troubleshooting your workstation

pre-boot diagnostics audio signal

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.

Number

Meaning

of Beeps

 

 

 

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

 

 

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.

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Chapter 3