(help), Random shutdown, 5 Short beeps (post), overheating.

**newguy5725** · 20-12-13, 05:52 PM

Hello, you are probably confused by the title: a few months ago i posted a thread on: PCsoftware named Random Shutdown, i said that my Computer would shutdown randomly i was told to re-apply the thermal paste (by the friendly Austech community) on my processor/heatsink i couldnt do it as i was away on holiday for a few months. when i got back i actually decided to re-apply the paste so i did. but the problem still occurs but it is not as frequent.
so i ask for help yet again.

(thanks)

**Philquad** · 20-12-13, 07:41 PM

lets sort it out then
you need, mb model? intel or amd will do
ram? ddr3 i guess, how much, what brand
whats the cpu temp in bios? over 60c more than likely your problem
incorrect heatsink placement, incompatible ram, even just 1 bad stick can cause this
then theres software, lots of drivers, software can do this
so, turn it on, hit delete, go to bios, find cpu temp, 1st thing

**fandtm666** · 20-12-13, 08:08 PM

**newguy5725** · 20-12-13, 08:33 PM

5 shorrt beeps is process failure

**jwoegerbauer** · 20-12-13, 09:15 PM

To my knowledge 5 beeps during POST indicate a GPU failure: CPU and/or RAM error produces 0 beeps. Power off. Disassemble the computer. Remove the GPU. Power on. Do you hear the 5 beeps? Power off. Hook the GPU. Power on. Do you hear the 5 beeps?

**newguy5725** · 20-12-13, 10:00 PM

it is incredibly rare for me to get 5 beeps and 5 beeps is a proccess failure

**newguy5725** · 21-12-13, 10:03 AM

Intel Core i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40 GHz 3.40 GHz
Ram: 8.00gGB (not sure what kind but i got it pre-built and have gone through one year without problems)
64-bit operating system win7 home premium

**Philquad** · 21-12-13, 10:38 AM

it beeps before the bios right?
nothing on the screen?
is cpu fan spinning when you start it, & is heatsink on real tight? those intel h\s have a bad habbit of not being on tight if the plastic lugs are worn
try just 1 stick of ram also

**jwoegerbauer** · 21-12-13, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by newguy5725

Intel Core i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40 GHz 3.40 GHz
Ram: 8.00gGB (not sure what kind but i got it pre-built and have gone through one year without problems)
64-bit operating system win7 home premium

Not the CPU type is of any interest here, but the (UEIF ?) Bios version / manufacturer - Intel, Microsoft, AMD or HP, this because error beep codes originated by (UEIF ?) Bios aren't standardized.

Example:

AMI UEFI BIOS FATAL ERROR BEEP CODES

1 beep – Refresh failure.- (DRAM-Memory Error)
2 beeps – Parity error. - (Memory parity check error-circuit failure)
3 beeps – Base 64 K memory failure. - (Basic memory 64K address check error)
4 beeps – Timer not operational. - (Real Time Clock=System timer failure)
5 beeps – Processor error.
6 beeps – 8042 – Keyboard controller gate A20 failure.
7 beeps – Processor exception interrupt error. - (Virtual mode exception error)
8 beeps – Display (Graphic card) memory read/write test failure.
9 beeps – ROM checksum error.
10 beeps – CMOS shutdown register read/write error.
11 beeps – CPU Cache memory bad. - (malfunction-error - The L2 cache is faulty)

**newguy5725** · 21-12-13, 08:49 PM

most of the time it does not beep and my computer turns on then randomly turns off.
and i will check that my CPU fan is on tight because i recently re-placed the thermal paste. i have also removed the disk drive so there is more ventilation space. also sometimes i dont even get a display.

Both RAM sticks And both RAM slots are fine.

Processor fan/ heatsink on tight

kingstom RAM btw

**newguy5725** · 21-12-13, 08:50 PM

yea i get 5 beeps (rarely) which is processor error

**Seymour Butts** · 21-12-13, 08:54 PM

There are over 20 BIOS manufacturers around at the moment and Intel is just one manufacturer that utilises over 15 of them on different motherboards.
As far as I can see the OP hasn't yet identified what BIOS he has.
Agreed, in an AMI BIOS 5 is usually CPU related but in an AWARD BIOS those same five beeps is a keyboard error, and in a DELL its usually the DMA controller initialization has failed
All I see here is a lot of guesswork.

**newguy5725** · 21-12-13, 09:14 PM

Does this mean that it is UEFI BIOS?

**Seymour Butts** · 21-12-13, 09:33 PM

It appears to be using a UEFI interface.
UEFI isn't a BIOS as such, think of it more as an 'eye candy' GUI
Some UEFI motherboards do have a compatibility module to emulate a bios and allow you to run other OS's but you lose the UEFI features if you use it.
Perhaps if you gave us the Exact Name / Type and model of your motherboard we might get a little further
Some readingmight help

**mickc** · 21-12-13, 09:47 PM

uefi is firmware loaded after the post process

**jwoegerbauer** · 21-12-13, 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by Seymour Butts

UEFI isn't a BIOS as such, think of it more as an 'eye candy' GUI
Some UEFI motherboards do have a compatibility module to emulate a bios and allow you to run other OS's but you lose the UEFI features if you use it.

The Extensible Firmware Interface (short EFI or UEFI - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) indeed is the successor/replacement of old BIOS. It's not simply a nice GUI.

UEFI's task hasn't changed compared to BIOS: It represents the interface between the hardware and the operating system - this worldwidely is known as firmware.

In principle, a UEFI BIOS consists of two components, for these two different specifications exist: the UEFI Platform Initialization (PI) and the actual Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).
The first component is responsible for a safe boot and initialization of CPU, chipset and motherboard, the second for loading the UEFI own device drivers, UEFI interfaces and loading the operating system or pre-boot tools.

A worthwile feature of UEFI is - as Seymour Butts already stated - that it offers emulation of old BIOS, which is named Compatibility Support Module (CSM). In this mode the system behaves like a BIOS computer. Since UEFI 2.4 a "Secure Boot" functionality is also provided.

Originally Posted by mickc

uefi is firmware loaded after the post process

POST is handled by the UEFI / BIOS, which may hand some actions to other programs designed to initialize very specific peripheral devices, notably for video and SCSI initialization. These other duty-specific programs are generally known collectively as option ROMs or individually as the video BIOS, SCSI BIOS, etc.

The principal activities done by BIOS (UEFI) during POST are as follows:

• verify CPU registers
• verify the integrity of the BIOS code itself
• verify some basic components like DMA, timer, interrupt controller
• find, size, and verify system main memory
• initialize BIOS
• pass control to other specialized BIOSes (if and when required)
• identify, organize, and select which devices are available for booting

The functions above are served by the POST in all BIOS versions back to the very first. In later BIOS versions, POST will also:

• discover, initialize, and catalog all system buses and devices
• provide a user interface for system's configuration
• construct whatever system environment is required by the target operating system

It's the BIOS/UEFI which makes POST diagnostic information available by outputting a number and/or beep sequence.

**newguy5725** · 22-12-13, 09:07 AM

I took these while in the BIOS

**Tiny** · 22-12-13, 09:32 AM

Interesting, next time you take photo can you turn your screen 90 deg clockwise.

According to the Bios info it's an Alienware X51, does it look like this?

If so, I found an old review that talks about the CPU fan speed being quite noisy when system gets hot a bothered, is it getting noisy before shut down & 5 beeps? That would tell us if it's the fan or CPU failing. If it's the fan, the CPU won't be far behind it if you don't get it working properly.