Constant tone after post beep, motherboard

[karambiatos]

Hi,

i have big PC problem, It wont boot up any more, it goes post, and then i get a continuous beep, meaning the GPU isnt inserted correctly, but the thing is i have 2 GPUs, and both of them are doing the same.

The night before i shut my PC down normally, and the next morning it wont start up any more, at first i wasnt getting any errors, just the monitor was blank, and not registering the GPUs, then i started switching them around, to see whats up, and then i started getting the insertion error.

with one card i sometimes get a 1 long 2 short (monitor or GPU error) with the other i dont get that, but neither are showing a picture.

 

I'm worried its the PCI-E slots or the PCI controller, or maybe even the CPU.

 

Gigabyte GA-z68X-UD5-B3

i7-2600k

2x gtx570

[Sabre-TLA]

I had a similar situation only I didn't even get a POST beep. I tested the video card in another computer and it was fine so I took my computer to my local Computer Tech store and they confirmed the motherboard was fried.

 

To troubleshoot I would first confirm that one video card is ok, then use that to test until you get video back. If you can't with a known good card then likely the motherboard is done.

 

You could also clean out any dust and check the contacts.

 

Good luck.

[karambiatos]

thats my biggest worry, the motherboard, but i the strange thing is there are lights on the motherboard for the PCI slots and they are all lit blue which means everythings ok, and they stop shining after the post, then the continuous tone starts.

[docfu]

This can happen for a lot of reasons so the first thing to do is take a deep breath and find a spare computer to troubleshoot with.

 

Try booting the machine with no video cards in to confirm the error. You may also want to do a BIOS reset and re-seat all of the ram. Unplug any harddrives/cdrom drives to reduce the number of factors causing the crash.

 

Go slow. Be methodical. Try to figure out which piece of hardware is causing the problem.

 

 

 

My similar error to this was that I did a bad BIOS update in winter, then after 3 months, rebooted the machine to have it crash constantly. Turns out in cold weather the BIOS was fine but in warm weather the dram timings were way off causing horrific crashing.

[karambiatos]

ive reset cmos, i restarted the bios, i removed the GPUs, gives me the same error (posts then continuous tone), removing the ram gives a different tone.

 

its always the same deal, first it posts then it goes into constant tone, if i plug the gpus into the PCI-e but dont plug in the 6pin connectors, first it gives me 1 long 2 short beeps (indicating a no GPU power), then again it goes and gives the continuous tone.

[cichlidfan]

Since that does not equate to any of the expected BIOS beep codes, I would suspect a bad Mobo. Remove everything but the memory and PSU and fire it up. If you get the same result then there is still a small possibility it is a PSU voltage problem.

 

If you have a PSU voltage tester, or know someone who does, that would be my next step.

 

Your beep codes (from the mobo manual):

Q: What do the beeps emitted during the POST mean?

A: The following Award BIOS beep code descriptions may help you identify possible computer problems.

(For reference only.)

1 short: System boots successfully

2 short: CMOS setting error

1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error

1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error

1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error

1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error

Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly

Continuous short beeps: Power error

[karambiatos]

i removed everything, apart from the memory, and there were no errors, it just sat doing nothing (no post).

 

no GPU gives one long 2 short as expected.

Edited June 7, 2014 by karambiatos

[cichlidfan]

It does sound like a bad mobo at this point.

[karambiatos]

so, it turns out the PSUs gone, it wont even power up the PC anymore, and somethings wierd with the motherboard, if i turn on the warning for SYS fan3 the constant tone starts, go figure, also its kind of acting weird in general, i dont know if it needs replacing.

But since the PSU has to be replaced, i looked up and found this.

 

since i can pretty much only get cooler master, any recommendations, i need 800W-900W?

[cichlidfan]

Why can you only get CM?

[karambiatos]

Why can you only get CM?

cuz thats the only quality brand the shops sell here, and ordering something is not worth it, and i kind of need my PC running yesterday.

[cichlidfan]

That's a good reason. I've used their cases but not their PSU's.

[BitMaster]

Hey karambiatos,

 

if the mobo won't boot with the new PSU ( hopefully a reliable brand and not CM ) you can try this:

 

- remove mobo-battery and place a coin in there or short + and - with a screw driver/metal

- place the cap for RESET CMOS also on CLOSED position

- REMOVE EVERYTHING, absolutely EVERYTHING from the mobo incl. CPU

--> start the mobo by shortening the PWR Pins on the header panel, do this a couple times.

 

This has revived a few Asus Mobos in the past that seemed broken but only hung badly.

 

The key is to remove the CPU, it won't work if the CPU is still attached. I know its kind of stressing for people who are not used to do such work and you most likely will need some spare thermal conductive paste to reattach the cpu to the cpu-cooler but it is worth a try.

 

If you game a lot and also run your PC for many hours a day and if your price for electricity is like mine ( 29 € cents a kW/h ) than it will pay if you get a PLATINUM PSU with highest efficiency.

It will pay back by lower power consumption and LESS HEAT being produced.

 

Bit

[SkateZilla]

1 Long Beep is usually linked to GPU Power.

 

Only time I've ever gotten it was by inserting the GPU but not plugging in the 6 or 8 Pin Connectors.

[lunaticfringe]

The system fan speed monitor should be a setting in the BIOS, but you've got to post first to alter it. For example, the dual Vortex 14s I run on a Megahalems cooler spin at less than 150RPM during post, and the default setting looks for the stock Intel cooler speed at over 400RPM. Thus, the setting must be changed, otherwise there's always a POST warning.

 

But the long tone is definitely the GPU power.

[karambiatos]

Hey karambiatos,

 

if the mobo won't boot with the new PSU ( hopefully a reliable brand and not CM ) you can try this:

 

- remove mobo-battery and place a coin in there or short + and - with a screw driver/metal

- place the cap for RESET CMOS also on CLOSED position

- REMOVE EVERYTHING, absolutely EVERYTHING from the mobo incl. CPU

--> start the mobo by shortening the PWR Pins on the header panel, do this a couple times.

 

This has revived a few Asus Mobos in the past that seemed broken but only hung badly.

 

The key is to remove the CPU, it won't work if the CPU is still attached. I know its kind of stressing for people who are not used to do such work and you most likely will need some spare thermal conductive paste to reattach the cpu to the cpu-cooler but it is worth a try.

 

If you game a lot and also run your PC for many hours a day and if your price for electricity is like mine ( 29 € cents a kW/h ) than it will pay if you get a PLATINUM PSU with highest efficiency.

It will pay back by lower power consumption and LESS HEAT being produced.

 

Bit

well in the end the PSU completely failed and wouldnt start my PC up at all, the constant tone, is fan failure, though all my fans are running, i tracked down the error to fan number 3, very strange, guess the PSU failing, messed the mobo up a bit. Oh well, i dont feel like spending money to replace a 1155 socket while its still working.

I managed to track down an antec, jonny guru reviewed, and said it was good, so yay.

 

BTW bit the badge stuff is more marketing, than not. Sometimes you can find bronze editions that work better than golds, so i just read a bunch of professional reviews, and also the almost double the price between bronze and platinum.

 

Thanks for the help guys.

 

P.S. a thumbs up to gigabytes horrible horrible manual, that doesnt tell you anything about anything.