Diskeeper Lite

BIOS Beep Codes

Training: Understanding display adapters

1. Diskeeper Lite

This week, I placed a link on the Resource Main Page to Diskeeper Lite. Executive Software, which produces Diskeeper, has offered this download as a way of convincing you to buy the full version. The nice thing is that for most uses, the Lite version is quite functional. The other nice thing is that it is not trialware. It will not bomb out on you. Here's the story:

Diskeeper was developed as a reaction to the inherent limits of the Windows defrag utillity. The native Windows defrag only defrags a portion of the files on the drive. While it is generally effective, it does leave a lot of fragments untouched. In addition, Windows defrag takes a long time to complete, depending on how much data is on the drive. The exception to this, interestingly, is Windows ME, which has a very fast defrag. Finally, defragmenters such as Windows defrag and Norton Utilities SpeedDisk have a significant impact on system resources.

Diskeeper does not have as significant an impact (though it does slow the computer a bit), and allows good auto-scheduling of defragmentation sessions, and can defrag simultaneous volumes in a single session. Additionally, Diskeeper defragments all, or nearly all files that can be defragmented.

The Lite version does not offer the auto-scheduling or the multi-volume per session defogging, but it does analyze and defragment single volumes with relative easy, speed, and a low impact on system performance. Since it is freeware, it is worth a look. The only real bother is the pop-up that encourages you to buy the full version. This pop-up opens whenever you start the program.

Executive Software Freeware Site (you may have to enter profile info)



2. BIOS Beep Codes

The BIOS is a part of the motherboard which maintains inventory of hardware components and how they behave. It is separate from the OS. When you first turn the computer on, the BIOS attempts to communicate with each component. When it is satisfied that it can communicate, it signals this to the user with a single beep. Control of the system is then passed on to the OS. This self check is called the POST (Power On Self Test).

If a component fails to communicate with the BIOS, you may hear a series of beeps. If you hear more than one beep, some kind of a component has not communicated back to the BIOS. The BIOS signals this. Depending on the importance of the device to the system, the BIOS will either allow you to continue, or will stop the startup process altogether. For instance, a 'stuck keyboard key' message will not kill the boot process. However, a failure of one of the expansion cards or the cpu will stop the boot process. In addition to the beep code, a text message describing the problem will also appear.

The beep code for each type of problem is unique to that problem, and to the BIOS itself. You have to be able to identify the BIOS manufacturer. You can do so by being observant when the computer starts up. Two major BIOS manufacturers are AMI and Pheonix. The following website is a guide to BIOS beep codes for these BIOS systems:

Hardware Central BIOS Beeps Tutorial

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