b.i.o.s. error codes help

[dfgt5]

my old 386 doesn't work and whenever i turn it on, it makes 3 beeps, pause, and repeats. i know this is an error code, but can anyone help me as to what it means?

[VictorKaum]

Hey,

your depends on the kind of bios,

Award, Phoenix, AMI...

go to this site: http://www.bioscentral.com/misc/interrupts.htm

they have the beep codes for all the major vendors.

[Guus]

Oh man, those codes... I'm not sure, but check if all your cards are plugged into the motherboard correctly (not making 'half' contact...)

[VictorKaum]

If you cannot find it there:

'many short beeps' sometimes indicate a bad power supply.
When your MBR recieves not the right power it will disrupt the power good signal, this will turn your pc off (switching power supply) or a blank screen and many short beeps (no switching power supply).

[THEJRC]

hmmm, try clearing CMos if possible (there should be a jumper, or just remvove the battery if possible) and reseat everything

VictorKaum: he he, I've seen this! The new HP vectra's do an annoying little warble deal like they're trying to phone home, unfortunately they do it with a bad mainboard too so you gotta go through the motions to make sure.

~THEJRC~

[Eversor]

3 beeps then a pause and a repeat 99% of the time means a video error.

[s0nIc]

LOL just as i thought.. i made a tutorial about errors and hardware conflicts and only few bothered reading them... Oh well i guess this time you should go and have a read..

The answer to your question is right here...

http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=155340

[Guus]

Aherm... yups, it's there... sorry sonic I'm hearing similar beeps each morning when I wake up, maybe that explains a little

[dfgt5]

1. the link i received did not help at all (couldn't understand any of it)
2. how do i fix it if it is a video error?
3. ok, one of the cards is not all the way in (i.e. it's making half-contact) but it is impossible to put it in without taking off that metal thingy at the end that you screw onto the case. what do i do now?
4. how do i fix it if it is a memory error?