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Phoenix ISA/MCA/EISA BIOS Beep Codes

PostedApril 13, 2024
Bytechie

The beep codes are represented in the number of beeps. E.g. 1-1-2 would mean 1 beep, a pause, 1 beep, a pause, and 2 beeps.

  • With a Dell computer, a 1-2 beep code can also indicate that a bootable add-in card is installed but no boot device is attached. For example, in you insert a Promise Ultra-66 card but do not connect a hard drive to it, you will get the beep code. I verified this with a SIIG (crap — avoid like the plague) Ultra-66 card, and then confirmed the results with Dell. Submitted by John Palmer.
BeepsError MessageDescription
1-1-2CPU test failureThe CPU is faulty.  Replace the CPU
Low 1-1-2System board select failureThe motherboard is having an undetermined fault.  Replace the motherboard
1-1-3CMOS read/write errorThe real time clock/CMOS is faulty.   Replace the CMOS if possible
Low 1-1-3Extended CMOS RAM failureThe extended portion of the CMOS RAM has failed.  Replace the CMOS if possible
1-1-4BIOS ROM checksum errorThe BIOS ROM has failed.  Replace the BIOS or upgrade if possible
1-2-1PIT failureThe programmable interrupt timer has failed.  Replace if possible
1-2-2DMA failureThe DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-2-3DMA read/write failureThe DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-1RAM refresh failureThe RAM refresh controller has failed
1-3-264KB RAM failureThe test of the first 64KB RAM has failed to start
1-3-3First 64KB RAM failureThe first RAM IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-4First 64KB logic failureThe first RAM control logic has failed
1-4-1Address line failureThe address line to the first 64KB RAM has failed
1-4-2Parity RAM failureThe first RAM IC has failed.   Replace if possible
1-4-3EISA fail-safe timer testReplace the motherboard
1-4-4EISA NMI port 462 testReplace the motherboard
2-1-164KB RAM failureBit 0; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-264KB RAM failureBit 1; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-364KB RAM failureBit 2; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-464KB RAM failureBit 3; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-164KB RAM failureBit 4; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-264KB RAM failureBit 5; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-364KB RAM failureBit 6; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-464KB RAM failureBit 7; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-164KB RAM failureBit 8; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-264KB RAM failureBit 9; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-364KB RAM failureBit 10; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-464KB RAM failureBit 11; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-164KB RAM failureBit 12; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-264KB RAM failureBit 13; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-364KB RAM failureBit 14; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-464KB RAM failureBit 15; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
3-1-1Slave DMA register failureThe DMA controller has failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-2Master DMA register failureThe DMA controller had failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-3Master interrupt mask register failureThe interrupt controller IC has failed
3-1-4Slave interrupt mask register failureThe interrupt controller IC has failed
3-2-2Interrupt vector errorThe BIOS was unable to load the interrupt vectors into memory.  Replace the motherboard
3-2-3Reserved
3-2-4Keyboard controller failureThe keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
3-3-1CMOS RAM power badReplace the CMOS battery or CMOS RAM if possible
3-3-2CMOS configuration errorThe CMOS configuration has failed.   Restore the configuration or replace the battery if possible
3-3-3Reserved
3-3-4Video memory failureThere is a problem with the video memory.  Replace the video adapter if possible
3-4-1Video initialization failureThere is a problem with the video adapter.  Reseat the adapter or replace the adapter if possible
4-2-1Timer failureThe system’s timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-2Shutdown failureThe CMOS has failed.  Replace the CMOS IC if possible
4-2-3Gate A20 failureThe keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-4Unexpected interrupt in protected modeThis is a CPU problem.  Replace the CPU and retest
4-3-1RAM test failureSystem RAM addressing circuitry is faulty.  Replace the motherboard
4-3-3Interval timer channel 2 failureThe system timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-3-4Time of day clock failureThe real time clock/CMOS has failed.   Replace the CMOS if possible
4-4-1Serial port failureA error has occurred in the serial port circuitry
4-4-2Parallel port failureA error has occurred in the parallel port circuitry
4-4-3Math coprocessor failureThe math coprocessor has failed.   If possible, replace the MPU
BeepsDescription
1-1-1-3Verify real mode
1-1-2-1Get CPU type
1-1-2-3Initialize system hardware
1-1-3-1Initialize chipset registers with initial values
1-1-3-2Set in POST flag
1-1-3-3Initialize CPU registers
1-1-4-1Initialize cache to initial values
1-1-4-3Initialize I/O
1-2-1-1Initialize power management
1-2-1-2Load alternative registers with initial POST values
1-2-1-3Jump to UserPatch0
1-2-2-1Initialize timer initialization
1-2-3-18254 timer initialization
1-2-3-38237 DMA controller initialization
1-2-4-1Reset Programmable Interrupt Controller
1-3-1-1Test DRAM refresh
1-3-1-3Test 8742 Keyboard Controller
1-3-2-1Set ES segment register to 4GB
1-3-3-1Autosize DRAM
1-3-3-3Clear 512K base memory
1-3-4-1Test 512K base address lines
1-3-4-3Test 51K base memory
1-4-1-3Test CPU bus-clock frequency
1-4-2-1CMOS RAM read/write failure (this commonly indicates a problem on the ISA bus such as a card not seated)
1-4-2-4Reinitialize the chipset
1-4-3-1Shadow system BIOS ROM
1-4-3-2Reinitialize the cache
1-4-3-3Autosize the cache
1-4-4-1Configure advanced chipset registers
1-4-4-2Load alternate registers with CMOS values
2-1-1-1Set initial CPU speed
2-1-1-3Initialize interrupt vectors
2-1-2-1Initialize BIOS interrupts
2-1-2-3Check ROM copyright notice
2-1-2-4Initialize manager for PCI Options ROMs
2-1-3-1Check video configuration against CMOS
2-1-3-2Initialize PCI bus and devices
2-1-3-3initialize all video adapters in system
2-1-4-1Shadow video BIOS ROM
2-1-4-3Display copyright notice
2-2-1-1Display CPU type and speed
2-2-1-3Test keyboard
2-2-2-1Set key click if enabled
2-2-2-3Enable keyboard
2-2-3-1Test for unexpected interrupts
2-2-3-3Display prompt “Press F2 to enter setup”
2-2-4-1Test RAM between 512K and 640K
2-3-1-1Test expanded memory
2-3-1-3Test extended memory address lines
2-3-2-1Jump to UserPatch1
2-3-2-3Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-2-3Configure advanced cache registers
2-3-3-1Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-3-2Initialize SMI handler
2-3-3-3Display external cache size
2-3-4-1Display shadow message
2-3-4-3Display non-disposable segments
2-4-1-1Display error messages
2-4-1-3Check for configuration errors
2-4-2-1Test real-time clock
2-4-2-3Check for keyboard errors
2-4-4-1Setup hardware interrupt vectors
2-4-4-3Test coprocessor if present
3-1-1-1Disable onboard I/O ports
3-1-1-3Detect and install external RS232 ports
3-1-2-1Detect and install external parallel ports
3-1-2-3Reinitialize onboard I/O ports
3-1-3-1Initialize BIOS Data Area
3-1-3-3Initialize Extended BIOS Data Area
3-1-4-1Initialize floppy controller
3-2-1-1Initialize hard disk controller
3-2-1-2Initialize local bus hard disk controller
3-2-1-3Jump to UserPatch2
3-2-2-1Disable A20 address line
3-2-2-3Clear huge ES segment register
3-2-3-1Search for option ROMs
3-2-3-3Shadow option ROMs
3-2-4-1Setup power management
3-2-4-3Enable hardware interrupts
3-3-1-1Set time of day
3-3-1-3Check key lock
3-3-3-1Erase F2 prompt
3-3-3-3Scan for F2 keystroke
3-3-4-1Enter SETUP
3-3-4-3Clear in-POST flag
3-4-1-1Check for errors
3-4-1-3POST done – prepare to boot operating system
3-4-2-1One beep
3-4-2-3Check password (optional)
3-4-3-1Clear global descriptor table
3-4-4-1Clear parity checkers
3-4-4-3Check virus and backup reminders
4-1-1-1Try to boot with INT 19
4-2-1-1Interrupt handler error
4-2-1-3Unknown interrupt error
4-2-2-1Pending interrupt error
4-2-2-3Initialize option ROM error
4-2-3-1Shutdown error
4-2-3-3Extended Block Move
4-2-4-1Shutdown 10 error
4-2-4-3Keyboard Controller failure (most likely problem is with RAM or cache unless no video is present)
4-3-1-3Initialize the chipset
4-3-1-4Initialize refresh counter
4-3-2-1Check for Forced Flash
4-3-2-2BIOS ROM is OK
4-3-2-4Do a complete RAM test
4-3-3-1Do OEM initialization
4-3-3-2Initialize interrupt controller
4-3-3-3Read in bootstrap code
4-3-3-4Initialize all vectors
4-3-4-2Initialize the boot device
4-3-4-3Boot code was read OK
Updated
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