Motherboard beeps have many combinations. It is very common for computers to express the problems of a motherboard with a combination of short and long beeps. There is an extensive list of combinations that shows which beep combination means what.
2 short beeps and 1 long beep usually mean a problem with the video card or video ram also known as v-ram. This beep can also happen in vice versa; which means, 1 long beep first then followed up with 2 short beeps.
AMI & AWARD Bios Beep Codes
When comes to bios two main producers make bios chips. One is AMI or American Megatrends Inc. and the other is AWARD which is a bios manufacturer under Phoenix Technology.
Of course, there are other bios manufacturers out there other than these two. They may have their own list of combinations but for now, we will focus on the two biggest manufacturers which are the AMI and the AWARD. Then we will discuss how to face and fix other manufacturer bios if that starts beeping.
American Megatrends (AMI) Bios
AMI is the first and most known bios producer in the market. Even these days you can find many computers that say “American Megatrends” on the booting screen. AMI has its list of beeps combinations that it uses. Some of the most used ones are listed below:
1 Long beep 2 Short beeps – Video Card Memory Issue
1 Long beep 3 Short beeps – Extended Memory / Ram Issue
1 Short beep – DRAM Refresh Failure
4 Short beep – System Timer Failure
Phoenix Technology (AWARD) Bios
Phoenix Technology while not as big as American Megatrend, still holds a pretty good chunk of the bios market. And for better or worse, they have their beep combination that may or may not match with the AMI bios. Some of their beep combinations are:
1 Long beep 2 Short beeps – Indicates Video Error
1 Long beep 3 Short beeps – Video Card not Detected
Endless Beeping – RAM Problem
Repeating High frequency beeps – Overheating Issue
2 Short Beeps and 1 Long Beep – Problem and Fixes for AMI, AWARD & Others
As we have discussed, 1 long beep and 2 short beeps indicate slightly different problems depending on AMI or AWARD bios. Fortunately, for us, the problem is similar enough to use the same kind of fixes for both of the bios.
In both cases, we need to apply several fixes to find out which one fixes our problem. That is because there are several reasons a video error or video card memory error can happen. And until you fix it, there is no way of knowing which the actual problem is.
Fixing 1 Long Beep 2 Short Beeps for AMI & AWARD
To fix the problem, we will start with the easiest step. For this, check the HDMI or VGA cable that connects your CPU to the monitor. A bad or loose cable can be the source of your problem since it won’t connect the pc to the monitor. Thus it will not show anything and beep.
If the pc starts even after beeping then you can try updating your GPU drivers to the latest version. Both Nvidia and AMD provide free driver updates on their respective site. Or you can use the G-force experience or similar kind of software to keep your drivers updated.
If that doesn’t fix the problem we have to go inside the CPU to check the video card and its ports. First, open up the CPU and take out the GPU. Try to clean it with air in case the dust is interfering with the signal. Then clean the ports the same way with air. Then put it back together.
If the problem lies with the port or connection the problem will be fixed. But if it still shows the same problem you need to connect the GPU to another computer to check if the GPU is fine or not. Alternatively, if you have any extra GPU you can plug it in to check if that one works properly.
If the other GPU works or your GPU shows the same problem on the other pc, then the problem lies within your GPU and you may need to change it. But if it doesn’t happen, the problem may lie with the motherboard and you might need to change it. In this case, it is better to go to a store to get it checked properly.
If you do not have any of the equipment or missing a few, the online store is one tap away.
Fixing the Same Beeps in Other Bios
If your system doesn’t have the AMI or AWARD bios then you need to find the manual that comes with your pc. There you can find the beeping codes for errors. Or if you know which manufacturer is your bios from you can search them up and their beeping code through Google. Then fix it accordingly.
If you can’t find any of that you can just brute force solve the problem by going through all fixes of all the beeping codes since there are not many of them.
As a tip, you can check your RAM and GPU first since they are more likely to be the cause of the problem. Take out your ram and clean the golden parts with an eraser will help if the problem is with the RAM.
Also, you can use AMI or AWARD codes as a base to solve the problem since the beeping code usually does not vary too much. It is possible if you follow AMI or AWARD codes it may fix the problem you are facing too. Or you can just take it to an expert to fix it.
Conclusion
1 long beep and 2 short beeps usually indicate a video card or video memory-related error. Checking the video card, swapping it with a spear one, or plugging the video card into another computer is the fastest way to find out if the card is faulty or not. But before that, you should try to see if the problem is software or connecting related.
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