I was told you guys may be able to help

[doormouse]

I've had, for the last week or so, beeping coming from my tower.

I've changed the battery on the mother board, but it hasn't stopped. It has (normally) started at 5.45pm on the dot and lasted for an hour, yet tonight it started at 8.45pm

Last night, I disconnected power to stop the beeps because it worked the night before, but since then I've only been able to start in safe mode.

I've stopped dll (?) on start up, because I've had trouble with that once before and it fixed it. This time with no luck.

I've done scan disk, defrag... It's not my PC. It's beeping now, and ctrl+alt+del doesn't show what's making the noise. Nor, did going into device manager show any conflict. I'm at a loss.



Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Spenser41]

Need a few more details

One - how old is the computer?
two - what version of windows?
Three - how many hours is it on before it starts making the beeping noise?
Four - is it just making the beeping noise or does other things start to happen as well and what are they?
Five - when you have the side of your computer open and turn on the computer are the fans spinning on the CPU and can you feel air coming from the power supply? (the back of the computer)
Six - Is the noise beeping or high pitched whinging?
Seven - what programs are you in or have open when this starts?

This will help pinpoint what is going on.

 

[Weird Harold]

I've changed the battery on the mother board, but it hasn't stopped. It has (normally) started at 5.45pm on the dot and lasted for an hour, yet tonight it started at 8.45pm

Is the time reference from the computer's clock or your watch? (i.e. could the computer have thought it was 5:45 whenit was actually 8:45?)

Does the beeping continue if you shut-down the computer?

Does it still beep during boot-up. Can you tell at what point the beeping starts on boot-up and/or stops during shutdown?

If you're still stuck in Safe Mode, you'll probbly have to reload Windows 98 from the original CD or use the Restore Disk that came with the computer. (make sure you back-up any data and program files you don't have installation disks for.)


What brand and model is the computer?

 

[HoldenMcCrank]

quick guess

I am guessing that the fan that cools your cpu is bad and that there is a warning "beep" to notify you of this. Take the case off and see if there is a fan over the CPU and if it is working. Also check to see if the fan on you Power supply is working too.

Good luck
Holden

 

[doormouse]

Re: Re: I was told you guys may be able to help

Is the time reference from the computer's clock or your watch? (i.e. could the computer have thought it was 5:45 whenit was actually 8:45?)

Does the beeping continue if you shut-down the computer?

Does it still beep during boot-up. Can you tell at what point the beeping starts on boot-up and/or stops during shutdown?

If you're still stuck in Safe Mode, you'll probbly have to reload Windows 98 from the original CD or use the Restore Disk that came with the computer. (make sure you back-up any data and program files you don't have installation disks for.)


What brand and model is the computer?

Yours is easiest to answer first.

During bootup, it beeps. It lasts for 59 minutes exactly.

I don't have the original CD, it's my sister's PC who bought it second hand. I've made a copy disk, will that work?

I've just updated, so the disk is from my old system.

 

[doormouse]

Re: Need a few more details

One - how old is the computer?

5 years, I think


two - what version of windows?

98


Three - how many hours is it on before it starts making the beeping noise?

I leave my PC on all day... it just starts the same time everyday


Four - is it just making the beeping noise or does other things start to happen as well and what are they?

Yahoo is on, but that's all... I can't recall if it's been on everytime it's beeped though.


Five - when you have the side of your computer open and turn on the computer are the fans spinning on the CPU and can you feel air coming from the power supply? (the back of the computer)

Yes, that was the first thing I cleaned.


Six - Is the noise beeping or high pitched whinging?

Beeping. It sounds like a reversing beeper, same speed too.


Seven - what programs are you in or have open when this starts?

This place and yahoo. I've tried ctrl+alt+del to see what's operating, it doesn't show, nor does it show a hardware conflict *sigh*

This will help pinpoint what is going on.

 

[SIC]

does the beep sound change ? like a long beep and then a short one? in other words is it a beep code ? Also this my sound weird but does the sound happen after you start to scroll with your mouse?

 

[Mary Hall]

My comp never beeps or makes noises like that, if it does that means something bad is wrong....not that i know shit about comps

 

[fgarvb1]

Give this link a look.

http://www.tribbs.co.uk/showtip.php?myID=108&start=3


A lot of them.

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=computer+beeps




Computer and Internet Articles


Beeps! Your computer is telling you something.

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By: Michael List

One beep from your computer at startup can make your whole day. Just ask anyone that has turned on the PC and suffered the agony of several beeps and then nothing.

When you purchase a computer, it will arrive with the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), pre-installed on an EPROM (Erasable Programmable read Only Memory), chip on the main/motherboard. When you start your computer the CPU (Central Processing Unit), sends control of the PC to the EPROM BIOS. The BIOS is part of the POST (Power-On Self Test) of the computer. Once the BIOS receives the go ahead from the processor it starts its magical journey through all the components and peripheral devices attached to the computer. CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor), hold the data that is accessed by the BIOS setup. Basically, the CMOS is the reason that you can unplug your computer and retain the startup and BIOS information. CMOS is maintained on the motherboard in an always-on state supported by a battery installed on the main board.

Much like the human mind, when we wake up in the morning our brain remembers that we have eyes, ears, a nose and so on. We know the town we live in. You can go to work, stop by the post office, the grocery store and back home without having to spend time perusing a map for directions to each one. Your computer works much the same way. Without a memory device to instruct the computer on whats where, the operating system and other software would literally have to take the time to locate each part of the PC and its components every time they are loaded. Fortunately, the BIOS take care of that for the processor, operating system and components.

How the BIOS works. Every computer comes pre-loaded with the BIOS on the motherboard. Motherboard manufacturers work long hours with BIOS manufacturers to make sure the information in the BIOS is specific to the needs and components of the motherboard. Although there are a number of BIOS manufacturers, the two most popular are AMI (American Megatrends Incorp.) and VIA. BIOS simply put, is a program and not an actual device. It is the software that informs the computer at startup of all the devices (input and output) attached to the PC. The BIOS also lets you know when there is a problem. It accomplishes this by checking for known devices and makes sure they are still attached. When the BIOS detect a problem it sends a series of beeps to the motherboard speaker. This series informs the user of what the problem is, at least as well as the BIOS can determine. Lets say your video card has gone the way of the XT model computer, the BIOS senses that it has died or is not installed. The BIOS sends a series of beeps to the onboard PC speaker to inform you of the problem. Pretty neat! The problem is that no manufacturer of BIOS uses the same beep series. This is why it is important for you to know the BIOS software manufacturer for your specific PC. Well explain how to find this out later.

How do I know if the BIOS are working? Thats easy, if your computer starts and you get a single short beep, the BIOS is working and has found and relayed the information about the input/output devices to the CPU. If you turn on your computer and nothing happens at all, the problem is probably in your power supply (this assumes that you have it plugged in properly) the BIOS is probably still working but the computer cant start because of a power problem. If all is well, the BIOS will find all the attached input/output devices, send a single short beep to the internal speaker and the computer will start the boot process.

OK, so whos the boss? BIOS, CMOS or POST? If we must choose, it would be the (Power-on, Self-test), POST. The POST is simply the process of the BIOS using the information from CMOS to start the computer. Remember, the BIOS information is stored in CMOS memory maintained by an onboard battery.

Three ways to change and/or update the BIOS. Unlike ROM (read-only memory) the EPROM BIOS can be changed or updated. The term for changing the EPROM software is referred to as flashing. You may have over heard someone say that they need to flash the BIOS with a new update. Dont worry if you have never heard this, well, maybe you should worry a little. Computer components change on a daily basis and the BIOS needs to be flexible enough to be able to change with them. All computers allow the user to change the BIOS software and how the computer reacts to input/output devices.

The standard is to offer the user a way in to the software via a hotkey at startup. Normally this hotkey is the F2 key, the Del (Delete) key and in some cases the F1 key or a combination of keys. Start your computer and watch the bottom left corner on the screen. This should let you know which key to press to enter the BIOS setup. The BIOS setup, sometimes called the CMOS setup, allow the user to make changes on the fly and save them. Lets say you added an external modem to your PC on Communication serial port number 1(Comm1), and no matter how many times you install the drivers, you cant get the PC or Windows to recognize it. Chances are that the BIOS does not know that the modem exists. Entering the BIOS setup and changing it to allow the use of Comm1 will fix the problem and let the PC know that a device exists on that port. This is the most common use of the BIOS setup and also the easiest to do. WARNING: it is just as easy to totally screw up your system by making changes in the BIOS setup. So be careful and make sure you know how and what to change. Changing the wrong settings can render your computer useless.

There, we warned you twice, thats because we want you to think twice before you change the BIOS. Second is the Flash BIOS update from the manufacturer of the BIOS. This is a software program that the manufacturer of the BIOS sends out periodically to insure the BIOS conform to new equipment and standards. You can normally get this software upgrade for the manufacturer and sometimes from the motherboard manufacturer. Be carefulbe very careful installing the software and be positive that it is for your specific BIOS. Always follow the manufacturers instructions exactly. The third way is replacing the BIOS chip. Replacing the chip may be your only recourse and should be left to professional computer repairmen.

How do I know which BIOS I have? That also easy, the computer will actually tell you. If youre fast enough, you will see the BIOS name and version on the screen the moment you turn it on. If you are not a speed-reader you can access the BIOS setup and retrieve the information from the setup program. You may also contact the motherboard manufacturer and find which BIOS was installed on that board.

As stated earlier, the beeps mean something. They can give you information on problems that the BIOS encounters. Contact your BIOS manufacturer to find out what each beep series means. Armed with this information you may be able to figure out why your PC has stopped working and avoid scratching your head and noticing this huge question mark hovering over your PC. www.mpl1.com

About the author: Michael is a Network Systems Administrator and Web Master. You can find additional articles and computer support at MPl1.com
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[Weird Harold]

Re: Re: Re: I was told you guys may be able to help

During bootup, it beeps. It lasts for 59 minutes exactly.

Boot-up lasts about two or three minutes on most machines -- can you narrow down what point in the boot-up it starts?

If it starts before you get the "loading windows 98" notice, it is NOT a windows or program problem.

Ontheother hand, if it doesn't start until you get the loading windows notice, it IS a windows or program problem.

I don't have the original CD, it's my sister's PC who bought it second hand. I've made a copy disk, will that work?

I've just updated, so the disk is from my old system.

I can't say whether a copy of the Windows disk from your computer will work or not without knowing the brand and model of your sister's computer. A generic Windows 98 CD won't work on most Compaq or HP computers, for example.

A copy of a Windows 98 CD will work in many cases, as long as you have the correct product code for the CD. (I actually use a copy of my Windows CD on a second hard disk for reinstallations and repairs.)

 

[Spenser41]

You made a comment about how this was your sister's old computer. You also said it is a 2nd hand computer. If you did not get the orginal disks for this computer, and you used your disks, this could be some of the problems you are having. Without the orginal disks, you may have the wrong drivers for video, sound and many other hardware issues. This would cause conflicts with the Bios and the beeping could be coming from that.
If this is a brand name computer, go to that manufactors web site and see if you can download all of the drivers.
If this is a home grown computer, you may have to have a tech friend come in and trouble shoot what could be causing the conflicts.
This is the problem with old computers where the orginal disks never come with it.
Personally if this computer is 5 yrs old, I would just ditch it and go with a newer computer. Trying to get the old drivers when you have no idea what hardware is inside can be a real pain in the ass.

 

[doormouse]

Thanks.

I get mine back tomorrow, so putting hers in the shop.
Going by all the sites re: the beeps, it's a memory or video problem in the BIOS.

I'll let the professionals fix it.

Thanks everyone for your help.