Recently, I swapped out the video card on one of my machines, and at the same time bumped up the memory by adding another two GB of RAM. A fairly simple operation which was followed, unfortunately, by a not so simple series of BSODs, system lockups, failure to boot, and the usual – “what’s going on here”, frown.
All of these problems were intermittent, and I eventually solved the issue by re-swapping components in and out. In the end, the culprit was a bad piece of RAM (actually, a RAM compatibility issue).
While going through this mildly frustrating experience, I got a bit of a test on my knowledge of BIOS beep codes. I have to admit – I barely got a passing grade. But, as it turns out, there was an upside to this exercise – I found a nice piece of free software which is designed specifically to translate BIOS beep codes; displayed in a very functional GUI.
Rizone Beep Codes Viewer 0.0.1.168, is a simple portable tool (save it to a USB stick), that will explain the BIOS error beep codes for all the main PC BIOS manufacturers (AMI, AWARD, Phoenix, IBM).
Following the application launch, click on your BIOS type – select the beep code, and you’ll be provided with a detailed diagnosis of the problem; including a recommended solution.
System requirements: Windows 2000, Win 7, Server, Vista, XP – (32 and 64 bit).
Download at: PC Advisor UK
This is a terrific free application and a worthwhile addition to your troubleshooting tool box.
If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.