Sudden reboot and BIOS beep code
- I had a nasty scare with my computer.
I think I may have accidentally jostled the CPU enough to interrupt the power supply for an instant. My computer suddenly shut off and tried to reboot. It first tried to read from the CD-ROM drive, then gave 2 long beeps, then tried to read the CD-ROM drive again, then gave 2 long beeps again, then tried to read the CD-ROM drive, then 2 long beeps, etc, etc.
I turned it off manually and turned it back on. The same sequence of trying to read the CD-ROM drive, then emitting 2 long beeps happened again.
I turned the computer off manually again, then back on. The same sequence happened a third time.
I turned the computer off, then on again. This time, the computer came on normally, as if nothing was wrong. Well, not that nothing was wrong, but it gave no explanation further than the generic "Windows was not shut down properly".
My computer now continues to work properly, but this is freaking me out. What sort of damage could happen due to a split-second cut in the power supply caused by a physical nudge of the CPU tower?
The BIOS is a Phoenix 5.22 in an HP Pavilion a6030n. Given that, what do the 2 long beeps mean? Was the BIOS complaining about a faulty power supply? That's my guess as to what the problem was.
How can I find out what damage (if any) was done, and what caused it?
I hope this never happens again!
Any and all help is appreciated.
- Starcatcher Xero
Bankorok, Santak, Xel'letoth- Moved byKeith-Support EngineerMSFT, ModeratorThursday, October 29, 2009 2:06 PM (From:Vista Assistant)
1 person got this answerI do too
Answers
- Hi,
Usually caused by adding new hardware, memory, or updating major drivers, And the description you give
pretty much confirms a hardware issue however it might have been a temporary glitch caused by your
jostling. See the BOLD section at the end which pretty well describes what you caused as a temporary
event.
BCCode 7f "usually" mean :
Cause
Bug check 0x7F typically occurs after you install a faulty or mismatched hardware (especially memory) or if installed hardware fails.
A double fault can occur when the kernel stack overflows. This overflow occurs if multiple drivers are attached to the same stack. For example, if two file system filter drivers are attached to the same stack and then the file system recurses back in, the stack overflows.
Resolving the Problem
Troubleshooting: If you recently added hardware to the computer, remove it to see if the error recurs. If existing hardware has failed, remove or replace the faulty component. Run hardware diagnostics that the system manufacturer supplies to determine which hardware component failed.
The memory scanner is especially important. Faulty or mismatched memory can cause this bug check. For more informaiton about these procedures, see the owner's manual for your computer. Check that all adapter cards in the computer are properly seated. Use an ink eraser or an electrical contact treatment, available at electronics supply stores, to ensure adapter card contacts are clean.
If the error appears on a newly installed system, check the availability of updates for the BIOS, the SCSI controller, or network cards. These kind of updates are typically available on the Web site or BBS of the hardware manufacturer.
Confirm that all hard disk drives, hard disk controllers, and SCSI adapters are listed in the Microsoft Windows Marketplace Tested Products List.
If the error occurred after the installation of a new or updated device driver, you should remove or replace the driver. If, under this circumstance, the error occurs during the startup sequence and the system partition is formatted with NTFS, you might be able to use Safe Mode to rename or delete the faulty driver. If the driver is used as part of the system startup process in Safe Mode, you have to start the computer by using the Recovery Console in order to access the file.
Also restart your computer, and then press F8 at the character-based menu that displays the operating system choices. At the Advanced Options menu, select the Last Known Good Configuration option. This option is most effective when you add only one driver or service at a time.
Overclocking (setting the CPU to run at speeds above the rated specification) can cause this error. If you have overclocked the computer that is experiencing the error, return the CPU to the default clock speed setting.
Check the System Log in Event Viewer for additional error messages that might help identify the device or driver that is causing the error. You can also disable memory caching of the BIOS to try to resolve the problem.
If you encountered this error while upgrading to a new version of the Windows operating system, the error might be caused by a device driver, a system service, a virus scanner, or a backup tool that is incompatible with the new version. If possible, remove all third-party device drivers and system services and disable any virus scanners before you upgrade. Contact the software manufacturer to obtain updates of these tools. Also make sure that you have installed the latest Windows Service Pack.
Finally, if all the above steps do not resolve the error, take the system motherboard to a
repair facility for diagnostic testing. a crack, a scratched trace, or a defective component
on the motherboard can also cause this error.
Hope this helps.
Rob - Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.- Marked As Answer byJason H. - Support EngineerMSFT, ModeratorThursday, November 12, 2009 11:56 PM
All Replies
http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml
Read the info at the above link re Phoenix Bios Beep codes.
They are 1/2 way down the page.
And Bios/Hardware problems are beyond the scope of these Forums.
We deal with problems with the Vista Operating System, not Hardware problems..
Good luck with it.
Cheers.
Mick Murphy - Microsoft PartnerOK, the last time my computer unexplicably shut down on me, it actually generated a problem report. Can anyone tell me what this means?:
Product
---------
WindowsProblem
----------
Shut down unexpectedlyDate
------
11/2/2009 12:09 PMStatus
--------
Report SentProblem signature
---------------------
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.2
Locale ID: 1033Files that help describe the problem (some files may no longer be available)
-----------------------------------------
Mini110209-01.dmp
sysdata.xml
Version.txtExtra information about the problem
------------------------------------------
BCCode: 7f
BCP1: 860360E8
BCP2: 873BA337
BCP3: 00000000
BCP4: 00000000
OS Version: 6_0_6002
Service Pack: 2_0
Product: 768_1
Server information: 3f4a95eb-7192-4e12-a6d5-32c96a5bf937
Bankorok, Santak, Xel'letoth- Hi,
Usually caused by adding new hardware, memory, or updating major drivers, And the description you give
pretty much confirms a hardware issue however it might have been a temporary glitch caused by your
jostling. See the BOLD section at the end which pretty well describes what you caused as a temporary
event.
BCCode 7f "usually" mean :
Cause
Bug check 0x7F typically occurs after you install a faulty or mismatched hardware (especially memory) or if installed hardware fails.
A double fault can occur when the kernel stack overflows. This overflow occurs if multiple drivers are attached to the same stack. For example, if two file system filter drivers are attached to the same stack and then the file system recurses back in, the stack overflows.
Resolving the Problem
Troubleshooting: If you recently added hardware to the computer, remove it to see if the error recurs. If existing hardware has failed, remove or replace the faulty component. Run hardware diagnostics that the system manufacturer supplies to determine which hardware component failed.
The memory scanner is especially important. Faulty or mismatched memory can cause this bug check. For more informaiton about these procedures, see the owner's manual for your computer. Check that all adapter cards in the computer are properly seated. Use an ink eraser or an electrical contact treatment, available at electronics supply stores, to ensure adapter card contacts are clean.
If the error appears on a newly installed system, check the availability of updates for the BIOS, the SCSI controller, or network cards. These kind of updates are typically available on the Web site or BBS of the hardware manufacturer.
Confirm that all hard disk drives, hard disk controllers, and SCSI adapters are listed in the Microsoft Windows Marketplace Tested Products List.
If the error occurred after the installation of a new or updated device driver, you should remove or replace the driver. If, under this circumstance, the error occurs during the startup sequence and the system partition is formatted with NTFS, you might be able to use Safe Mode to rename or delete the faulty driver. If the driver is used as part of the system startup process in Safe Mode, you have to start the computer by using the Recovery Console in order to access the file.
Also restart your computer, and then press F8 at the character-based menu that displays the operating system choices. At the Advanced Options menu, select the Last Known Good Configuration option. This option is most effective when you add only one driver or service at a time.
Overclocking (setting the CPU to run at speeds above the rated specification) can cause this error. If you have overclocked the computer that is experiencing the error, return the CPU to the default clock speed setting.
Check the System Log in Event Viewer for additional error messages that might help identify the device or driver that is causing the error. You can also disable memory caching of the BIOS to try to resolve the problem.
If you encountered this error while upgrading to a new version of the Windows operating system, the error might be caused by a device driver, a system service, a virus scanner, or a backup tool that is incompatible with the new version. If possible, remove all third-party device drivers and system services and disable any virus scanners before you upgrade. Contact the software manufacturer to obtain updates of these tools. Also make sure that you have installed the latest Windows Service Pack.
Finally, if all the above steps do not resolve the error, take the system motherboard to a
repair facility for diagnostic testing. a crack, a scratched trace, or a defective component
on the motherboard can also cause this error.
Hope this helps.
Rob - Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.- Marked As Answer byJason H. - Support EngineerMSFT, ModeratorThursday, November 12, 2009 11:56 PM
- Thanks so much for your input. I appreciate it. I'm guessing that this has been a temporary issue, because the last time my computer shut itself off was on the 2nd, and it hasn't happened since. Hopefully, that means this is no longer a problem.
Another suggestion I got was from my dad, who explained that the reason his computer was randomly shutting off before it completely died on him was because the processor was overheating. He described finding that after taking the dead computer apart, he saw that the processor's heat sink had melted onto the processor, effectively fusing them together. Could this be a viable explanation? Does the processor have a mechanism that shuts everything off if it gets too hot? It could be that my hitting the CPU didn't have any effect, that it was coincidental, and this is instead an overheating problem. If that's the case, I'll just grab some canned air and have at it. - Hi,
Yes there are several mechanisms in the system that will cause it to shut down. However heat alone can cause
the processor and some other components to fail even though the built-in protection does activate it.
Hitting the processor probably was part of the cause however that does not mean it is only reason there are
lingering issues. Only troubleshooting and/or time will tell.
Rob - Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right. - Eek! Another problem! Today, my computer was screwing up again. It didn't shut down completely, but it froze bad enough for me to have to shut it off manually. Twice within a span of about 5 minutes. After that, it seems to be running like it's supposed to. It's almost like having a car engine that keeps stalling until it warms up, then it's perfectly fine once it warms up. I wish I understood what the problem is.
Bankorok, Santak, Xel'letoth - Oh, and for the record, I ran the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool multiple times with multiple settings. They all came out clean. Presumably, there are no memory problems.
Bankorok, Santak, Xel'letoth - I think you are ignoring the fact that you did cause a possible short which easily could cause all these
strange bizarre issues. The fact that there is a lot of weirdness actually points to that possibility and
not away from it. If you only had one reoccurring problem then it could be something else. I think
you have a few minor issues all of which make your major issue, damaging the electronic system,
show up in various ways.
Rob - Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right. - Well, I'll have to get professional help then because I have no idea how to deal with that at all. I don't know anything about the power system, so I'm not touching it. I was trying to stay away from the idea of my doing physical damage to the CPU because, well, damn it, I didn't even hit it that hard! I'm not even sure if I hit it directly because the small multi-tiered table I have it set on is slightly wobbly. I could have hit the table, and the side-wall of the table could have tilted into my CPU. Ugh! I don't know. I wish I could remember exactly how it happened.
Bankorok, Santak, Xel'letoth - I hope I may have helped fix my computer today. I got some spray air and proceeded to clean out the dust in my CPU. As it turns out, I severely (and I do mean SEVERELY) underestimated the amount of dust that had accumulated on and in my CPU. The vents were clogged and the fans were covered with dust. The worst part is that the positioning of the CPU near the desk wall was making the problem worse. I didn't realize that the vents were located on the side of the CPU tower that was close to the desk wall. Turns out that all the dust and heat that were to be expelled through the side vents were bouncing off the desk wall right back into the CPU tower. It was a horrible mess. It makes me feel like I had caught this just in time. Luckily, the heat sink had not fused to the processor like I was fearing. Maybe this was the problem all along. Time will tell.
I thought I was taking better care of my computer. I didn't think it was that long ago that I'd dusted it. But, then again, I did have the CPU tower in a position where it was causing a massive dust and heat feedback loop. Wow, I feel really stupid. (._.);
Bankorok, Santak, Xel'letoth Sounds like good work!
Rob - Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.- You really think so? I hope my problems are over, and that hitting the CPU was just a coincidence. So far, so good. Thank you very much for your input. :D
Bankorok, Santak, Xel'letoth
