Why my computr beeps at me?

I am trying to figure out why my old computer keeps beeping. I thought maybe it was the motherboard and reinstalled another one. But, it still is beeping. Can you tell me why

This question was answered on March 15, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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The system beep does not go via the sound card so you cannot mute it

using the normal software volume controls The system beep does not go

via the normal sound system so that motherboard can give you coded beep

sequences when it cannot boot at all This is very useful when you are

doing your own hardware upgrades Different boards give out different

beeps so if you have not kept the manuals you should download and print

them before you attempt an upgrade so that you can follow the trouble

shooting guide when the beeping starts

The problem arises in that some software (particularly old stuff) likes

to beep at you when it does not understand a command by calling the

system beep command rather than playing you a little wav through the

sound card This can drive you and your friends/family/workmates/boss

totally nuts

The way around this is to disconnect the little lead that attaches the

beeping speaker from the motherboard You should only do this if your

box boots normally and you are getting to the point where pulling the

plug on the beep would really make your day

You should assume that you will forget that you did this and could end

up in trouble if you do have a genuine hardware problem that

motherboard beeps would help you to solve To get around this leave a

post-it note inside your computer saying words to the effect of "you

unplugged the beep because you hated him perhaps if you are back in

here looking to fix a problem you should reconnect the beep so that

your motherboard can talk to you in coded beeps"

About the author

Posted by ricardo of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on March 15, 2003

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