gigabyte GA-785GMT-USB3 award bios F1 01/04/2010 beep codes

[Urge]

I just built a new computer with the following specs:
gigabyte GA-785GMT-USB3 MOBO
AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz socket AM3
Corsair XMS3 DHX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel kit
WD Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
Seasonic S1211Bronze 520W PS
It runs normally as far as I can tell.  I ran Memtest 86 on each stick of memory individually for 6 passes with no errors.  When the computer starts up I get one long beep(several seconds).  I can't find beep codes for my bios- Award bios F1 01/04/2010- anywhere.  Does anyone have any thoughts on what could be causing this?  I just read a thread on memory needing to be run in single channel mode but I get the one long beep with the memory in single channel or dual channel mode.  I am not overclocking anything.  Do the beep codes for this Bios exist?

Urge

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Would you mind updating your profile which can be found at the top with your location please. It can make it easier to answer if we know where the poster is.

One long beep could be a motherboard error but I think we need to look at other things first. If there is a BIOS update it would be worth installing that as I notice that you have the original BIOS. If that doesn't stop the beep then go into the BIOS and set the memory to unganged mode.

I have just checked and there is an update available it is F3.

For your information the following are for your board:

The following Award BIOS beep code descriptions may help you identify possible computer problems.
(For reference only.)
1 short: System boots successfully
2 short: CMOS setting error
1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error
1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error
1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error
1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error
Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly
Continuous short beeps: Power error

[Urge]

Dark Mantis wrote...

Hi and welcome to the forum.

  Thanks
I looked on Gigabytes site but didn't find a bios update.  Where do I look? The memory is set to unganged mode.  I never set it to ganged mode when it was in dual channel, would it be helpful to try this?  I'm guessing no since I get the long beep in unganged mode with the memory in single channel but I am guessing.

Urge

[Dark Mantis]

Look here to find the BIOS updates etc:

http://www.giga-byte.co.uk/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3317&dl=1#manual

AMD recommends that tthe memory is run in unganged mode because it is quicker and more stable especially at higher speeds. Absic has just done a report on just this problem area. If you would like to read it you can find it here:

http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2515.0.html

[Urge]

I have never done a bios update(well, I did one 7-8 yrs ago with a floppy on a win98 sys.but you get the pic). Is there a thread that discusses how to do it? There are 2 updates, should I go for the newest one which says it addresses:" Fix On/Off Charge & USB compatibility".  What does on/off charge mean?  The USB appears to be working fine, I am using a USB mouse and flash drive.  If I'm not having a problem that's related to the bios update why do I want to do it?  I couldn't find any other info on the update so I am assuming(I know) that it only covers what is stated.  The other update covers: "Update AGESA 3.7.0.0 for AMD 6core CPU" which doesn't seem like it applies to me at all.  I read the thread that Absic did, that's what got me to write in.

Urge

[Dark Mantis]

It would be worth updating your BIOS because the notes given are often very short or non-existant and don't really cover everything that is updated.
The full details of running an update are covered in  our FAQ section.

[absic]

Hi Urge,

Right a couple of things to note:
Information given by Gigabyte about their BIOS updates are always a bit vague and sometimes updating your BIOS can solve other issues that aren't mentioned. If you're not sure how to flash your BIOS check out our FAQ here: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2441.0.html that should help.

With your system specs you should be able to run your RAM in Single or Dual Channel mode and any possible issues tend to come about if you are filling all 4 slots on the motherboard. I would recommend that you use the first 2 slots on your Mobo DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 (I think they're the 2 blue RAM slots on the Mobo)

With regard to the initial beep that you are getting upon start-up, without actually hearing it I wouldn't want to guess but, if everything starts OK and the system seems solid I'm not sure if I would be too concerned, annoying as it may be. Usually at POST you get one BEEP but I have had PC's where this POST BEEP can be about 2-3 seconds long.

[Urge]

A couple of questions, I moved my ram to the 1st 2 slots(blue) and changed to ganged in the bios but then I reread Dark Mantis post

AMD recommends that tthe memory is run in unganged mode because it is quicker and more stable especially at higher speeds.

and I guess I should change it back to unganged.  I thought that ganged was for dual channel, was I wrong or is it just that it doesn't work with this MOBO?  So, should I change it to unganged before I do the bios update?   I may have misspoken a little about the beeps(I used to be a logger, my hearing isn't so good).  I was just playing with it changing memory around and left the cover off and started it up a few times.  My CPU fan (the stock one that comes with the CPU) is kind of noisy and I missed an initial short beep when the computer starts up.  It is after this (over 10 secs) that I now get 1 short beep followed by a long (at least 10 secs) beep.  I am still looking for a list of the beep codes for this.  I followed the link that absic115 posted http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2441.0.html  but when I typed "GA-785GMT-USB3 rev. 1.0 bios updates" into search this is the response I got-"Sorry, the page you are looking for is no longer available or has been moved.  Please try the following:"  I did find the bios updates for my MOBO on the GA-785GMT-USB3 page.  I have the F3 bios loaded on a flash drive and am ready to install it but I thought maybe I should at least ask about the different beeps I am getting.  I really appreciate all the support you guys are providing here-Thanks.

Urge 

Any recommendations on a new CPU fan?  I thought the stock one might be OK but maybe not.  How hot is hot and how cool is cool?  Using Core Temp 0.99.7 my CPU right now shows a range of 97°F to 119°F but it seems to run at around 102°F to 103°F almost all the time (in the 2-3 days it has been running).  Using HDD Health my HDs are running around 34°C to 35°C.
 

[absic]

Hi there,

OK, the link I gave you was for the "How to update BIOS" page of this forum.

The difference between Ganged/Unganged and Dual Channel/Single Channel I have tried to explain in this thread: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2515.15.html It is on the 2nd page. I hope this explains it a bit better for you.
But, in a nutshell, with your RAM/CPU combination don't get too hung up about it and, if it is working leave it as it is.

The temps with the stock coolers always tend to be a little higher than you will get with a 3rd Party Cooler. I personally am using a Noctua NH-D14 Air cooler but that is most probably more cooler than you would need! Dark Mantis will try and persuade you to go down the Water Cooling route as that is his favoured method. But, it really is a personal choice and it is also dependant on budget. Something mid ranged such as the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus is most probably adequate.

[Dark Mantis]

The BIOS beep code you mention doesn't officiallly exist...one short followed by one long. I would have to say that on the cooling situation I would agree with absic and just get a good aftermarket cooler. There are many good ones around but some are more noisy than others(mind you it might not make a difference to an ex logger) .

[Urge]

absic115 wrote...

But, in a nutshell, with your RAM/CPU combination don't get too hung up about it and, if it is working leave it as it is.

I guess I'll see what transpires with the beep codes.  So, I am going to do the bios update after I write this post since it doesn't seem like it will do any harm.  I built a computer a couple of months ago and used a Cooler Master Hyper N520 and my wife and I both think it is noisy.
 Air flow and noise specs:
Hyper N520 air flow-43.8cfm  noise level  19dba.
 Hyper 212 plus:  air flow 21.2-76.8 cfm  noise level  13-32 dba.
If it(hyper 212 plus) ran under 43.8 cfm would it cool enough and will the noise be low enough to not be irritating?
Dark Mantis wrote...

The BIOS beep code you mention doesn't officiallly exist...one short followed by one long.

  So where can I find the list of beep codes?
Dark Mantis wrote...

some are more noisy than others(mind you it might not make a difference to an ex logger)

This computer is for my wife.

Urge

[absic]

Beep codes can be found in your User's Manual or here: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2248.0.html

If you are looking for an almost silent option for a CPU cooler then, if you can get hold of this, you'll be more than happy: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=32&lng=en This is the smaller brother of my cooler and I can't hear mine at all! Not cheap but well worth the investment.

[Dark Mantis]

Oh, well! If we are talking about quiet then......

[absic]

A rather large Gag for one Dark Mantis, perchance?

[Urge]

my 1st attempt to flash bios
I formatted the flash drive (Fat32), downloaded the bios update(mb_bios_ga-785gmt-usb3_f3), ubzipped it, dragged the 3 files onto the flash drive(it is the only thing on it), turned off the computer, restarted, hit end, Qflash utility came up, selected "update bios from drive", next screen said 0 files found floppy A, HDD 0-0  HDD 2-0   What did I do wrong?

Urge