Dell Studio 15 Makes loud beeping noise upon start up. What might be going on?

Question

So far I've had my Studio 15 a little over 3 months. I have not had any problems with it thus far. However, one time when I turned on the notebook, it made a loud beeping noise, then showed a black message screen with white text saying that a possible software or hardware problem had happened. It also mentioned something about the notebook's boot-up configurations not being found, and that I should insert my Windows Vista Home Premium disk to fix the problem (or basically reformat the whole notebook to restore it to factory settings I assume.)

Instead of inserting the disk, I just turned off the notebook, then turned it back on. It booted up normally, with nothing changed.

Today when I turned my notebook on, it made the same beat noise it did before, however I received no message about missing boot-up configurations, or any other sort of messages. Everything booted up as normally, and the notebook seems to be running normally.

What might be going on? Might a small and minor glitch caused this? Should I look into this, and if so, how do I? If this is a problem, why does it come about after 3 months of use rather than sooner?

If something like a hardware problem has happened, might I be able to exchange my defective notebook for another one through Dell without cash expense? I do have an extended warranty that is still in effect.

Thank You for Your Time!

Answer 1

All windows systems have what's called a Power On Self Check (POST) which runs on boot. This checks the system is in running order before it starts Windows.



A "BEEP" (just one) means everything is fine and always happens.



Any other series of "BEEP codes" can indicate a variety of problems with the system.



You can refer to your Motherboard documentation to find out about beep codes.



If your system is fine now then don't worry about it.



But in future always write down any error messages (and what you were doing when they appeared) in case you need to ask for help again.

Answer 2

If you have an extended warranty, that's probably the best way to go. However, sending the laptop in, make take some time to get it back. They're about as fast at fixing computers on warranty, as molasses moves in the winter.

S-L-O-W!



The beeps you hear are BIOS Beep Codes. This is the way the computer tells you something is wrong.

(Like, hey there! Yo, my man! Got sumthin' wrong HERE!)



The BIOS Beep Codes are called codes for a reason. I don't know if you know, what Morse code is, but it's similar to that.



You might hear One beep that is short, and Two beeps that are long.

It may be Three short beeps. Just two examples of the many beep codes.

This code of beep's repeats itself.



Three short beeps may mean that you have a problem with your ram memory. Could be a problem with the graphics.

There are Three major BIOS program manufacturers. AMI, Award, and Phoenix. (I believe Phoenix and Award, are one and the same now) Each BIOS manufacturer has their own set of BIOS Beep Codes.

Here is a list,

http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml

(All computers are IBM compatible. Ignore the IBM beep codes)



When you turn your computer on, and you just hear One beep, everything is okay. That means your BIOS program has done a memory count, checked all hardware devices installed, and you are good to go. BIOS will now hand the computer over to the Operating System.

(Windows XP and Windows Vista are examples of an Operating System)



There is one issue that plagues a laptop, and is easy to check. A lot of laptops have loose ram module/s, (Stick/s) The ram stick/s get bumped loose in their ram slots. (Stick/s. Typed this way, because it could be one ram stick, or if there are two or more, it could be sticks)



All you do is remove the AC adapter, (Charger), if plugged in, and remove the battery. Turn the laptop over on it's top. Remove the memory compartment cover, and remove the ram stick/s. Reinsert the ram stick/s. Close the memory compartment cover. Insert the battery, and the AC adapter.



Turn the laptop over to it's normal position, turn it on. See if that cures it.

Answer 3

It usually starts doing that after you leave the comp. on for a long time with or without applications open. Mine does it all the time now so I'm used to it. Mine is a dimension 9100. There's nothing wrong with the computer mine's 2 yrs. old too. It's been doing this for a long time.

Answer 4

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