Fast Beeps Only at Powerup

[chhays]

I came down this morning and heard my Cybermax computer (running Win98) doing a high fast beep. It won't respond to anything and I had to shut off the power. Turning the power back on, the light for the CD Drive comes on, the drives are turning, and the fans all come on. The initial beeps happen, but then it goes into the high fast beeps and it goes not farther. It doesn't even look at boot disk in the A: drive. My daughter reports that last night it was very slow, including the movement of the mouse.

Can you tell me what it is trying to tell me?

 

[rjkrash]

Your computer is broke! LOL

But seriously, the continuos beep is probably indicative of a lockup of the computer that happens during the POST (Power On Self Test). The POST sends beep codes during boot for diagnostic purposes. You have to check (if available) the BIOS documentation to know what the codes mean. The lockup likely happened during one of thoses beeps asn is still applying power to the circuit for the speaker.

Things to try:

Power off, unPlug and replug everything. If it continues to Beeeeep on boot try leaving some plugs disconeected and/or switching to known good parts like another mouse or keyboard if you have them. If problem persists you may want to open the case and unseat and reseat boards, memory. If you don't feel comfortable doing this get a pro involved.

Good luck... The two rules for success are:
1. Never tell them everything you know.

 

[chhays]

O.K., I tried everything you suggested, and then I decided to remove the 128 MB Centron memory board I put in three weeks ago. Magically, the system came up. I put it back in to be sure. It failed with the fast high beeps again. I pulled it out and it booted fine. So I think I will take the board back.


Thanks for your help.

 

[rjkrash]

Sounds like you found the problem! Take that nasty back and demand a full refund! If no joy, record that beeeeep and play it full blast for that bad person.

Hope that's all it is. Lucky you.

BTW, when you added the memory were you sure it was the right kind and all that. Is your BIOS up to spec.

More memory is always good specially for WinNT/XP not so much for ME or 9x.

Have you seen this article from last august? Are they, CyberMax still in business?

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,18101,00.asp

Maybe it's time for a new computer... Still time to ask santa.

Happy holidays...

The two rules for success are:
1. Never tell them everything you know.

 

[rjkrash]

Just thought of one other thing..

You could have a heat problem. The cpu could be getting too hot and then not work. After all the things you tried it may have cooled enough to work for a while. Run for a few hours/time to see if that may be the problem before taking back memory. You may need to replace a fan or add one to the cpu. The two rules for success are:
1. Never tell them everything you know.

 

[Guest_imported]

rjkrash(ISP), in the a above, you mentioned something about codes for the beeps, but didn't mention how to obtain the codes, is there a link that gives the explanation for the amount of beeps? if so please tell us how to find it.


Thx

 

[rjkrash]

Each BIOS developer uses different beep codes. If you check at the BIOS developers web site you may find some documentation.


Merry Christmas. The two rules for success are:
1. Never tell them everything you know.

 

[topscribe]

I don't know if I can help you at this point if you are still having problems. But I would need to know two things: (1) What BIOS do you have (e.g., Award, Phoenix, AMI BIOS, Compaq, etc.), and (2) what are the number and nature of the beeps (e.g., 7 short, 1 long and 8 short, etc.). If you still need help, let me know.