On Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Dale Snell <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:36:04 -0800 > Denis Heidtmann <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Upon powering up my desktop I get a double beep immediately on > > pushing the power button. This has started since making the > > following changes: > > > > I just removed a non-functional PATA DVD reader/writer and replaced > > it with a SATA DVD reader/writer. I remove the PATA cable as well, > > since there are no other drives using it. The only other thing I did > > was to slightly re-position a temp sensor which controls the front > > fan on the case (the wires go directly to the fan, not to the MB.) > > > > I Googled for information. AMI bios seems to report a parity error > > in the lowest 64K memory by signaling with two short beeps. > > > > So I ran 100 passes of Memtest 86+ on the first 1M of memory. No > > failures. > > > > > > Below is part of dmidecode's result for my system. As an aside, I am > > confused as tow what bios version this is: 2.5, 0907, or 8.14. > > > > Advice? > > > > Thanks, > > -Denis > > > > # dmidecode 2.9 > > > > SMBIOS 2.5 present. > > 73 structures occupying 2488 bytes. > > Table at 0x0009F000. > > > > Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes > > BIOS Information > > Vendor: American Megatrends Inc. > > Version: 0907 > > Release Date: 01/13/2009 > > Address: 0xF0000 > > Runtime Size: 64 kB > > ROM Size: 1024 kB > > Characteristics: > > ISA is supported > > ................ > > LS-120 boot is supported > > ATAPI Zip drive boot is supported > > BIOS boot specification is supported > > Targeted content distribution is supported > > BIOS Revision: 8.14 > > > The AMI BIOS and SMBIOS are two different things. The AMI BIOS is > the traditional BIOS program of the sort we all know and love > (*cough-cough*). The best way for me to describe the SMBIOS is to > quote from the relevant web page, <dmtf.org/standards/smbios>: > > "The SMBIOS Specification addresses how motherboard and system > vendors present management information about their products in a > standard format by extending the BIOS interface on x86 > architecture systems. The information is intended to allow generic > instrumentation to deliver this information to management > applications that use DMI, CIM or direct access, eliminating the > need for error prone operations like probing system hardware for > presence detection." > > > As for your memory problem, have you tried swapping DIMMs around? > Placing the bad RAM (if it exists) above the 64KB limit may keep > the motherboard from complaining. It won't fix anything, but at > least you'll be able to determine if it's a DIMM stick or not. > Also, try running a few passes of Memtest86+ on all of your > memory, not just the lower section. There may be an addressing > problem which won't show up with a partial test. > > Note that this may not be a memory problem, per se. > > * A marginal power supply can cause all sorts of strange symptoms. > At least a power supply is easy to swap out. > > * There could also be a corrupted setting in your CMOS RAM. Try > resetting the CMOS. (This happened to me, btw. I kept getting > memory failures from brand-new RAM. Eventually I reset the CMOS > and everything started working correctly. Oddly enough, the BIOS > screen did not report any changes in the memory settings.) > > * Along those same lines, is the CMOS battery up to snuff? If > it's not, you can see all sorts of weird problems. > > * Do you have any other boards plugged into your motherboard? If > so, try removing anything you don't need for booting, and see what > happens. If everything works, plug the boards back in, one at a > time, and see which one causes the problem. > > * Worst case, your motherboard could have chosen this particular > time to go belly-up. Not what you want to hear, I know. But it > could have been on the verge of failure, and switching it off and > on again was all that was needed to push it over the edge. > > Hope this helps, > > --Dale Thanks much. It does help, esp. to understand the meanings of the BIOS version references. But for the beeps: I unplugged the SATA cable from the DVD. Beeps continued. Unplugged the power to the DVD as well as its SATA cable. Beeps gone. It appears that the DVD itself either beeps or makes beep-like noises when it gets powered on. I guess someone with better-trained ears would not have made the mistake of blaming the MB for DVD noises. As to the significance of the noise I have not a clue. I am going to ignore it. Thanks for all who offered advice. -Denis _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
