AMI (American Megatrends') BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one short DRAM refresh failure (Problem with memory)
two short Parity circuit failure
three short Base 64K RAM failure
four short System Timer failure
five short Processor failure
six short Keyboard Controller / Gate A20 failure
seven short Virtual Mode Exception error
eight short Display Memory Read/Write failure (fault with video card)
nine short ROM BIOS Checksum error (fault with BIOS chip)
ten short CMOS Shutdown Read/Write error
eleven short Cache memory
one long Passed (no errors)
one long, two short Video failure
one long, three short Base / Extended Memory failure
one long, eight short Display / Retrace Test failure
AST Research BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one short Low level processor verification test failed (POST 1)
two short Clearing keyboard controller buffers failed (POST 2)
three short Keyboard controller reset failed (POST 3)
four short Low level keyboard controller interface test (POST 4)
five short Reading data from keyboard controller failed (POST 5)
six short System board support chip initialization failed (POST 6)
seven short Processor register read/write verify test failed (POST 7)
eight short CMOS timer initialization failed (POST 8)
nine short ROM BIOS checksum test failed (POST 9)
ten short Initialize primary video (POST 10)
eleven short 8254 timer channel 0 test failed (POST 11)
twelve short 8254 timer channel 1 test failed (POST 12)
thirteen short 8254 timer channel 2 test failed (POST 13)
fourteen short CMOS power-on and time test failed (POST 14)
fifteen short CMOS shutdown byte test failed (POST 15)
one long DMA channel 0 test failed (POST 16)
one long, one short DMA channel 1 test failed (POST 17)
one long, two short DMA page register test failed (POST 18)
one long, three short Keyboard controller interface test failed (POST 19)
one long, four short Memory refresh toggle test failed (POST 20)
one long, five short First 64 KB memory test failed (POST 21)
one long, six short Setup interrupt vector table failed (POST 22)
one long, seven short Video initialization failed (POST 23)
one long, eight short Video memory test failed (POST 24)
Award BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one short Passed (no errors)
two short Any non-fatal error
one long, two short Video failure
one long, three short Keyboard Controller failure (applies to 286, 386 and 486)
Compaq BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one short Indicates that the system is booting properly
two short General BIOS error - remedy unknown
one short, two long Memory Module
one long, one short BIOS ROM checksum error
one long, two short Video error
7 Beeps: one long, one short, one long, one short, pause, one long, two short AGP Video
one long continuous tone Memory Module
IBM BIOS
Beep Codes Message
none Power Supply or System Board failure (possible short)
one short Passed (no errors)
one short (blank screen) Video error (check cable)
one short (no boot) Floppy Drive error
two short Configuration Error (displayed on screen)
repeating short Power Supply or System Board failure
continuous Power Supply or System Board / Keyboard stuck
one long, one short System Board failure
one long, two short Video (Mono/CGA) failure (check cable)
one long, three short Video (EGA) failure (check cable)
three long Keyboard Card error
Mylex BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one Normal boot
two Video adapter error
three Keyboard controller error
four Keyboard error
five PIC 0 error
six PIC 1 error
seven DMA page register error
eight RAM refresh error
nine RAM data error
ten RAM parity error
eleven DMA controller 0 error
twelve CMOS RAM error
thirteen DMA controller 1 error
fourteen CMOS RAM battery error
fifteen CMOS RAM checksum error
sixteen BIOS ROM checksum error
Mylex 386 BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one long Normal boot
two long Video adapter error
one long, one short, one long Keyboard controller error
one long, two short, one long Keyboard error
one long, three short, one long PIC 0 error
one long four short, one long PIC 1 error
one long, five short, one long DMA page register error
one long, six short, one long RAM refresh error
one long, seven short, one long RAM data error
one long, eight short, one long RAM parity error
one long, nine short, one long DMA controller 0 error
one long, ten short, one long CMOS RAM error
one long, eleven short, one long DMA controller 1 error
one long, twelve short, one long CMOS RAM battery error
one long, thirteen short, one long CMOS RAM checksum error
one long fourteen short, one long BIOS ROM checksum error
Phoenix BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one, one, three CMOS Read/Write
one, one, four ROM BIOS Checksum failure
one, two, one Programmable Interval Timer failure
one, two, two DMA Initialisation failure
one, two, three DMA Page Register Read/Write failure
one, three, one RAM Refresh Verification error
one, three, three First 64K RAM Chip/Data Line failure
one, three, four First 64K RAM Odd/Even Logic
one, four, one First 64K RAM: Address Line
one, four, two First 64K RAM: Parity failure
one, four, three Fail-Safe Timer Feature (EISA only)
one, four, four Software NMI Port failure (EISA only)
two (followed by various combinations) First 64K RAM Chip/Data Line failure (combinations indicate which bit)
three, one, one Slave DMA Register failure
three, one, two Master DMA Register failure
three, one, three Master Interrupt Mask Register failure
three, one, four Slave Interrupt Mask Register failure
three, two, four Keyboard Controller failure
three, three, four Display Memory failure
three, four, one Display Retrace failure
three, four, two Video ROM search proceeding
four, two, one Timer Tick failure
four, two, two Shutdown failure
four, two, three Gate A20 failure
four, two, four Unexpected Interrupt in Protected Mode
four, three, one RAM test above 64K failure
four, three, two/three Programmable Interval Timer, Channel 2 failure
four, three, four Realtime Clock failure
four, four, one Serial Port error
four, four, two Parallel Port error
four, four, three Math Co-processor failure
(tone) one, one, two System Board Select
(tone) one, one, three Extender CMOS RAM
Quadtel BIOS
Beep Codes Message
one short Indicates that the system is booting properly
two short CMOS IC error
one long, two short Video error
one long, three short Peripheral controller error