I have an Alienware 17 r3 laptop, upon startup the screen goes black and I get 8 beeps, turning it off and on three or four times it starts normal, what is the issue?

Ive had this laptop for a little over a year now, been working great, worked just fine last night, I shut it down and upon trying to turn it on this morning I was greeted with a black screen with 8 beeps, repeated. I tried turning it on and off repeatedly and after awhile it starts up normally. I am wondering what the issue is with it.