You’ve had computers that shut down and freeze all of a sudden. And then you’ve had all sorts of virus infection. You’re well on your way to finishing work and your deadline is barely an hour ahead. Now it’s no ordinary beep like a stopwatch beep—it’s almost like a grate.
So, how do you explain a computer beep?
Beep equals glitch
When your computer beeps it’s a sign that something’s obviously not in palace inside. The usual suspect is your PC’s BIOS. If not, your computer may have reached its terminal phase.
BIOS (basic input/output system) prepares your PC to run any software installed on its hard drive. BIOS makes your PC run CD ROMs and other devices. It’s natural to hear a beeping sound when BIOS boots up your PC. Your PC’s hard drives and files would be useless without BIOS.
When you turn on your PC there’s only one beep you hear—that’s when your PC’s booting. This is normal. An abnormal beep is a random beep that continues for a time. It can mean there’s an internal glitch inside but that it hasn’t reached a serious level yet. This may not affect your PC right away but the glitch will surely creep in. The most common response is to turn your PC off and reboot it. But this may rough up your PC’s BIOS in the long run.
What to do next
After figuring out the causes, it’s time to take action:
1. Count the number of beeps and observe what kind of beeps these are. Then ask your self this: Did you install new software or hardware on it? Chances are the installed hardware causes this. If so, take your new hardware out and put the old one back in. Reboot your PC and see what happens.
2. Find out how often your PC is moved. Some parts of your PC may have been knocked over at the slightest movement, especially its RAM chip. If that’s the case, reinstall the hardware and reboot.
3. Do a Power On Self Test. Every time your PC loads, it runs a POST. POST goes down to the hardware of your PC all the way to the motherboard. This is what you see on your computer screen when you boot. You can press F2 or delete, then key in BIOS.
While your PC is in BIOS, don’t save any information, nor do you change your system setting–it worsens the glitch. What you’re actually doing is changing how the system loads and how it runs. Another option is updating your BIOS to its latest version—log on to the maker’s website and download your upgrade.
4. If all else fails, seek technical help. When you’re done doing those and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with your PC’s BIOS, you may have to study the beep patterns more closely.
Listen closely and count the number of beeps and the frequency. If you want to do the trouble-shooting yourself, log on to Goggle and figure out what computer beeps mean. Some of the easy remedies are: making sure your plug is well in place.
Finally, ask professional help.
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