Why does the computer beep and won't turn on?

All technology will fail sooner or later. As a regular PC you will have experienced this situation, when your computer won't stop beeping and won't start. This raises a number of questions: What's going on? How to solve it? Why did it squeak?

What and why does the PC beep?

To answer these questions, you must first understand which device is beeping. It is the loudspeaker, which is located in the system unit. The beep indicates to the that there is a hardware or software failure in the computer.

Normally, during a normal system boot, only a characteristic soft grinding noise is heard. In case of breakdown, there will be more. In the best case, you may see a black screen on which you will see English letters and symbols. By reading them, you will be able to understand the cause of the breakdown. There are cases where the computer beeps and the system cannot boot when you turn it on. Do not despair right away, as it will give us signals in this way to know at what level the failure has occurred.

What to do if your computer beeps and won't start:

1. Find out the BIOS version of your computer.
2. Count how many sounds the speaker plays.
3. Use the table to find your BIOS and see how many beeps identify the faulty device.
4. Borrow a similar part from a friend and install it in place of the faulty one. In most cases, the computer should turn on without issue.

BIOS: Concept and varieties

To identify a fault, you need to know the version of the BIOS, which is a whole series of firmware to run the hardware environment of your computer. There are several ways to find out the version. The most common is to consult the manual. If it is not available, remove the cover of the system unit and look for the chip labeled Bios on the motherboard, where you will find its name. If a black screen lights up at power on, the BIOS version is in the first entry, and you can also go to its settings by pressing the Del key. There are several types of BIOS: , AMI, Phoenix. These are just the most famous.

AWARD BIOS Signs

So you have found out the BIOS type of your system. Now it is easy to find out the cause of the problem. Let's look at some of the signs:

Number of beeps	Description
1 short	Standard situation, no faults observed
2 short	Minor errors during boot, which are usually not serious. They can be corrected using the CMOS setup utility. Check the fixation of the loop
3 lengths	Keyboard driver bugs
1 short, 1 long	There is a problem with the RAM. You must clean the s of the RAM plates
1 long, 2 short	Video card malfunction. You need to take it out, unplug the power supply, clean the s and put it back.
1 long, 3 short	Video memory failure
1 long, 9 short	Errors in reading the ROM
repeated short	Power supply problem
long repeat	RAM issues
Repetitive high-low frequency	U issues
Continuous	Power supply failures. First you have to clean the accumulated dust. If this does not help and the sounds are repeated, it must be changed.

AMI BIOS signals

Number of beeps	Description
1 short	Standard system boot. No faults or errors have been detected in its operation.
1 long, 1 short	Power supply faults
2 short	Check the RAM modules, there are malfunctions
3 short	There are errors in the operation of any component of the RAM
4 short	System timer is not working properly
5 short	Processor malfunction. If it cannot be rectified, it will most likely need to be replaced.
6 short	Controller keyboard issues
7 short circuit	The motherboard is not working properly
8 short circuit	Video memory malfunction
9 short	badly flashed bios
10 short	CMOS memory is not working properly or cannot be read
11 short	Cache errors on the motherboard
1 long, 2 short	Video card malfunction (Mono-CGA)
1 long, 3 short	Malfunction of the video card (EGA-VGA)
1 long, 8 short	Check the monitor connector, it may have come loose
Lost and blank screen	Processor malfunction. Probably a bent on the microcircuit. If the problem persists, you have to change the U
continuous beep	Power supply failure or computer overheating

Phoenix BIOS signals

We will solve the problems of this system with the help of signal codes. For example, the code 1 – 1 – 2 implies: 1 signal, pause, 1 signal, pause, 2 signals.

Number of beeps	Description
1-1-3	CMOS memory is not working properly
1-1-4	The BIOS checksum is incorrect. Chip may need to be re-flashed
1-2-1	Errors in the operation of the motherboard. If it can't be fixed, please completely replace it with a new one
1-2-2 o 1-2-3	Error in the operation of the DMA controller
1-3-1	RAM malfunction. Some memory modules need to be replaced
1-3-3 o 1-3-4	There was a failure to read the first 64 Kilobytes of RAM
1-4-1	Motherboard readiness level error. May need to be replaced
1-4-2	RAM malfunctions
1-4-3	The system timer is not working properly. If it cannot be repaired, you will have to replace the entire board
1-4-4	Malfunction of external devices. Read/write errors on one of the input/output ports.
2-1-1 – 2-4-4	An error occurred while reading/writing bits from the first 64 Kbytes of RAM
3-1-1 o 3-1-2 or 3-1-4	DMA channel detection failure
3-2-4	Faulty keyboard driver detection
3-3-4	Video memory malfunction
3-4-1	Monitor is not working properly
3-4-2	Unable to detect video card BIOS.
4-2-1	System timer malfunction. The motherboard will need to be repaired. If that doesn't help, replace it entirely
4-2-2	complete the test
4-2-3	Keyboard driver not working properly
4-2-4	Processor malfunction. May need to be replaced
4-3-1	RAM is not working properly
4-3-2	The first timer does not work correctly
4-3-3	Second timer not working properly
4-4-1	One of the serial ports is not detected
4-4-2	Parallel port not detected or faulty
4-4-3	Undefined math coprocessor
Long and uninterrupted signals	The motherboard has failed
High to low frequency siren sounds	Check the video card capacitors
continuous signal	Please check the U cooler connection or it is faulty.

Detect a failure without using the BIOS

All of the above troubleshooting methods are best done with the help of a competent technician. However, in some cases you can solve the problem yourself. If your unit beeps when it starts up, it does not always mean that a serious fault has occurred. You can check it using some simple methods:

• check that all external devices are well connected: keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner;
• Turn off the power to the computer, check the connectors on the motherboard, remove the RAM modules, remove the graphics card;
• Clean the dust on the motherboard (with a jet of air or a dry brush);
• Examine the motherboard for traces of combustion (there may be a characteristic odor);
• Replace all the removed components of the computer and turn it on.

The cause of the malfunction may have been excessive dust. Normally, when you turn the drive back on, everything will be fine again.

Conclusions

Many s have experienced the problem that the computer beeps and does not turn on. Above we considered why this happens. By checking the number and consistency of the signals, you can determine the cause yourself. But if you are still not sure of your conclusions, you should not resort to repairing the device yourself. You just have to a competent technician.