Beep codes, POST Cards and PSU Testers
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- In this video from ITFreeTraining, I will be looking at some of the tools that you can use to troubleshoot a computer that is failing to start up. These tools will allow you to fix problems you may not have normally been able to and potentially speed up the troubleshooting process.
Download the PDF handout: itfreetraining.com/handouts/ap...
In This Video
0:16 Generally, when a computer is failing to start up, you will get a black screen. To troubleshoot this, I will first look at a power supply tester. If you have a dead computer, the power supply tester will quickly allow you to test if the power supply is the problem. The power supply tester will also allow you to test for a power supply that is malfunctioning, for example not out putting the correct voltages.
Next, I will look at the start-up beeps. Shown here is an example of a PC speaker that can be plugged into a motherboard. When there is a problem, the PC speaker is used to emit a number of beeps. The number of beeps will inform you what the problem may be. You may also get a text message giving you an idea what the problem is.
Although beep codes and text errors are useful, sometimes these can be misleading or maybe all you are getting is a black screen and no beeps. For example, a malfunctioning device can disrupt the POST process forcing the computer into an endless loop. This can look like the computer is dead when in fact it is not.
The next tool that I will look at is a POST card. The POST card plugs into the motherboard. The POST card contains a number of light-emitting diodes that display information about the computer. However, most importantly it displays a code which indicates which device the POST is currently testing. This information can be invaluable in the troubleshooting process.
The problem that you will come across is trying to find documentation for what the codes mean. Every BIOS manufacturer and different versions of BIOS will use different codes. To start with, I will have a look at the power supply tester.
Power Supply Tester
2:03 When troubleshooting, consider it as a logical problem. Most of the time a failed component will be causing the problem and will need to be replaced. On rare occasions you may have two failed components, but usually it will be only the one. It is just a matter of working out which component is not working. To do this, often it helps to find out what is working, eliminate it leaving what is left as possibly faulty.
The power supply tester allows you to test a power supply and its cables to ensure it is working and outputting the correct voltages. Shown here is the power supply tester. You can see next to it the powers supply that I will be testing.
To start with, I will locate the P1 or ATX connector and plug it into the power supply tester and switch on the power supply. This is a 20 or 24-pin connector. Later in the course I will be going into more detail about the different connectors used inside a computer. It is the largest connector attached to the power supply and plugs into the motherboard, so it is easy to find.
You will notice that once it is plugged in, the LCD screen lights up and shows all the voltages the power supply is currently outputting. For positive voltages the tolerance is five percent and for negative voltages it is ten percent. The PG, or power good signal, needs to be between 100 and 500 milliseconds. The power good signal is a signal given to the motherboard when it is switched on and has had time to stabilize. When the power is cut to the power supply, the power good signal should drop immediately. The power supply will still have some power stored in its capacitors. This gives the computer a few milliseconds notice that the power has been switched off and it is running off capacitors. This very small amount of notice gives the computer a very small amount of time to shut down its components.
You can hear that the power supply tester is beeping. On the screen there are two L’s flashing. If you get an LL or HH on the screen there is a problem with the power supply. In this case however, I know the problem is that I need to plug in the P4, otherwise known as the EPS connector.
As CPUs started using more power, the P1 connector could not provide enough power to the motherboard. Thus, a 4-pin or 8-pin connector was added. In some cases, your 8-pin connector may be able to be divided into two 4-pin connectors.
Description to long for CZcams. Please see the following link for the rest of the description itfreetraining.com/ap/1b67
References
“CompTIA A+ Certification Exam Guide Tenth Edition” pages 193-216
“ATX” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX
Credits
Trainer: Austin Mason ITFreeTraining.com
Voice Talent: HP Lewis hplewis.com
Quality Assurance: Brett Batson www.pbb-proofreading.uk
Absolutely, excellent and very informing video. Great, soothing and calming voice. Thank you, very much for the great effort you have put in to share your knowledge with us.
Thank you kindly!
A very useful video ... Thank you very much ... I hope that you will prepare for us a full course in which you will present all the potentiel scenarios to solve the problems ... Once again, thank you very much, my honorable sir
Thanks for watching.
This video was awesome this is the part of IT training i like the tools! Thanks for the video
Thanks for watching.
Awesome vid, So Grateful!!
Thanks for watching.
Serious expertise! I have built 20 or so PCs (I am an amateur) but the level this is pitched at is just superlative.
How totruobke shoot memory one short and one long beep
Glad we could help.
Your video was awesome and quite informative. The only thing that you missed was...you mentioned that now I will test the 6 pin connector (graphics card) and didn't do it. I wanted to know what lights are supposed to come on. On the PSU I'm testing no lights came on and I don't know if that's good. I will check another YT video to find this out. You might want to add this in...Otherwise I love the whole video which taught me everything else I needed to know. Thanks, JimmyB
Sorry about that. You can see in the middle of the LCD screen on the bottom a value that is flashing. When you plug the 6 pin connector in, this will show a reading.
Outstanding!
Glad you like it!
Is there a reason to be concerned with a 80ms PG signal result on a psu test?
Really thank verry much big time good Sir and great teacher
Most welcome
thanks , That was very useful
Thanks for watching.
Nice video
Thanks
❤❤❤ thank you for your effort
Thanks for watching.
great video
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for explaining. Now i understand where is the + on the MOBO Buzzer lol :)
Glad to help!
Do I still need to use a PC speaker on modern motherboards such as Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI motherboard? Thanks for your video.
The PC speaker is really only for beeps when the computer starts up. So, you don't really need it, however useful to help diagnose problems with your computer.
@@itfreetraining If I ever need to build another PC (I doubt I will since I'm almost 70 y/o), I will add without a doubt a PC speaker! Thanks for all your comments.
I hope you dont need to build a new pc either because none of today's motherboards have motherboard speaker ports or debug LEDs. Manufacturers have raised prices and removed common features.
I wouldnt rely on the PSU tester because even though it may show good initial voltage levels - this is established without any load and as components age like capacitors these values can and often do can make regulation go out of spec in use and manifest themselves as a random lockup and or reboot, the speaker is handy though, but these days most beeps refer to memory or gpu issues.... and the post card is handy under certain conditions but again shouldnt be relied on as not all manufacturers send post codes to the pci or pcie slots, some will send them via the LPC pins instead...this is why a few recent POST cards have LPC connectors on them but care must be taken because manufacturers can have a different LPC pinout
All true. Generally just like the PUS tester to quickly test the power supply is not dead.
What does it mean when I unplug my cpu and the beeping stops
Funni
could be that when your cpu is installed...your cpu closes the circuits and thus somewhere along the line something has gone bad (bad rams..chipset etc) and thus getting beeps..when u unninstall the cpu..you dont get any beeps since there is nothing in the socket to close the circuits..
lol
I have the same teste and I get PG blinking and tester beeping constantly. PG value = 170ms. Is my psu faulty?
This means that the power supply is operating outside what is consider normal. Under the standard it should go good before 100ms and remain after 16 after power lost.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_good_signal
Some cheap power supplies have problems regulating power when the power supply is not under load. You may find that if you connected some fans or hard disks while testing the problem may disappear.
The power supply tester is good for doing a quick check, but does not give a good indication of how the power supply will work under load.
I have this PC where when I turn it on and there is no display. Fans, graphics card, HDD's seem to run.
I have reseated RAM, cleared CMOS, installed different graphics cards and used different outputs. A couple of things to note, if I leave the computer for awhile I won't be able to turn on the computer on the power switch and I can only get it to start shorting the CMOS pins. Also, I hear no beep (not sure whether the motherboard has a beeper). Any idea on where to troubleshoot for next,
Hmnm, interesting problem. It could be a number of different things. I would have a look at the motherboard and see if there are any damaged components. For example, damaged capacitors. It could also be the CPU, if the CPU is having problems you won't get any beeps since it needs the CPU you the BIOS code.
@@itfreetraining Thanks for the reply! So in context, this motherboard I'm trying on currently to start is an older motherboard.
I transferred every current component onto this older motherboard out of a newer motherboard as I suspected that was defective (with this one, it was even worse when I switch it on as there will be barely a flicker of fan movement but nothing happens.)
Thank you for the CPU suggestion, I'm also beginning to suspect it.
@@itfreetraining Oh no, so I took the effort to place all the components back into the newer motherboard to test the board again and when I turned on shorting the power switch with a screwdriver a chip SPARKED and then started burning smoke! This isnt the first time I heard a loud pop but this time I was able to see one of the chips glow red and smoke out. It can boot up now but only for a short until it it shuts off, I think it's a goner.
Here's the picture with the higlighted chip in red - Chip imgur.com/gallery/5BKrCWj
I placed back everything into the old motherboard and everything seems to run like before (minus no display of course). Thank goodness.
Any idea of what chip that blew up?
@@powerfultoa7 Looking at the chip next to this is K412 on it.
www.datasheetcafe.com/k4212-datasheet-mosfet/
So I think it is a MOSFET chip
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET
Given that it is so close to the CPU and appears there is a few of them I am going to take a guess that it is for voltage regulation. This would probably explain why the motherboard starts up and but due to the chip being damaged it can't control the voltage to the CPU properly.
It is tricky to replace chips on a motherboard, so I would probably suggest guessing a new motherboard.
@@itfreetraining Thank you so so much! I'm just glad I was able to have a clue of what might be wrong. No matter, it's an old board anyways but I'm happy to learn from the experience, thanks a lot!
Is there a way to test the internal pc speaker without using the motherboard?
It is essentially just a speaker so if you wire it up to a device that has a speaker output it should work. Needs to be speaker however, not a line out.
My computer randomly shuts down after awhile and successfully pass memtest86 before and and now when testing memtest86 it shuts down after some passes. The Systemfan, CPU fan and hdd are spinning but the monitor is off,Power and Reset Switch are not working, Keyboard, mouse and lan LED are off. Tested it with older psu and even tested without hdd and still shutting down. i am wondering does this post card tester would help in troubleshooting my problem?
I don't think a post card would help. However it sounds like a problem with the CPU, power or capacitors. Since you have tried a different PSU and the screen goes black, sounds like it is the video card. I would have a look at the capacitors on the video card and see if they are damaged. That is, cracked or bulged at the top.
@@itfreetraining i forgot to tell idont have a videocard and i only have a ryzen2200g vega. the capacitors on the motherboard seems fine. is it possible to check the ez debug led manually? since i only have msi a320m a pro m2 which does not have led's on it.
Hi ,I get 1 beep ,but my computer dosnt start up ,what could the problem be ? thanks
Your motherboard is ON. and works perfectly. Reseat your monitor cables and try to reseat the graphics card (IF ANY) and try a diffrent monitor.
where are you going to plug or connect the bios beep?
The speaker connects to the IO Area on the motherboard.
I get 1 long beep and 2 short beeps but when I put my ram in I get 0 beeps and a black screen
1 long beep and 2 short beeps is generally a problem with RAM. If you pulled that RAM out that would explain it. If you are getting a black screen it is probably a problem with the video card. Try changing the video card or if you have a motherboard with a video driver try that and remove the video card.
I get three long beeps on my msi motherboard but it still boots. I don’t know what to do
Since the computer still boots, possible problem with RAM. Have a look to make sure all your memory is being detected. Also check to make sure that the channels are configured correct. For example, the memory modules are in the correct slots for dual channel.
Hi my pc doesn't beep i tried removing the ram and gpu but it still doesn't beep i tried different speaker and still no beep. My cpu fan is working but when i install gpu the gpu fan is not spinning what could be the problem?
It could be the beep is disabled in the UEFI setup or BIOS.
Wait, you say at 5:14 that you will now demonstrate testing the 6-pin PCI-E connector, but then do nothing of the sort.
Yeap, you are correct. We did say that and we never actually plugged it in. Sorry about that. Essentially you would unplug the 8P and then plug the 6P in. Thanks for pointing that out.
lol why did I have to scroll so far to find this comment or is everyone else too polite to mention?
pls help me my old computer ms7181 ver.2.0 has a 2 long beep problem
my mother board has a ddr1 memory card
First need to determine what the beeps means. Since different BIOSs and versions are different, first need to determine what BIOS and version you are running. It appears you may be running Phoenix BIOS. You can list of BIOS beep codes here which may help.
www.computerhope.com/beep.htm#phoenix
I am going to take a guess it is having a problem with the memory module. Try reseating it and if you have another one try a different memory module. If you have multiple memory modules, remove all and leave one for testing and test them one at a time to see if the problem goes away.
Theb asics may have been the same but the mobo is ancient. PCI connectors are no longer present on mobos that was not specifically built for compatibility with ancient hardware. This is not saying chipsets dropped support as they did not, there still is support for the fucking ISA bus even. I don't know whether or not pci-e to pci adapters will work with post code devices and pci-e post code monitors may not be compatible with every motherboard, so your best bet is the ones with the TPM connector header. I have never heard TPM cards not working.
Most consumer motherboards use AMI bios and codes are all the same between these.
The idea of the video is to get the point across how the post card works. You can get PCI express post cards as well (We do have one) and we could have used a newer motherboard, but wanted to get a few points across that were better on this motherboard. Mainly how problematic post codes could be. We could get hardware that works great with no problems, but I think you learn more by looking at motherboards that don't work as well. Basically we are trying to give the viewer troubleshooting techniques, not perfect real world situation requiring no troubleshooting. If you get something that works as expect that is great, but it is good to know how to deal with situations that are not perfect. Given that it is A+ certification, you do get tested on the old hardware as well as the new.
Here is a list of AMI bios codes
www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/amibios.htm
You can see there are at seven different sets of codes listed. So it all depends what motherboard you are using.
I like your voice it makes me feel relax 😁 thank you sir for the info anyways my problem is when i turn on my pc theres no display fan spinning but the heat sink is over heating idk if thats normal
It could be a problem with the video card. I would try a different video card. If the video card is embed, try installing a video card. If the heat sync is getting hot it means that it is doing it's job of removing heat from the CPU. If it is getting really, really hot there may be a problem with the CPU.
acer aspire 7600u 5 beeps ,, treid many solutions no luck. changed cmos battery and tried new ram.
I would take a guess it is the CPU. A lot of the time a failed CPU you won't get any beeps, but sometimes you will get some beeps.
Hi i Have a problem i Have Asus motherboard.I turn on the computer And it do short beep And no screen no signal idk what Is that pls help
Sounds like there is something wrong with the video. Check your video and monitor is working.
What does it mean when post card reads 4 dashes, no numbers?
Some cards will do that when you first switch the computer on. Others will do that when the computer is running normally. So if you computer has started up and running normally and you get four dashes I would not worry about it.
@@itfreetraining thanks! But it's totally NOT running fine. No POST beeps at all, no drive sounds, no signs of life but case fans and keyboard lights, all 3 "locks" green. Don't know where to start.
@@nichevo1 Work out what is working correctly and what is not. Start with the power supply. Are you able to test if that is working? Either swap it with a known good one or use a power supply tester.
@@itfreetraining it's working if the fans are spinning and the keyboard lights go on. Right? What would be next? Keep in mind I am not rich in 30 year old PC components LOL
@@nichevo1 That is generally a good sign. Is there any start up beeps? If not, is the PC speaker plugged in? Taking guess I would say it may be the video card.
सर, I t free training चैनल का नाम ही है या सर, फ्री ट्रेनिंग का आपका कोई इन्स्टीट्यूट है कृपया बताए।
Sorry, only have online training.
Oh well, finally my Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE motherboard is failing; thus, I wonder what so-called post card should I buy. Initially, this is how everything started:
1. install minimal components, cpu, cpu heatsink, fans, and video card.
2. turn on the PC, all fans working, but I got one beep, and 3 short beeps. Then, I found out that possibly the video card was not placed properly. At this point, let me say, I was able to stop the PC by pressing the power button for a few second, and I went to turn of the PSU and disconnected its power cord.
3. I checked the video card to make sure it was properly places in its PCIe slot.
4. Then, it got worse! When I turn on the PC, no beeps at all, and when I hold the power button for a few seconds, the PC didn't stop. Thus, I turn off the PSU, and disconnected the power cord. I repeated the test one more time, but same thing.
Now, I don't know if my CPU got damaged when I installed the heatsink, a Cooler Master Hyper 212 as I don't want to take it apart just yet. I'd appreciate anyone's help here, and thank you for your video.
No beeps a all could be cpu or memory. It also sounds like you may be having some problems with your video card. If your motherboard and CPU support integrated graphics, you can attempt to use on the on board video rather than the video card. I would also check the memory modules, make sure that are in the correct slot according to the manual. If you have multiple, try just one at a time. A lot of time the trouble shooting process is trying things to you work out what is causing the problem. If possible, remove everything can and try with the least amount of components and work your way from there.
@@itfreetraining Thank you. I finally figured it out, for the issue was caused by my GPU not being sat properly in its PCI slot.
My PG is 70ms, is that ok?
The power good value should be between 100 to 900 ms to be considered in spec. Thus, your value is out.
Essentially power good is the time the power supply takes to stabilize once it is switched on. In my opinion it would be worse if it was too high, but probably a sign your power supply is on the way out.
2024... No regular PCI Bus ... how to test?
This video we use a different post card which includes PCI express, LPC bus and others.
czcams.com/video/fuOg68A4Njw/video.html
I searched this for my project 😅
Glad we could help.
doesn't help an old 486 or socket 7 does it mate
The PC speaker can be used on a 486.
i always fix the beeping by throwing water over my motherboard