Bios Page - Gavsguidance

Created on 08 Dec 2012 by Gdavies

Hopefully this section will come in useful to more than just a few people although this is not a full list of all bios codes but it is pretty comprehensive, Please note that this is to be used as your own risk.

ACER BIOS Post Codes:


04 CPU verification; POST start
08 Shutdown condition 0; Shutdown byte 0
0C BIOS ROM checksum tested
10 CMOS ROM shutdown byte tested
14 DMA controller tested
18 System timer initialized
1C Memory refresh system tested
1E Memory type determined
20 Base 128K memory tested
24 8042 keyboard controller tested
28 CPU descriptor instruction tested
2C 8259 PIT tested
30 Temporary Interrupts located and initialized
34 BIOS Interrupt vectors and routines configured
38 CMOS RAM tested
3C Memory size determined
40 Shutdown condition 1
44 Video BIOS ROM initialized
45 RAM initialized and tested
46 Cache memory and controller initialized and tested
48 Memory tested
4C Shutdown condition 3
50 Shutdown condition 2
54 Shutdown condition 7
58 Shutdown condition 6
5C Keyboard and auxiliary I/O tested
60 BIOS Interrupt routines setup
64 RTC tested
68 Floppy drive and controller tested
6C Hard drive and controller tested
70 Parallel port tested
74 Serial port tested
78 Time of day setup
7C Optional ROM’s searched for and started
80 Math coprocessor tested
84 Keyboard tested
88 System initialized
8C System initialized
90 Operating system boot process started
94 Shutdown condition 5
98 Shutdown condition A
9C Shutdown condition B

ALR BIOS Post Codes:


01 CPU register test in progress
02 Real-time clock write/read failure
03 ROM BIOS checksum failure
04 Programmable internal timer failure (or no video card present)
05 DMA initialization failure
06 DMA page register write/read failure
08 RAM-refresh verification failure
09 1st 64KB RAM test in progress
0A 1st 64KB RAM chip or data line multi-bit failure
0B 1st 64KB RAM odd/even logic failure
0C Address line failure 1st 64KB RAM
0D Parity failure 1st 64KB RAM
10-1F bit 0-15 64KB RAM failure
20 Slave DMA-register failure
21 Master DMA-register failure
22 Master-interrupt mask-register failure
23 Slave-interrupt mask-register failure
25 Interrupt vector loading in progress
27 Keyboard-controller test failure
28 RTC power failure and checksum calculation in progress
29 Real-time clock-configuration validation in progress
2B Screen-memory test failure
2C Screen-initialization failure
2D Screen-retrace test failure
2E Search believed operational on screen believed running with video ROM
30 Monochrome display believed operable
32 Color display (40 column) believed operable
33 Color display (80 column) believed operable

AST BIOS Post Codes:

Beeps Error Message Description
1 short CPU register test failure The CPU has failed
2 short Keyboard controller buffer failure The keyboard controller has failed
3 short Keyboard controller reset failure The keyboard controller has failed or the motherboard circuitry is faulty
4 short Keyboard communication failure Either the keyboard controller IC or the associated circuitry has failed.  replace the keyboard first, then is still faulty, replace the keyboard controller IC
5 short Keyboard input failure The keyboard controller IC has failed.   Replace the IC
6 short System board chipset failure The chipset on the motherboard has failed.  Replace the motherboard
9 short BIOS ROM checksum error The BIOS ROM has failed.  If possible, replace the BIOS on the motherboard
10 short System timer test failure The system clock IC has failed
11 short ASIC failure Motherboard circuitry has failed.   Replace the motherboard
12 short CMOS RAM shutdown register failure THE real time clock/CMOS IC failed.   Replace the CMOS or motherboard
1 long DMA controller 0 failure The DMA controller IC for channel 0 has failed.  If possible, replace the IC
1 long, 1 short DMA controller 1 failure The DMA controller IC for channel 1 has failed.  If possible, replace the IC
1 long, 2 short Video vertical retrace failure The video adapter has probably failed.   Replace the video adapter
1 long, 3 short Video memory test failure The video adapter's memory has failed.   Replace the video adapter
1 long, 4 short Video adapter failure The video adapter has failed.   Replace the video adapter
1 long, 5 short 64KB memory failure A failure has occurred in the base 64KB of memory.  If possible, replace the RAM IC
1 long, 6 short Unable to load interrupt vectors The BIOS was unable to load the interrupt vectors into memory
1 long, 7 short Unable to initialize video This a video problem. Replace the video adapter first.  If problem is still present, replace the motherboard
1 long, 8 short Video memory failure The is a failure in the video memory.   Replace the video adapter first.  If problem is still present, replace the motherboard


 

AWARD BIOS Post Codes:

The only difference with award bios is that there is a few different versions of it so hopefully this will help.

AWARD Test Sequence up to Version 4.2

CPU BIOS sets, verifies and resets the error flags in the CPU.  Failure here is normally due to the CPU or system clock
POST Determination BIOS determines whether the motherboard is set for normal operation or a continuous loop of POST.  If the POST test is cycled 1-5 times over and over either the jumper for this function is set to burn=in or the circuitry involved has failed
Keyboard Controller BIOS tests the internal operations of the keyboard controller chip (8042).   Failure here is normally due to the keyboard chip
Burn In Status 1-5 will repeat if the motherboard is set to burn in.  If you haven't set the motherboard for burn-in mode, there is a short in the circuitry
Initialize Chipset BIOS clears all DMA registers and CMOS status bytes 0E and 0F.  BIOS then initializes 8254 timer,  Failure of this test is probably due to the timer chip
CPU A bit-pattern is used to verify the functioning of the CPU registers.  Failure here is normally down to the CPU or clock chip
RTC BIOS verifies that the real time clock is updating CMOS at normal intervals.  Failure is normally the CMOS/RTC or the battery
ROM BIOS Checksum BIOS performs a checksum of itself against a predetermined value that will equal 00.  Failure is down to the ROM BIOS
Initialize Video BIOS tests and initializes the video controller.  Failure is normally the video controller (6845) or an improper setting of the motherboard or CMOS
PIT BIOS tests the functionality of channels 0, 1, and 2 in sequence.  Failure is normally the PIT chip (8254/53)
CMOS Status Walking bit pattern tests CMOS shutdown status byte 0F.  Failure normally in CMOS
Extended CMOS BIOS checks for any extended information of the chipset and stores it in the extended RAM area.  Failure is normally due to invalid information and can be corrected by setting CMOS defaults.  Further failure indicates either the chipset or the CMOS RAM
DMA Channels 0 and 1 are tested together with the page registers of the DMA controller chip (8237).  Failure is normally due to the DMA chips
Keyboard The 8042 keyboard controller is tested for functionality and for proper interfacing functions.  Failure is normally due to the 8042 chip
Refresh Memory refresh is tested; the standard with walking - bit patterns.  Failure is normally the PIT chip in AT's or the DMA chip in AT's
Memory The first 64K of memory is tested with walking bit patterns.  Failure is normally due to the first bank of ram or a data line
Interrupt Vectors The BIOS interrupt vectors table is loaded to the first bank of RAM.  Failure here is not likely since memory in the area has been tested.  If failure does occur suspect the BIOS or RTC
Video ROM Video ROM is initialized which performs an internal diagnostic before returning control to the system BIOS.  Failure is normally the video adapter or the BIOS
Video Memory This is tested with a bit pattern.   This is bypassed if there is a ROM on the video adapter.  Failure is normally down to the memory on the adapter
PIC The functionality of the interrupt controller chip(s) is tested (8259).  Failure is normally due to the 8259 chips but may be the clock
CMOS Battery BIOS verifies that CMOS byte 0D is set which indicates the CMOS battery power.  Suspect the battery first and the CMOS second
CMOS Checksum A checksum is performed on the CMOS.   Failure is either incorrect setup, the CMOS chip or battery.  If the test is passed, the information is used to configure the system
Determine System Memory Memory up to 640K is addressed in 64K blocks.  Failure is normally due to an address line or DMA chip.  If all the memory is not found there is a bad RAM chip or address line in the 64K block above the amount found
Memory Test Tests are performed on any memory found and there will normally be a message with the hex address of any failing bit displayed at the end of boot
PIC Further testing is done on the 8259 chips
CPU Protected Mode The processor is placed in protected mode and back into real mode; the 8042 is used for this.  In case of failure suspect the 8042, CPU, CMOS, or the BIOS in that order
Determine Extended Memory Memory above 1MB is addressed in 64K blocks.  The entire block will be inactive if there is a bad RAM chip on a block
Test Extended Memory Extended memory is tested with a series of patterns.  Failure is normally down to a RAM chip, and the hex address of the failed bit should be displayed
Unexpected Exceptions BIOS checks for unexpected exceptions in protected mode.  Failure is likely to be a TSR or intermittent RAM failure
Shadow Cache Shadow RAM and cache are activated.   Failure may be due to the cache controller or chips.  Check the CMOS first for invalid information
8242 Detection BIOS checks for an Intel 8242 keyboard controller and initializes it if found.  Failure may be due to an improper jumper setting or the 8242
Initialize Keyboard Failure could be the keyboard or controller
Initialize floppy All those set in the CMOS.  Failure could be incorrect CMOS setup or floppy controller or the drive
Detect Serial Ports BIOS searches for and initializes up to four serial ports at 3F8, 2F8, 3E8, and 2E8.  Detection failure is normally due to an incorrect jumper setting somewhere or an adapter failure
Detect Parallel Ports BIOS searches for and initializes up to four parallel ports at 378, 278, 3BC, and 2BC.  Detection failure is normally due to an incorrect jumper setting somewhere or an adapter failure
Initialize Hard Drive BIOS initializes any hard drive(s) set in the CMOS.  Failure could be due to invalid CMOS setup, hard drive or controller failure
Detect NPU Coprocessor Initialization of any NPU coprocessor found.  failure is due either to invalid CMOS setup or the NPU is failing
Initialize Adapter ROM Any Adapter ROM's between C800 and EFFF are initialized.  The ROM will do an internal test before giving back control to the system ROM.  Failure is normally due to the adapter ROM or the attached hardware
Initialize External Cache Any external cache to the 486 is enabled.  Failure would indicates invalid CMOS setup, cache controller or chip failure
NMI Unexpected Exceptions A final check for unexpected exceptions before giving control to the Int 19 boot loader.  Failure is normally due to a memory parity error or an adapter failure
Boot Errors Failure when the BIOS attempts to boot off the default drive set in CMOS is normally due to invalid CMOS drive setup or as given by an error message.  If the system hangs there is an error in the Master Boot Record or the Volume Boot Record

AWARD Test Sequence after version 4.2

CPU BIOS sets, verifies and resets the error flags in the CPU then performs a register test by writing and reading bit patterns.   Failure is normally due to the CPU or clock chip
Initialize Support Chips Video is disabled as is parity, DMA and NMI.  Then the PIT, PIC, and DMA chips are initialized.  Failure is normally the DMA or PIT chips
Initialize Keyboard Keyboard and controller are initialized
ROM BIOS Test A checksum is performed by the ROM BIOS on the data within itself and is compared to a preset value of 00.  Failure is normally due tot he ROM BIOS
CMOS Test A test of the CMOS chip which should also detect a bad battery.  Failure is due to either the CMOS chip or the battery
Memory Test First 356K of memory tested with any routines in the chipset's.  Failure is normally due to defective memory
Cache Initialization Any external cache to the chipset in activated.  Failure is normally due to the cache controller or chips
Initialize Vector Table Interrupt vectors are initialized and the interrupt table is installed into low memory.  Failure is normally due to the BIOS or low memory
CMOS RAM CMOS RAM checksum tested and BIOS defaults loaded if invalid.  Failure would indicate CMOS RAM failure
Keyboard Initialization Keyboard initialized and Num Lock set on.  Check the keyboard or controller is a failure occurs
Video Test Video adapter tested and initialized
Video Memory Tested for Mono and CGA adapters.   Failure could be the adapter card
DMA Test DMA controllers and page registers are tested.  Failure could indicate bad DMA chips
PIC Tests 8259 PIC chips are tested.  Failure would indicate a bad PIC
EISA Mode Test A checksum is performed on the extended data area of CMOS where EISA information is stored.  If passed the EISA adapter is initialized
Enable Slots Slots 0-15 doe EISA adapters are enabled if the above test is passed
Memory Size Memory addresses above 256K written in 64K blocks and addresses found are initialized.  If a bit is bad, the entire block containing it and those above will not be seen
Memory Test Read and write tests are performed on memory above 256K.  Failure is due to bad bit in RAM
EISA Memory Memory tests on any adapters initialize previously.  Check the memory chips if a failure occurs
Mouse Initialization Checks for a mouse and installs the appropriate interrupt vectors if one is found.  Check the mouse adapter if a failure occurs
Cache Initialized The cache controller is initialized if present
Shadow RAM Setup Any Shadow RAM present according to the CMOS is enabled
Floppy Test Test and initialize floppy controller and drive
Hard Drive Test Test and initialize hard disk controller and drive.  You may have an improper setup or a bad controller/hard drive if a failure occurs
Serial and Parallel Ports Amy serial and parallel ports are found and initialized
Math Coprocessor The coprocessor is initialized if found.   Check the CMOS setup or the math coprocessor if a failure occurs
Boot Speed Set the default speed at which the computer boots
POST Loop Reboot occurs if the loop pin is set for manufacturing purposes
Security Ask for a password if one has been set in the CMOS.
Write CMOS The BIOS is waiting to write the CMOS values from Setup to CMOS RAM.  Failure is normally due to an invalid CMOS configuration
Pre-Boot The BIOS is waiting to to write the CMOS values from Setup to CMOS RAM
Adapter ROM Initialization Adapter ROM's between C800 and EFFF are Initialized.  The ROM will do an internal test before giving back control to the system ROM.  Failure is normally due to the adapter ROM or the adapter card
Setup Time Set CMOS time to the value located at 40h of the BIOS data area
Boot System Control is given to Int 19 boot loader

AWARD BIOS Text Error Messages

BIOS ROM checksum error - System halted The checksum of the BIOS code in the BIOS chip is incorrect, indicating the BIOS code may have become corrupt.  Replace the BIOS
CMOS battery failed CMOS battery is no longer functional.   Replace the battery
CMOS checksum error - Defaults loaded Checksum of CMOS is incorrect, so the system loads the default values.  A checksum error may indicate that CMOS has become corrupt.  This error might have been caused by a weak battery
CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER Checksum of CMOS is incorrect.    This can indicate that CMOS has become corrupt.  This error may have been caused by a weak CMOS battery
CPU at nnn Displays the running speed of the CPU
DISKETTE DRIVES OR TYPES MISMATCH ERROR - RUN SETUP Type of diskette drive installed in the system is different from the CMOS definition.  Run Setup to reconfigure the drive type correctly
Display switch is set incorrectly The display switch on the motherboard can be set to either monochrome or color.  This message indicates the switch is set to a different setting than indicated in Setup.  Determine which setting is correct and then either turn off the system and change the jumper or enter Setup and change the video selector
DISPLAY TYPE HAS CHANGED SINCE LAST BOOT Since last powering off the system, the display adapter has been changed.  You must configure the system for the new display type
EISA Configuration Checksum Error The EISA nonvolatile RAM checksum is incorrect or cannot correctly read the EISA slot.  This can indicate either the EISA nonvolatile memory has become corrupted or the slot has been configured incorrectly.   Also, be sure the card in installed firmly in the slot
EISA Configuration Is Not Complete The slot configuration information stored in the EISA nonvolatile memory is incomplete
ERROR ENCOUNTERED INITIALIZING HARD DRIVE Hard drive cannot be initialized.   Be sure the adapter is installed correctly and all cables are correctly and firmly attached.  Also be sure the correct hard drive type is selected in Setup
ERROR INITIALIZING HARD DISK CONTROLLER Cannot initialize controller.  Make sure the card is correctly and firmly installed in the bus.  Be sure the correct hard drive type is installed in Setup.  Also check to see if any jumper needs to be set correctly on the hard drive
FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER ERROR OR NO CONTROLLER PRESENT Cannot find or initialize the floppy disk controller.  make sure the controller is installed correctly and firmly.   If there are no floppy drives installed, be sure the Diskette Drive selection in Setup is set to None
Floppy disk(s) fail Cannot find or initialize the floppy drive controller or the drive.  make sure the controller is installed correctly.   If no floppy drives are installed, be sure the Diskette Drive selection in Setup is set to None or Auto
HARD DISK initializing Please wait for a moment... Some hard drives require some extra time to initialize
HARD DISK INSTALL FAILURE Cannot find or initialize the hard drive controller or the drive.  Make sure the controller is installed correctly.  If no hard drives are installed, be sure the Hard Drive selection in Setup is set to None
Hard disk(s) diagnosis fail The system may run specific disk diagnostic routines.  this message appears if one or more hard disks return an error when the diagnostics run
Invalid EISA Configuration The nonvolatile memory containing EISA configuration information was programmed incorrectly or has become corrupt.  Rerun EISA configuration utility to correctly program the memory
Keyboard error or no keyboard present Cannot initialize the keyboard.   Make sure the keyboard is attached correctly and no keys are being pressed during the boot.  If you are purposely configuring the system without a keyboard, set the error halt condition in Setup to HALT ON ALL, BUT KEYBOARD.  This will cause the BIOS to ignore the missing keyboard and continue the boot
Keyboard is locked out - Unlock the key This message usually indicates that one or more keys have been pressed during the keyboard tests.  Be sure no objects are resting on the keyboard
Memory Address Error at... Indicates a memory address error at a specific location.  You can use this location along with the memory map for your system to find and replace the bad memory chips
Memory parity Error at... Indicates a memory parity error at a specific location.  You can use this location along with the memory map for your system to find and replace the bad memory chips.
MEMORY SIZE HAS CHANGED SINCE LAST BOOT Memory has been added or removed since the last boot.  In EISA mode, use configuration utility to reconfigure the memory configuration.  In ISA mode,enter Setup and enter the new memory size in the memory field
Memory Test The message displays during a full memory test, counting down the memory areas being tested
Memory Test Fail If POST detects an error during memory testing, additional information appears giving specifics about the type and location of the memory error
Memory Verify Error at... Indicates an error verifying a value already written to memory.  Use the location along with your system's memory map to locate the bad chip
No boot device was found This could mean that either a boot device was not detected or the drive does not contain proper system boot files.   Insert a system disk into drive A: and press Enter.  If you assumed the system would boot from the hard drive, make sure the controller is inserted correctly and all cables are properly attached.  Also be sure the disk is formatted as a boot device.   Then reboot the system
OFFENDING ADDRESS NOT FOUND The message is used in conjunction with the I/O CHANNEL CHECK and RAM PARITY ERROR messages when the segment that has caused the problem cannot be isolated
OFFENDING SEGMENT: This message is used in conjunction with the I/O CHANNEL CHECK and RAM PARITY ERROR messages when the segment that has caused the problem has been isolated
Override enabled - Defaults loaded If the system cannot boot using the current CMOS configuration, the BIOS can override the current configuration with a set of BIOS defaults designed for the most stable, minimal-performance system operations
PRESS A KEY TO REBOOT This will be displayed at the bottom of the screen when an error occurs that requires you to reboot.  Press any key to reboot the system
Press ESC to skip memory test You can press ESC to skip the full memory test
PRESS F1 TO DISABLE NMI, F2 TO REBOOT When BIOS detects a non-maskable interrupt condition during boot, this will allow you to disable the NMI and continue to boot; or you can reboot the system with the NMI enabled
Press TAB to show POST screen System OEM's may replace the Award BIOS POST display with their own proprietary display.  Including this message in the OEM display permits the operator to switch between the OEM display
Primary master hard disk fail POST detects an error in the primary master IDE hard drive
Primary slave hard disk fail POST detects an error in the secondary master IDE hard drive
RAM PARITY ERROR - CHECKING FOR SEGMENT... Indicates a parity error in RAM
Resuming from disk, Press TAB to show POST screen Award offers a save-a-disk feature for notebook computers.  This message may appear when the operator restarts the system after a save-to-disk shutdown.  See the Press Tab... message earlier for a description of this feature
Secondary master hard disk fail POST detects an error in the secondary master IDE hard drive
Secondary slave hard disk fail POST detects an error in the secondary slave IDE hard drive
Should Be Empty But EISA Board Found A valid board ID was found in a slot that was configured as having no board ID
Should Have EISA Board But Not Found The board installed is not responding to the ID request, or no board ID has been found in the indicated slot
Slot Not Empty Indicates that a slot designated as empty by the EISA configuration utility actually contains a board
SYSTEM HALTED. (CTRL-ALT-DEL) TO REBOOT... Indicates the present boot attempt has been aborted and the system must be rebooted.  Press and hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys and press Del
Wrong Board In Slot The board ID does not match the ID stored in the EISA nonvolatile memory

AWARD BIOS (Original XT)

03 Flag resister test
06 CPU register test
09 System hardware initialization
0C BIOS checksum
0F DMA page register initialization
12 Test DMA address and count registers
15 DMA initialization
18 Timer test
1B Timer initialization
1E Start RAM initialization
21 Test base 64K of RAM
24 Setup init. and temp stack
27 Initialize PIC
2A Interrupt mask register test
2D Hot interrupt test
30 V40 DMA if present
33 Verify system clock initialization
36 Keyboard test
39 Setup interrupt table
3C Read system configuration switches
3F Video test
42 Serial port determination
45 Parallel port determination
48 Game port determination
4B Copyright message display
4E Calculation of CPU speed
54 Test of system memory
55 Floppy drive test
57 System initialized before boot
5A Call to Int 19

AWARD XT Version 3.1 BIOS

01 Processor test fail; Processor status verification #1
02 Type of POST/keyboard buffer; Failed if the keyboard interface buffer is filled with data
06 Initialize 6845 video controller, 8237 DMA controller, 8259 PIC, 8253 timer channel channel 1 initialized; Reset math coprocessor; Disable color and mono video, parity circuits and DMA chips; Clear DMA chips and page registers
07 Process registers except SS, SP, BP with data patterns 00 and FF; Processor status verification #2
09 ROM checksum for 32K tested
0A Initialize the 6845 video controller
15 Test first 64K of system memory
16 Set up interrupt table in first 64K
17 Set up video I/O operations
18 Test video memory
19 8259 mask bits-channel 1
1A 8259 mask bits-channel 2
1D Setup configuration byte from CMOS
1E Size memory and compare with CMOS
1F Test base memory; Test found system memory
20 Test stuck 8259's Interrupt bits
21 Test stuck NMI parity I/O bits
22 8259 Interrupt functionality tested
2A Keyboard initialized
2B Floppy dive controller and drive initialized
2C Initialize COM ports
2D Initialize LPT ports
2F Initialize math coprocessor
31 Initialize option ROM's
FF Int. 19 boot attempt

AWARD Version 3.3 BIOS

01-05 Keyboard controller 8042 tested
06 On-board LSI initialized
07 CPU flags tested
08 Calculate CMOS checksum
09 Initialize the 8254 PIT
0A 8254 PIC tested
0B DMA controller tested
0C 8259 PIC initialized
0D 8259 PIC tested
0E ROM BIOS checksum tested
0F Extended CMOS tested
10 8259 PIC tested
11 8259 PIC tested
12 8259 PIC tested
13 8259 PIC tested
14 8259 PIC tested
15 First 64K RAM tested
16 Interrupt vector tables initialized
17 Video initialization
18 Video memory tested
19 Interrupt line mask 8259 PIC tested
1A Interrupt line mask 8259 PIC tested
1B Battery good
1C CMOS checksum verified
1D CMOS chip/RTC verified
1E Memory size checked
1F Memory verified
20 DMA initialized
21 PIC initialized
22 PIT initialized
24 Extended memory size checked
25 Extended memory tested
26 Protected mode entered
27 Shadow RAM, cache controller initialized
28 Shadow RAM, cache controller tested
29 Reserved
2A Initialize keyboard
2B Floppy drive initialization
2C Serial port initialization
2D Parallel port initialization
2E Hard disk initialization
2F Math coprocessor
30 Reserved
31 Optional ROM's checked for
FF Boot from Int 19

AWARD EISA BIOS

01 CPU flags
02 CPU registers
03 Initialize DMA, PIC, PIT
04 Memory refresh
05 Keyboard initialization
06 ROM checksum
07 CMOS, battery
08 256K memory
09 Cache
0A Set Interrupt table
0B CMOS checksum
0C Keyboard initialization
0D Video adapter
0E Video memory
0F DMA channel 0
10 DMA channel 1
11 DMA page register
14 Timer chip
15 PIC controller 1
16 PIC controller 0
17 PIC stuck bits
18 PIC maskable IRQ's
19 NMI bit check
1F CMOS XRAM
20 Slot 0
21 Slot 1
22 Slot 2
23 Slot 3
24 Slot 4
25 Slot 5
26 Slot 6
27 Slot 7
28 Slot 8
29 Slot 9
2A Slot 10
2B Slot 11
2C Slot 12
2D Slot 13
2E Slot 14
2F Slot 15
30 Memory size 256K
31 Memory test over 256K
32 EISA memory
3C CMOS setup
3D Mouse/adapter, CMOS
3E Cache RAM
3F Shadow RAM
41 Floppy drive
42 Hard drive
43 RS232 parallel
45 NPU
47 Speed
4E Manufacturing loop
4F Security
50 CMOS update
51 Enable NMI, cache
52 Adapter ROM's
53 Set time
60 Virus protection setup
61 Boot speed
62 Numlock setup
63 Boot
B0 NMI in protected
B1 Disable NMI
BE Chipset default initialization
BF Chipset program
C0 Cache on/off
C1 Memory size
C2 Base 256K test
C3 DRAM page select
C4 Video switch
C5 Shadow RAM
C6 Cache program
C8 Speed switch
C9 Shadow RAM
CA OEM chipset
FF Boot

AWARD ISA/EISA BIOS Version 4.0

01 CPU flags tested; Processor test #1
02 CPU registers tested; Processor test #2; Verify all CPU registers except SS, SP, BP with data patterns 00 and FF
03 Initialize DMA, PIC, PIT; Calculate BIOS EPROM and sign on message checksum (fail if not 0)
04 Memory refresh initialized; Test CMOS RAM interface
05 Keyboard initialization; Initialize NMI, PIE, AIE, UEI, SQWV; Disable video, parity checking and DMA; Math coprocessor reset; Clear all page registers and CMOS RAM shutdown byte; Initialize timers 0, 1, 2 and set EISA timer to a known state; Initialize DMA controllers 0 and 1; Initialize interrupt controllers 0 and 1; Initialize EISA extended registers
06 ROM checksum; Memory refresh tested
07 Low memory setup; Initialize chipset and test the presence of memory; OEM chipset initialization; Lower 256K of memory cleared; Enable parity checking and test parity in lower 256K memory
08 Setup Interrupt vector table; Initialize the first 120 Interrupt vectors with SPURIOUS_INT_HDLR and initialize INT 00-1F according to INT_TBL
09 Cache; CMOS checksum tested
0A Set interrupt table; Initialize keyboard; Detect keyboard controller
0B CMOS checksum; Video interface initialized
0C Keyboard initialization; Video memory tested
0D Video adapter initialized; OEM specific initializations
0E Reserved
0F DMA channel 0 tested with AA, 55, FF, 00 bit patterns
10 DMA channel 1 tested with AA, 55, FF, 00 bit patterns
11 DMA page register tested
12 Reserved
13 Reserved
14 Timer chip 8254 PIT timer 0 counter 2 tested
15 Verify 8259 PIC channel 1
16 Verify 8259 PIC channel 2
17 8259 PIC stuck bits tested; Turn Interrupt bits off and verify  no Interrupt mask register is on
18 8259 PIC maskable IRQ's tested
19 NMI bit check tested and parity I/O checked
1A Reserved
1B Reserved
1C Reserved
1D Reserved
1E Reserved
1F CMOS XRAM checked for
20 Slot 0 EISA initialized and enabled
21 Slot 1 EISA initialized and enabled
22 Slot 2 EISA initialized and enabled
23 Slot 3 EISA initialized and enabled
24 Slot 4 EISA initialized and enabled
25 Slot 5 EISA initialized and enabled
26 Slot 6 EISA initialized and enabled
27 Slot 7 EISA initialized and enabled
28 Slot 8 EISA initialized and enabled
29 Slot 9 EISA initialized and enabled
2A Slot 10 EISA initialized and enabled
2B Slot 11 EISA initialized and enabled
2C Slot 12 EISA initialized and enabled
2D Slot 13 EISA initialized and enabled
2E Slot 14 EISA initialized and enabled
2F Slot 15 EISA initialized and enabled
30 Memory size below 256K
31 Memory test over 256K
32 EISA memory tested found during slot initialization
3C CMOS setup; Enter protected mode
3D Mouse/adapter, CMOS
3E Cache RAM
3F Shadow RAM
41 Initialize floppy drive
42 Initialize hard drive
43 RS232 parallel
45 NPU
47 Speed for boot set
4E Manufacturing loop; display any soft errors
4F Security; ask for password if security is enabled
50 CMOS update
51 Enable NMI, cache memory
52 Adapter ROM's from C8000h to EFFFFH or F7FFFh initialized
53 Set time value for address 40 of BIOS
60 Virus protection setup
61 Boot speed
62 Numlock setup
63 Boot from Int 19
B0 NMI in protected
B1 Disable NMI
BE Chipset default initialization
BF Chipset program; initialization of system specific chipset's
C0 Cache on/off
C1 Memory size checked
C2 Base 256K tested
C3 DRAM page select tested
C4 Video switch
C5 Shadow RAM tested
C6 Cache program; configure cache memory
C8 Speed switch
C9 Shadow RAM tested
CA OEM chipset initialized
FF Boot from Int 19

AWARD PnP BIOS

01 Reserved
02 Reserved
03 Initialize EISA registers (EISA BIOS only)
04 Reserved
05 Keyboard controller self-tested
06 Reserved
07 Verify CMOS Read/Write
09 OEM specific initialization; Configure Cyrix CPU register
0A Issue CPU ID instruction; Initialize the first 32 interrupt vectors, initialize Int.'s 33 to 120, power management initialization
0B PnP initialization; verify the RTC time, detect bad battery, read the CMOS data into the BIOS stack area, assign I/O and memory for any PCI devices
0C Initialization of BIOS data area
0D Program some of chipset's value; Measure the CPU for display, initialize the video
0E Initialize APIC (multiprocessor BIOS only); Show startup screen message
0F DMA channel 0 tested
10 DMA channel 1 tested
11 DMA page registers tested
12 Reserved
13 Reserved
14 Test 8254 0 counter 2
15 Test 8259 interrupt mask bit for channel 1
16 Test 8259 interrupt mask bit for channel 2
17 Reserved
19 Test 8259 functionality
1A Reserved
1B Reserved
1C Reserved
1D Reserved
1E If an EISA NVM
1F-29 Reserved
30 Get size of base and extended memory
31 Test base and extended memory, Test base memory from 256K to 640K , test extended memory above 1MB
32 Test all on-board super I/O ports
33 Reserved
3A Reserved
3B Reserved
3C Set flag to allow CMOS setup utility
3D Install PS/2 mouse
3E Try to turn on level 2
3F Reserved
40 Reserved
41 Initialize floppy drive controller
42 Initialize hard drive controller
43 Initialize serial & parallel ports (PnP BIOS only)
45 Initialize math coprocessor
46-4D Reserved
4E Show all error messages on screen
4F Ask for password, if needed
50 Write all CMOS values located in the BIOS stack back to CMOS
51 Reserved
52 Initialize all ISA ROM's; PCI initializations (PCI BIOS only), PnP initialization (PnP BIOS Only), setup shadow RAM, initialize power management
53 If not PnP BIOS, initialize ports; Initialize time in BIOS data area
54-5F Reserved
60 Setup virus protection for the boot sector
61 Try to turn on level 2 cache
62 program numlock & typematic speed
63 Boot system via Int 19h
B0 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode
B1 Unclaimed NMI occurred
BE Program defaults into chipset
BF Program remaining chipset values
C0 Init. all standard devices with defaults
C1 Auto detect on-board DRAM & cache
C3 Test first 26K DRAM
C5 Copy ROM BIOS to E000-FFFF
FF System booting

AWARD Elite (Version 4.51PG) BIOS

01 Processor test; Processor status verification
02 Processor test 2; Read/Write and verify all CPU registers
03 Initialize chips; Disable NMI, PIE, AIE, UEI, SQWV.  Disable video, parity checking, DMA.  Reset math coprocessor.  Clear all page registers and CMOS shutdown.  Initialize DMA controller 0 and 1.  Initialize interrupt controllers 0 and 1.
04 Test memory refresh toggle
05 Blank video, initialize keyboard; Keyboard controller initialization
07 Test CMOS interface and battery
08 Set up low memory; Early chipset initialization, memory presence test, OEM chipset routines, clear low 64K memory, test first 64K memory
09 Early cache initialization; Cyrix CPU specific, CPU and cache initialization
0A Set up interrupt vector table; Initialize first 120 interrupt vectors
0B Test CMOS RAM checksum
0C Initialize keyboard; Detect the type of keyboard controller
0D Initialize video interface; Detect CPU clock, read CMOS location 14h to find the type of video in use, detect and initialize video adapter
0E Test video memory; Write sign-on message to screen, setup shadow RAM
0F Test DMA controller 0; BIOS checksum test, keyboard detect and initialization
10 Test DMA controller 1
11 Test DMA page registers
12-13 Reserved
14 Test timer counter 2
15 Test 8259-1 mask bits
16 Test 8259-2 mask bits
17 Test stuck 8259 interrupt bits; Test stuck key
18 Test 8259 interrupt functionality
19 Test stuck NMI bits (parity I/O check)
1A Benchmark; Display CPU clock
1B-1E Reserved
1F Set EISA mode; If the EISA memory checksum is good then EISA is initialized.  If it's not good then ISA tests and clear EISA mode flag
20 Enable slot 0; System board
21-2F Enable slots 1-15
30 Size base and extended memory; Size the base memory from 256K to 640K and the extended memory above 1MB
31 Test base and extended memory; Test the base memory from 256K to 640K and the extended memory above 1MB using various bit patterns
32 Test EISA extended memory
33-3B Reserved
3C Setup enabled
3D Initialize and install mouse if present
3E Setup cache controller
40 Display virus protect disable or enable
41 Initialize floppy
42 Initialize hard drive
43 Detect & Init. serial & parallel ports
44 Reserved
45 Detect and Init. math coprocessor
46 Reserved
47 Reserved
48-4D Reserved
4E Mfg. POST loop, or display messages
4F Security password
50 Write CMOS; Write CMOS back to RAM and clear screen
51 Pre-boot enable; Enable parity checking, enable NMI, enable cache before boot
52 Initialize option ROM's; Initialize and ROM's present at locations C800h to EFFFFh
53 Initialize time value
60 Setup virus protect
61 Set boot speed
62 Setup numlock
63 Boot attempt
B0 Spurious
B1 Unclaimed NMI
BE Chipset default initialization; Program chipset registers and power-on BIOS defaults.
BF Chipset initialization; Reserved
C0 Turn off chipset cache
C1 Memory presence test; OEM specific, test the size of on-board memory
C5 Early shadow; OEM specific, early shadow enable for fast boot
C6 Cache presence test; External cache-size detection test
E1-EF Setup pages
FF Boot loader

AWARD Version 6.0 (i810)

CFh Test CMOS read/write functionality
C0h Early chipset initialization:   Disable shadow RAM, L2 cache (socket 7 and below), program basic chipset registers
C1h Detect memory:  Auto detection of DRAM size, type and ECC, auto detection of L2 cache (socket 7 and below)
C3h Expand compressed BIOS code to DRAM
C5h Call chipset hook to copy BIOS back to E000 & F000 shadow RAM
01h Expand the Xgroup codes located in physical memory address 1000:0
02h Reserved
03h Initial Superio_Early_Init switch
04h Reserved
05h Blank out screen; Clear CMOS error flag
06h Reserved
07h Clear 8042 interface; Initialize 8042 self test
08h Test special keyboard controller for Winbond 977 series Super I/O chips; Enable keyboard interface
09h Reserved
0Ah Disable PS/2 mouse interface (optional); Auto detect ports for keyboard & mouse followed by a port & interface swap (optional); Reset keyboard for Winbond 977 series Super I/O chips
0Bh Reserved
0Ch Reserved
0Dh Reserved
0Eh Test F000h segment shadow to see whether it is read/write capable or not.  If test fails, keep beeping the speaker
0Fh Reserved
10h Auto detect flash type to load appropriate flash read/write codes into the run time area in F000 for ESCD & DMI support
11h Reserved
12h Use walking 1's algorithm to check out interface in CMOS circuitry.  Also set real time clock power status and then check for override
13h Reserved
14h Program chipset default values into chipset.  Chipset default values are MODBINable by OEM customers
15h Reserved
16h Initial Early_Init_Onboard_Generator switch
17h Reserved
18h Detect CPU information including brand, SMI type (Cyrix or Intel) and CPU level (586 or 686)
19h Reserved
1Ah Reserved
1Bh Initial interrupts vector table.   If no special specified, all H/W interrupts are directed to SPURIOUS_INT_HDLR & S/W interrupts to SPURIOUS_soft_HDLR
1Ch Reserved
1Dh Initial EARLY_PM_INIT switch
1Eh Reserved
1Fh Load keyboard matrix (notebook platform)
20h Reserved
21h HPM initialization (notebook platform)
22h Reserved
23h Check validity of RTC value; Load CMOS settings into BIOS stack.  If CMOS checksum fails, use default value instead; Prepare BIOS resource map for PCI & PnP use.  If ESCD is valid, take into consideration of the ESCD's legacy information; Onboard clock generator initialization.  Disable respective clock resource to empty PCI & DIMM slots; Early PCI initialization - Enumerate PCI bus number, assign memory & I/O resource, search for a valid VGA device & VGA BIOS, and put it into C000:0
24h Reserved
25h Reserved
26h Reserved
27h Initialize INT 09 buffer
28h Reserved
29h Program CPU internal MTRR (P6 & PII) for 0-640K memory address; Initialize the APIC for Pentium class CPU; Program early chipset according to CMOS setup; Measure CPU speed; Invoke video BIOS
2Ah Reserved
2Bh Reserved
2Ch Reserved
2Dh Initialize multilanguage; Put information on screen display, including Award title, CPU type, CPU speed, etc...
2Eh Reserved
2Fh Reserved
30h Reserved
31h Reserved
32h Reserved
33h Reset keyboard except Winbond 977 series Super I/O chips
34h Reserved
35h Reserved
36h Reserved
37h Reserved
38h Reserved
39h Reserved
3Ah Reserved
3Bh Reserved
3Ch Test 8254
3Dh Reserved
3Eh Test 8259 interrupt mask bits for channel 1
3Fh Reserved
40h Test 9259 interrupt mask bits for channel 2
41h Reserved
42h Reserved
43h Test 8259 functionality
44h Reserved
45h Reserved
46h Reserved
47h Initialize EISA slot
48h Reserved
49h Calculate total memory by testing the last double last word of each 64K page; Program writes allocation for AMD K5 CPU
4Ah Reserved
4Bh Reserved
4Ch Reserved
4Dh Reserved
4Eh Program MTRR of M1 CPU; initialize L2 cache for P6 class CPU & program cacheable range; Initialize the APIC for P6 class CPU; On MP platform, adjust the cacheable range to smaller one in case the cacheable ranges between each CPU are not identical
4Fh reserved
50h Initialize USB
51h Reserved
52h Test all memory (clear all extended memory to 0)
53h Reserved
54h Reserved
55h Display number of processors (multi-processor platform)
56h Reserved
57h Display PnP logo; Early ISA PnP initialization and assign CSN to every ISA PnP device
58h Reserved
59h Initialize the combined Trend Anti-Virus code
5Ah Reserved
5Bh Show message for entering AWDFLASH.EXE from FDD (optional feature)
5Ch Reserved
5Dh Initialize Init_Onboard_Super_IO switch; Initialize Init_Onboard_AUDIO switch
5Eh Reserved
5Fh Reserved
60h Okay to enter Setup utility
61h Reserved
62h Reserved
63h Reserved
64h Reserved
65h Initialize PS/2 mouse
66h Reserved
67h Prepare memory size information for function call: INT 15h ax=E820h
68h Reserved
69h Turn on L2 cache
6Ah Reserved
6Bh Program chipset registers according to items described in Setup & Auto-Configuration table
6Ch Reserved
6Dh Assign resources to all ISA PnP devices; Auto assign ports to onboard COM ports if the corresponding item in Setup is set to "AUTO"
6Eh Reserved
6Fh Initialize floppy controller; Setup floppy related fields in 40:hardware
70h Reserved
71h Reserved
72h Reserved
73h Enter AWDFLASH.EXE if: AWDFLASH.EXE is found in floppy dive and ALT+F2 is pressed
74h Reserved
75h Detect and install all IDE devices: HDD, LS120, ZIP, CDROM...
76h Reserved
77h Detect serial ports and parallel ports
78h Reserved
79h Reserved
7Ah Detect and install coprocessor
7Bh Reserved
7Ch Reserved
7Dh Reserved
7Eh Reserved
7Fh Switch back to text mode if full screen logo is supported: if errors occur, report errors & wait for keys, if no errors occur or F1 key is pressed continue - Clear EPA or customization logo
80h Reserved
81h Reserved
82H Call chipset power management hook: Recover the text fond used by EPA logo (not for full screen logo), If password is set, ask for password
83H Save all data in stack back to CMOS
84h Initialize ISA PnP boot devices
85h Final USB initialization; NET PC: Build SYSID structure; Switch screen back to text mode; Set up ACPI table at top of memory; Invoke ISA adapter ROM's; Assign IRQ's to PCI devices; Initialize APM; Clear noise of IRQ's
86h Reserved
87h Reserved
88h Reserved
89h Reserved
90h Reserved
91h Reserved
92h Reserved
93h Read HDD boot sector information for Trend Anti-Virus code
94h Enable L2 cache; Program boot up speed; Chipset final initialization; Power management final initialization; Clear screen and display summary table; Program K^ write allocation; Program P6 class write combining
95h Program daylight saving; Update keyboard LED and typematic rate
96h Build MP table; Build and update ESCD; Set CMOS century to 20h or 19h; Load CMOS time into DOS timer tick; Build MSIRQ routing table
FFh Boot attempt (INT 19h)

CHIP & TECHNOLOGIES BIOS Post Codes:

Some are sent to the display in decimal as well as port address 80h.  Micro Channel BIOS's use port 680 and 3BC.

Chips & Technologies Post Procedures:

Power on tests CPU synchronizes with clock.  Check the CPU or clock if a failure occurs
System ROM Check The BIOS runs a checksum on itself.   Check the BIOS chips if a failure occurs
DMA controller Fail DMA controllers are initialized and tested.  Check the DMA chips if a failure occurs
System Timer Failed Channels 0, 1, and 2 are tested in sequence.  If a failure occurs, check the PIT chips
Base 64K Memory Testing Walking bit test performed on first 64K of RAM which is critical for the BIOS vector area to be initialized.  Check for bad RAM chips or a bad data or address line
Interrupt Controller Failed Test the 8259 chip
CPU Still In Protected Mode Attempts are made to read the configuration of the system through the 8042 keyboard controller
Refresh Not Occurring Memory refresh is tested; standard refresh is 120-140ns.  Check the PIT if a failure occurs
Keyboard Controller Not Responding Tests are run on the keyboard controller.  the the KBC 8042 if a failure occurs
Could Not Enter Protected Mode BIOS attempts to enter protected mode to test extended memory.  Check the 8042 KBC chip or the A20 gate address line if a failure occurs
Initialize Timer Attempts are made to initialize the PIT
Initialize DMA Controller Attempts are made to initialize the DMA controllers
Entering/Exiting Protected Mode The translation is handled by the keyboard controller and the A20 gate address line.  Check the keyboard controller if a failure occurs
Relocate Shadow RAM BIOS attempts to shadow itself into extended memory.  Check for memory problems if a failure occurs
Test For EMS Check for EMS adapter or an improper CMOS setting/Jumper setting if a failure occurs
Test Video Capabilities Normally includes a memory test on the adapter memory up to 256K
Test Memory Extensive testing of Base, Extended,and Expanded memory.  Check for defective memory modules, 8042 KBC, A20 gate address line or an improper CMOS and/or jumper setting
Check System Options The hardware in the system is compared with the values stored in CMOS.  The PIT, PIC, 8042 KBC, RTC and other system board components are tested again
Peripheral Check and test Checks are made for the peripherals at standard I/O ports including serial and parallel ports, keyboards, and math coprocessor.   You should see an error message on screen at the point if a failure occurs
Floppy Test Floppy devices set in CMOS are checked and initialized.  If a bootable floppy is found the fixed disks are tested and the BIOS will boot to the floppy disk.  Check for defective controllers or an improper CMOS Setup if a failure occurs
Fixed Disk Test Checks for fixed disks in CMOS.  If no bootable floppy in the A: drive, then the BIOS loads the first sector off the first fixed disk and jumps to the area of memory where the sector was loaded.  You may just see a flashing cursor or an error message from the potential operating system.  Check for improper CMOS Setup, defective controller, or fixed disk failure.  Also, check for a corrupt bootloader on the fixed disk
Advanced Options These include the mouse, cache, etc..   you should see an error message on the screen at this point, except that a defective cache may hang the system.  In most cases, the cache will be disabled by the BIOS

Chips & Technologies BIOS Post Codes:

00 Error in POS register
01 CPU flag register failed
02 CPU register test failed
03 BIOS ROM checksum failed
04 DMA controller test failed
05 System timer IC failed
06 Base 64K RAM failed address test: not installed, misconfigured, or bad addressing
07 Base 64K RAM failed data test
08 Interrupt controller failed
09 Hot (unexpected) interrupt occurred
0A System timer does not interrupt
0B CPU still in protected mode
0C DMA page registers failed
0D Refresh not occurring
0E Keyboard controller not responding
0F Could not enter protected mode
10 GDT or IDT failed, Keyboard controller failed
11 LDT register failed, Keyboard controller failed
12 Task register failed, Keyboard controller failed
13 LSL instruction failed, keyboard controller failed
14 LAR register failed, Keyboard controller failed
15 VERR/VERW failed, Keyboard controller failed
16 Keyboard controller gate A20 failed
17 Exception failed/unexpected exception
18 Shutdown during memory test
19 Last used error code
1A Copyright checksum error
1B Shutdown during memory sizing
1C Chipset initialization
50 Initialize hardware
51 Initialize timer
52 Initialize DMA controller
53 Initialize 8259 programmable interrupt controller
54 Initialize system chipset
55 Setup EMS configuration
56 Entering protected mode for first time
57 Size memory chips
58 Configure memory chip interleave
59 Exiting protected mode for first time
5A Determine system board memory size
5B Relocate shadow RAM
5C Configure EMS
5D Set up wait state configuration
5E Re-test 64K RAM
5F Test shadow RAM
60 Test CMOS RAM
61 Test video
62 Test and initialize DDNIL bits
63 Test protected mode interrupt
64 Test address line A20
65 Test memory address lines
66 Test memory
67 Test extended memory
68 Test timer interrupt
69 Test real time clock (RTC)
6A Test keyboard
6B Test 80x87 math chip
6C Test RS232 serial ports
6D Test parallel ports
6E Test dual card
6F Test floppy drive controller
70 Test hard drive controller
71 Test keylock
72 Test pointing device
90 Setup RAM
91 Calculate CPU speed
92 Check configuration
93 Initialize BIOS
94 POST Bootstrap
95 Reset IC's
96 PEAK: System board POS.   NEAT/OC8291 ELEAT: Test /initialize cache RAM and controller.
97 VGA power on diagnostics and setup
98 Adapter BIOS
99 Re-initialize DDNIL bits
A0 Exception 0
A1 Exception 1
A2 Exception 2
A3 Exception 3
A4 Exception 4
A5 Exception 5
A6 Exception 6
A7 Exception 7
A8 Exception 8
A9 Exception 9
AA Exception A
AB Exception B
AC Exception C
AD Exception D
C0 System board memory failure
C1 I/O channel check activated
C2 Watchdog timer timeout
C3 Bus timer timeout


 

COMPAQ BIOS Post Codes:

OK as with award bios compaq has different messages also so hope the list below helps.

Compaq General BIOS Post Codes

00 Initialize flags, MSW,IDTLIN
01 Read manufacturing jumper
02 8042 received read command
03 No response from 8042
04 Look for ROM at E000
05 Look for ROM at C800
06 Normal CMOS reset code
08 Initialize 8259,80287
09 Reset code in CMOS byte
0A Vector vis 40:67 reset function
0B Vector vis 40:67 with E01 function
0C Boot reset function
0D Test #2 8254 PIT counter 0
0E Test #2 8254 PIT counter 2
0F Warm boot
10 PPI disabled, test 8254 PIT's 0 and 1
11 Initialize (blast) VDU controller
12 Clear screen; turn ON video
13 Test time 0
14 Disable RTC interrupts
15 Check battery power
16 Battery has lost power
17 Clear CMOS Diags.
18 Test base memory (First 128K)
19 Initialize base memory
1A Initialize VDU adapters
1B The system ROM
1C CMOS checksum
1D DMA controller/page registers
1E Test keyboard controller
1F Test 286 protected mode
20 Test real and extended memory
21 Initialize time-of-day
22 Initialize 287 coprocessor
23 Test the keyboard and 8042
24 Reset A20, set default CPU speed
25 Test diskette subsystem
26 Test fixed disk subsystem
27 Initialize parallel printer
28 Perform search for optional ROM's
29 Test valid system configuration
2A Clear screen
2B Check for invalid time and date
2C Optional ROM search
2D Test timer 2
2F Write to diagnostic byte
30 Clear first 128K bytes of RAM
31 Load interrupt vectors 70-77
32 Load interrupt vectors 00-1F
33 Initialize MEMSIZE and RESETWD
34 Verify CMOS checksum
35 CMOS checksum is not valid
36 Check battery power
37 Check for game adapters
38 Check for Serial ports
39 Check for parallel printer ports
3A Initialize port and comm time-outs
3B Flush keyboard buffer
40 Save RESETWD value
41 Check RAM refresh
42 Start write of 128K RAM test
43 Reset parity checks
44 Start verify of 128K RAM test
45 Check for parity errors
46 NO RAM errors
47 RAM error detected
50 Check for dual frequency in CMOS
51 Check CMOS VDU configuration
52 Start VDU ROM search
53 Vector to VDU option ROM's
54 Initialize first display adapter
55 Initialize second display adapter
56 No display adapters installed
57 Initialize primary VDU mode
58 Start of VDU test (each adapter)
59 Check existence of adapter
5A Check VDU registers
5B Start screen memory test
5C End test of adapter, clear memory
5D Error detected on an adapter
5E Test the next adapter
5F All adapters successfully tested
60 Start of memory tests
61 Enter protected mode
62 Start memory sizing
63 Get CMOS size
64 Start test of real memory
65 Start test of extended memory
66 Save size memory (base, ext)
67 128K-option installed CMOS bit
68 Prepare to return to real mode
69 Back in real mode-successful
6A Protected mode error during test
6B Display error message
6C End of memory test
6D Initialize KB OK string
6E Determine size to test
6F Start MEMTEST
70 Display XXXXXKB OK
71 Test each RAM segment
72 High order address test
73 Exit MEMTEST
74 Parity error on bus
75 Start protected mode test
76 Prepare to enter protected mode
77 Test software exceptions
78 Prepare to return to real mode
79 Back in real mode-successful
7A Back in real mode-error occurred
7B Exit protected mode
7C High order address test failure
7D Entered cache controller test
7E Programming memory cache
7F Copy system ROM to high RAM
80 Start of 8042 test
81 Do 8042 self test
82 Check result received
83 Error result
84 OK 8042, Init mode=5D
86 Start test, reset keyboard
87 Got acknowledge, read result
88 Got result, check it
89 Test for stuck keys
8B Test keyboard interface
8A Key seems to be stuck
8C Got result, check it
8D End of test, no errors
90 Start of CMOS test
91 CMOS seems to be OK
92 Error on CMOS read,write test
93 Start of DMA controller test
94 Page registers seem to be OK
95 DMA controller is OK
96 8237 initialization is complete
97 Start of NCA RAM test
A0 Start of diskette tests
A1 FDC reset active (3F2h Bit 2)
A2 FDC reset inactive (3F2h Bit 2)
A3 FDC motor on
A4 FDC time-out error
A5 FDC failed reset
A6 FDC passed reset
A8 Start to determine drive type
A9 Seek operation initialized
AA Waiting for FDC seek status
AF Diskette tests complete
B0 Start of fixed drive tests
B1 Combo board not found-exit
B2 Combo controller failed-exit
B3 Testing drive 1
B4 Testing drive 2
B5 Drive error (error condition)
B6 Drive failed (failed to respond)
B7 No fixed drives-exit
B8 Fixed drive tests complete
B9 Attempt to boot diskette
BA Attempt to boot fixed drive
BB Boot attempt failed FD/HD
BC Jump to boot record
BD Drive error, retry booting
BE Weitek coprocessor test
D0 Entry to clear memory routine
D1 Ready to go to protected mode
D2 Ready to clear extended memory
D3 Ready to reset back to real mode
D4 Back in real mode
D5 Clear base memory
DD Built-in self-test failed
E0 Ready to replace E000 ROM
E1 Completed E000 ROM replacement
E2 Ready to replace EGA ROM
E3 Completes EGA ROM replacement

Compaq 286 Desk pro BIOS Post Codes

01 Central processing unit
02 Coprocessor
02 Direct memory access
04 Interrupt controller
05 Port 61
06 Keyboard controller
07 CMOS
08 CMOS
09 CMOS
10 Programmable timer
11 Refresh detect test
12 Speed test
14 Speaker test
21 Memory read/write
24 Memory address
25 Walking I/O
31 Keyboard short test
32 Keyboard long test
33 Keyboard LED test
35 Security lock test
41 Printer failed
42 Printer date, interrupt
43 Printer pattern test
48 Printer failed
51 VDU controller test
52 VDU controller test
53 VDU attribute test
54 VDU character set test
55 VDU 80 x 25 mode
56 VDU 80 x 25 mode
57 VDU 40 x 25 mode
60 Diskette drive ID test
61 Format
62 Read test
63 Write/read compare test
64 Random seek
65 ID media test
66 Speed test
67 Wrap test
68 Write protect test
69 Reset controller test

Compaq 386 Desk pro BIOS Post Codes

01 I/O ROM error
02 System memory board failure
12 System option error
13 Time and date not set
14 Memory size error
21 Memory error
23 Memory address error
25 Memory error
26 Keyboard error
33 Keyboard controller error
34 Keyboard or system unit error
41 Printer error
42 Monochrome adapter failure
51 Display adapter failure
61 Diskette controller failure
62 Diskette boot recorder error
65 Ext. FDC failed got to internal F
6A Floppy port address conflict
6B Floppy port address conflict
72 Coprocessor detection

Compaq 486 Desk pro BIOS Post Codes

01 CPU test failed
02 Coprocessor or Weitek error
03 DMA page registers
04 Interrupt controller master
05 Port 61 error
06 Keyboard controller self test
07 CMOS RAM test failed
08 CMOS interrupt test failed
09 CMOS clock load data test
10 Programmable timer
11 Refresh detect test failed
12 Speed test slow mode out of range
13 Protected mode test failed
14 Speaker test failed
16 Cache memory configuration
19 Installed devices test
21 Memory machine ID test failed
22 Memory system ROM checksum
23 Memory read/write test failed
24 Memory address test failed
25 Walking I/O test failed
26 Increment pattern test failed
31 Keyboard short test, 8042
32 Keyboard long test failed
33 Keyboard LED test, 8042
34 Keyboard typematic test failed
41 Printer failed or not connected
42 Printer data register failed
43 Printer pattern test
48 Printer not connected
51 Video controller test failed
52 Video memory test failed
53 Video attribute test failed
54 Video character set test failed
55 Video 80 x 25 mode
56 Video 80 x 25 mode
57 Video 40 x 25 mode test failed
58 Video 320 x 200 mode color set 1
59 Video 320 x 200 mode color set 1
60 Diskette ID drive types test
61 Diskette format failed
62 Diskette read test failed
63 Diskette write, read, random seek
65 Diskette media ID failed
66 Diskette speed test failed
67 Diskette wrap test failed
68 Diskette write protect test
69 Diskette reset controller test
82 Video memory test failed
84 Video adapter test failed

Compaq Video BIOS Post Codes

00 Entry into video ROM
01 Test alternate adapters
02 Perform vertical sync tests
03 Perform horizontal sync tests
04 Perform static system tests
05 Perform bug tests
06 Peform configuration tests
07 Perform alternate ROM tests
08 Run color gun off tests
09 Run color gun on tests
0A Test video memory
0B Check that adapter board is present
10 Error...illegal configuration
20 Error...no vertical sync present
21 Error...vertical sync out of range
30 Error...no horizontal sync present
40 Error...color register failure
50 Error...slot type conflict failure
51 Error...video memory conflict error
52 Error...ROM conflict error
60 Error...red DAC stuck low
61 Error...green DAC stuck low
62 Error...blue DAC stuck low
63 Error...DAC stuck high
64 Error...red DAC fault
65 Error...green DAC fault
66 Error...blue DAC fault
70 Error...bad alternate ROM version
80 Error...color gun stuck on
90 Error...color gun stuck off
A0 Error...video memory failure
F0 Error...equipment failure
00 Video POSY complete

Compaq System Post Messages

101 Option ROM Error
102 System board failure
103 System board failure
162 System options not set
163 Time and date not set
164 Memory size error
183 Invalid processor jumper setting
201 Memory error
202 Memory type mismatch
207 ECC corrected single bit errors in DIMM/SIMM pair(s)
213 Incompatible DIMM module in DIMM socket(s)
301 Keyboard error
304 Keyboard or system unit error
401 Parallel port 1 address assignment conflict
403 Parallel port 3 address assignment conflict
404 Parallel port address conflict detected
410 Audio interrupt conflict
411 Network interface card interrupt conflict
501 Display adapter failure
601 Diskette controller error
602 Diskette boot record error
605 Diskette drive type error
610 External storage device failure
611 Primary floppy port address assignment conflict
612 Secondary floppy port address assignment conflict
660 Display cache is detected unreliable
912 Computer cover has been removed since last system startup
914 Hood lock coil is not connected
916 thermal sensor from processor heat sink is not connected
917 Expansion riser not detected
1151 Serial port 1 address conflict detected
1152 Serial port 2 address conflict detected
1155 Serial port address detected
1201 System audio address conflict detected
1202 MIDI port address conflict detected
1203 Game port address conflict detected
1720 SMART hard drive detects imminent failure
1721 SMART SCSI hard drive detects imminent failure
1771 Primary disk port address assignment conflict
1772 Secondary disk port address assignment conflict
1780 Disk 0 failure
1781 Disk 1 failure
1782 Disk controller failure
1790 Disk 0 failure
1791 Disk 1 failure
1792 Secondary disk controller failure
1793 Secondary controller or disk failure
1800 Temperature alert
1801 Processor not supported by ROM BIOS


 


 

DELL BIOS Post Codes:

 

Beep Codes Possible Causes Corrective Action
1 - 2 No video card detected Reseat the video card
1 - 2 - 2 - 3 BIOS ROM checksum error  
1 - 3 - 1 - 1 DRAM refresh error Reseat the memory modules
1 - 3 - 1 - 3 8742 Keyboard Controller error Reseat the keyboard connector
1 - 3 - 3 - 1 Memory defective or not present Reseat the memory modules
1 - 3 - 4 - 1 RAM failure on line xxx Reseat the memory modules
1 - 3 - 4 - 3 RAM failure on data bits xxx of low byte on memory bus Reseat the memory modules
1 - 4 - 1 - 1 RAM failure on data bits xxx of high byte on memory bus Reseat the memory modules

Dell BIOS System Messages:

Message Possible Cause Corrective Action
nnnn Cache RAM Passed nnnn KB of system cache RAM has been successfully tested  
nnnn Extended RAM Passed nnnn KB of extended RAM has been tested  
nnnn Shadow RAM Passed nnnn KB of shadow RAM has been successfully tested  
nnnn System RAM Passed nnnn KB of system RAM has been successfully tested  
CD-ROM drive Identified The systems automatic drive type detection feature has identified the CD-ROM drive  
Diskette drive A error; Diskette drive B Error Drive A or B is present but has failed the BIOS POST Ensure that the drive is installed correctly in the chassis and detected correctly in the system setup
Entering Setup The system is starting the system setup program  
Extended RAM Failed at offset: nnnn Extended memory is not working correctly or is not configured correctly at offset: nnnn IF you receive this message after making changes in the system setup program, enter the program and restore the original value(s)
Failing bits: nnnn nnnn is a map of the bits at RAM address that failed the memory test.  Each 1 in the map indicates a failed bit If you receive this message after making changes in the system setup program, enter the program and restore the original value(s)
Fixed Disk n Failure; Fixed Disk Controller Failure The hard drive specified by n is not working or not configured correctly Ensure that the drive is installed correctly in the chassis and defined coracle in the system setup program
Fixed Disk n Identified The system's automatic drive type detection feature has identified the hard disk drive(s)  
Incorrect Drive x type - Run Setup Diskette drive x is not correctly identified in the system setup program Ensure that the drive is defined correctly in the system setup program
Invalid NVRAM media type The system is having a problem accessing NVRAM (CMOS) Set the configuration jumper to Maintenance mode and restart the system to return all settings to their defaults
Invalid system configuration data The system configuration information is the system setup program is incorrect, or the battery charge may be low Enter the system setup program and verify the system configuration, then restart the system
Keyboard controller error The keyboard controller failed it's test If you receive this message after making changes in the system setup program, enter the program and restore the original value(s)
Keyboard error The keyboard is not working correctly The keyboard or system board may need to be replaced
Keyboard error nn The BIOS has detected a stuck key represented by scan code nn Make sure nothing is resting on the keyboard.  If a key appears to be stuck, carefully pry it up.  if the problem persists, you may need to replace the keyboard
Mouse initialized The system's mouse has been found and initialized  
Operating system not found The operating system cannot be located on drive A or drive C Enter the system setup program and confirm that drive A or drive C is properly identified
Parity check 1 nnnn A parity error has been detected on the system bus.  The BIOS attempts to locate the address and display it nnnn.  If it cannot locate the address, it displays ???? instead If you receive this message after making changes in the setup program, enter the program and restore the original values(s)
Parity check 2 nnnn A parity error has been detected on the I/O bus.  The BIOS attempts to locate the address and display it nnnn.  If it cannot locate the address, it displays ???? instead If you receive this message after making changes in the setup program, enter the program and restore the original values(s)
Press <F1> to resume, <F2> to Setup This message is displayed after a recoverable error message Press <F1> to start the boot routine or <F2> to enter the system setup program and change any settings
Press <Del> to enter SETUP Optional message displayed during POST Id desired, press <Del> to enter the system setup program
Previous boot incomplete - Default configuration used After a unsuccessful boot, POST loads default values There may be incorrect values or incorrect settings in the system setup program.  Run the system setup program and attempt to restore the incorrect settings.  If the message reappears, set the configuration jumper to Maintenance mode and restart the system to return all settings to their defaults
Real time clock error The RTC has failed the BIOS test If you receive this message after making changes in the setup program, enter the program and restore the original values(s)
Resource allocation conflict on motherboard The system cannot configure all system board devices without a resource conflict Run the system setup program and try to resolve any obvious resource conflicts.  If the message reappears, set the configuration jumper to Maintenance mode and restart the system to return all settings to their defaults
Shadow RAM failed at offset: nnnn Shadow RAM has failed at offset nnnn in the 64KB block in which the error was detected If you receive this message after making changes in the setup program, enter the program and restore the original values(s)
System battery is dead - Replace and run SETUP The CMOS clock battery indicator shows the battery is dead Replace the battery and run the system setup program to reconfigure the system
System BIOS shadowed The system BIOS has been copied to shadow RAM  
System cache error - cache disabled RAM cache failed the BIOS test.  The BIOS has disabled the cache If you receive this message after making changes in the system setup program, enter the program and restore the original settings
System CMOS checksum bad - run SETUP System CMOS has been corrupted or modified incorrectly, perhaps by an application program that changes data stored in CMOS Run the system setup program and reconfigure the system by either reverting to the default values or by making your own selections
System RAM failed at offset: nnnn System RAM failed at offset nnnn in the 64KB block in which the error was detected If you receive this message after making changes in the setup program, enter the program and restore the original values(s)
System timer error The timer test failed If you receive this message after making changes in the setup program, enter the program and restore the original values(s)
UMB Upper limit segment address: nnnn Displays the address nnnn of the upper limit of the UMB, indicating released segments of the BIOS which may be reclaimed by a virtual memory manager  
Video BIOS shadowed The video BIOS has been successfully copied to shadow RAM  

Dell BIOS Post Codes:

01 CPU register test in progress
02 CMOS read/write test failed
03 BIOS ROM checksum bad
04 8254 programmable interrupt controller failed
05 DMA controller initialization failed
06 DMA page-register test failed
08 RAM refresh verification failed
09 Starting first-64K RAM test
0A First-64KB RAM IC or data line bad
0B First-64KB RAM odd/even logic bad
0C First-64KB address line bad
0D First-64KB parity error
10 Bit 0 bad in first 64KB
11 Bit 1 bad in first 64KB
12 Bit 2 bad in first 64KB
13 Bit 3 bad in first 64KB
14 Bit 4 bad in first 64KB
15 Bit 5 bad in first 64KB
16 Bit 6 bad in first 64KB
17 Bit 7 bad in first 64KB
18 Bit 8 bad in first 64KB
19 Bit 9 bad in first 64KB
1A Bit 10 bad in first 64KB
1B Bit 11 bad in first 64KB
1C Bit 12 bad in first 64KB
1D Bit 13 bad in first 64KB
1E Bit 14 bad in first 64KB
1F Bit 15 bad in first 64KB
20 Slave DMA register bad
21 Master DMA register bad
22 Master interrupt-mask register bad
23 Slave interrupt-mask register bad
25 Loading interrupt vectors
27 Keyboard-controller test failed
28 CMOS RAM battery bad
29 CMOS configuration validation in progress
2B Video-memory test failed
2C Video initialization failure
2D Video-retrace failure
2E Searching for a video ROM
30 Switching to video ROM
31 Monochrome operation OK
32 Color (CGA) operation OK
33 Color operation OK
34 Timer-tick interrupt in progress (or bad)
35 CMOS shutdown test in progress (or bad)
36 Gate A20 bad
37 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode
38 RAM test in progress or high address line is bad
3A Interval timer channel 2 bad
3B Time-of-day test bad
3C Serial-port test bad
3D Parallel -port test bad
3E Math co-processor test bad
3F Cache-memory test bad

GENERAL BIOS Post Codes:


00h No error
01h Invalid command
02h Address mark not found
03h Disk write protected (floppy)
04h Request sector not found
05h Reset failed (hard disk)
06h Floppy disk removed/Disk changeline (floppy)
07h Bad parameter table (hard disk)/Initialization failed
08h DMA overrun (floppy)
09h DMA crossed 64K boundary
0Ah Bas sector flag (hard disk)
0Bh Bad track flag (hard disk)
0Ch Media type not found (floppy)
0Dh Invalid number of sectors on format (hard disk)
0Eh Control data address mark detected (hard disk)
0Fh DMA arbitration level out of range (hard error - retry failed)
10h Uncorrectable CRC or ECC data error (hard error - retry failed)
11h ECC corrected data error (soft error - retried OK ) (hard disk)
20h Controller failure
40h Seek failure
80h Disk timout (failed to respond)
AAh Drive not ready (hard disk)
BBh Undefined error (hard disk)
CCh Write fault (hard disk)
E0h Statur register error (hard disk)
FFh Sense operation failed (hard disk)

As you can see on the left hand side is a short hand code this is what you would see if something did go wrong.

IBM BIOS Post Codes:

IBM POST I/O Ports

Architecture Typical Computer Port
PC PC None
ISA XT 60
  AT 80
  PS/2 25,30 90,190
MCA PS/2 50 up 680, 3BC
EISA None None

IBM POST Procedures

CPU Perform register test on the CPU by writing data patterns to the registers and reading the results of the write
ROM BIOS Checksum The value of the bits inside the BIOS chip(s) is added to a preset value that should create a total value of 00
CMOS RAM RAM within the CMOS chip is tested by writing data patters tot he area and verifying that the data was stored correctly
DMA Test DMA chips by forcing control inputs to the CPU to an active state and verifying that the proper reactions occur
8042/8742 Keyboard Controller Test including Gate A20 and the reset command.  The buffer space is prepared and data is sent to the determined area via the keyboard controller to see if commands are received and executed correctly
Base 64K System RAM Perform a walking bit test on the first 64K of RAM so the BIOS vector area can be initialized.  Check for bad RAM chips or a data/address line
8259A PIC Determine if commands to interrupt CPU processes are carried out correctly.  Check the PIC, PIT, RTC, CMOS and Clock chips
8254 PIT Check that proper setup and hold times are given to the PIC for interrupts of the CPU processes.  Check the PIT or Clock chip
82385 Cache Controller This is normally responsible for cache and shadow memory
CMOS RAM Configuration Data Check information in CMOS RAM before further testing so any failures after this could also be down to the CMOS chip
CRT Controllers Test any video adapters listed in the CMOS
RAM above 64K perform walking bit pattern test on memory above 64K listed in CMOS
Keyboard Test interface to the keyboard including scan code stuck keys etc.
Pointing Device Test and initialize vector for any pointing devices found.  Failure to see a device may be down to the device itself but there may be a problem with the CMOS or 8042/8742
Diskette Drive A: Test and initialize the A: drive
Serial Interface Circuitry Test any RS232 devices found at the proper I/O address
Diskette Controllers In an A: drive has been found further testing is performed before proceeding to the boot loader.  This test includes reading the first sector of any diskette in the drive to see if a valid boot code is there
Fixed Disk Controllers Test and initialize any hard drives set in the CMOS including reading the first sector of the hard drive to see if a valid boot code exists

IBM XT BIOS (Port 60)

00 or FF CPU register test failed
01 BIOS ROM checksum failed
02 System timer 1 failed
03 8237 DMA register Read/Write failed
04 Base 32K RAM failed

IBM AT BIOS

01 CPU flag and register tested
02 BIOS ROM checksum tested
03 CMOS shutdown byte 0F tested
04 8254 PIT channel 0 tested
05 8254 PIT channel 1 tested
06 8237 DMA initialize registers test 0
07 8237 DMA initialize registers test 1
08 DMA page register tested
09 Memory refresh tested
0A Soft reset tested
0B 8042 keyboard controller reset
0C 8042 keyboard controller reset OK
0D 8042 keyboard controller reset
0E Memory tested
0F I/P buffer switch settings obtained
DD RAM error
11 Protected mode initialized
12 Protected mode registers tested
13 8259 PIC #2 initialized
14 Temporary Interrupt vectors setup
15 BIOS Interrupt vectors obtained
16 CMOS checksum and battery OK
17 Defective CMOS battery flag set
18 CMOS set checked
19 CMOS return address byte set
1A Temporary stack set
1B Segment address 01-0000, second 64K, tested
1C Memory size; See if 512K or 640K present
1D Segment address 10-000, over 640K, tested
1E Expansion memory set as is reported by the CMOS
1F Address lines 19-23 tested
20 Preparing to return to protected mode
21 Return from protected mode successful; 6845 video controller initialized and started
22 6845 video controller tested
23 EGA/VGA BIOS tested
24 8259PIC Read/Write mask register with 1's and 0's
25 Interrupt mask registers tested
26 Unexpected Interrupts checked for; Error 101 displayed
27 System board tested: POST logic
28 Unexpected NMI Interrupts tested for
29 8253 PIT timer tested
2A 8253 timer tested
2B 8253 timer initialized; System board error
2C 8253 timer Interrupt initialization; System board failure
2D 8042 keyboard controller checked for command
2F 8042 keyboard checked for warm boot
30 Shutdown return 2 set
31 Protected mode enabled
32 Address lines 0-15
33 Next block of 64K RAM tested
34 Real mode enabled
35 8042 keyboard controller tested
36 Check for keyboard error
38 8042 keyboard controller failed
3A 8042 keyboard controller initialized
3B Expansion ROM's checked for in 2K blocks
3C Floppy drive controller tested
3D Initialize the floppy drive controller
3E Initialize hard disk controller
3F Initialize parallel port
40 Hardware Interrupt enabled
41 System code at segment E0000h checked for
42 Exit to system code
43 Call to boot loader
44 Boot from fixed disk
45 Unable to boot from fixed disk; Boot to BASIC
81 Descriptor table built
82 Virtual mode started
90-B6 Memory and bootstrap testing done
F0 Data segment set
F2 Interrupts tested
F1 Exception Interrupts tested
F3 Verify 286 protected mode instructions (LDT/SDT and LTR/STR)
F4 Verify 286 protected mode instructions (Bound instruction)
F5 Verify 286 protected mode instructions (Push and pop)
F6 Verify 286 protected mode instructions (Access rights)
F7 Verify 286 protected mode instructions (RPL field adjusted)
F8 Verify 286 protected mode instructions (LAR function)
F9 Verify 286 protected mode instructions (LSL instruction)
FA Verify 286 protected mode instructions (Memory chip selected)

IBM PS/2 (Micro Channel) BIOS

00 CPU tested with patter FFAA0055
01 CPU 32 register tested
02 BIOS ROM checksum tested
03 System port 94 enabled and checked
04 POST registers, port 102 enabled and checked
05 POST registers port 96 enabled and tested
06 CMOS shutdown byte 0F tested
07 CMOS extended port 74-76 enabled and tested
08 DMA and page registers tested (ports 2, 18, 1A and 1C)
09 DMA initialized
0A Memory refresh tested
0B 8042 keyboard controller buffers tested (ports 61 and 64)
0C 8042 keyboard controller internal test (port 60)
0D 8042 keyboard controller internal test continued
0E 8042keyboard controller self test error
0F Memory sized and setup
10 First 512K base memory tested
11 Base memory error, system halted
12 Protected mode instructions tested; Keyboard commands tested
13 PIC Interrupt controller 1 (master) tested
14 PIC Interrupt controller 2 (slave) tested
15 Initialize 120 Interrupt vectors
16 Initialize 16 extended vectors
17 CMOS/RTC tested; CMOS byte 0D tested
18 CMOS/RTC checksum tested
19 CMOS/RTC battery tested
1A Check for soft or hard reset
1B Protected mode initialization
1C Protected mode stack set; Pointer to end of first 64K set
1D Low memory size tested in protected mode
1E Memory size information saved
1F Memory split address setup
20 Check for extended memory beyond 64MB
21 Test memory-address bus lines
22 Clear parity error and channel lock
23 Initialize interrupt 0
24 Check CMOS RAM validity
25 Write keyboard-controller command byte
40 Check valid CMOS RAM and video system
41 Display error code 160
42 Test registers in both interrupt controllers
43 Test interrupt controller registers
44 Test interrupt mask registers
45 Test NMI
46 NMI error has been detected
47 Test system timer 0
48 Check system speaker clock
49 Test system timer 0 count
4A Test system timer 1 count
4B Check if timer interrupt occurred
4C Test timer 0 for improper operation (too fast or too slow)
4D Verify timer interrupt 0
4E Check 8042 keyboard controller
4F Check for soft reset
50 Prepare for shutdown
51 Start protected mode test
52 Test memory in 64KB increments
53 Check if memory test done
54 Return to real mode
55 Test for regular or manufacturing mode
56 Disable the keyboard
57 Check for keyboard self test
58 Keyboard test passed
59 Test the keyboard controller
5A Configure the mouse
5B Disable the mouse
5C Initialize interrupt vectors
5D Initialize interrupt vectors
5E Initialize interrupt vectors
60 Save DDNIL status
61 Reset floppy drive
62 Test floppy drive
63 Turn floppy-drive motor off
64 Set up serial ports
65 Enable real time clock interrupt
66 Configure floppy drives
67 Configure hard drives
68 Enable system CPU arbitration
69 Scan for adapter ROM's
6A Verify serial and parallel ports
6B Set up equipment byte
6C Set up configuration
6D Set keyboard-typematic rate
6E Call Int. 19 boot loader


MYLEX BIOS Post Codes:


Beeps Error Message Description
1 Normal boot System is booting normally
2 Video adapter error The video adapter is either faulty or not seated properly.  Check the adapter
3 Keyboard controller error The keyboard controller IC is faulty.   Replace the IC if possible
4 Keyboard error The keyboard controller IC is faulty or the keyboard is faulty.  Replace the keyboard, if problem still persists, replace the keyboard controller IC
5 PIC 0 error The programmable interrupt controller is faulty.  Replace the IC if possible
6 PIC 1 error The programmable interrupt controller is faulty.  replace the IC if possible
7 DMA page register error The DMA controller IC is faulty.   Replace the IC if possible
8 RAM refresh error  
9 RAM data error  
10 RAM parity error  
11 DMA controller 0 error The DMA controller IC for channel 0 has failed
12 CMOS RAM error The CMOS RAM has failed
13 DMA controller 1 error The DMA controller IC for channel 1 has failed
14 CMOS RAM battery error The CMOS RAM battery has failed.   If possible, replace the CMOS or battery
15 CMOS RAM checksum error The CMOS RAM has failed.  If possible, replace the CMOS
16 BIOS ROM checksum error The BIOS ROM has failed.  If possible replace the BIOS or upgrade it

Mylex 386 BIOS Beep Codes

Beeps Error Message Description
1 long Normal boot System is booting normally
2 long Video adapter failure Either the video adapter is faulty, not seated properly or is missing
1 long, 1 short, 1 long Keyboard controller error Either the keyboard controller IC is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 2 short, 1 long Keyboard error Either the keyboard controller is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 3 short, 1 long PIC 0 error The programmable interrupt controller IC is faulty
1 long 4 short, 1 long PIC 1 error The programmable interrupt controller IC is faulty
1 long, 5 short, 1 long DMA page register error The DMA controller IC 1 or 2 is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 6 short, 1 long RAM refresh error  
1 long, 7 short, 1 long RAM data error  
1 long, 8 short, 1 long RAM parity error  
1 long, 9 short, 1 long DMA controller 1 error The DMA controller for channel 0 is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 10 short, 1 long CMOS RAM error Either the CMOS RAM is faulty.   Replace the CMOS
1 long, 11 short, 1 long DMA controller 2 error The DMA controller for channel 1 is faulty or the system board circuitry is faulty
1 long, 12 short, 1 long CMOS RAM battery error The CMOS RAM battery is faulty or the CMOS RAM is bad.  Replace the battery if possible
1 long, 13 short, 1 long CMOS checksum error The CMOS RAM is faulty
1 long 14 short, 1 long BIOS ROM checksum failure The BIOS ROM checksum is faulty.   Replace the BIOS or upgrade

PHOENIX BIOS Post Codes:

The beep codes are represented in the number of beeps. E.g. 1-1-2 would mean 1 beep, a pause, 1 beep, a pause, and 2 beeps.

Beeps Error Message Description
1-1-2 CPU test failure The CPU is faulty.  Replace the CPU
Low 1-1-2 System board select failure The motherboard is having an undetermined fault.  Replace the motherboard
1-1-3 CMOS read/write error The real time clock/CMOS is faulty.   Replace the CMOS if possible
Low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM failure The extended portion of the CMOS RAM has failed.  Replace the CMOS if possible
1-1-4 BIOS ROM checksum error The BIOS ROM has failed.  Replace the BIOS or upgrade if possible
1-2-1 PIT failure The programmable interrupt timer has failed.  Replace if possible
1-2-2 DMA failure The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-2-3 DMA read/write failure The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-1 RAM refresh failure The RAM refresh controller has failed
1-3-2 64KB RAM failure The test of the first 64KB RAM has failed to start
1-3-3 First 64KB RAM failure The first RAM IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
1-3-4 First 64KB logic failure The first RAM control logic has failed
1-4-1 Address line failure The address line to the first 64KB RAM has failed
1-4-2 Parity RAM failure The first RAM IC has failed.   Replace if possible
1-4-3 EISA fail-safe timer test Replace the motherboard
1-4-4 EISA NMI port 462 test Replace the motherboard
2-1-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 0; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 1; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 2; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-1-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 3; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 4; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 5; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 6; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-2-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 7; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 8; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 9; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 10; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-3-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 11; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-1 64KB RAM failure Bit 12; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-2 64KB RAM failure Bit 13; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-3 64KB RAM failure Bit 14; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
2-4-4 64KB RAM failure Bit 15; This data bit on the first RAM IC has failed.  Replace the IC if possible
3-1-1 Slave DMA register failure The DMA controller has failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-2 Master DMA register failure The DMA controller had failed.   Replace the controller if possible
3-1-3 Master interrupt mask register failure The interrupt controller IC has failed
3-1-4 Slave interrupt mask register failure The interrupt controller IC has failed
3-2-2 Interrupt vector error The BIOS was unable to load the interrupt vectors into memory.  Replace the motherboard
3-2-3 Reserved  
3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure The keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
3-3-1 CMOS RAM power bad Replace the CMOS battery or CMOS RAM if possible
3-3-2 CMOS configuration error The CMOS configuration has failed.   Restore the configuration or replace the battery if possible
3-3-3 Reserved  
3-3-4 Video memory failure There is a problem with the video memory.  Replace the video adapter if possible
3-4-1 Video initialization failure There is a problem with the video adapter.  Reseat the adapter or replace the adapter if possible
4-2-1 Timer failure The system's timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-2 Shutdown failure The CMOS has failed.  Replace the CMOS IC if possible
4-2-3 Gate A20 failure The keyboard controller has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode This is a CPU problem.  Replace the CPU and retest
4-3-1 RAM test failure System RAM addressing circuitry is faulty.  Replace the motherboard
4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 failure The system timer IC has failed.   Replace the IC if possible
4-3-4 Time of day clock failure The real time clock/CMOS has failed.   Replace the CMOS if possible
4-4-1 Serial port failure A error has occurred in the serial port circuitry
4-4-2 Parallel port failure A error has occurred in the parallel port circuitry
4-4-3 Math coprocessor failure The math coprocessor has failed.   If possible, replace the MPU
Beeps Description
1-1-1-3 Verify real mode
1-1-2-1 Get CPU type
1-1-2-3 Initialize system hardware
1-1-3-1 Initialize chipset registers with initial values
1-1-3-2 Set in POST flag
1-1-3-3 Initialize CPU registers
1-1-4-1 Initialize cache to initial values
1-1-4-3 Initialize I/O
1-2-1-1 Initialize power management
1-2-1-2 Load alternative registers with initial POST values
1-2-1-3 Jump to UserPatch0
1-2-2-1 Initialize timer initialization
1-2-3-1 8254 timer initialization
1-2-3-3 8237 DMA controller initialization
1-2-4-1 Reset Programmable Interrupt Controller
1-3-1-1 Test DRAM refresh
1-3-1-3 Test 8742 Keyboard Controller
1-3-2-1 Set ES segment register to 4GB
1-3-3-1 Autosize DRAM
1-3-3-3 Clear 512K base memory
1-3-4-1 Test 512K base address lines
1-3-4-3 Test 51K base memory
1-4-1-3 Test CPU bus-clock frequency
1-4-2-1 CMOS RAM read/write failure (this commonly indicates a problem on the ISA bus such as a card not seated)
1-4-2-4 Reinitialize the chipset
1-4-3-1 Shadow system BIOS ROM
1-4-3-2 Reinitialize the cache
1-4-3-3 Autosize the cache
1-4-4-1 Configure advanced chipset registers
1-4-4-2 Load alternate registers with CMOS values
2-1-1-1 Set initial CPU speed
2-1-1-3 Initialize interrupt vectors
2-1-2-1 Initialize BIOS interrupts
2-1-2-3 Check ROM copyright notice
2-1-2-4 Initialize manager for PCI Options ROMs
2-1-3-1 Check video configuration against CMOS
2-1-3-2 Initialize PCI bus and devices
2-1-3-3 initialize all video adapters in system
2-1-4-1 Shadow video BIOS ROM
2-1-4-3 Display copyright notice
2-2-1-1 Display CPU type and speed
2-2-1-3 Test keyboard
2-2-2-1 Set key click if enabled
2-2-2-3 Enable keyboard
2-2-3-1 Test for unexpected interrupts
2-2-3-3 Display prompt "Press F2 to enter setup"
2-2-4-1 Test RAM between 512K and 640K
2-3-1-1 Test expanded memory
2-3-1-3 Test extended memory address lines
2-3-2-1 Jump to UserPatch1
2-3-2-3 Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-2-3 Configure advanced cache registers
2-3-3-1 Enable external and CPU caches
2-3-3-2 Initialize SMI handler
2-3-3-3 Display external cache size
2-3-4-1 Display shadow message
2-3-4-3 Display non-disposable segments
2-4-1-1 Display error messages
2-4-1-3 Check for configuration errors
2-4-2-1 Test real-time clock
2-4-2-3 Check for keyboard errors
2-4-4-1 Setup hardware interrupt vectors
2-4-4-3 Test coprocessor if present
3-1-1-1 Disable onboard I/O ports
3-1-1-3 Detect and install external RS232 ports
3-1-2-1 Detect and install external parallel ports
3-1-2-3 Reinitialize onboard I/O ports
3-1-3-1 Initialize BIOS Data Area
3-1-3-3 Initialize Extended BIOS Data Area
3-1-4-1 Initialize floppy controller
3-2-1-1 Initialize hard disk controller
3-2-1-2 Initialize local bus hard disk controller
3-2-1-3 Jump to UserPatch2
3-2-2-1 Disable A20 address line
3-2-2-3 Clear huge ES segment register
3-2-3-1 Search for option ROMs
3-2-3-3 Shadow option ROMs
3-2-4-1 Setup power management
3-2-4-3 Enable hardware interrupts
3-3-1-1 Set time of day
3-3-1-3 Check key lock
3-3-3-1 Erase F2 prompt
3-3-3-3 Scan for F2 keystroke
3-3-4-1 Enter SETUP
3-3-4-3 Clear in-POST flag
3-4-1-1 Check for errors
3-4-1-3 POST done - prepare to boot operating system
3-4-2-1 One beep
3-4-2-3 Check password (optional)
3-4-3-1 Clear global descriptor table
3-4-4-1 Clear parity checkers
3-4-4-3 Check virus and backup reminders
4-1-1-1 Try to boot with INT 19
4-2-1-1 Interrupt handler error
4-2-1-3 Unknown interrupt error
4-2-2-1 Pending interrupt error
4-2-2-3 Initialize option ROM error
4-2-3-1 Shutdown error
4-2-3-3 Extended Block Move
4-2-4-1 Shutdown 10 error
4-2-4-3 Keyboard Controller failure (most likely problem is with RAM or cache unless no video is present)
4-3-1-3 Initialize the chipset
4-3-1-4 Initialize refresh counter
4-3-2-1 Check for Forced Flash
4-3-2-2 BIOS ROM is OK
4-3-2-4 Do a complete RAM test
4-3-3-1 Do OEM initialization
4-3-3-2 Initialize interrupt controller
4-3-3-3 Read in bootstrap code
4-3-3-4 Initialize all vectors
4-3-4-2 Initialize the boot device
4-3-4-3 Boot code was read OK


QUADTEL BIOS Post Codes:

Quadtel v 3.07 AT BIOS Post Codes

02 Flag test
04 Register test
06 System hardware initialization
08 Initialize chipset registers
0A BIOS ROM checksum
0C DMA page register test
0E 8254 programmable interrupt timer test
10 8254 programmable interrupt timer initialization
12 8237 DMA controller test
14 8237 DMA controller initialization
16 Initialize 8259 programmable interrupt controller; reset math coprocessor
18 8259 programmable interrupt controller test
1A Memory refresh test
1C Base 64K RAM address test
1E Base 64K RAM memory test
20 Base 64K RAM test for 386 based systems
22 8742 keyboard controller self test
24 MC 146818 CMOS test
26 Start first protected mode test
28 Memory sizing test
2A Autosize memory chips
2C Chip interleave enable test
2E First protected mode test exit
30 Unexpected shutdown
32 System board memory size
34 Relocate shadow RAM if configured
36 Configure EMS system
38 Configure wait states
3A Retest 64K RAM base memory
3C CPU speed calculation
3E Get switches from 8042 keyboard controller
40 Configure CPU speed
42 Initialize interrupt vectors
44 Verify video configuration
46 Initialize video system
48 Test unexpected interrupts
4A Start second protected mode test
4C Verify LDT protected mode instruction
4E Verify TR protected mode instruction
50 Verify LSL protected mode instruction
52 Verify LAR protected mode instruction
54 Verify VERR protected mode instruction
56 Unexpected exception
58 Address line A20 test
5A Keyboard ready test
5C Determine AT or XT keyboard
5E Start third protected mode test
60 Base memory test
62 Base memory address test
64 Shadow memory test
66 Extended memory test
68 Extended address test
6A Determine memory size
6C Display error messages
6E Copy BIOS to shadow memory
70 8254 programmable interrupt timer clock test
72 MC 146818 real time clock test
74 Keyboard stuck key test
76 Initialize hardware interrupt vectors
78 Math coprocessor test
7A Determine serial ports available
7C Determine parallel ports available
7E Initialize BIOS data area
80 Determine floppy and hard disk controller
82 Floppy disk test
84 Hard disk test
86 External ROM scan
88 System key lock test
8A Wait for <F1> key pressed
8C Final system initialization
8E Interrupt 19 boot loader
B0 Unexpected interrupt before or after boot up

Quadtel 16K XT BIOS Post Codes

03 Test flag register
06 Test CPU register
09 Initialize system hardware
0C Test BIOS ROM checksum
0F Initialize 8237 DMA page register
12 Test 8237 DMA address and count registers
15 Initialize 8237 DMA controller
18 Test 8253 programmable interrupt timer
1B Initialize 8253 programmable interrupt timer
1E Start memory refresh test
21 Test base 64K RAM
24 Set up common interrupt temp stack
27 Initialize 8259 programmable interrupt controller
2A Test interrupt mask register
2D Test for unexpected interrupt
30 Test V40 DMA if present
31 Test for DDNIL bits if present
33 Verify system clock interrupt
36 Test keyboard
39 Set up interrupt table
3C Read system configuration switches
3F Test video
42 Determine serial ports available
45 Determine parallel ports available
48 Determine if game port available
4B Display copyright message
4E Calculate CPU speed
54 Test system memory
55 Test floppy drive
57 Initialize system before boot
5A Call interrupt 19 boot loader


These error codes are not 100% tested and confirmed so they are to be used with caution.

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