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BIOS PostCodes
ALR
AST
DTK
HP
IBM
NCR

Intel Motherboards:
T440BX
VC820

Phoenix ISA/MCA/EISA BIOS Beep Codes:

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. Submitted by John Palmer.

Beeps

Error Message

Description

1-1-2 CPU test failure The CPU is faulty.  Replace the CPU
Low 1-1-2 System board select failure The motherboard is having an undetermined fault.  Replace the motherboard
1-1-3 CMOS read/write error The real time clock/CMOS is faulty.   Replace the CMOS if possible
Low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM failure The extended portion of the CMOS RAM has failed.  Replace the CMOS if possible
1-1-4 BIOS ROM checksum error The BIOS ROM has failed.  Replace the BIOS or upgrade if possible
1-2-1 PIT failure The programmable interrupt timer has failed.  Replace if possible
1-2-2 DMA failure The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-2-3 DMA read/write failure The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-1 RAM refresh failure The RAM refresh controller has failed
1-3-2 64KB RAM failure The test of the first 64KB RAM has failed to start
1-3-3 First 64KB RAM failure The first RAM IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-4 First 64KB logic failure The first RAM control logic has failed
1-4-1 Address line failure The address line to the first 64KB RAM has failed
1-4-2 Parity RAM failure The first RAM IC has failed.   Replace if possible
1-4-3 EISA fail-safe timer test Replace the motherboard
1-4-4 EISA NMI port 462 test Replace the motherboard
2-1-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 0; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 1; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 2; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 3; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 4; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 5; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 6; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 7; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 8; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 9; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 10; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 11; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 12; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 13; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 14; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 15; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
3-1-1 Slave DMA register failure The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-2 Master DMA register failure The DMA controller had failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-3 Master interrupt mask register failure The interrupt controller IC has failed
3-1-4 Slave interrupt mask register failure The interrupt controller IC has failed
3-2-2 Interrupt vector error The BIOS was unable to load the interrupt vectors into memory.  Replace the motherboard
3-2-3 Reserved  
3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure The keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
3-3-1 CMOS RAM power bad Replace the CMOS battery or CMOS RAM if possible
3-3-2 CMOS configuration error The CMOS configuration has failed.   Restore the configuration or replace the battery if possible
3-3-3 Reserved  
3-3-4 Video memory failure There is a problem with the video memory.  Replace the video adapter if possible
3-4-1 Video initialization failure There is a problem with the video adapter.  Reseat the adapter or replace the adapter if possible
4-2-1 Timer failure The system's timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-2 Shutdown failure The CMOS has failed.  Replace the CMOS IC if possible
4-2-3 Gate A20 failure The keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode This is a CPU problem.  Replace the CPU and retest
4-3-1 RAM test failure System RAM addressing circuitry is faulty.  Replace the motherboard
4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 failure The system timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-3-4 Time of day clock failure The real time clock/CMOS has failed.   Replace the CMOS if possible
4-4-1 Serial port failure A error has occurred in the serial port circuitry
4-4-2 Parallel port failure A error has occurred in the parallel port circuitry
4-4-3 Math coprocessor failure The math coprocessor has failed.   If possible, replace the MPU

Beeps

Description

1-1-1-3 Verify real mode
1-1-2-1 Get CPU type
1-1-2-3 Initialize system hardware
1-1-3-1 Initialize chipset registers with initial values
1-1-3-2 Set in POST flag
1-1-3-3 Initialize CPU registers
1-1-4-1 Initialize cache to initial values
1-1-4-3 Initialize I/O
1-2-1-1 Initialize power management
1-2-1-2 Load alternative registers with initial POST values
1-2-1-3 Jump to UserPatch0
1-2-2-1 Initialize timer initialization
1-2-3-1 8254 timer initialization
1-2-3-3 8237 DMA controller initialization
1-2-4-1 Reset Programmable Interrupt Controller
1-3-1-1 Test DRAM refresh
1-3-1-3 Test 8742 Keyboard Controller
1-3-2-1 Set ES segment register to 4GB
1-3-3-1 Autosize DRAM
1-3-3-3 Clear 512K base memory
1-3-4-1 Test 512K base address lines
1-3-4-3 Test 51K base memory
1-4-1-3 Test CPU bus-clock frequency
1-4-2-1 CMOS RAM read/write failure (this commonly indicates a problem on the ISA bus such as a card not seated)
1-4-2-4 Reinitialize the chipset
1-4-3-1 Shadow system BIOS ROM
1-4-3-2 Reinitialize the cache
1-4-3-3 Autosize the cache
1-4-4-1 Configure advanced chipset registers
1-4-4-2 Load alternate registers with CMOS values
2-1-1-1 Set initial CPU speed
2-1-1-3 Initialize interrupt vectors
2-1-2-1 Initialize BIOS interrupts
2-1-2-3 Check ROM copyright notice
2-1-2-4 Initialize manager for PCI Options ROMs
2-1-3-1 Check video configuration against CMOS
2-1-3-2 Initialize PCI bus and devices
2-1-3-3 initialize all video adapters in system
2-1-4-1 Shadow video BIOS ROM
2-1-4-3 Display copyright notice
2-2-1-1 Display CPU type and speed
2-2-1-3 Test keyboard
2-2-2-1 Set key click if enabled
2-2-2-3 Enable keyboard
2-2-3-1 Test for unexpected interrupts
2-2-3-3 Display prompt "Press F2 to enter setup"
2-2-4-1 Test RAM between 512K and 640K
2-3-1-1 Test expanded memory
2-3-1-3 Test extended memory address lines
2-3-2-1 Jump to UserPatch1
2-3-2-3 Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-2-3 Configure advanced cache registers
2-3-3-1 Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-3-2 Initialize SMI handler
2-3-3-3 Display external cache size
2-3-4-1 Display shadow message
2-3-4-3 Display non-disposable segments
2-4-1-1 Display error messages
2-4-1-3 Check for configuration errors
2-4-2-1 Test real-time clock
2-4-2-3 Check for keyboard errors
2-4-4-1 Setup hardware interrupt vectors
2-4-4-3 Test coprocessor if present
3-1-1-1 Disable onboard I/O ports
3-1-1-3 Detect and install external RS232 ports
3-1-2-1 Detect and install external parallel ports
3-1-2-3 Reinitialize onboard I/O ports
3-1-3-1 Initialize BIOS Data Area
3-1-3-3 Initialize Extended BIOS Data Area
3-1-4-1 Initialize floppy controller
3-2-1-1 Initialize hard disk controller
3-2-1-2 Initialize local bus hard disk controller
3-2-1-3 Jump to UserPatch2
3-2-2-1 Disable A20 address line
3-2-2-3 Clear huge ES segment register
3-2-3-1 Search for option ROMs
3-2-3-3 Shadow option ROMs
3-2-4-1 Setup power management
3-2-4-3 Enable hardware interrupts
3-3-1-1 Set time of day
3-3-1-3 Check key lock
3-3-3-1 Erase F2 prompt
3-3-3-3 Scan for F2 keystroke
3-3-4-1 Enter SETUP
3-3-4-3 Clear in-POST flag
3-4-1-1 Check for errors
3-4-1-3 POST done - prepare to boot operating system
3-4-2-1 One beep
3-4-2-3 Check password (optional)
3-4-3-1 Clear global descriptor table
3-4-4-1 Clear parity checkers
3-4-4-3 Check virus and backup reminders
4-1-1-1 Try to boot with INT 19
4-2-1-1 Interrupt handler error
4-2-1-3 Unknown interrupt error
4-2-2-1 Pending interrupt error
4-2-2-3 Initialize option ROM error
4-2-3-1 Shutdown error
4-2-3-3 Extended Block Move
4-2-4-1 Shutdown 10 error
4-2-4-3 Keyboard Controller failure (most likely problem is with RAM or cache unless no video is present)
4-3-1-3 Initialize the chipset
4-3-1-4 Initialize refresh counter
4-3-2-1 Check for Forced Flash
4-3-2-2 BIOS ROM is OK
4-3-2-4 Do a complete RAM test
4-3-3-1 Do OEM initialization
4-3-3-2 Initialize interrupt controller
4-3-3-3 Read in bootstrap code
4-3-3-4 Initialize all vectors
4-3-4-2 Initialize the boot device
4-3-4-3 Boot code was read OK

 


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