Ttdfjt

Are unaudited server logs admissible in a court of law?

What does a comma signify in inorganic chemistry?

My new Acer Aspire 7 doesn't have a Legacy Boot option, what can I do to get it?

May the tower use the runway while an emergency aircraft is inbound?

What is the purpose/function of this power inductor in parallel?

How should you gracefully leave a company you helped start?

What allows us to use imaginary numbers?

Units of measurement, especially length, when body parts vary in size among races

What if a restaurant suddenly cannot accept credit cards, and the customer has no cash?

Can I use images from my published papers in my thesis without copyright infringment?

global variant of csname…endcsname

Have there ever been other TV shows or Films that told a similiar story to the new 90210 show?

Why should P.I be willing to write strong LOR even if that means losing a undergraduate from his/her lab?

Parse a simple key=value config file in C

Why is the battery jumpered to a resistor in this schematic?

Why don't modern jet engines use forced exhaust mixing?

Will some rockets really collapse under their own weight?

Representing an indicator function: binary variables and "indicator constraints"

Airline power sockets shut down when I plug my computer in. How can I avoid that?

Are there any rules on how characters go from 0th to 1st level in a class?

Why can't I see 1861 / 1871 census entries on Freecen website when I can see them on Ancestry website?

What should I do with the stock I own if I anticipate there will be a recession?

Subgroup generated by a subgroup and a conjugate of it

How to prevent criminal gangs from making/buying guns?

3 beeps on a 486 computer with an American Megatrends bios?

How do you put a 286 in Protected Mode?How to use the “darker” CGA palette using x86 Assembly?What's the fastest way to ignore keypresses?What was the first Intel x86 processor with “Base + Index * Scale + Displacement” addressing mode?Parity error under DOSThe IBM RAM with non-standard pin layout

.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;

11

So far I've figured out that means something about the ram bit I haven't been able to figure out what the problem is

Edit: video link

x86 ram

share|improve this question

edited Aug 5 at 20:25

yanagibashi

asked Aug 5 at 20:08

yanagibashiyanagibashi

8066 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Base 64K RAM failure. Try a different memory stick in the lowest memory slot.
  
  – Mick
  Aug 5 at 20:30
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Mick Already tried that :/
  
  – yanagibashi
  Aug 5 at 20:32
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Does the motherboard look OK?
  
  – wizzwizz4♦
  Aug 5 at 20:41
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

11

So far I've figured out that means something about the ram bit I haven't been able to figure out what the problem is

Edit: video link

x86 ram

share|improve this question

edited Aug 5 at 20:25

yanagibashi

asked Aug 5 at 20:08

yanagibashiyanagibashi

8066 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Base 64K RAM failure. Try a different memory stick in the lowest memory slot.
  
  – Mick
  Aug 5 at 20:30
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Mick Already tried that :/
  
  – yanagibashi
  Aug 5 at 20:32
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Does the motherboard look OK?
  
  – wizzwizz4♦
  Aug 5 at 20:41
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

So far I've figured out that means something about the ram bit I haven't been able to figure out what the problem is

Edit: video link

x86 ram

share|improve this question

edited Aug 5 at 20:25

yanagibashi

asked Aug 5 at 20:08

yanagibashiyanagibashi

8066 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited Aug 5 at 20:25

yanagibashi

asked Aug 5 at 20:08

yanagibashiyanagibashi

8066 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited Aug 5 at 20:25

yanagibashi

asked Aug 5 at 20:08

yanagibashiyanagibashi

8066 bronze badges

asked Aug 5 at 20:08

yanagibashiyanagibashi

8066 bronze badges

asked Aug 5 at 20:08

yanagibashiyanagibashi

8066 bronze badges

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

26

Here is a reference to BIOS beep codes. For American Megatrends, look under AMI. 3 beeps means the low 64K failed - a very basic test - which probably means the RAM isn't working at all.

You should first check whether the RAM is compatible with your machine. At that time, there was a lot of variation - 5V vs 3.3V, 30-pin vs 72-pin, EDO vs FPM, not to mention response latency grades from 60ns to 150ns. Usually 70ns FPM will work in a 486.

Watching the first few seconds of video I see you have quite an early board with 30-pin SIMMs, which each provide 8 bits width to the data bus. Since the 486 is a 32-bit bus CPU (unlike the 386 it was never made in a 16-bit bus variant), you always need 4 identical SIMMs together. If you had a board that took 72-pin SIMMs, which have 32-bit width each, you'd be able to try just one like you are.

The effect of fitting just one SIMM in this machine would be to provide storage only at one out of every four bytes in sequence. Software just isn't written to cope with that on the PC.

share|improve this answer

edited Aug 5 at 20:51

answered Aug 5 at 20:43

ChromatixChromatix

1,11699 silver badges88 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks, that did the trick. One a sidenote, is there a way to tell who manufactured this board there isn't any indications on the board
  
  – yanagibashi
  Aug 5 at 21:02
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  The most reliable reference will be the FCC certification ID, which should be printed on the board somewhere. You can look that up in the FCC's database.
  
  – Chromatix
  Aug 5 at 21:04
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @yanagibashi MB ID is usually printed on a sticker placed on the lowest PCI or ISA slot (closest to the edge of MB). In some cases its not visible without side view (by using mirror or by removing the MB from case)
  
  – Spektre
  Aug 5 at 22:48
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  If you got the BIOS running, look up the BIOS ID which should be printed after POST.
  
  – Igor Skochinsky
  Aug 6 at 6:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @yanagibashi That "sidenote" would have been more valuable to all if it was posed as a separate question.
  
  – Keeta
  Aug 6 at 11:55
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

Your Answer

StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "648"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fretrocomputing.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f11950%2f3-beeps-on-a-486-computer-with-an-american-megatrends-bios%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

26

Here is a reference to BIOS beep codes. For American Megatrends, look under AMI. 3 beeps means the low 64K failed - a very basic test - which probably means the RAM isn't working at all.

You should first check whether the RAM is compatible with your machine. At that time, there was a lot of variation - 5V vs 3.3V, 30-pin vs 72-pin, EDO vs FPM, not to mention response latency grades from 60ns to 150ns. Usually 70ns FPM will work in a 486.

Watching the first few seconds of video I see you have quite an early board with 30-pin SIMMs, which each provide 8 bits width to the data bus. Since the 486 is a 32-bit bus CPU (unlike the 386 it was never made in a 16-bit bus variant), you always need 4 identical SIMMs together. If you had a board that took 72-pin SIMMs, which have 32-bit width each, you'd be able to try just one like you are.

The effect of fitting just one SIMM in this machine would be to provide storage only at one out of every four bytes in sequence. Software just isn't written to cope with that on the PC.

share|improve this answer

edited Aug 5 at 20:51

answered Aug 5 at 20:43

ChromatixChromatix

1,11699 silver badges88 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks, that did the trick. One a sidenote, is there a way to tell who manufactured this board there isn't any indications on the board
  
  – yanagibashi
  Aug 5 at 21:02
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  The most reliable reference will be the FCC certification ID, which should be printed on the board somewhere. You can look that up in the FCC's database.
  
  – Chromatix
  Aug 5 at 21:04
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @yanagibashi MB ID is usually printed on a sticker placed on the lowest PCI or ISA slot (closest to the edge of MB). In some cases its not visible without side view (by using mirror or by removing the MB from case)
  
  – Spektre
  Aug 5 at 22:48
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  If you got the BIOS running, look up the BIOS ID which should be printed after POST.
  
  – Igor Skochinsky
  Aug 6 at 6:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @yanagibashi That "sidenote" would have been more valuable to all if it was posed as a separate question.
  
  – Keeta
  Aug 6 at 11:55
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

26

Here is a reference to BIOS beep codes. For American Megatrends, look under AMI. 3 beeps means the low 64K failed - a very basic test - which probably means the RAM isn't working at all.

You should first check whether the RAM is compatible with your machine. At that time, there was a lot of variation - 5V vs 3.3V, 30-pin vs 72-pin, EDO vs FPM, not to mention response latency grades from 60ns to 150ns. Usually 70ns FPM will work in a 486.

Watching the first few seconds of video I see you have quite an early board with 30-pin SIMMs, which each provide 8 bits width to the data bus. Since the 486 is a 32-bit bus CPU (unlike the 386 it was never made in a 16-bit bus variant), you always need 4 identical SIMMs together. If you had a board that took 72-pin SIMMs, which have 32-bit width each, you'd be able to try just one like you are.

The effect of fitting just one SIMM in this machine would be to provide storage only at one out of every four bytes in sequence. Software just isn't written to cope with that on the PC.

share|improve this answer

edited Aug 5 at 20:51

answered Aug 5 at 20:43

ChromatixChromatix

1,11699 silver badges88 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks, that did the trick. One a sidenote, is there a way to tell who manufactured this board there isn't any indications on the board
  
  – yanagibashi
  Aug 5 at 21:02
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  The most reliable reference will be the FCC certification ID, which should be printed on the board somewhere. You can look that up in the FCC's database.
  
  – Chromatix
  Aug 5 at 21:04
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @yanagibashi MB ID is usually printed on a sticker placed on the lowest PCI or ISA slot (closest to the edge of MB). In some cases its not visible without side view (by using mirror or by removing the MB from case)
  
  – Spektre
  Aug 5 at 22:48
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  If you got the BIOS running, look up the BIOS ID which should be printed after POST.
  
  – Igor Skochinsky
  Aug 6 at 6:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @yanagibashi That "sidenote" would have been more valuable to all if it was posed as a separate question.
  
  – Keeta
  Aug 6 at 11:55
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

Here is a reference to BIOS beep codes. For American Megatrends, look under AMI. 3 beeps means the low 64K failed - a very basic test - which probably means the RAM isn't working at all.

You should first check whether the RAM is compatible with your machine. At that time, there was a lot of variation - 5V vs 3.3V, 30-pin vs 72-pin, EDO vs FPM, not to mention response latency grades from 60ns to 150ns. Usually 70ns FPM will work in a 486.

Watching the first few seconds of video I see you have quite an early board with 30-pin SIMMs, which each provide 8 bits width to the data bus. Since the 486 is a 32-bit bus CPU (unlike the 386 it was never made in a 16-bit bus variant), you always need 4 identical SIMMs together. If you had a board that took 72-pin SIMMs, which have 32-bit width each, you'd be able to try just one like you are.

The effect of fitting just one SIMM in this machine would be to provide storage only at one out of every four bytes in sequence. Software just isn't written to cope with that on the PC.

share|improve this answer

edited Aug 5 at 20:51

answered Aug 5 at 20:43

ChromatixChromatix

1,11699 silver badges88 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

edited Aug 5 at 20:51

answered Aug 5 at 20:43

ChromatixChromatix

1,11699 silver badges88 bronze badges

answered Aug 5 at 20:43

ChromatixChromatix

1,11699 silver badges88 bronze badges

answered Aug 5 at 20:43

ChromatixChromatix

1,11699 silver badges88 bronze badges