MVE466 System Board
Section 2
The POST Routine
Chapter 3: The POST Routine
When power is first applied to the system, or the system is
reset, the initial boot screen appears. The first line of the
screen indicates the type and version of BIOS that is installed.
The system will then perform the Power On Self Test (POST).
POST tests the different components of the system and com-
pares them to the CMOS SETUP configuration. If there is a
discrepancy or a hardware fault is detected, one of the follow-
ing actions will be taken.
If POST has not been able to initiate a video system, a coded
sequence of tones will be played on the system speaker. If a
video system is available, an error message will be displayed.
Part of the POST is the RAM test. The RAM test checks all
available RAM on the system board twice. During the test, the
amount of base memory and extended memory is reported on
the screen. To abort this process, any key can be pressed.
Speaker Output (BEEP) Codes
A sequence of BEEP sounds will be output to the Speaker
when:
POST detects a fatal error.
A BEEP code will be output when the
BIOS detects a fatal error, then halt the
system.
When the Diagnostic (Loop) Mode is en-
abled
At the end of every
this BEEP se-
quence will be
to identify the
problem.
Copyright 1993
Version
3 - 1
