getting that pause in the boot up sequence, which is mildly annoying, but as it is nothing new, I will ignore it. All seems to be fine. :)
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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by burger1 » Wed, 10. Nov 21, 03:21

Is it a large video card? Is it sagging at the end furthest away from the gpu (pcie) slot and rear panel slot?

I usually just watch the memory test when it runs because its so short.

Finding the results in event viewer.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/911 ... -10-a.html

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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by Chips » Wed, 10. Nov 21, 12:22

Good that solved the issue - guess connections just falling out :o

https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/wi ... up-solved/

That's about all i saw for windows 10 pauses during startup. I seem to vaguely remember I had that at one point; I did disable Windows fast startup I'm sure.

But I think I had an issue where the screen would sit at black for 30s repeatedly - and when I checked task manager when I finally got in I noticed after every start it was doing something (windows update). Finally opening windows update i saw it failed to install some minor thing for months... and I *think* the black screen pause was it attempting to complete, failing, rolling back.

Probably not the same whatsoever, but worth a check via your windows update and see history - as I think once you've enabled updates it can permanently re-attempt failed ones without telling you much. But this is from memory a year+ ago, so highly unreliable at this age. I probably posted about it here somewhere :D

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Re: BIOS beep code interpretation. Help please...

Post by greypanther » Wed, 10. Nov 21, 20:43

I had assumed the memory test would take ages... :roll: I will take a look for the results, thanks. The GPU is larger than my last, but it does not sag and is snug, now at least. I have no idea which part was loose. :)

I had not even considered update being an issue, so will check that out, thanks. The pause I get is only between 1 and 4 seconds, though, so probably not enough time for that. A bit embarrassing really that it was so simple a solution, should have been the first thing I checked. :oops:

Edit: Just to update, for completion, the pause has also now gone! :o
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