EugeneGardner
asked on
How to diagnose beep codes
This is a PC with Win XP Pro installed. Multiple viruses were removed but still a fault remained so I wanted to do a repair install. The PC was not booting off the CD, so as the CMOS chip has an AMIBIOS sticker on it I hit the DEL key during boot, but it kept going to XP. I wanted to get to the BIOS to change the boot order. So next time I started the PC I hit the DEL Key many many times.
Now there is no BIOS screen displayed when I start. In fact nothing appears on the screen ! I do hear a beep, then a long (5 seconds) delay followed by two beeps then a single beep. If I attach a POST card it displays 75.A2 If I attach a micro-POST it displays .85
I have disconnected the mains power and removed the BIOS battery for 12 hours, but the problem remains. There are no markings on the mobo to identify the manufacturer. When the PC was bootable I ran Belarc and it gave
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 062710 07/15/97
Suggestions appreciated.
Now there is no BIOS screen displayed when I start. In fact nothing appears on the screen ! I do hear a beep, then a long (5 seconds) delay followed by two beeps then a single beep. If I attach a POST card it displays 75.A2 If I attach a micro-POST it displays .85
I have disconnected the mains power and removed the BIOS battery for 12 hours, but the problem remains. There are no markings on the mobo to identify the manufacturer. When the PC was bootable I ran Belarc and it gave
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 062710 07/15/97
Suggestions appreciated.
Irwin Santos
reseat memory and the video card
ASKER
Memory reseated, video comes off mobo. Problem persists.
The (Ultra-X) POST card now reads 73.85 and the micro-POST .85
The (Ultra-X) POST card now reads 73.85 and the micro-POST .85
.85 is a video problem..
got another video card to drop in that machine?
got another video card to drop in that machine?
ASKER
I did put a new video card in, but I am unable to get to the BIOS to tell it not to use the onboard port. Same situation remains - with or without the separate video card.
ok...focus on the memory,
if multiple modules.. use one at a time, swap in/out on the board
if multiple modules.. use one at a time, swap in/out on the board
ASKER
Thanks for sticking with this. Alas the memory seems good. There are 2 modules and I tried booting with each individually in both slots. Same problem.
I moved the memory to another PC and ran Memtest86 (only for 15 minutes) and no errors were displayed.
Can my hitting the DEL key (frequently) cause the CMOS to become messed up ?
After resetting to default settings (presumably as the BIOS battery was out for 12 hours) how come it will not boot from floppy or CD before trying the HDD ? A hardware failure would be very coincidental.
If I can't boot from the floppy, presumably I can't flash the CMOS - even if I knew where to get the appropriate firmware.
I moved the memory to another PC and ran Memtest86 (only for 15 minutes) and no errors were displayed.
Can my hitting the DEL key (frequently) cause the CMOS to become messed up ?
After resetting to default settings (presumably as the BIOS battery was out for 12 hours) how come it will not boot from floppy or CD before trying the HDD ? A hardware failure would be very coincidental.
If I can't boot from the floppy, presumably I can't flash the CMOS - even if I knew where to get the appropriate firmware.
"Thanks for sticking with this."
No problem.. but I'm going to sleep soon..it is 12:30am in Hawaii and this will be my last post for the night..I'll be back 8 hours from now.
"Can my hitting the DEL key (frequently) cause the CMOS to become messed up ?"
unlikely.
Is that a Pentium II system?
No problem.. but I'm going to sleep soon..it is 12:30am in Hawaii and this will be my last post for the night..I'll be back 8 hours from now.
"Can my hitting the DEL key (frequently) cause the CMOS to become messed up ?"
unlikely.
Is that a Pentium II system?
ASKER
1.67 gigahertz AMD Athlon XP
Currently 11:45am in England.
Currently 11:45am in England.
one last thought for the night
remove all the data & power cables to the motherboard & drives
reseat the CPU
reboot your computer. post your results.
remove all the data & power cables to the motherboard & drives
reseat the CPU
reboot your computer. post your results.
Change the keyboard - your repeated hits may have damaged it.
Chris B
Chris B
Hi EugeneGardner,
here are the ami bios beep codes:
http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/amibeep.htm
http://www.esupport.com/techsupport/award/AMIBIOS-codes.pdf
as you mentioned that you can't locate the model of the motherboard;can you locate though the make of the motherboard and the chipset?
Cheers!
here are the ami bios beep codes:
http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/amibeep.htm
http://www.esupport.com/techsupport/award/AMIBIOS-codes.pdf
as you mentioned that you can't locate the model of the motherboard;can you locate though the make of the motherboard and the chipset?
Cheers!
ASKER
Thanks for replies. irwinpks, I did take the cables out to test the PSU.
burrcm, when I said that I 'hit' the DEL key, I didn't mean to imply sufficient force to cause physical damage ! The same keyboard is attached (via a KVM switch) to another PC which is working fine.
mwnnj, Thanks for the pointers. The bummer is that there are so many manufacturers who 'customize' the cosed, and I don't know which one I am dealing with. Code 85 seems to indicate a soft error - whatever that means.
It seems to me that either the video is shot - in which case I need to either find a way of disabling the on-board video via jumpers - difficult without a manual or knowledge of the Manufacturer. Or the CMOS is shagged (could this be a virus effect ?). Both ways it looks like a new mobo ! Please, someone tell me I'm wrong.
burrcm, when I said that I 'hit' the DEL key, I didn't mean to imply sufficient force to cause physical damage ! The same keyboard is attached (via a KVM switch) to another PC which is working fine.
mwnnj, Thanks for the pointers. The bummer is that there are so many manufacturers who 'customize' the cosed, and I don't know which one I am dealing with. Code 85 seems to indicate a soft error - whatever that means.
It seems to me that either the video is shot - in which case I need to either find a way of disabling the on-board video via jumpers - difficult without a manual or knowledge of the Manufacturer. Or the CMOS is shagged (could this be a virus effect ?). Both ways it looks like a new mobo ! Please, someone tell me I'm wrong.
You don't generally need to disable the onboard video if the mobo has an AGP slot - normally it will sort itself out.
Chris B
Chris B
Look on the board for an FCC #..we can probably find it that way.
ASKER
Video sure didn't work when I put a separate AGP card in.
If I told you there was no FCC# on the mobo, you may not believe me, so I have a couple of photos to prove it:
http://files.filefront.com/mobo_fccjpg/;5117325;;/fileinfo.html
http://files.filefront.com/mobo_alljpg/;5117322;;/fileinfo.html
The CMOS is the bottom right most component. Is there any way to just replace this ?
A replacement mobo would probably only cost £30 though. Any suggestions which to get ? Must support SDRAM and AMD Athlon XP
Thanks
If I told you there was no FCC# on the mobo, you may not believe me, so I have a couple of photos to prove it:
http://files.filefront.com/mobo_fccjpg/;5117325;;/fileinfo.html
http://files.filefront.com/mobo_alljpg/;5117322;;/fileinfo.html
The CMOS is the bottom right most component. Is there any way to just replace this ?
A replacement mobo would probably only cost £30 though. Any suggestions which to get ? Must support SDRAM and AMD Athlon XP
Thanks
how about the REVERSE side of the board? It's a bummer because it is mounted and I don't want to be a bother. If there is an actuall FCC #.. the you can query the following for a manufacturer (and then 1//2 the battle is over)
http://www.driverzone.com/search.htm
"The CMOS is the bottom right most component. Is there any way to just replace this ? A replacement mobo would probably only cost £30 though. Any suggestions which to get ? Must support SDRAM and AMD Athlon XP"
It may just be easier to get a replacement motherboard. Here's one on Ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ASRock-K7VM2-AMD-Athlon-XP-Duron-SDRAM-and-DDR-support_W0QQitemZ6887813204QQcategoryZ99238QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://www.driverzone.com/search.htm
"The CMOS is the bottom right most component. Is there any way to just replace this ? A replacement mobo would probably only cost £30 though. Any suggestions which to get ? Must support SDRAM and AMD Athlon XP"
It may just be easier to get a replacement motherboard. Here's one on Ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ASRock-K7VM2-AMD-Athlon-XP-Duron-SDRAM-and-DDR-support_W0QQitemZ6887813204QQcategoryZ99238QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
ASKER
I removed the mobo and after all that... there is less information on the underside than on the top !
I guess the manufacturer was not too proud of their creation. Perhaps it is just part of a bulk shipment for an OEM.
Thanks for the link to the FCC number lookup, very useful for the future.
I guess the manufacturer was not too proud of their creation. Perhaps it is just part of a bulk shipment for an OEM.
Thanks for the link to the FCC number lookup, very useful for the future.
"I guess the manufacturer was not too proud of their creation."
Ha!
"Perhaps it is just part of a bulk shipment for an OEM."
if it doesnt' have the FCC ID# on the board..especially silkscreen or etched, it is an overrun from the manufacturer.. An overrun is an item that is usually made by the employees or management in cahoots, producing product "after hours", where the crew sells the board dirt cheap, basically stealing from the company. OEM will always identify their product for market through distribution in the United States
Ha!
"Perhaps it is just part of a bulk shipment for an OEM."
if it doesnt' have the FCC ID# on the board..especially silkscreen or etched, it is an overrun from the manufacturer.. An overrun is an item that is usually made by the employees or management in cahoots, producing product "after hours", where the crew sells the board dirt cheap, basically stealing from the company. OEM will always identify their product for market through distribution in the United States
ASKER
I have now replaced the mobo. If I try to boot with no further changes I get a BSOD for .1 of a second then an auto reboot. I reckon I need to lay down a new HAL. A Windows repair install would do the trick nicely.
The problem is that the original XP Pro SP1 (Retail) installation CD is lost. I have a note of the product key, but it is no use as the only XP Pro SP1 CD I have is an OEM one with a different product key (which has already been used in another PC so can not be reused here).
I wonder if I could reuse the OEM product key so as to get to a bootable place which requires activation, then telephone MS and ask for forgiveness.
Is there an easier and/or legitimate way ?
The problem is that the original XP Pro SP1 (Retail) installation CD is lost. I have a note of the product key, but it is no use as the only XP Pro SP1 CD I have is an OEM one with a different product key (which has already been used in another PC so can not be reused here).
I wonder if I could reuse the OEM product key so as to get to a bootable place which requires activation, then telephone MS and ask for forgiveness.
Is there an easier and/or legitimate way ?
no....that's the way. As long as you have a legit CD KEY
ASKER
Micro$oft would not allow activation using the previous installation CD. I had to buy a new XP Pro CD and use that for a repair install.
Having done that I ran into another problem: one of the two DDR RAM sticks was faulty. It passed all of Memtest86 tests without problem, but errors continued until I ran the extended memory test in Utrra-X. Having replaced the RAM all is now well. That's the first time I have heard of Memtest86 failing to detect an error.
Thanks.
RC
Having done that I ran into another problem: one of the two DDR RAM sticks was faulty. It passed all of Memtest86 tests without problem, but errors continued until I ran the extended memory test in Utrra-X. Having replaced the RAM all is now well. That's the first time I have heard of Memtest86 failing to detect an error.
Thanks.
RC
"Micro$oft would not allow activation using the previous installation CD."
Really??? that's new news to me.
Bummer on the memtest...perhaps it's NOT invicible.
Really??? that's new news to me.
Bummer on the memtest...perhaps it's NOT invicible.
ASKER
Perhaps irwinpks should get all the points for tenacity. Not sure which post to attribute to the answer, of if a C grade is appropriate.
Yay! poinks! :-)
Well... a "C" is like we tried...and all efforts really sucked and led to some place in timbuktu
"B" is for valiant attempts, almost...almost almost..
"A" is for a right on answer.
You can actually close this yourself, just accept. :-)
Well... a "C" is like we tried...and all efforts really sucked and led to some place in timbuktu
"B" is for valiant attempts, almost...almost almost..
"A" is for a right on answer.
You can actually close this yourself, just accept. :-)
ASKER
Sure, I'm happy to provide closure. Just not sure which post would be most helpful to anyone coming here later, and which grade is most appropriate. The solution seemed to be replacing the mobo and a RAM stick.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Cool.. thank you! :-)