3 Bios Beeps

[Accessless]

Two attempts to start computer (machine listed in profile) result in 3 short beeps. Third attempt boots normally. Any idea why?

AMI Bios 3 Beeps = Base 64K RAM failure (according to Computerhope.com)

On a side note, is there a faster way than using seatools to check for a failing hard drive? Getting some unusual activity from HDD.

[xavier]

Google memtest & run a test

[patio]

I'd let seatools finish as well...run it at night if need be.

[Accessless]

Google memtest & run a test

No errors. That leaves those two start up failures a mystery.

[computeruler]

Did you run it for a good 2 hours or more?

[Accessless]

Ran a complete test. Roughly 2.5 hours for the whole 4Gig.

[patio]

If the machine has onboard video remove the vid card overnight and see if the errors go away...

[Accessless]

That's the problem. The only two errors I ever had were those two start up failures followed by three beeps. Upon closer inspection nothing was wrong. I'm taking the errors as a prelude to something going wrong, but everything appears to be fine.

The video card is removed roughly every 3-4 months for cleaning anyway.

[patio]

If the machine has onboard video remove the vid card overnight and see if the errors go away...

I'd still do this...