Technical information

Troubleshooting Symptom/Cure Tables: Startup Problems Before the Finder
Error Beep(s)
If you hear from one to five error beeps at startup with no boot chime, you have a
hardware problem. The table explains how to troubleshoot and repair an iMac unit
that sounds one or more error beeps at startup.
Possible Cause Possible Fix
No DRAM is installed or
detected.
Do you hear one error beep at startup?
Yes: Follow these steps to resolve the problem:
1. Make sure the DRAM are PC-100 SDRAM. Reseat
the SDRAM and try again.
2. If no SDRAM is present, install a known-good
PC-100 SDRAM and try again.
3. If DRAM is present, replace DIMM one at a time,
with a known-good PC-100 SDRAM.
No: Go to next step.
Incompatible RAM is
installed.
Do you hear two error beeps at startup?
Yes: Verify that only SDRAM PC-100 DIMMs are
installed (The iMac ships with PC-100 SDRAM
memory and is not compatible with EDO
DIMMs.)
No: Go to next step.
Bad RAM. Do you hear three error beeps at startup?
Yes: Replace the existing SDRAM one DIMM at a time
with known-good PC-100 SDRAM.
No: Go to next step.
Bad ROM. Do you hear four or five error beeps at startup?
Yes: Replace the logic board.
No: If you do not hear any error beeps at startup, you
have a different problem and should refer to one of the
other troubleshooting tables in this chapter.