Motherboard Random Beep Code on Startup, Operates Fine

[Valkyr]

Hello All,

I am somewhat new to this, first build. everything is set up and seems to be running perfectly. custom built, stats listed below. operates fine, quick start-up, everything seems to be running swimmingly, games are fast, system is super cool (doesnt breach 29C on standby, doesnt breach 45C on full load Prime95). With one exception. It seems as though 40% of the time on a cold boot, my computer beeps incessantly at me. seems like one long, and 9 shorter beeps. re-seated RAM, GPU and re-plugged in all SATA cables and everything. This error occurred before installing the added SSD, but it beeps just as frequently as it did before installation, reinstalled windows, same. did it again, same. when the beep happens on startup, it goes straight to the homescreen just as fast as when it doesnt beep. it seems to be a consistent (about 40% of the time) beep code almost half the time, before windows reinstall, SSD install, updated all drivers and OS, and it doesnt make a difference to the occurrence of the beep. it doesnt label any errors or hardware connection problems. it continues to beep through and after startup for awhile, until it finishes beeping. I even ran Starcraft 2 on max settings while it was at the end of its beeping, and it ran at 60fps (locked at refresh rate of monitor), so it doesnt seem to be the GPU. built in card graphics had it running at about 20fps max on same settings, and no artifacts or lines on screen with or without discrete GPU. I have experienced lines on the monitor, however I soon found out that a driver update fixed that. no problems since (besides the beep). I have no problems besides the 40% chance it will piss my upstairs neighbor off from all the damned beeping lol. any ideas? I would like to fix this myself, but I am about ready to pay the geek squad for something that I could probably fix on my own out of sheer frustration. please help!

Build:
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 mobo
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W
Corsair H50 WC for CPU
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B
Rosewill BRONZE Series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,ATX12V v2.3
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL  X  4  (16GB)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F120GB3A-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OS loader, some games
GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Seagate Barracuda  1 TB HDD 7200 RPM 6 GBpS

[Valkyr]

Edit:

     I have not messed with overclocking it yet. is in AHCI mode for the SSD. all windows files are on the SSD, all else on HDD besides a game or two.

     I also had a RAM timing error but soon fixed it by changing the timings to factory settings. the last number was a 28 by default, needed to be 24 by factory.

     I hope the beep is something easy like this.

2nd edit: would it matter that the PSU says 12v ATX, and the mobo is a mATX? Jw if this could be related

[Dark Mantis]

I have just replied to your other post. Please don't double post as all it does is to confuse the people who are trying to help you.

I would ask you to continue to use this thread and I will move the other thread over.

There is no problem with the different PSU naming so no worries there.

Have you increased the memory voltage because of the filling of all the slots ?

What about memory timing, is that inserted manually or is it still on "auto" ?

[Valkyr]

alright, will do, sorry about that. I have not increased the voltage, that will still be at factory defaults. It didn't seem like it had any issues, the RAM in windows 7 shows as 16Gb as it should and operates fine. would it still do so if at incorrect voltage? I am not at my PC right now but when I am I will post what the voltage is set at. I had to change the "auto" to "manual" in order to change it. should I be changing this back to auto or will that revert it back to the incorrect timing? and what should I be looking for in terms of RAM voltage? One further question... the RAM is 1600, does this need to be set or will my mobo automatically set it at 1600?

As an update to this specific case, this morning I have tried to connect my monitor directly to the back of my mobo, onboard, instead of through the GPU. I tried to plug in the DVI cord into the back, and the monitor seemed to come back from sleep mode to going back to sleep, then waking up, and cycling. never actually showing anything from the monitor. I tried the HDMI port as well, and it does the same thing. do I have faulty hardware? sound like the ports arent working as they should. could this possibly cause the beep?

Also, turning off the alarm codes would be a very difficult process, due to the fact that it seems to have to be powered down for a while and then booted up to get the error. I would have to turn one alarm off and wait a full day or so, then turn it on to MAYBE get the code anyways lol, it doesn't seem like a definitive way to identify the issue, but it may help.

Thanks a bunch for your help thus far

Edit: I have checked the RAM voltage. Newegg states that this RAM runs at 1.5 Volts. thats when I checked it, and it is set at 1.5 Volts as standard. haven't changed it, because I wasn't entirely sure I should increase the voltage beyond that of which the RAM is supposed to function

[Valkyr]

another addition, and ill keep this one short, sorry about the novel but I'm trying to give as much info as possible. RAM is 1600, but through further research i5 Sandy automatically clocks mem down to 1333... haven't checked my build, I will edit this post as soon as I get home.

[Dark Mantis]

another addition, and ill keep this one short, sorry about the novel but I'm trying to give as much info as possible. RAM is 1600, but through further research i5 Sandy automatically clocks mem down to 1333... haven't checked my build, I will edit this post as soon as I get home.

That is normal as the speed of 1333 is the highest speed subject to the JEDEC standards. That is why the motherboard defaults to this speed. You would have to change the setting from "Auto" to "Manual" and then either apply the "profile 1" setting or set all speeds and voltages manually. This is the most secure way as even using the profile isn't foolproof.

Regarding the voltage, as you are filling all the slots you are adding an extra loading onto the memory controller so you may need to increase the voltage anyway to above default. If 1.5v is default you might have to increase it to 1.55v or so.

In the BIOS don't forget to change the default location of the monitor if you are physically changing the port you are connecting it to.