Your PC was working fine and all of a sudden it restarted with constant beeps, this is a sign that there’s something wrong with your hardware. Most often it could be a temporary issue and goes away on its own. But if there are repeated beeps every time you restart your computer, then you have to find the real cause behind this issue.
The good this is, the beep itself tells you what’s wrong with your computer. All you need is to note down the pattern of beeps that you hear when your computer restarts.
What is Beep Code?
Generally, a beep code is an audio signal generated by your computer as a result of a self-diagnostic test known as POST (Power-ON-Self-Test). The role of POST is to make sure that physical memory and other needed hardware are available for the system.
If everything is working fine, then the system will generate a single beep and move on to load the operating system. However, if there is something wrong, then the system will generate a series of beeps depending on the type of issue.
The beeping sequence carries a coded message which corresponds to the type of hardware that is causing the issue.
Before troubleshooting the problem, it’s important to know what type of BIOS your system has on it. Generally, motherboard manufacturers opt for either Phoenix or AMI BIOS. Each of these types has its own pattern of beeps or orange lights pattern to find the source of the problem.
Therefore, it’s important to know which type of BIOS your motherboard has on it before you fix the problem
Common Causes of Beeps/POST Failure
There could be other issues that we will address further down in this guide. But most often, below are some of the most known issues when you hear beeps at system restart.
- RAM
- Processor (CPU)
- BIOS ROM
- Graphics Card
- Fan
RAM
An old or failing DIMM could be one of the reasons behind the constant beeps that you hear when your computer starts. Remove the RAM stick and move it to another free DIMM slot on your motherboard and see if that fixes the issue. If this doesn’t fix the problem, then you’ll have to replace the old RAM stick with a new one.
Processor (CPU)
Overclocking or throwing a lot of load on your CPU could result in an increase in temperature.
When this happens, the system will try to restart itself in order to lower the temperature on the chip. As a result, you could hear multiple beeps as soon as your computer restarts.
Try to use a high-quality cooling solution if you put a lot of workload on your CPU.
BIOS ROM
Beeps on system startup could be due to the failing BIOS ROM. When this occurs, you’ll have to note down the sequence of beeps to find out the source of the problem. You can learn more about the beep codes at the bottom of this guide.
Graphics Card
If you have recently installed a new graphics card and missed out on connecting the power cables to it, then you’ll be welcomed by frequent beeps. Also, check out if your graphics card is set perfectly in the PCIe x16 slot.
But if you are using an old graphics card, then maybe your graphics card has become faulty and needs to be replaced.
Fan
CPU cooling fans may become faulty and end up triggering beeps every time you start your PC. Before you replace the fans, see if the pins are connected properly to your motherboard.
Beep Codes and Their Meaning
This section will help you learn more about the beep codes that you are facing at the system startup. We have divided this section based on the most common BIOS developers on the market.
Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes
| Beep Pattern | What’s the Issue / Hardware to Check |
| 1-1-1-1 | Reseat or replace the RAM sticks |
| 1-1-2-1 | Get CPU Type |
| 1-1-3-1 | Initialize chipset registers with initial POST Value |
| 1-1-3-2 | Set in POST flag |
| 1-2-1-1 | Initialize power management |
| 1-2-2-1 | Initialize keyboard controller |
| 1-1-4-3 | Initialize I/O |
| 1-2-2-3 | BIOS ROM checksum |
| 1-3-1-1 | Test DRAM Refresh |
| 1-3-1-3 | Test keyboard controller |
| 1-4-1-3 | Test CPU Bus Clock Frequency |
| 2-1-2-1 | Initialize BIOS Interrupts |
| 2-2-1-3 | Test Keyboard |
| 2-2-2-3 | Enable keyboard |
| 3-1-4-1 | Initialize floppy controller |
| 3-2-1-1 | Initialize hard disk controller |
| 3-3-1-1 | Set time of day |
| 3-3-1-3 | Check key lock |
| 3-4-1-1 | Check for errors |
| 3-4-1-3 | Prepare to boot the operating system |
| 4-2-3-1 | Shutdown error |
| 4-3-2-1 | Check for forced flash |
| 4-3-2-2 | Check HW status of ROM |
| 2-4-2-1 | Test real time clock |
Note: 1 represents a long beep whereas 2,3,4 represent shorter beeps
Dell BIOS Beep Codes
| Beep Pattern | What’s the Issue / Hardware to Check |
| Single beep | Corrupt BIOS ROM |
| Dual beeps | RAM not detected |
| Three beeps | Motherboard failure |
| Four beeps | Failing RAM |
| Five beeps | CMOS battery issue |
| Six beeps | Graphics chip issue |
| Seven beeps | CPU (Processor issue) |
| Eight beeps | LCD Failure |
If you are experiencing beeps with different patterns, then you can refer to Dell’s diagnostic page to learn more about this.
Award BIOS Beep Codes
The award uses a different type of beeping pattern to locate the source of the problem.
| Beep Pattern | What’s the Issue / Hardware to Check |
| 1 short beep | All system clear, nothing to do |
| 1 long 2 short beeps | Video card issue, check if monitor cables are attached correctly. If nothing works, replace the video card |
| 1 long 3 short beeps | CPU failure, overheating, or other issues |
| 1 high-pitch and 1 low-pitch beep | CPU failure, overheating or other issues |
| 1 high-pitch beep | Overheating CPU |
| Repeated beeps | RAM issue |
AMI BIOS Beep Codes
| Beep Pattern | What’s the Issue / Hardware to Check |
| 1 short beep | DRAM refresh timer error, replace the RAM |
| 2 short beeps | Parity error needs to replace RAM |
| 3 short beeps | Base memory read/write error, need to replace RAM |
| 4 short beeps | Motherboard timer not working properly, reseat or replace the desktop memory module |
| 5 short beeps | CPU error, try reseating the CPU or any expansion card on your motherboard |
| 6 short beeps | 8042 Gate A20 test error, could be a faulty motherboard, expansion card, or a keyboard glitch. Try replacing the expansion card or reconnecting your keyboard |
| 7 short beeps | General exception error. It could be an expansion card, motherboard or failing CPU |
| 8 short beeps | Error with faulty video memory. Reseat the video card or replace it to fix this issue |
| 9 short beeps | ROM checksum error. Occurs due to a bad BIOS chip on the motherboard. The only way to fix this is to replace the motherboard |
| 10 short beeps | CMOS shutdown register read/write error. This could be due to an expansion card, but in most cases, you need to replace the motherboard |
| 11 short beeps | The cache memory test failed. This could be due to failing hardware or the motherboard itself |
| 1 long + 2 short beeps | Failure within the video memory on a graphics chip. Try to remove and reinstall the video card. If that doesn’t help, then replace the video card |
| 1 long + 3 short beeps | Failure above the 64 KB mark. Try to replace the RAM |
| 1 long + 8 short beeps | The video adapter test failed. Reseat the video card and connect any power cable it needs to run properly. If the problem still exists, then replace the video card |
| Siren | Could be a voltage or CPU fan problem. Inspect the CPU fan or voltage settings in your BIOS to fix this issue |
IBM BIOS Beep Codes
| Beep Pattern | What’s the Issue / Hardware to Check |
| 1 short beep | No issues during POST check |
| 2 short beeps | Check screen for error codes |
| Continuous beeps | Power supply/mobo/keyboard problem |
| Short repeating beeps | Low power to the motherboard |
| 1 long and 1 short beep | Motherboard issue |
| 1 long and 2 short beeps | GPU error |
| 1 long and 3 short beeps | Keyboard or GPU failure issue |
| 3 long beeps | No communication between the motherboard and the keyboard controller |
Macintosh BIOS Beep Codes
| Beep Pattern | What’s the Issue / Hardware to Check |
| 1 beep after every 5 seconds | No RAM found |
| 3 short beeps after every 5 seconds | RAM not passed the integrity check |
| 1 long beep | EFI ROM update in progress |
| 3 long, 2 short, and 3 long beeps | EFI ROM error |
Verdict
So if your PC is restarting with constant beeps or the PC beeps once and then restarts, then you should note down the sequence of those beeps to track the problem. But sure you identify your motherboard’s BIOS before you begin the troubleshooting process. Every BIOS signals a different pattern of beeps to let you know about the hardware that’s causing the issue. You can use the above tables to learn which hardware you need to deal with.
Hi, this is Masab, the Founder of PC Building Lab. I’m a PC enthusiast who loves to share the prior knowledge and experience that I have with computers. Well, troubleshooting computers is in my DNA, what else I could say….
