OK I know about BIOS alarm codes and temperature / fan failure warnings but this is not one of those:

I've got a PC which is mostly new components, I put it together earlier this week but was getting temperature warning beeps from the CPU sensor so yesterday I swapped out the cooler for something more sophisticated.

The CPU temps are fixed now and don't get above 60C, but when my computer has booted and gets to the Windows login prompt (or a little later) it emits a long beep - four or five seconds long. Then it usually stops, then it does another long beep (maybe ten seconds) and goes quiet.

I can't see any hardware issues. All the RAM is there, fans are behaving normally, all the drives are present and available, there's also a Firewire card with an ASIO interface attached and these are working correctly too, all the front panel stuff works, etc. Absolutely no hardware issues that I can find, and apart from this warning buzzer every time I start up the thing is running just fine.

Any ideas? First one to suggest unplugging the case speaker wins nothing whatsoever.

Always entertaining to read your posts, Kev.

Are you sure it's not like an overload switch to tell you when you're putting too much load on your PC?.

Otherwise if it's a really high HZ sound then it is a hardware malfunction, I had this problem with an Amplifier for my stereo....

Hope this will help you.

Hi man,

I don't think it can be a load issue given that it happens about 15 seconds after booting. By that time I'm usually logging in to Windows or I could be looking at the BIOS menus wondering why my computer keeps buzzing at me, but either way it's not doing any heavy lifting.

I get no further sound from the buzzer afterwards.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Hi man,

I don't think it can be a load issue given that it happens about 15 seconds after booting. By that time I'm usually logging in to Windows or I could be looking at the BIOS menus wondering why my computer keeps buzzing at me, but either way it's not doing any heavy lifting.

I get no further sound from the buzzer afterwards.

Yeah, Normally the sounds though are some kind of warnings... hold on http://lmgtfy.com/?q=BIOS+Beep+Warnings

My pc started messing around like that one day don't remember the issue though.. :/

I might have found it...

I'm using an Antec P82 case which has a separate 'tunnel' for the PSU and 3.5" drive caddies. I've got a fan in that tunnel to draw air over the drives and into the PSU, but it was obstructed by two SATA cables so it wasn't spinning. I cleared the cables out of the way and got no beeps when I restarted.

I wish the fan still wasn't spinning because my computer is now a lot more noisy. I might have to look for a system fan plug to wire it to, I think it's on full revs all the time at the moment...

My suggestion, remove the heatsink from the processor, clean both the processor and bottom of the sink with isopropyl, apply a suitable amount of artic silver, rebuild.

Sounds like it's overheating but without looking its a hard call.

Also, check the bios for the fan settings, temps etc.

But, new PC, just built, that error, that's my first thought.

Good luck

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I wish the fan still wasn't spinning because my computer is now a lot more noisy. I might have to look for a system fan plug to wire it to, I think it's on full revs all the time at the moment...

normally system fan ports are not rpm controlled, only the CPU one is. Can't you just take it out completely? I mean if the temps were ok with the fan blocked, it looks like its not really needed.

I have antec P82 case as well and two hard drives and I don't have a fan in that harddisk channel or whatever it is called. For me the difference for hard disk temps was just couple of degrees when I had a fan there.

If you want to have fan there but make it less loud then maybe get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16835118217. Just make sure the fan starts turning when you turn your computer on because if you set the speed/voltage too low the fan may not start spinning.

EDIT: your fan should have a fan speed controller if it is the original fan that came with the case? There should be a small switch for the fans to adjust their speed (3 speeds).

Quote from Racer X NZ :

My suggestion, remove the heatsink from the processor, clean both the processor and bottom of the sink with isopropyl, apply a suitable amount of artic silver, rebuild.

Like I said the original warning was the CPU temperature but I replaced the heat sink and that problem went away.

Quote from ACCAkut :

normally system fan ports are not rpm controlled, only the CPU one is. Can't you just take it out completely? I mean if the temps were ok with the fan blocked, it looks like its not really needed.

My new motherboard has three headers for system fans and settings in the BIOS for them so it can control them, but this fan won't connect to them unfortunately.

Quote from Hyperactive :

EDIT: your fan should have a fan speed controller if it is the original fan that came with the case? There should be a small switch for the fans to adjust their speed (3 speeds).

Yeah that's the one, I found the switch but even on low it's loud, I think it's just worn out I've had the case for five years. I am just going to unplug it I think, it was coping fine without it.

I am wondering though, given that the fan isn't connected to the motherboard, if that really could have been what was producing the warning buzz. Especially since the three system fan failure warning settings are all turned off. I'll go switch it on again now and see what happens...

Aaaargh the effing thing is still buzzing!

I turned it off and on two or three times yesterday and it didn't do it, only the first time I started it. Now the first time I start it today it does it again. :banghead:

The only other change I made when I changed the CPU cooler was to move the RAM to the other channel because the cooler fan obstructs the channel I was using. But the system is finding all the memory so surely that's not a problem? And like I said it POSTs and boots just fine.

might help to know what motherboard youre using
also unplug that buzzer no one uses these anymore

Are all the m/b drivers for chipset and etc installed in Windows?

Did you by any chance install any motherboard-specific stuff from say a CD that came with the m/b and might include something like a thermal monitor service or any service/resident app what-so-ever? It might be one such that screws up on first load as the thermal sensor access isn't initialized yet.

Also, have you looked for BIOS updates?

Do you really turn your computer off and on that often to notice this? Which also brings to mind: does it do it if you resume from either hibernation or standby?

This is for win xp but could be done with whatever os you are using:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto ... -windows-xp-system-beeps/

I'd really rather work out what the problem is than disable the buzzer.

The motherboard is a Gigabyte B75M-D3V. I haven't tried flashing firmware (haven't looked), haven't installed anything, all devices are functioning, so is everything else in the system, only thing I currently haven't installed a driver for is an iLok dongle.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I'd really rather work out what the problem is than disable the buzzer.

The motherboard is a Gigabyte B75M-D3V. I haven't tried flashing firmware (haven't looked), haven't installed anything, all devices are functioning, so is everything else in the system, only thing I currently haven't installed a driver for is an iLok dongle.

Found this:
http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/amibeep.htm#
(last one)

disable all of the bios warnings
if that doesnt help you could try the hard way by pulling everything but ther bare essentials out of the pc

Got another long buzz when I started the computer today after a couple of days down time.

I've noticed if I restart the same day I don't usually get it, but if I leave it a day and restart it often buzzes.

I wonder if the CMOS battery is running flat while the PC is off? I've now stopped my clock from syncing to Microsoft's time service so next time I restart I can see if the time is wrong. Are there any other indicators that CMOS went dead while the computer was down that I could look at in the mean time?

well the bios would most likely reset to default.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I've noticed if I restart the same day I don't usually get it, but if I leave it a day and restart it often buzzes.

Said one middle-aged male cicada to the other.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Are there any other indicators that CMOS went dead while the computer was down that I could look at in the mean time?

Settings would reset and you'd get a message about that and low battery during POST. You can usually find a voltage indicator in a "computer status" sort of page in the CMOS.

I don't think I had to tweak anything in the BIOS, everything got auto-awesomed, although I think I did change the boot device order, but I'm not sure what the defaults were and maybe it would boot fine with the defaults.

Anyway I've turned it off now and I'll try it again later. I do have a spare 2032 cell lying around so I can give it a try. Actually I suppose I could put a meter across the current cell and see how it's doing...

How about this one, read the manual that came with your MOBO. Usually there is a troubleshooting section that will tell you all about the beeps and what they mean.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I don't think I had to tweak anything in the BIOS, everything got auto-awesomed, although I think I did change the boot device order, but I'm not sure what the defaults were and maybe it would boot fine with the defaults.

A note about the almighty autoconfigration. I learned not to trust it. For instance, I've come across a few RAM modules which required a slightly higher voltage to work properly. Unless I specifically set that in BIOS, the modules worked fine until I put the system under some load or tried to overclock - even a little bit. Once I set the correct voltage manually, everything started to work just fine. The modules of course had an SPD chip with correct info programmed in. I'm not saying this is the cause of the odd beeping, but if there's any chance something could have misautoconfigured itself, it's worth checking it out.