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troubleshooting your workstation
pre-boot diagnostics audio signal
Chapter 364
pre-boot diagnostics audio signal
When your workstation starts up, the BIOS performs Pre-Boot
Diagnostics to test your hardware configuration for any problems. If a
problem is detected during pre-boot, the Pre-Boot Diagnostics will emit
an audio signal through the workstation’s internal speaker.
The Pre-Boot Diagnostics emits an audio sequence with two kinds of
sounds. The first is an unusual series of tones that indicate an anomaly
has been detected. This series of sounds also contains an electronic
signal that can be sent through a telephone line to an authorized help
desk or HP Support, if necessary. This signal cannot be interpreted by
the human ear. However, it can be decoded by help desk equipment to
extract the workstation model and serial number.
The second type of sound is a series of long beeps that indicate a
particular error. If you hear a series of beeps, you should count them as
this will help you detect the cause of the problem.
Please note that Memory (code 3), Video Card (code 4), and
PnP/workstation (code 5) errors will only be heard after a 15-second
delay.
if you miss the beep code
If you miss the beep code, turn off the workstation by pressing the on/off
power button for five seconds or more, then listen for the signal again.
Number
of Beeps
Meaning
1 Processor absent, not correctly connected or ZIF socket not closed
2 Power supply is in protected mode
3 No memory, bad memory modules, incompatible memory module
4 Graphics card problem
5 PnP/Workstation initialization problem
6 Corrupted BIOS. You need to activate crisis recovery procedure
7 Defective system board