75
4 Error Messages and Beep Codes
What This Chapter Contains
4.1
Speaker ....................................................................................................................... 75
4.2
BIOS Beep Codes........................................................................................................ 75
4.3
BIOS Error Messages .................................................................................................. 75
4.4
Port 80h POST Codes ................................................................................................. 76
4.1 Speaker
The board-mounted speaker provides audible error code (beep code) information during POST.
For information about
Refer to
The location of the onboard speaker
Figure 1, page 12
4.2 BIOS Beep Codes
Whenever a recoverable error occurs during POST, the BIOS displays an error message describing
the problem (see Table 41).
Table 41. Beep Codes
Type
Pattern
Frequency
Memory error
Three long beeps
1280 Hz
Thermal warning
Four alternating beeps:
High tone, low tone, high tone, low tone
High tone: 2000 Hz
Low tone: 1600 Hz
4.3 BIOS Error Messages
Table 42 lists the error messages and provides a brief description of each.
Table 42. BIOS Error Messages
Error Message
Explanation
CMOS Battery Low
The battery may be losing power. Replace the battery soon.
CMOS Checksum Bad
The CMOS checksum is incorrect. CMOS memory may have
been corrupted. Run Setup to reset values.
Memory Size Decreased
Memory size has decreased since the last boot. If no memory was
removed then memory may be bad.
No Boot Device Available
System did not find a device to boot.
