BIOS Beeps but no video signal

Hi All,
I have a problem with my PC that has been really annoying me for the last month.
My original system was:

P4 2.8Gig
1 x 1Gig DDR 266Mhz RAM
AGP GeForce 5200 128MB DDR RAM
MSI 845PE MAX motherboard (onboard LAN and sound)
HDD 20Gig master and 80Gig slave

This worked fine for about 6 months. Then one day playing GTA3 the monitor went blank came back again for a split second and then the computer crashed. When I re-booted I got no signal to the monitor (and therefore no BIOS POST message) I just got 2 beeps followed quickly by another 8 beeps (10 beeps in all) and 10 or 15 seconds after the first 10 beeps I got another 2 beeps quickly followed by 1 more beep (3 beeps in all) then I got nothing else. I have tried lots of things to fix this.

Firstly I booted up with only the video card and the RAM attached but I still got the same beeps. When I removed the RAM I got no beeps but I thought this was perhaps because AMI BIOS is unable to boot without any RAM present.
Even if I booted without the video card and just the RAM attached I got the same beeps.

I tried using an old PCI video card and I still got the no signal message on the monitor but the strange thing was when I turned the power off the monitor flashed black for a second and then returned to the no signal screen. Sometimes the monitor switches itself off completely after I turn the computer power off even though it says it is getting no signal. This was also the same for the AGP card after I re-checked with it.

Next thing I did was replace the 250W PSU with a new 400W PSU just in case there was not enough power for the P4 system but I still got the beeps.

I couldn¡¦t find any information on BIOS beeps sequence that has a 2 -8 beeps then a 10 second pause followed by 2-1 beeps, except that such strange beeps meant that the board was damaged. I tried to contact MSI support but 3 weeks later they still have not replied to my email to explain what the beeps might mean ¡K grrrrr!! ƒº So, I replaced the motherboard with a new MSI 845PE MAX2. And yes you have guessed it, it still gave these same feckin beeps.

However, I didn¡¦t give up. I had earlier found some information on BIOS beeps but ignored it because it didn¡¦t refer exactly to the beeps I was getting but it said that 2 beeps followed by any other sequence of beeps means that the RAM is defective. So I went out and spent more of my hard-earned cash on 256MB of 333Mhz DDR RAM. I booted up the system and again all I got was these beeps with no video signal.

I also tried booting with the motherboard outside of the case to see if any of the mounting screws was causing a problem. Also, the monitor works fine when connected to my laptop.

I know the last thing to do is to test my CPU but I don¡¦t know anyone with a P4 system that I can try my CPU on to see if it is working correctly.
I have already spent nearly $200 on this problem and don¡¦t want to spend more money on a new processor if it is not necessary.
Does anyone out there have any other suggestions as to what I can try?
Do you recognize the BIOS beeps I have described or can you tell something from the other information I have given?
I appreciate any help.

Beeps mean something different for each system.

You should be able to look in the manual to see what it means, if not go to the website or call.

It sounds like a processor fault, the beeps can mean many things

1: overheating
2:not detecting the processor

those are the main faults that tend to be the cause of the problem.

The processor may have blown, take the processor out and look for any brown marks on the underside of the processor, if there is none then consider what heatsnk and fan you have and wether it is doing the job. If it still does it then i have no idea.

I know what you mean. I have the same exact problem with the MSI 845PE. I've been tempted to purchase a PCI diagnostics tool to try and troubleshoot, but that would cost more than a new board. I get the same sequence of beep codes. Let me know if you solve the problem, otherwise the board goes on the shelf.

Hi,

I have found some information that might be of intrest to you

http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/amibeep.htm

I beep code sequence could be a CMOS Failure and nothing else. Its not cpu problem.

If you look at the list you will see the 2 beeps you mentioned, If you use ecc memory check you bios setting for the correct setup. Try to disable parity checking.

I think your second issue is indeed the display card failure as indicated by the list. Try another type PCI. That should do it both problems should be fixed. If you still think your rams is faulty you can download a memory tester from microsoft for free it works very well and is very accrate in its test. Good luck