A beep noise is heard from computer speekers spontaneously from time to time
(approximately every half hour). The sound do not resemble a sound from a
program.

Can somebody give me a hint where to dig?

Thank you

Lev

Levlg wrote:
> A beep noise is heard from computer speekers spontaneously from time
> to time (approximately every half hour). The sound do not resemble a
> sound from a program.
>
> Can somebody give me a hint where to dig?
>
> Thank you
>
> Lev

http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml

--
Mike Pawlak

Levlg wrote:
> A beep noise is heard from computer speekers spontaneously from time to time
> (approximately every half hour). The sound do not resemble a sound from a
> program.
>
> Can somebody give me a hint where to dig?
>
> Thank you
>
> Lev
>
>

From the audio speakers plugged into the green Lineout port ?

Or from the computer case speaker connected to the motherboard ?

The computer case speaker is typically used for "beep" type sounds.
On some prebuilt computers, there is a piezo speaker (round shape and
black in color) located on the motherboard. It is perhaps 1/2" in
diameter, and takes the place of the computer case speaker. It
saves the HP or Dell assembler a few seconds to hook up the wires
of a speaker, by having it soldered to the motherboard.

Some tests you can try. Open a Command Prompt window. Type

echo ^G

That is control-G, made by pressing and holding the Ctrl key, then
typing the "g" key. When you hit return, you'll hear a beep through
the computer case speaker.

Another test, is to press the shift key five times in succession.
That will make the StickyKeys dialog box pop up (which you can cancel),
and it will be accompanied by a rising tone from the computer case speaker.

If, in the Command Prompt (DOS) window, you type

net stop beep

then try the "echo control g" thing again, it will fail to make
a noise. Similarly, StickyKeys will stop making its sound as well.
Type

net start beep

to turn the beep service on again.

I wasn't able to figure out, whether there is a discrete device
of some sort for the beep. If there was, you could use one of
the Sysinternals programs, to catch a process doing something
to the device. You could experiment with that, using the above
two stimulus cases.

A complicating factor, is sometimes it seems the BIOS is also
capable of using the case speaker. For example, some people
have received the high-low ("donkey") siren sound, caused
when something is out of sorts as measured by the hardware
monitor. And apparently it can happen while the OS is running.

Another source of noises, is the hard drive. Weaker beep sounds
can be caused by activity on the drive - like perhaps some kind
of SMART test. So when you hear a sound, it is important to
trace down exactly where it is coming from. And that can be
difficult.

Sorry I couldn't provide a better recipe for tracing the
source. If I had a theory as to what the device name might
be (like /dev/beep), then it might be worth trying to trace
it. But since it is a service, I don't know how you'd go about
detecting a program using a service. Presumably there is a
protocol for it, but who knows what diagnostic program
can trace something like that.

Paul

Levlg wrote:

> A beep noise is heard from computer speekers spontaneously from time to
> time (approximately every half hour). The sound do not resemble a sound
> from a program.
>
> Can somebody give me a hint where to dig?

Paul has given you some excellent advice. I'd just like to add - make sure
nothing is pressing down on your keyboard. I had a client with a similar
problem and when I got on-site, I found she was storing a stack of folders
next to the keyboard and occasionally the pile would get nudged, move, and
press on some of the keys, producing a beep.

If the above doesn't fit your situation, you might also want to try a
different keyboard. If the beep goes away, throw out the original keyboard.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Many thanks to all who tried to help me. My special thanks to Paul, from his
letter I learned a lot for myself.
The sound goes from the audio speakers plugged into the green Lineout port.
But the most surprising is that, as my wife found out, the sounds from my
computer speakers distributed late in the evening too, although the computer
was already turned off! Could it be any electrical stray pick-up?

Thank you
Lev

Levlg wrote:

> Many thanks to all who tried to help me. My special thanks to Paul, from
> his letter I learned a lot for myself.
> The sound goes from the audio speakers plugged into the green Lineout
> port. But the most surprising is that, as my wife found out, the sounds
> from my computer speakers distributed late in the evening too, although
> the computer was already turned off! Could it be any electrical stray
> pick-up?

Yes, it could be electrical interference or it could also be
cheap/old/failing speakers. Even when turned off, modern computers still
have a small amount of electrical current running to them if they are
connected to the wall outlet. I have a set of speakers that, while they
don't produce any beeps, hum unpleasantly even when not connected to a
computer. Since I only use them for working on clients' machines I just
turn them off when not in use and won't replace them until they actually
break. Try a different set of speakers on your computer and see what
happens.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

I've seen this happed from a neighbor who was using a ham radio. Was odd
(and interesting), we could hear both sides of the conversation via the
speakers.

--

All the Best and Happy Holidays,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm


"Levlg" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:493a4e1b$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Many thanks to all who tried to help me. My special thanks to Paul, from
> his letter I learned a lot for myself.
> The sound goes from the audio speakers plugged into the green Lineout
> port. But the most surprising is that, as my wife found out, the sounds
> from my computer speakers distributed late in the evening too, although
> the computer was already turned off! Could it be any electrical stray
> pick-up?
>
> Thank you
> Lev
>
>