[SeanPA1]

Recently when i turn on my desktop i hear a beeping sound after windows (xp sp2) loads. I went to a Computer Store and was told that it was more than likely the cpu fan. i bought an air duster and removed the cpu fan (it was very dusty) cleaned it and the beep is still there. the cpu fan and the other fan are running. the system loads as it should but there is the beeping sound. What could it be?

[mphenterprises]

Hi SeanPA. Welcome to PCWorld.

First, I have reworded your Discussion title to reflect your true concern.








Okay, now the computer store technician should not have arbitrarily deemed this as a fan problem. Depending on your computer, the beeping you hear could be anything. Now, since you say that the computer loads, I will infer that this is not a memory problem. That being said, I have some questions for you:

- Is there a pattern in the beeping or is it a continuous beep?

- Does the beeping stop at any point?

- How long have you left the computer on while the beeping is happening?

- Are you using said computer?

- Who is the manufacturer and what is the model number of your computer? (if manufactured computer)

- Who is the manufacturer and what is the model number of your motherboard? (if custom computer)

- Have you made any recent hardware changes that coincide with this beeping?

- When you open the case, can you tell if the beeping is coming from the small system speaker or from elsewhere inside the computer?






I know these are a lot of questions but answering them will narrow our focus.

[mjd420nova]

Beeping or squeeking? Some fans once they get dirty and begin making noise will continue making the noise even after cleaning. That means the bearings are bad. Unless you can access the bearings and clean and lubricate them, you'll have to replace the fan. I have seen some fans get so bad that they scream very loud, so loud the user can't stand it and shuts it down and refuses to turn it back on. A little care on a weekly schedule will eliminate this happening in the future.

[SeanPA1]

Thanks for the responses. the sound is a true beep vs a squeak. As far as the other questions asked, the beep is a pattern (beep-beep-beep-beep-etc.) beeps happening about every second. The system is a HP Pavalion a630. It has its original configuration. I am not using the computer at this point since i do not know if this will harm the system. The longest i have left the system on during the "beep-fest" has been about 5 minuites and the beeping does not stop. I really can not tell if it is coming from the small speaker or somewhere else in the system.

[spike]

The beeping is a code, from the bios, and is telling you have a serious problem!!!!!

Pay closer attention to the beeping, there should be a pattern, not random . and post back.

[rgreen4]

It is definitely a problem that needs to be solved. In the old days and still on some after market motherboards a single beep is normal. Beeps in a pattern and when they do not stop is a problem. HP computers do not beep on start-up unless there is a problem. I have several.
Here is an HP Document on the topic that may help.

[mjd420nova]

Okay, your return response sheds more light on the fault. Without any beep pattern, one long two short ETC. It sounds like you may have a stuck key on the keyboard or the memory cards are not fully seated.

[mphenterprises]

Hi MJD420Nova. Question for you: If the memory chips were not seated properly, would the computer turn on at all? Wouldn't that produce a single double beep error code? I like your thought about the stuck keyboard key....Occam's Razor could pop his head in here again.. :-)

[rgreen4]

Another question if the key were stuck when booting, wouldn't the POST deliver a text error message on the screen? I can't test that theory right now, ans this wonderful Win2K machine with all the emulations and network connections takes 10 minutes to boot fully (after taking some 4 minutes to shut down). But if one of the rest of you out there that have an HP, hold a key down while booting and see what the reaction is.

[SeanPA1]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I read the info on the bios beep codes that was provided here and freaked out and thought I should take this to a repair shop. when the repair shop turned on the desktop the beeps were not there. i took the desktop home and as expected "welcome back beeps". I then purchase a new keyboard, and like that. the beeps are gone! Once again thank you all for your help! :D

[mphenterprises]

With Pleasure, Sean. Yes, once you took it to the shop, you removed the keyboard and mouse from the equation, hence no beep. Once you took it back home and produced the same beeps, you effectively narrowed down your own problem to the keyboard (since I believe that is the only thing that would produce an audio signal when dead.)

Good job. :-)



If you ever need anything else, please post and we will do our best to help you.

[mjd420nova]

Sean: I'm glad that you narrowed it down to the fault and got a new keyboard. The beeps are a result of the BIOS sensing what's called a buffer overflow. The keyboard buffer gets full and starts the beeps. In the older machines once the display came up you could see whick key was stuck bu a line and a half of that character. You will elict beeps from the unit too if you have no memory or the memory is faulty.