POST Information

If your PC sounds a series of beeps at startup, it is trying to tell you a hardware device is not working properly.

Your owners manual may give you a list of beep codes. Matching them to the beeps heard at startup, will get you directly to the problem area. You still may need to do some investigating once you are there.

Post problems can be quickly diagnosed by eliminating or substituting suspect hardware. Follow the procedure below to isolate the problem area.

Beeps - External Hardware

The error can be caused by any hardware attached to your system. To determine the cause, first disconnect all non-essential hardware from your system. Leave only the keyboard and a monitor attached.

Re-boot to see if the error is corrected.

If the system starts, power down, re-attach items one at a time, and reboot.

Repeat for each hardware item, until the system error is detected again. The last item connected is where the problem is located.

Beeps - Internal Hardware

If the system still beeps with all external hardware removed, then you need to eliminate the internal cards; modems, sound cards, SCSI cards, and finally your video card. Remove each individually, re-boot to test. When the system starts, the last card removed is the problem.

If the system still beeps with all external hardware removed, then you need to eliminate the internal drives, and plug in memory chips. Again, do this in stages to try to isolate the problem component.

Beeps & Beeps & Beeps

After removing everything not soldered in, if the system still refuses to boot, you have a serious hardware problem. You need to contact a certified repair facility for further analysis.