Section 1C - PC Hardware Information
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Information in Part 1
1. Floppy Drive won't read second Disk
2. Microsoft's DMF 1.77 Floppy Disks
3. Delete any file
4. Run SCAN once a day
5. PC Response Times Compared
6. RAM Chip Speeds
7. RAM Chip Types
8. RAM Chip Part Numbers - Links to Manufacturers
9. CPU Voltages
10. Common Interrupts (listing)
11. Computer Bus Terms
12. Changing CMOS by Direct Editing
Information in Part 2
13. RS-232 Pin-outs and Signals
14. RS-232 Made Easy
15. Loop Back Plugs
16. Parallel Ports - SPP, EPP, ECP, and More
17. Sound Cable Fix (missing audio channel)
18. CD-ROM Drives and Audio Extraction
19. Quantex Secrets
20. Burning CDs so they are easier to read...
21. Reset Gateway Keyboard
22. AMI Happy Birthday BIOS Virus
Information in Part 3
23. AMD Win-BIOS Beep Codes
24. AMI BIOS Beep Codes
25. AMI BIOS Beep Codes - Ver 2
26. Phoenix Ver 1 Beep Codes (286/386/486)
27. Phoenix Ver 4 Beep Codes
28. How much Video Memory Do You Need?
29.
30. Compaq BIOS Note
31. Using PAUSE to see the BIOS Version
32. Flashing BIOS WARNING!
Subject: AMD WINBIOS Beep Codes (Advanced Micro Devices)
Beeps Error Message Description Resolution ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 Refresh Failure The memory refresh Reseat the memory SIMMs. circuitry is faulty. If the system still beeps, replace the memory.
2 Parity Error Parity error in the Reseat the memory SIMMS. base memory (the first If the system still beeps, 64 KB block) of memory. Reseat the memory.
3 Base 64 KB Memory failure in Reseat the memory SIMMs. Memory Failure first 64 KB. If the system still beeps, replace the memory.
4 Timer Not A memory failure in The motherboard must be Operational the first 64 KB of replaced memory, or Timer 1 is not functioning.
5 Processor error The CPU generated an The motherboard must be 8042 - Gate A20 error. replaced. Failure
6 8042 - Gate A20 Cannot switch to Try a different keyboard, Failure Processor protected mode. or replace the keyboard Exception fuse if the keyboard has Interrupt Error one.
7 Processor The CPU on the CPU The motherboard must Exception Card generated an be replaced. Interrupt Error exception interrupt.
8 Display Memory The system video There is a memory error Read/Write Error adapter is either on the video adaptor. missing or its memory Replaced the video adaptor is faulty. This is not or the RAM on the video a fatal error. adaptor.
9 ROM Checksum The ROM checksum value The BIOS ROM chip is bad. Error does not match the The system probably needs value encoded in a new BIOS ROM Chip. WINBIOS.
10 CMOS Shutdown The shutdown register The motherboard must Register Read/ for CMOS RAM has be replaced. Write Error failed.
11 Cache memory bad - The cache memory test The motherboard must do not enable failed. Cache memory be replaced. cache is disabled. Do not press Ctrl/Alt/Shift <+> to enable cache memory.
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Subject: American Megatrends, Inc. BIOS Beep Codes
The following beep codes would be heard on power on. All of these errors are hardware related, so call your motherboard manufacturer or reseller for help in correcting the problem.
Beep Code Meaning _________________________________________________________________ 1 DRAM refresh failure 2 Parity Circuit failure 3 Base 64K RAM failure 4 System Timer failure 5 Processor failure 6 Keyboard Controller Gate A20 error 7 Virtual Mode Exception error 8 Display Memory R/W Test failure 9 ROM-BIOS Checksum failure
All of these errors are codes reported by bios.
Subject: AMI BIOS Beep Codes - Ver 2
What do the beeps mean when my system boots, but nothing appears on the screen? Errors can occur during the POST (Power On Self Test), which is performed every time the system is powered on. Fatal errors, which prevent the system from continuing the boot process, are communicated through a series of audible beeps. The following list shows the beep codes and corresponding error messages for Intel-manufactured motherboards that use the AMI BIOS:
Beeps Error Message Description
1 long, No video card found Applies only to baseboards with 2 short no on-board video.
1 long, No Monitor connected Applies only to baseboards with 3 short an on-board video present.
1 long, Video related failure Other video beep codes may exist and are x short tied to specific video BIOS implementations Contact the vendor for details should the need arise.
1 Refresh Failure The memory refresh circuitry on the baseboard is faulty.
2 Parity Error Parity is not supported on this product, will not occur.
3 Base 64KB Memory Fail Memory failure in first 64 KB.
4 Timer Not Operational Memory failure in first 64 KB of memory, or Timer 1 on baseboard not functioning.
5 Processor Error The CPU on the baseboard generated an error.
6 8042-Gate A20 Failure Keyboard controller (8042) may be bad. BIOS cannot switch to protected mode.
7 Processor Exception The CPU generated an exception interrupt. Interrupt Error
8 Display Memory Read/ The system video adapter is either missing Write Error or its memory is faulty. Not a fatal error.
9 ROM Checksum Error ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in BIOS.
10 CMOS Shutdown Register The shutdown register for CMOS RAM failed. Read/Write Error
11 Cache Error/ The external cache is faulty. External Cache Bad
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Subject: Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes for 286/386/486 Computers
Port 80h Beep Value Code Error/Test Description
01h none 80286 register test in-progress 02h 1-1-3 CMOS write/read test in-progress or failure 03h 1-1-4 BIOS ROM checksum in-progress or failure 04h 1-2-1 Programmable Interval Timer test in-progress or failure 05h 1-2-2 DMA initialization in-progress or failure 06h 1-2-3 DMA page register write/read test in-progress or fail 08h 1-3-1 RAM refresh verification in-progress or failure 09h none 1st 64K RAM test in-progress 0Ah 1-3-3 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - multi-bit 0Bh 1-3-4 1st 64K RAM odd/even logic failure 0Ch 1-4-1 1st 64K RAM address line failure 0Dh 1-4-2 1st 64K RAM parity test in_progress or failure 10h 2-1-1 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 0 11h 2-1-2 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 1 12h 2-1-3 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 2 13h 2-1-4 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 3 14h 2-2-1 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 4 15h 2-2-2 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 5 16h 2-2-3 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 6 17h 2-2-4 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 7 18h 2-3-1 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 8 19h 2-3-2 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit 9 1Ah 2-3-3 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit A 1Bh 2-3-4 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit B 1Ch 2-4-1 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit C 1Dh 2-4-2 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit D 1Eh 2-4-3 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit E 1Fh 2-4-4 1st 64K RAM chip or data line failure - bit F 20h 3-1-1 master DMA register test in-progress or failure 21h 3-1-2 slave DMA register test in-progress or failure 22h 3-1-3 master interrupt mask register test in-progress or fail 23h 3-1-4 slave interrupt mask register test in-progress or fail 25h none interrupt vector loading in-progress 27h 3-2-4 keyboard controller test in-progress or failure 28h none CMOS power-fail and checksum checks in-progress 29h none CMOS config info validation in-progress 2Bh 3-3-4 screen memory test in-progress or failure 2Ch 3-4-1 screen initialization in-progress or failure 2Dh 3-4-2 screen retrace tests in-progress or failure 2Eh none search for video ROM in-progress 30h none screen believed operable: 30h none screen believed running w/ video ROM 31h none monochromatic screen believed operable 32h none 40-column color screen believed operable 33h none 80-column color screen believed operable 34h 4-2-1 timer tick interrupt test in_progress or failure 35h 4-2-2 shutdown test in_progress or failure 36h 4-2-3 gate A20 failure 37h 4-2-4 unexpected interrupt in protected mode 38h 4-3-1 RAM test in_progress or failure above address 0FFFFh 3Ah 4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 test in_progress or failure 3Bh 4-3-4 Time-Of-Day clock test in_progress or failure 3Ch 4-4-1 Serial port test test in_progress or failure 3Dh 4-4-2 Parallel port test test in_progress or failure 3Eh 4-4-3 Math Coprocessor test in_progress or failure
Error codes in the 50h range or beyond are chip set or custom platform specific, and will vary from system to system. Contact your system manufacturer for details.
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Subject: Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes for Version 4.x.
This POST/BEEP code list is applicable only to PhoenixBIOS 4.x. ~~~~ Beep POST code code Description/test point
1-1-1-3 02 Verify Real Mode 1-1-2-1 04 Get CPU type 1-1-2-3 06 Initialize system hardware 1-1-3-1 08 Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values 1-1-3-2 09 Set in POST flag 1-1-3-3 0A Initialize CPU registers 1-1-4-1 0C Initialize cache to initial POST values 1-1-4-3 0E Initialize I/O 1-2-1-1 10 Initialize Power Management 1-2-1-2 11 Load alternate registers with initial POST values 1-2-1-3 12 Jump to UserPatch0 1-2-2-1 14 Initialize keyboard controller 1-2-2-3 16 BIOS ROM checksum 1-2-3-1 18 8254 timer initialization 1-2-3-3 1A 8237 DMA controller initialization 1-2-4-1 1C Reset Programmable Interrupt Controller 1-3-1-1 20 Test DRAM refresh 1-3-1-3 22 Test 8742 Keyboard Controller 1-3-2-1 24 Set ES segment to register to 4 GB 1-3-3-1 28 Autosize DRAM 1-3-3-3 2A Clear 512K base RAM 1-3-4-1 2C Test 512 base address lines 1-3-4-3 2E Test 512K base memory 1-4-1-3 32 Test CPU bus-clock frequency 1-4-2-4 37 Reinitialize the chipset 1-4-3-1 38 Shadow system BIOS ROM 1-4-3-2 39 Reinitialize the cache 1-4-3-3 3A Autosize cache 1-4-4-1 3C Configure advanced chipset registers 1-4-4-2 3D Load alternate registers with CMOS values 2-1-1-1 40 Set Initial CPU speed 2-1-1-3 42 Initialize interrupt vectors 2-1-2-1 44 Initialize BIOS interrupts 2-1-2-3 46 Check ROM copyright notice 2-1-2-4 47 Initialize manager for PCI Options ROMs 2-1-3-1 48 Check video configuration against CMOS 2-1-3-2 49 Initialize PCI bus and devices 2-1-3-3 4A Initialize all video adapters in system 2-1-4-1 4C Shadow video BIOS ROM 2-1-4-3 4E Display copyright notice 2-2-1-1 50 Display CPU type and speed 2-2-1-3 52 Test keyboard 2-2-2-1 54 Set key click if enabled 2-2-2-3 56 Enable keyboard 2-2-3-1 58 Test for unexpected interrupts 2-2-3-3 5A Display prompt "Press F2 to enter SETUP" 2-2-4-1 5C Test RAM between 512 and 640k 2-3-1-1 60 Test expanded memory 2-3-1-3 62 Test extended memory address lines 2-3-2-1 64 Jump to UserPatch1 2-3-2-3 66 Configure advanced cache registers 2-3-3-1 68 Enable external and CPU caches 2-3-3-3 6A Display external cache size 2-3-4-1 6C Display shadow message 2-3-4-3 6E Display non-disposable segments 2-4-1-1 70 Display error messages 2-4-1-3 72 Check for configuration errors 2-4-2-1 74 Test real-time clock 2-4-2-3 76 Check for keyboard errors 2-4-4-1 7C Set up hardware interrupts vectors 2-4-4-3 7E Test coprocessor if present 3-1-1-1 80 Disable onboard I/O ports 3-1-1-3 82 Detect and install external RS232 ports 3-1-2-1 84 Detect and install external parallel ports 3-1-2-3 86 Re-initialize onboard I/O ports 3-1-3-1 88 Initialize BIOS Data Area 3-1-3-3 8A Initialize Extended BIOS Data Area 3-1-4-1 8C Initialize floppy controller 3-2-1-1 90 Initialize hard-disk controller 3-2-1-2 91 Initialize local-bus hard-disk controller 3-2-1-3 92 Jump to UserPatch2 3-2-2-1 94 Disable A20 address line 3-2-2-3 96 Clear huge ES segment register 3-2-3-1 98 Search for option ROMs 3-2-3-3 9A Shadow option ROMs 3-2-4-1 9C Set up Power Management 3-2-4-3 9E Enable hardware interrupts 3-3-1-1 A0 Set time of day 3-3-1-3 A2 Check key lock 3-3-3-1 A8 Erase F2 prompt 3-3-3-3 AA Scan for F2 key stroke 3-3-4-1 AC Enter SETUP 3-3-4-3 AE Clear in-POST flag 3-4-1-1 B0 Check for errors 3-4-1-3 B2 POST done--prepare to boot operating system 3-4-2-1 B4 One beep 3-4-2-3 B6 Check password (optional) 3-4-3-1 B8 Clear global descriptor table 3-4-4-1 BC Clear parity checkers 3-4-4-3 BE Clear screen (optional) 3-4-4-4 BF Check virus and backup reminders 4-1-1-1 C0 Try to boot with INT 19 4-2-1-1 D0 Interrupt handler error 4-2-1-3 D2 Unknown interrupt error 4-2-2-1 D4 Pending interrupt error 4-2-2-3 D6 Initialize option ROM error 4-2-3-1 D8 Shutdown error 4-2-3-3 DA Extended Block Move 4-2-4-1 DC Shutdown 10 error 4-3-1-3 E2 Initialize the chipset 4-3-1-4 E3 Initialize refresh counter 4-3-2-1 E4 Check for Forced Flash 4-3-2-2 E5 Check HW status of ROM 4-3-2-3 E6 BIOS ROM is OK 4-3-2-4 E7 Do a complete RAM test 4-3-3-1 E8 Do OEM initialization 4-3-3-2 E9 Initialize interrupt controller 4-3-3-3 EA Read in bootstrap code 4-3-3-4 EB Initialize all vectors 4-3-4-1 EC Boot the Flash program 4-3-4-2 ED Initialize the boot device 4-3-4-3 EE Boot code was read OK
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Subject: How much Video Memory Do You Really Need?
Here's a Chart from Matrox...
2D is normal Windows operation, 3D is for Games.
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Subject: Compaq BIOS Note
Compaq BIOS, download startup disk from Compaq for your model. To get unit to boot from floppy, go into Setup and select SET DEFAULTS. This will turn off the secondary IDE controller killing the CD-ROM Drive. In setup, goes to Drives ADVANCED, Enable Secondary Controller, might be a select of the Address and IRQ (15).
Subject: Using PAUSE to see the BIOS Version
Having trouble seeing the BIOS information as it flashes by? Just hit the PAUSE key to stop the boot process.
Subject: Flashing BIOS Warning!
When Flashing the BIOS on a Mother Board be sure to “Disable the option to Copy BIOS to RAM” in setup before you flash the BIOS. Failing to do so will permanently damage the Mother Board making it unusable.
Most systems have this option active as it speeds up the system when calls are made to anything controlled by BIOS such as floppy drive or I/O ports.