Need help with BIOS beep codes

H

havokator

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 12, 2003
Messages
197
I have a system running an Abit IC7-G motherboard. The power went out the other day, and now when I try to start my system, I get 1 long beep that repeats over and over again. Nothing shows up on the screen. I have tried different RAM and a different video card, and I still get the same long repeating beep.

The only thing I don't have to try is a different CPU. Could someone please help me figure out what this BIOS beep code means? I really need to get this system running. I would really appreciate any help. Thank you in advance.
 
Have you removed EVERYTHING from the system including video card and RAM and tried booting? Did you reseat the power connectors and clear CMOS?

See if that makes any difference.
 
Do your fans spin up? Did you connect the power to the MB in two places? Remember the 4 pin power up by the CPU.
 
also try disconnecting anything thats not important for a post including, CD/DVD roms, Hard drives, and PCI cards (sound, TV-tuners) and also check to see if you have any flash drives plugged in. I have had a couple computers not post due to a bad flash drive I had plugged in.

just have the: power supply, motherboard, CPU, ram and some sort of video (onboard if possible to eliminate other piece to the equation) plugged in.
 
thebaest said:
also try disconnecting anything thats not important for a post including, CD/DVD roms, Hard drives, and PCI cards (sound, TV-tuners) and also check to see if you have any flash drives plugged in. I have had a couple computers not post due to a bad flash drive I had plugged in.

just have the: power supply, motherboard, CPU, ram and some sort of video (onboard if possible to eliminate other piece to the equation) plugged in.
Click to expand...

He needs to try it without the RAM and video card to see if he gets the same beeps. Start bare first then add things back in and see where it breaks.
 
I removed everything except for the CPU and power supply, and I still get the long beeps when I boot up. I also tested my graphics card and ram in another machine, and they both worked, so I know it is not the graphics card or the RAM,

Do your fans spin up? Did you connect the power to the MB in two places? Remember the 4 pin power up by the CPU.
Click to expand...
Yes, the fans do spin up when I start the computer, and the power connectors are plugged in to both locations.

Did you reseat the power connectors and clear CMOS?
Click to expand...
Yes, I tried clearing the CMOS with the jumper, and I tried a different battery on the motherboard. What do you mean by reseat the power connectors?

All this leads me to think it might be the CPU that is bad. Is it possible that the 1 long beep repeating over and over again could be a blown CPU? Would the system even be able to power on with a bad CPU?

The beep is about 4-5 seconds long, and repeats over and over infinitely.
 
havokator said:
All this leads me to think it might be the CPU that is bad. Is it possible that the 1 long beep repeating over and over again could be a blown CPU? Would the system even be able to power on with a bad CPU?
.
Click to expand...



Yup. Happened to me right around Christams time. RMAd the MB then the CPU. New CPU worked like a champ.
 
Probably been tried already, but have you tried a new PSU?

You mentioned the system lost power and now just beeps, nothing in the way of memory or cards being taken out changes the problem, so I would go with the power supply, I have had PSU's do that before.
 
Yes I tried a different power supply.

This is getting really weird. I took my CPU (pentium 4) out and tried it in an old Dell with the same cpu socket (socket 478), and it booted up. However it booted up at 1.3 ghz with a 400mhz FSB when this is a 2.6ghz P4 with an 800mhz fsb.

The bottom line is, the CPU works, the graphics card works, the RAM works, the power supply works. The only other thing I can think of is that the Motherboard itself is bad.

However, would the motherboard beep like this if it was bad? Could the 1 long repeating beep be a sign that the motherboard itself is bad? It is an Abit IC7-G motherboard. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.
 
Award Bios BEEP Codes

1 Long Beep: Memory problem

Explanation: There is a failure of some sort related to the system memory.

Diagnosis: The first bank of memory probably has a failure of some sort; this is usually just a physical problem such as an incorrectly inserted module, but may also mean a bad memory chip in a module. It is possible that there is a failure related to the motherboard or a system device as well.
 
Ok, I have tried different memory modules including ones that I verified were working in other systems, and still nothing. At this point I am thinking it must be the motherboard that is bad. This problem all started from a power outage, and the computer was plugged in to a surge protector.
 
havokator said:
Ok, I have tried different memory modules including ones that I verified were working in other systems, and still nothing. At this point I am thinking it must be the motherboard that is bad. This problem all started from a power outage, and the computer was plugged in to a surge protector.
Click to expand...

Well, its an old system and surge protectors dont do as much as you think, especially if they are old too. Bad motherboard for sure, and probably not worth replacing unless you get one really cheap.
 
So the motherboard will beep even if it is bad?

For a replacement board, what is the best motherboard I can get that supports a Pentium 4 and DDR memory? So that way I can use the same processor and RAM I have in this system currently. Thanks again.
 
havokator said:
So the motherboard will beep even if it is bad?

For a replacement board, what is the best motherboard I can get that supports a Pentium 4 and DDR memory? So that way I can use the same processor and RAM I have in this system currently. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

It can, yes.

Only get another P4 board if its very cheap. Dont spend too much on one, you could get a new cpu/ram and have a much better system. You'll have to look for what is available, such an old platform you won't have a huge selection.
 
I am having the exact same problem. The power didn't go out, but I just recently noticed that only 1 core was being detected by Windows. So I fixed the problem and overclocked :) I cannot believe I didn't see it before in the task manager! However just recently I wad playing some games and it blue screened, flashed another screen that had something to do with 'keyboard not recognized' with 5 lines of white text and that was it. I powered down manually and it never rebooted again. I get FF automatically, no boot beep, no post, no video, just a low beep almost exactly how the OP described. I have tried just about everything the OP has...time for a new motherboard :/
 
I would like to get a new motherboard and RAM, but I only have an AGP graphics card for this system.

What is an inexpensive but fast motherboard/RAM combination that I can get with an AGP graphics card slot?

Or is there a cheap motherboard/RAM/graphics card combo I can get if its not worth getting an AGP motherboard?
 
1 Short DRAMS refresh failure.
2 Short Parity circuit failure.
3 Short Base 64k RAM failure.
4 Short System timer failure.
5 Short Process failure.
6 Short Keyboard controller Gate A20 error.
7 Short Virtual mode exception error.
8 Short Display memory Read/Write test failure
9 Short ROM BIOS checksum failure.
10 Short CMOS shutdown Read/Write error.
11 Short Cache Memory error.
1 Long, 3 Short Conventional/Extended memory failure.
1 Long, 8 Short Display/Retrace test failed.

1 Long, 2 Short A video error has occurred and the Bios cannot initialise the video screen to display any additional information.
Any other beep(s) RAM Problem.
 
War Zone said:
1 Short DRAMS refresh failure.
2 Short Parity circuit failure.
3 Short Base 64k RAM failure.
4 Short System timer failure.
5 Short Process failure.
6 Short Keyboard controller Gate A20 error.
7 Short Virtual mode exception error.
8 Short Display memory Read/Write test failure
9 Short ROM BIOS checksum failure.
10 Short CMOS shutdown Read/Write error.
11 Short Cache Memory error.
1 Long, 3 Short Conventional/Extended memory failure.
1 Long, 8 Short Display/Retrace test failed.

1 Long, 2 Short A video error has occurred and the Bios cannot initialise the video screen to display any additional information.
Any other beep(s) RAM Problem.
Click to expand...

So from this are you saying that one long beep that repeats over and over again is NOT a motherboard problem? I'm not sure where 1 long beep falls in your list here. I'm pretty sure my problem is not memory related because I tried 4 different sticks of RAM all of which worked fine in a different machine.


havokator said:
I would like to get a new motherboard and RAM, but I only have an AGP graphics card for this system.

What is an inexpensive but fast motherboard/RAM combination that I can get with an AGP graphics card slot?

Or is there a cheap motherboard/RAM/graphics card combo I can get if its not worth getting an AGP motherboard?
Click to expand...
Basically right now I have DDR1 memory and an AGP graphics card. So I am looking for an inexpensive motherboard/CPU combo that uses DDR1 and AGP, or a motherboard/CPU/RAM (ddr2 or ddr3) combo that has an AGP graphics card slot. I was hoping someone could recommend a good inexpensive combo that I can upgrade this system to. I hope this makes sense. I would appreciate any recommendations.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top