Initial Boot "Beep" Codes... What Do They Mean??

[GlassDaddy90]

I have the shell of what used to be my sisters PC. I upgraded it for her and kept the remaining parts (AMD 350 K6-2, 128 PC100, AT Case, 3GB HD). I got on Ebay and bought the other components that I would need to peice it back together into a starter PC for my 3-year old son. After it was all assembled and I went to boot it up, it wouldn't. Instead I got a specific beep pattern from the system PC speaker and I do not know what it means. I don't have the original manual, but did go to the motherboards website and download the .pdf version. It is a Matsonic 6260 Socket 7 motherboard. However, the manual doesnt talk about beep patterns to be able to interpret it.

Does anyone know where I can find definitions of beep patterns specific to the Matsonic motherboards? Or maybe someone may know what this pattern means....

(In number of beeps) 2 very quick ones and a one second pause, then 8 quick ones and about a three or four second pause, then 2 more quick ones, a short pause and 1 more beep. So it looks like this...

2-8-2-1

Then they stop. The monitor never gets a picture during the boot attempts, it remains in standby mode. I have tried unplugging all cards except the video card. I even tried a second video card to no avail. I have unplugged all drives except the HD with no luck. I borrowed a new stick of PC100 from my neighbor and it didn't make any difference. The last thing I can think of is the CPU, but I have read where if your CPU is dead, you will get no beeps.

The crazy thing about all of this is that this system was working when I upgraded my sisters PC just 1 month ago. Now all of the sudden it seems to be caput.

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Trashman]

Beep codes vary from BIOS manufacturer....don't have a clue what BIOS that board has but you can try here....beepcodes.
If not, try a search with google for beep codes.

 

[GlassDaddy90]

I've got the AMIBIOS on my Matsonic 6260S. Any other ideas? I've swapped out everything except the CPU and Mobo. Memeory check good. Please help!

 

[DieHardware]

Here's Matsonic's AMI beepcode link.

 

[GlassDaddy90]

Thanks for the reply. I found that source a little earlier this morning and unfortunately, it didn't help. The thing that is getting to me is that every 'beep code' source doesn't list this particular pattern, or even the total amount of beeps present. I am getting a total of13 beeps, but in a 2-8-2-1 pattern. Weird. I guess I just need to sh_tcan this board and get another.

This leads me to another question....this motherboard has the big round plug for the keyboard. What are these motherboards called? It is an AT case and power supply, but the motherboard accepts both AT and ATX input. Does this style of mobo have a specific name? All the other ports like PS2, USB, Serial, are all plugged in using a cable to the motherboard and fit into a slot towards the rear by PCI cards. Thanks!

 

[DieHardware]

Does the sticker on the BIOS chip say AMI? If it were a Phoenix BIOS two beeps followed by various combinations would mean first 64K RAM Chip/Data Line failure. Tried the memory in a different slot? Have you tried the other usual things like clearing CMOS, and rechecking all cables and other connections?

If you do look for another MB and you want to reuse the case/PSU you'll need another AT(or baby-AT) MB.

 

[GlassDaddy90]

Yea, the BIOS chip says AMIBIOS, but I have read where the Poenix BIOS have the initial 2 beeps followed by a certain pattern. It seems that the beeps I am getting are a closer match to the Phoenix BIOS, but I dunno. I am going to just R2 the mobo and see what happens. Thanks for the tips!