beeps on power up

[fhm1083]

hello my system beeps three times when i start up. one long then two short. this does not happen all the time. only when left off for a few hours then rebooted. but if i shut down then restart in a row it will boot up fine. i was wondering if this was a video problem. also could it be the power supply. when it does the beeps it will shut down automatically. and it doesnt got through the post.

[Paleo Pete]

Beep Codes (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/award.htm) says it's a video problem, if it'a Award BIOS. Can also be a motherboard problem.

The PC Guide's Beep Codes (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/index.htm) covers Award and AMI.

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[tk421]

When a computer has problems booting up like this (i.e., it doesn't boot up at first, but then it does on the second try), I'm inclined to believe it is either the motherboard or the power supply. If it's the power supply, then it's not supplying enough power when the system needs it. If it's the motherboard, then it's having trouble handling the stress of distributing power through it's cold circuits.

Is this accurate?

tk

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[Paleo Pete]

tk421: That depends on the symptoms. The beep code described here usually means something related to video. Either the video card is bad or is not getting a good connection.

Other beep codes will indicate bad memory, sometimes bad motherboard, wrong CMOS configuration, missing keyboard and other problems.

In a case like this where it will boot on the second try, yes it could be related to power supply, motherboard or a card wearing out. I would hesitate to say it's the motherboard, but that is a possibility as well. With the beep code mentioned, I would think it's a problem with the video card, if it wears out, or electronic components on the card are going bad it would probably act the same way.

There again, the beep code also sometimes means motherboard problem, so it may turn into trial and error...I would try a different video card first, and see if that makes a difference. Try reseating it too.

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