Question My PC is beeping five times and are not displaying video signal

[XXMythLuan]

Hello everyone, my first thread here. I'm having technical problems with my PC, which is a Chinese X99 Huananzhi BD4 with Xeon E5-2670 v3, 64GB of RAM and an RTX 3060 12GB. This has been happening for months now, and I can't figure out the reason for the problem.

From time to time (and completely randomly), my PC doesn't boot properly, because before starting, the motherboard beeps five times (sometimes one long beep and five short beeps, and sometimes one short beep and five short beeps) and my video card doesn't show any video at all. I took my PC to a repair shop and the technician told me that the PC boots normally there, which ends up confusing me.

However, I ended up suspecting that it's the HDMI cable, since sometimes if I turn on my PC with the HDMI cable disconnected from the monitor, the PC boots normally, and I have to reconnect the cable back to get video, which ends up being quite annoying. I changed my HDMI cable a month ago, and my PC is still beeping again, so I don't think it's a problem with the cable.

This morning my PC started beeping again, giving five beeps, and I decided to take it back to the technician from the same repair shop as before, and to my surprise, he called me this afternoon and told me that my PC started up perfectly on his test bench, which again left me confused and without a concrete answer as to what the problem was.

Things I did:

-Clear CMOS (didn't work, still beeps);

-Switch the position of the peripheral cables such as keyboard, mouse, speakers and so on (didn't work either);

-Switch the HDMI cable (didn't work either, since the PC kept beeping);

-Try to restart several times and try to enter the BIOS (it doesn't work, since my monitor doesn't display video signal).

I think I'm out of options here. What should I do? I've already removed a stick of RAM, tried to start it up without the stick and without the video card, but the PC keeps giving the five beeps. I went to research what these five beeps are about, and it seems like it's something related to a CPU fault, but if that were the case, shouldn't the PC beep at the repair shop? By the way, it's not always that my PC beeps, as at random times, the PC simply returns to normal out of nowhere which is quite strange. If anyone can help me, I'd appreciate it!

I'll also leave a video showing my PC beeping five times. This video is a little old, from last year, but the problem is the same.

My PC specs:
-Huananzhi X99 BD4
-Intel Xeon E5-2670 V3
-64 GB RAM (4x16GB DDR4 ECC)
-Gainward Ghost RTX 3060 12GB
-Corsair CV550 550W

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

-64 GB RAM (4x16GB DDR4 ECC)
Have you tried working with just one stick of ram?

As for your PSU;
-Corsair CV550 550W
How old is the unit and what did it power throughout it's tenure?

Have you checked to see if the motherboard has a BIOS update pending?

-Gainward Ghost RTX 3060 12GB
Due to the RTX3000 series' transient load spikes I wouldn't be running a 550W badly built PSU to power an RTX3060.

This video is a little old, from last year, but the problem is the same.
What did you do back then to revive the system after experiencing the issue?

I took my PC to a repair shop and the technician told me that the PC boots normally there, which ends up confusing me.
The only thing different from your home and the PC shop is the wall out(source of power), I'm assuming you have a grounding issue. One other indication is where you need to discharge the system by reseating the components.

If your motherboard BIOS is an AMI BIOS;
https://www.lifewire.com/amibios-beep-codes-2624543#:~:text=Five short beeps mean there,try reseating any expansion cards.

 

[XXMythLuan]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

-64 GB RAM (4x16GB DDR4 ECC)
Have you tried working with just one stick of ram?

As for your PSU;
-Corsair CV550 550W
How old is the unit and what did it power throughout it's tenure?

Have you checked to see if the motherboard has a BIOS update pending?

-Gainward Ghost RTX 3060 12GB
Due to the RTX3000 series' transient load spikes I wouldn't be running a 550W badly built PSU to power an RTX3060.

This video is a little old, from last year, but the problem is the same.
What did you do back then to revive the system after experiencing the issue?

I took my PC to a repair shop and the technician told me that the PC boots normally there, which ends up confusing me.
The only thing different from your home and the PC shop is the wall out(source of power), I'm assuming you have a grounding issue. One other indication is where you need to discharge the system by reseating the components.

If your motherboard BIOS is an AMI BIOS;
https://www.lifewire.com/amibios-beep-codes-2624543#:~:text=Five short beeps mean there,try reseating any expansion cards.

Hello! Thank you for your reply! I will write in topic numbers, following the order of your previous reply for better clarification.

1. Regarding the RAM, I only removed one because the cooler is covering the other two, and it is a bit of a hassle to remove the CPU cooler (I don't have advanced knowledge in this area, so I prefer not to touch it so as not to damage anything).

2. Regarding the PSU, it is from 2023, I bought it new on Mercado Livre (an e-shop here in Brazil similar to Amazon).

3. In fact, I went to check on the Huananzhi website, and my BD4 has a new BIOS version for download that is dated 2022, while my current BIOS is from 2021, but since I don't know how to update the computer's BIOS (and I'm afraid of doing something wrong), I preferred not to mess with it.

4. Do you think my Corsair CV550 is too weak for a 3060? I checked these wattage calculator sites and my PC doesn't exceed 400W. Are you sure I need to change the power supply? Right now, my financial situation doesn't allow me to change the PSU, but when I can, I will buy another PSU.

5. I had to keep disconnecting the HDMI cable before the PC turns on, turning the PC on and then connecting the HDMI cable back, so that the motherboard wouldn't beep five times. I did this for almost a year, until I decided to change the HDMI cable last month and the problem "disappeared", until it all started again last week for no apparent reason with a new HDMI cable.

6. My technician said something similar about power. He told me it could be my power strip, since my power strip is one of those generic brands. He told me that if the PC beeps again, I should turn the PC on but connect it directly to the outlet, without using a power strip. Could it be a power problem? By the way, my power strip and my desk are very dusty, I bet that could be one of the factors hahahaha...

 

[kerberos_20]

there could be issue with your monitor, those beeps are indeed from GPU and it beeps when it cant find any monitor connected to it (UEFI only)
maybe try different port? with hdmi to displayport cable

but anyway...even if you get beeps during boot, if you let it be and windows loads with its own drivers, does monitor kicks in?

 

[XXMythLuan]

there could be issue with your monitor, those beeps are indeed from GPU and it beeps when it cant find any monitor connected to it (UEFI only)
maybe try different port? with hdmi to displayport cable

but anyway...even if you get beeps during boot, if you let it be and windows loads with its own drivers, does monitor kicks in?

I had already tested my PC with the HDMI cable disconnected from the graphic card, and it still kept beeping five times. There was one time when I disconnected everything (mouse, keyboard, speakers, webcam and other peripherals) and only left the HDMI cable connected to the RTX and the other bridge disconnected from the monitor, and it still beeped, which is strange.

By the way, I got back from the technician a few hours ago, and I managed to get my PC working. I connected all the cables and when I turned it on, the normal startup beep sounded, and my PC displayed video normally. About letting my PC load Windows as you mentioned, unfortunately I use BitLocker, and the first screen before Windows loads is the BitLocker screen. I can still type my password even without video, since my keyboard still works normally, but when I actually enter Windows, I have no video and I can't do anything.

 

[kerberos_20]

but when I actually enter Windows, I have no video and I can't do anything.

that is when on boot it beeps? if windows wont pickup your monitor, than gpu is not reading your monitor at all

is it monitor or tv?

 

[XXMythLuan]

that is when on boot it beeps? if windows wont pickup your monitor, than gpu is not reading your monitor at all

is it monitor or tv?

Yes. If my PC beeps five times, my keyboard and mouse still work. If I type the BitLocker password correctly even without video, the mouse and keyboard turn off quickly, but when Windows loads after the BitLocker screen, the keyboard and mouse light comes back on, indicating that would be on the logon screen to type my password but since there is no video, I can't do anything. Yes, I use a monitor. My monitor is a 24-inch Samsung T35F.

 

[kerberos_20]

can you check if hdmi cable is fully seated? maybe pc case is obstructing full insertion

but its connection issue, either monitor has issue powering up edid eeprom, or cable is faulty/not fully seated (or too long)

technician did test hdmi output on gpu, correct?

 

[XXMythLuan]

can you check if hdmi cable is fully seated? maybe pc case is obstructing full insertion

but its connection issue, either monitor has issue powering up edid eeprom, or cable is faulty/not fully seated (or too long)

technician did test hdmi output on gpu, correct?

I am absolutely certain that it is not a problem with my HDMI cable, since I replaced it a few weeks ago, and even with a new cable, my PC continues to beep. The HDMI cable is also firmly connected to the HDMI output on the graphic card, and to the HDMI input on the monitor just in case. Yes, the technician tested my PC on another monitor with another cable and other peripherals from the store itself (I left my mouse, keyboard and other accessories at home).

I'm at work now, but when I get home, I'll have to turn my PC back on and see if it beeps again or not. If it beeps, I'll try to record a video showing what happened.

 

[kerberos_20]

I'm at work now, but when I get home, I'll have to turn my PC back on and see if it beeps again or not. If it beeps, I'll try to record a video showing what happened.

nothing will happen, those beeps means no monitor detected
if you say cable is fine and gpu is fine, then only monitor remains

you could try connecting it with TV (if you have), but TV needs to be first powered on before you start up your PC, otherwise you will get beeps and no screen during POST aswell, on TV this is normal behaviour as GPU is not able to detect powered off TV

 

[XXMythLuan]

nothing will happen, those beeps means no monitor detected
if you say cable is fine and gpu is fine, then only monitor remains

you could try connecting it with TV (if you have), but TV needs to be first powered on before you start up your PC, otherwise you will get beeps and no screen during POST aswell, on TV this is normal behaviour as GPU is not able to detect powered off TV

Yes, I do have a TV, but it belongs to my parents and they wouldn't like me taking my PC to their room to test it, but when I get home I'll see what's going on with my monitor, since it apparently never had any serious problems. I bought the monitor in 2022, and it's strange that it's already having problems. My monitor turns on and off normally, I don't know if it is defective. Could it perhaps be the monitor's power supply?

Also, 5 beeps from what I've googled means a bad CPU. How do you know this is a monitor/GPU related issue and not a CPU issue just out of curiosity?

 

[kerberos_20]

Also, 5 beeps from what I've googled means a bad CPU. How do you know this is a monitor/GPU related issue and not a CPU issue just out of curiosity?

https://www.congatec.com/fileadmin/...tio_5.x_Status_Codes_PUB_Rev.2.0_20140410.pdf

under DXE beep codes on page 12, No Console Output/Input Devices are found


5 beepcodes with cpu failure would be on amibios, you dont have amibios, its been phased out like 12+ years ago, its ami Aptio V now
amibios looks like this:
https://pcrebuilding.altervista.org/images/resized_my_pcrebuilding/5825adb7d7857_p1160741.jpg
or
https://cdn0-production-images-kly....00_1589356575-AMIBIOS8_screenshot_627x417.jpg
and it doesnt support uefi

 

[XXMythLuan]

https://www.congatec.com/fileadmin/...tio_5.x_Status_Codes_PUB_Rev.2.0_20140410.pdf

under DXE beep codes on page 12, No Console Output/Input Devices are found


5 beepcodes with cpu failure would be on amibios, you dont have amibios, its been phased out like 12+ years ago, its ami Aptio V now
amibios looks like this:
https://pcrebuilding.altervista.org/images/resized_my_pcrebuilding/5825adb7d7857_p1160741.jpg
or
https://cdn0-production-images-kly....00_1589356575-AMIBIOS8_screenshot_627x417.jpg
and it doesnt support uefi

Wow, now I get it. Thanks for explaining! I don't know much about BIOS/UEFI and motherboards in general, so I was a bit confused.

In fact, I think this could be the main reason for all of this, because in the old video I posted, when the motherboard beeped five times, the code "D6" appeared on the motherboard QCode, which means the same thing as the five beeps: No Console Output Devices are found. Now I really suspect that it's my monitor, because if my PC beeps at my home and not at the repair shop, it can only be a defective monitor.

In these cases, what would you recommend I do with my monitor? I don't know much about monitors, but since it seems to be working properly without any problems, it's a bit confusing. Would it be worth taking this monitor to the same repair shop so that the technicians can test it there? By the way, my monitor was purchased at this repair store.

 

[kerberos_20]

In these cases, what would you recommend I do with my monitor? I don't know much about monitors, but since it seems to be working properly without any problems, it's a bit confusing. Would it be worth taking this monitor to the same repair shop so that the technicians can test it there? By the way, my monitor was purchased at this repair store.

you could take it there, that eeprom costs around 0.5$, but dunno if eeprom is failing or some circuitry around it, its not hard to measure it, that would still translate to 50bucks repair if he has to desolder it and replace it