What causes the beep sound when you turn on your PC?
When your PC is turned on or restarted, it performs a POST (Power-On Self Test) to diagnose and check all the components of your PC. The POST program sends signals to each component of the device and initializes a built-in self-test procedure. Post-test completes in two stages and in the first stage it checks the basic components of your PC such as RAM, processor, video card, and so on. When the test fails the BIOS sends a series of beep sounds through the PC speaker notifying the user that there is an error.
Sometimes you hear a continuous beep sound. In some cases, the beep sound occurs long and short. Ever wondered what are these beep sounds? I can assure you that those beep sound which you hear while you open your PC aren’t occurring because of some software error and they are definitely not normal for a working PC. The beep sound which you hear isn’t also random. They occur in a pattern. How do find out what does the beep sound means and what causes it?
What causes the beep sound when you turn on your PC?
The beep sound which you hear while you open your PC is caused due to failure result in the POST program which signifies a hardware problem. The beep sound is made by BIOS in order to inform you about the hardware issue in your PC. Those sounds aren’t definitely random and there is always a pattern. The pattern differs as per the hardware part which has a problem. The sounds that BIOS makes while there is a problem in RAM are different than the sound when there is a problem in HDD. The beep sounds are actually beep codes that allow users to diagnose errors in their system.
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How to find the hardware issue with Bios beep?
You should check your motherboard at first in order to diagnose the beep sound. They differ as per manufacturer and BIOS. There might be numeric codes in some BIOS. We will list out some of the common beep code from commonly used BIOS which you can check out. Remember to know your BIOS from the manufacturer and model before you check the beep codes.
1. Dell Beep sound code and pattern
When you hear a beep sound coming from your PC then there is an error in your PC components and your BIOS is notifying you with such sounds. There is a pattern programmed for sounds as per the problem. Here are some of the common beep sound codes in the dell.
- One beep sound: There is a problem in BIOS ROM. It might be corrupted.
- Two beep sound: RAM is not detected in your device.
- Three beep sounds: Your motherboard fails.
- Four beep sound: RAM failure.
- Five beep sound: There is a problem with the battery or battery failure.
- Six beep sound: Video card fails or has a problem.
- Seven beep sound: CPU or processor has a problem.
These codes for dell beep sounds are common in almost all dell laptop models.
2. Award BIOS beep code
Award BIOS has a different beep sounds code when your POST detects some issue in your PC. They might vary as per manufacture or model so you can check out the official page for more information. Here are some of the common beep sound codes for Award BIOS.
- Repeating beeps sound: There is a RAM problem.
- A beep sounds when your PC is running: CPU has a problem.
- One long and two short beeps: Video card has an error and the error message couldn’t be displayed on your screen.
- One long and three short beeps: Video card not detected or damaged.
You should explore the official page as per the model for more information regarding beep codes.
3. IBM BIOS beep codes for error diagnose
Here are some of the beep codes for IBM BIOS. These codes might varies as per model but they are common in IBM BIOS. When you hear these beep sounds you can find out which part of your PC has an error.
- Continuous or repeating short beeps: Power problem or might be short.
- One short beep: The computer is in normal condition.
- Two short beeps: There is an error in POST and you need to check your screen for finding the error code to fully diagnose the problem.
- One beep and after that screen goes blank: Visual display problem.
- One long and one short beep sound: There is an error in the motherboard.
- Three long beep sound: Keyboard card issue.
- One long beep followed by two short beeps: There is an error in CGA display circuitry.
- One long beep followed by three short beeps: There is an error in EGA display circuitry.
There are many other BIOS like AMI, Phoenix. You can check out their official guide for diagnosing the error with beep sound codes. This article just lets you through what are the beep sounds and how they can differ as per your PC errors. You can explore more for specific device model to get more information.
Beep sound has been a mystery for many people and they might even not know what causes it. This article solved one of your unanswered queries. Are there other things you want to know but you cannot find on the internet? Feel free to contact us and we will write a detailed article regarding your topic and solve the issue.