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BIOS Beep Codes
When a PC starts up, the first thing it does is run a Power-on Self Test (POST) to test the computers hardware. If it detects an error, you will be notified by either a number of audio beeps or an error message on the screen. This page helps to explain what the error message or audio beeps mean.
Standard Original IBM POST Error Codes
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 short beep | System is OK |
| 2 short beeps | POST Error - error code shown on screen |
| No beep | Power supply or system board problem |
| Continuous beep | Power supply, system board, or keyboard problem |
| Repeating short beeps | Power supply or system board problem |
| 1 long, 1 short beep | System board problem |
| 1 long, 2 short beeps | Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA) |
| 1 long, 3 short beeps | Display adapter problem (EGA) |
| 3 long beeps | 3270 keyboard card |
IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 100 - 199 | System Board |
| 200 - 299 | Memory |
| 300 - 399 | Keyboard |
| 400 - 499 | Monochrome Display |
| 500 - 599 | Colour/Graphics Display |
| 600 - 699 | Floppy-disk drive and/or Adapter |
| 700 - 799 | Math Coprocessor |
| 900 - 999 | Parallel Printer Port |
| 1000 - 1099 | Alternate Printer Adapter |
| 1100 - 1299 | Asynchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port |
| 1300 - 1399 | Game Port |
| 1400 - 1499 | Colour/Graphics Printer |
| 1500 - 1599 | Synchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port |
| 1700 - 1799 | Hard Drive and/or Adapter |
| 1800 - 1899 | Expansion Unit (XT) |
| 2000 - 2199 | Bisynchronous Communication Adapter |
| 2400 - 2599 | EGA system-board Video (MCA) |
| 3000 - 3199 | LAN Adapter |
| 4800 - 4999 | Internal Modem |
| 7000 - 7099 | Phoenix BIOS Chips |
| 7300 - 7399 | 3.5" Disk Drive |
| 8900 - 8999 | MIDI Adapter |
| 11200 - 11299 | SCSI Adapter |
| 21000 - 21099 | SCSI Fixed Disk and Controller |
| 21500 - 21599 | SCSI CD-ROM System |
AMI BIOS Beep Codes
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 Short Beep | System OK |
| 2 Short Beeps | Parity error in the first 64 KB of memory |
| 3 Short Beeps | Memory failure in the first 64 KB |
| 4 Short Beeps | Memory failure in the first 64 KB Operational of memory or Timer 1 on the motherboard is not functioning |
| 5 Short Beeps | The CPU on the motherboard generated an error |
| 6 Short Beeps | The keyboard controller may be bad. The BIOS cannot switch to protected mode |
| 7 Short Beeps | The CPU generated an exception interrupt |
| 8 Short Beeps | The system video adapter is either missing, or its memory is faulty |
| 9 Short Beeps | The ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in the BIOS |
| 10 Short Beeps | The shutdown register for CMOS RAM failed |
| 11 Short Beeps | The external cache is faulty |
| 1 Long, 3 Short Beeps | Memory Problems |
| 1 Long, 8 Short Beeps | Video Card Problems |
Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes
Note - Phoenix BIOS emits three sets of beeps, separated by a brief pause.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 1-1-3 | CMOS read/write failure |
| 1-1-4 | ROM BIOS checksum error |
| 1-2-1 | Programmable interval timer failure |
| 1-2-2 | DMA initialisation failure |
| 1-2-3 | DMA page register read/write failure |
| 1-3-1 | RAM refresh verification failure |
| 1-3-3 | First 64k RAM chip or data line failure |
| 1-3-4 | First 64k RAM odd/even logic failure |
| 1-4-1 | Address line failure first 64k RAM |
| 1-4-2 | Parity failure first 64k RAM |
| 2-_-_ | Faulty Memory |
| 3-1-_ | Faulty Motherboard |
| 3-2-4 | Keyboard controller Test failure |
| 3-3-4 | Screen initialisation failure |
| 3-4-1 | Screen retrace test failure |
| 3-4-2 | Search for video ROM in progress |
| 4-2-1 | Timer tick interrupt in progress or failure |
| 4-2-2 | Shutdown test in progress or failure |
| 4-2-3 | Gate A20 failure |
| 4-2-4 | Unexpected interrupt in protected mode |
| 4-3-1 | RAM test in progress or failure>ffffh |
| 4-3-2 | Faulty Motherboard |
| 4-3-3 | Interval timer channel 2 test or failure |
| 4-3-4 | Time of Day clock test failure |
| 4-4-1 | Serial port test or failure |
| 4-4-2 | Parallel port test or failure |
| 4-4-3 | Math coprocessor test or failure |
| Low 1-1-2 | System Board select failure |
| Low 1-1-3 | Extended CMOS RAM failure |