is not compatible with your system and you will need to reinstall the BIOS.
Check your system documentation for instructions on using the boot block
or to replace a bad BIOS (see Chapter 6).
Matching up the OS and the BIOS If you are installing a Windows 2000
operating system, the type and compliance of the PC’s BIOS is very important.
Windows 2000 requires that the BIOS be compliant to the Advanced
Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI). If the BIOS is not ACPI-compliant,
expect Windows 2000 to have boot errors and crash frequently. ACPI includes
theOnNowstandard that can start the PC from a single keystroke. Without
this compatibility, the Windows 2000 setup program may not be able to
communicate with the PC’s hardware devices. To verify that the BIOS is
ACPI-compliant, check the BIOS or motherboard’s documentation, the
manufacturer’s Web site, or the Windows 2000 Hardware Compatibility List
(HCL), or contact the PC’s manufacturer. Windows Me (Millennium Edition)
is also ACPI-compliant, but has a bit more tolerance of systems without it.POST Errors
If the BIOS is current and compatible, any problems encountered during the boot process
are generated by the POST (Power-On Self-Test) process. See Chapter 6 for information
on the details of the boot sequence.
DuringthePOSTprocess,theBIOSusestwodifferentwaystonotifyyouofaproblem: Error beep codes The system speaker, which is the one inside the system
case, is used to sound out short and long tones in a unique pattern to indicate
a problem in a system component that is essential to starting up the PC. During
the early phases of the boot process, the monitor is not available, so only sound
can be used to signal a problem.
Error messages After the video BIOS (many of the major FRMs have their
own BIOS as well) is loaded, the boot process is able to display error messages
on the monitor for any problems that occur in the final stages of the boot cycle.
The error messages issued from each different BIOS are fairly standard and
should describe the problem well enough.Error Beep Codes Every BIOS system has at least one bee pcode in common—a single
bee ptone at the end of the POST process to signal an all clear. However, a single bee pcan
also mean a memory problem on an AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.) BIOS. The follow-
ing are some general guidelines on the kind of problem identified by a few of the more
common POST beep codes: 0 beeps The purpose of the one-beep all clear signal is to let you know that
the system is booting. If no beeps are sounded and nothing is displayed on the
monitor, the problem is most likely power:
Make sure the PC is plugged into a safe AC power source.(^622) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide