If your computer has an irregular POST or a beep code not

mentioned below, follow the POST troubleshooting steps to

determine the failing hardware component.
Beep Code Descriptions
1 short DRAM refresh failure
2 short Parity circuit failure
3 short Base 64K RAM failure
4 short System timer failure
5 short Process failure
6 short Keyboard controller Gate A20 error
7 short Virtual mode exception error
8 short Display memory Read/Write test failure
9 short ROM BIOS checksum failure
10 short CMOS shutdown Read/Write error
11 short Cache Memory error
1 long, 3 short Conventional/Extended memory failure
1 long, 8 short Display/Retrace test failed
two-tone siren Low CPU Fan speed, Voltage Level issue
Beep Code Description

Indicates a video error has occurred and the BIOS

1 long, 2 short cannot initialize the video screen to display any
additional information

Video card not detected (reseat video card) or

1 long, 3 short
bad video card

Beeps repeating endlessly RAM problem.

Repeated high frequency

Overheating processor (CPU)
beeps while PC is running
Repeated beeps
Issue with the processor (CPU), possibly
alternating high & low
damaged
frequency
Access denied
This error occurs if the user has insufficient privileges to a file, or if it
has been locked by some program or user.
Device not ready
This error most often occurs when there is no floppy disk (or a bad
disk) in the disk drive and the system tries to perform tasks involving
this disk.
File not found
The file concerned may have been damaged, moved, deleted, or a
bug may have caused the error. Alternatively, the file simply might
not exist, or the user has mistyped its name. More frequent on
command line interfaces than on graphical user interfaces where
files are presented iconically and users do not type file names.
Low Disk Space
This error occurs when the hard drive is (nearly) full. To fix this, the
user should close some programs (to free swap file usage) and
delete some files (normally temporary files, or other files after they
have been backed up), or get a bigger hard drive.
Out of memory
This error occurs when the system has run out of memory or tries
to load a file too large to store in RAM. The fix is to close some
programs, or install more memory.
[program name] has encountered a problem and needs to close. We
are sorry for the inconvenience.

This message is displayed by Microsoft Windows XP when a

program causes a general protection fault or invalid page fault. In
Windows 7 it is changed into a more simple "[program name] has
stopped working".
Abort, Retry, Fail? MS-DOS
Bad command or file name
MS-DOS
Blue Screen of Death
kernel panic Linux Unix Mac OS X
Can't extend Acorn DFS

Guru Meditation Commodore Amiga

kernel panic Blue Screen of Death
VirtualBox
HTTP 404 World Wide Web

Lp0 on fire
Not a typewriter - A Unix error message that is confusing due to its now
obsolete use of the word typewriter, and which is sometimes output when
the nature of error is entirely different
PC LOAD LETTER - An error on several HP laser printers that simply asked the
user to add "Letter" size paper in a confusing way
SYNTAX ERROR - Seen on many computer systems when the received
instructions are in a format they don't understand
HTTP 504 - An error found on the World Wide Web stating that a gateway
timeout occurred in the internet link.
Error 1603 - An error that states that a problem during installation of a
computer program, this error particularly occurs on Windows computer
systems.
<application name> has stopped - An error message commonly found on
Android devices, which states a current running application unexpectedly
stops working or crashes.
 circuit board
computer
electronic equipment

isolate faults