UPGRADING REPAIRING PCs

Table 3.8 Common Keystrokes Used to Access the BIOS Setup
Program Continued
BIOS Keystrokes Notes
IBM BIOS Ctrl+Alt+Ins*F1 *—Early notebook models; press when cursor
is in upper-right corner of screen
Compaq BIOS F10* Keystroke actually loads Compaq Setup program
from hard disk partition; press when
cursor is in upper-right corner of screen
Note
How the BIOS Reports Errors 83
See Chapter 5 of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 12th Edition to
see how a typical BIOS Setup program operates.
How the BIOS Reports Errors
The BIOS will use three methods for reporting errors: beep codes,
error/status codes, and onscreen messages. Error/status codes must
be read with a special interface board, whereas the others require
no special equipment.
BIOS Beep Codes and Their Purposes
Virtually all systems make a polite “beep” noise when started, but
most systems have a special series of beep codes that serve the following
purposes.
Beeps alert you to serious system problems, many of which can prevent
your system from even starting (a so-called fatal error) or from
working to its full potential (a so-called non-fatal error).
Because most fatal and many non-fatal errors take place before the
video subsystem is initialized (or might indicate the video isn’t
working), beeps can be used to determine the cause of the problem.
A system that can’t start and is reporting a problem with beep
codes will give the code once and then halt. To hear the code
again, restart the computer.
Use the following tables of beep codes to determine why your system
will not start. To solve the problem reported by the beep codes,
repair or replace the device listed in the description. If your repair
or replacement has solved the problem, the beep code will no
longer sound when you restart the system.
For errors involving removable devices (socketed chips, memory, or
video), an easy fix is to remove and replace the item because a
device that’s not securely in its socket will cause the test to fail.