Bios Beep Codes

While testing a computer we heard it beep as it booted up. These beeps are error codes, built into the bios, to communicate to the operator of any errors that are occurring, and are especially useful when the video card is one of the errors. These "beep codes" make up a simple, but very specific, language of errors, that I have researched. 

Different motherboard and CPU companies and builds all have different codes. The two most common BIOS to encounter are AMI and IBM. Their codes are shown below:

The computer we were working on was an AMI, and gave us 8 short beeps, then a pause, then one long and 3 short. We were thus able to determine that the problems were with the video card and the memory. We changed the video card first, and when it started up it still beeped one long 3 short, but the information came up on the monitor. Then, after changing the memory, it started and functioned normally. 

There are several other beep code languages for less-commonly used companies, all of which can be found quickly with a google search.