Troubleshooting and Repair 6-5
Message
Possible Cause
Action
Memory failure at hex-value,
read hex-value, expecting
hex-value
Circuitry associated with the
memory chips has failed.
Turn the power off, then
back on again. If the
problem persists, contact
qualified service personnel.
Unexpected interrupt in
protected mode
Hardware interrupt or NMI
occurred while in protected
mode.
Check the timer chip or the
interrupt controller on the
system board.
Real time clock failure
The RTC or battery failed.
Run SETUP and turn the
power off and on. If the
problem persists, replace
the RTC battery. If the
problem remains, contact
qualified service personnel.
Informational Messages
This section lists the messages that provide information to the user but require
no action.
BIOS Informational Messages
Message
Meaning
nnnK Base Memory
The amount of base memory that tested successfully.
NnnK Extended
The amount of extended memory that tested successfully.
Memory tests terminated by
keystroke
The message indicates that a user pressed the spacebar
while memory tests were running and stopped the
memory tests.
Press the F1 key to continue
This message indicates that an error was found during
POST. Pressing the F1 key allows the system to attempt
to reboot.
Beginning memory test Press the
SPACEBAR to terminate the
memory test
A user can stop the memory tests by pressing the
spacebar.
Press the F1 key to continue, F2 to
run the Setup utility
This message indicates that an error was found during
POST. Pressing the F1 key allows the system to attempt
to boot. Press F2 allows users to run the ROM-based
SETUP utility to correct configuration information.
Beep Codes
Beep codes are used to identify a POST error that occurs when the screen is not
available. Once the screen is operating, diagnostic messages are reported to the
screen. There are beep codes for both fatal and non-fatal system board errors.
No beep code is generated if a test is aborted while in
progress. However, diagnostic cards can be installed in
order to display the contents of the diagnostic port 80h and
identify the area of failure.
