BIOS beeps

[RobertR.]

Yesterday when i turned on my PC, heard two beeps coming from my PC. What do they mean? I have a Pheonix BIOS chip. here are some other information you might need:

Brand name: HP
Model number: Pavilion a210n
Primary HDD: Western Digital 160gig (Upgraded from Maxtor 80gig)
Secondary HDD: Seagate 100gig (Add on)
Primary optical drive: Samsung DVD-ROM
Secondary optical drive: I/O Magic DVD-RW (Upgraded from CD-RW)
CPU: Intel(R) Celeron @ 2500 Mhz
Memory Installed: 512 MB (2x256) (upgraded from 256mb)
Chipset: Intel 2560 rev 3
OS: Windows XP Home edition
ACPI Revision: 1.0
BIOS Date: 04/25/03
BIOS Type: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0
BIOS ID: 31891.HPD.0000.D.0304251530
BIOS ROM In Socket: No

[edwin]

Imperial GLVE board. Chances are the board is dead. Check inside and look for symptoms like these:

http://www.badcaps.net

[RobertR.]

I checked the board for leaking and bulging caps. I did not see any of those and the board still boots up fine. It was only that one time i heard those beeps, but i havent heard them back.

[KachiWachi]

Be glad you don't hear them anymore.

They do mean something though. Search the Internet for "Beep Codes" and such....see what matches up with your BIOS.

Thanks.

[RobertR.]

I went to phoenix.com and found documentation on my BIOS and found that the beeps were for a checksum error. Is a checksum error nothing to worry about or is it a big issue?

[KachiWachi]

Hey...sometimes random stuff happens for no apparent reason.

Just keep your eyes open for repeat instances.

Thanks.

[edwin]

replace the CMOS battery if you want to be safe. Officially they should last between 3 and 10 years but your mileage may vary...

[RobertR.]

What kind of battery does the CMOS use?

[edwin]

3V lithium ion coin cell, model CR2032