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Help tracking down a random beep

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  Help tracking down a random beep rhkramer@gmail.com - 2019-05-09 02:40 +0200
    Re: Help tracking down a random beep Charlie Kravetz <charlie@keepingdreams.com> - 2019-05-09 06:00 +0200
      Re: Help tracking down a random beep Cindy Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> - 2019-05-09 08:20 +0200
        Re: Help tracking down a random beep Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2019-05-09 12:00 +0200
          Re: Help tracking down a random beep Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2019-05-09 16:00 +0200
            Re: Help tracking down a random beep Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2019-05-09 16:30 +0200
          Re: Help tracking down a random beep Jan Claeys <lists@janc.be> - 2019-05-09 20:50 +0200
            Re: Help tracking down a random beep David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2019-05-10 03:20 +0200
              Re: Help tracking down a random beep rhkramer@gmail.com - 2019-05-10 16:30 +0200
        Re: Help tracking down a random beep rhkramer@gmail.com - 2019-05-09 16:00 +0200
          Re: Help tracking down a random beep Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2019-05-09 18:10 +0200
    Re: Help tracking down a random beep Martin <keine-eile@online.de> - 2019-05-09 16:10 +0200
      Re: Help tracking down a random beep rhkramer@gmail.com - 2019-05-09 19:10 +0200

#208437 — Help tracking down a random beep

On my Debian Jessie system, for several hours today I've been hearing a beep 
(through my audio system / speakers / headphones) something like the beep that 
used to come out of the PC speaker (on older computers -- I don't think I even 
have that speaker connected on this computer).

The beep occurs at fairly random intervals, varying from about 5 seconds and 
going up to as much as 5 minutes or more.

I've tried looking at a lot of the logs, but so far I haven't found any log 
that tells me anything about that beep (the logs I've looked at include 
syslog, messages, Xorg, kern, daemon, wtmp (??).

Does somebody here have some suggestions on trying to track down the source, 
preferably without having to shut down any applications or the computer? 

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#208439

On Wed, 8 May 2019 20:32:49 -0400
rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:

>On my Debian Jessie system, for several hours today I've been hearing a beep 
>(through my audio system / speakers / headphones) something like the beep that 
>used to come out of the PC speaker (on older computers -- I don't think I even 
>have that speaker connected on this computer).
>
>The beep occurs at fairly random intervals, varying from about 5 seconds and 
>going up to as much as 5 minutes or more.
>
>I've tried looking at a lot of the logs, but so far I haven't found any log 
>that tells me anything about that beep (the logs I've looked at include 
>syslog, messages, Xorg, kern, daemon, wtmp (??).
>
>Does somebody here have some suggestions on trying to track down the source, 
>preferably without having to shut down any applications or the computer? 
>


Possibly an open website? Some of those become very annoying.

-- 
Charlie Kravetz
Linux Registered User Number 425914
[http://linuxcounter.net/user/425914.html]
Never let anyone steal your DREAM.   [http://keepingdreams.com]

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#208440

On 5/8/19, Charlie Kravetz <charlie@keepingdreams.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 8 May 2019 20:32:49 -0400
> rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>On my Debian Jessie system, for several hours today I've been hearing a
>> beep
>>(through my audio system / speakers / headphones) something like the beep
>> that
>>used to come out of the PC speaker (on older computers -- I don't think I
>> even
>>have that speaker connected on this computer).
>>
>>The beep occurs at fairly random intervals, varying from about 5 seconds
>> and
>>going up to as much as 5 minutes or more.
>>
>>I've tried looking at a lot of the logs, but so far I haven't found any log
>>
>>that tells me anything about that beep (the logs I've looked at include
>>syslog, messages, Xorg, kern, daemon, wtmp (??).
>>
>>Does somebody here have some suggestions on trying to track down the
>> source,
>>preferably without having to shut down any applications or the computer?
>>
>
>
> Possibly an open website? Some of those become very annoying.


I had something similar that sounded like a little 6" Elf sneezing in
my little ASUS laptop/netbook. Same deal where it was very sporadic.
It turned out to most likely be a warning that it was about to *CLICK*
off due to overheating..

$ sensors -f

...gets me what I need for now. Others may have better favorites that
provide really cool feedback. "sensors -f" provides the (hopefully
correct) CPU temps plus the threshold they're not supposed to touch.
Also provides fan speed... that's actually a number larger than zero
in mine these days. :)

Cindy :)
-- 
Cindy-Sue Causey
Talking Rock, Pickens County, Georgia, USA

* runs with birdseed *

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#208450

On 2019-05-09, Cindy Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> I had something similar that sounded like a little 6" Elf sneezing in
> my little ASUS laptop/netbook. Same deal where it was very sporadic.
> It turned out to most likely be a warning that it was about to *CLICK*
> off due to overheating..
>
> $ sensors -f

In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.

If the OP's somewhere in West Virginia, maybe Gene turned his up so loud
that it's audible down the block. 


> ...gets me what I need for now. Others may have better favorites that
> provide really cool feedback. "sensors -f" provides the (hopefully
> correct) CPU temps plus the threshold they're not supposed to touch.
> Also provides fan speed... that's actually a number larger than zero
> in mine these days. :)
>
> Cindy :)


-- 
The boys at first were very polite about my medals and asked me what I had done
to get them. I showed them the papers, which were written in very beautiful
language and full of fratellanza and abnegazione, but which really said, with
the adjectives removed, that I had been given the medals because I was 
an American. - "Another Country"

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#208466

On Thursday 09 May 2019 05:56:58 am Curt wrote:

> On 2019-05-09, Cindy Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I had something similar that sounded like a little 6" Elf sneezing
> > in my little ASUS laptop/netbook. Same deal where it was very
> > sporadic. It turned out to most likely be a warning that it was
> > about to *CLICK* off due to overheating..
> >
> > $ sensors -f
>
> In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
> cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.
>
> If the OP's somewhere in West Virginia, maybe Gene turned his up so
> loud that it's audible down the block.
>
chuckle-choking with laughter gurgle... I can't even here it across the 
room and out in the hallway. This speaker kit might have 250 MILLIWATTS 
of power.

> > ...gets me what I need for now. Others may have better favorites
> > that provide really cool feedback. "sensors -f" provides the
> > (hopefully correct) CPU temps plus the threshold they're not
> > supposed to touch. Also provides fan speed... that's actually a
> > number larger than zero in mine these days. :)
> >
> > Cindy :)


Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>

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#208470

On Thursday 09 May 2019 09:57:38 am Gene Heskett wrote:

> On Thursday 09 May 2019 05:56:58 am Curt wrote:
> > On 2019-05-09, Cindy Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I had something similar that sounded like a little 6" Elf sneezing
> > > in my little ASUS laptop/netbook. Same deal where it was very
> > > sporadic. It turned out to most likely be a warning that it was
> > > about to *CLICK* off due to overheating..
> > >
> > > $ sensors -f
> >
> > In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
> > cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.
> >
> > If the OP's somewhere in West Virginia, maybe Gene turned his up so
> > loud that it's audible down the block.
>
> chuckle-choking with laughter gurgle... I can't even here it across
> the room and out in the hallway. This speaker kit might have 250
> MILLIWATTS of power.

Bah, humbug. So much for spell checkers, I obviously meant hear.
>
> > > ...gets me what I need for now. Others may have better favorites
> > > that provide really cool feedback. "sensors -f" provides the
> > > (hopefully correct) CPU temps plus the threshold they're not
> > > supposed to touch. Also provides fan speed... that's actually a
> > > number larger than zero in mine these days. :)
> > >
> > > Cindy :)
>
> Cheers, Gene Heskett


Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>

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#208481

On Thu, 2019-05-09 at 09:56 +0000, Curt wrote:
> In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
> cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.

Some on-board audio chips are wired up so that they can emulate old
school IBM PC compatible motherboard speakers/buzzers.


-- 
Jan Claeys

(please don't CC me when replying to the list)

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#208490

On Thu 09 May 2019 at 20:46:34 (+0200), Jan Claeys wrote:
> On Thu, 2019-05-09 at 09:56 +0000, Curt wrote:
> > In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
> > cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.
> 
> Some on-board audio chips are wired up so that they can emulate old
> school IBM PC compatible motherboard speakers/buzzers.

>From the log¹ for my Dell D430 laptop:

"2010-04-23 One of the Dell chargers started to beep very quietly to
itself. Although it was powered, the green light was out. Switching it
on would make the green light come on for a few seconds, then it would
go back to beeping."

It was one of those sledge-shaped chargers with the peculiar
backward-facing figure-8 plug on its cord; the IT dept
replaced it. Four years later, the last battery gave out,
and the charging circuitry too. Now the laptop only runs on
a charger, and needs a monitor too because the screen blanks
itself most of the time.

¹ typed by me, not the machine-generated ones.

Cheers,
David.

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#208520

Just to provide an update -- the current status is that the beep is not 
occurring atm, but it has been just a little cooler.  If I get a chance, I'll 
take that machine down and clean out any dust and such, or, if the beeping 
resumes I'll try some of the ideas suggested here.

As an aside, the machine is a desktop machine, so no charger is involved.  I 
do have it on a UPS, but there is no serial (or USB) cable connected from the 
UPS to the desktop, and the sound definitely comes through the computer 
speakers, so I'm about 99% sure the beep is not coming from the UPS.

On Thursday, May 09, 2019 09:05:54 PM David Wright wrote:
> On Thu 09 May 2019 at 20:46:34 (+0200), Jan Claeys wrote:
> > On Thu, 2019-05-09 at 09:56 +0000, Curt wrote:
> > > In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
> > > cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.
> > 
> > Some on-board audio chips are wired up so that they can emulate old
> > school IBM PC compatible motherboard speakers/buzzers.
> >
> >From the log¹ for my Dell D430 laptop:
> "2010-04-23 One of the Dell chargers started to beep very quietly to
> itself. Although it was powered, the green light was out. Switching it
> on would make the green light come on for a few seconds, then it would
> go back to beeping."
> 
> It was one of those sledge-shaped chargers with the peculiar
> backward-facing figure-8 plug on its cord; the IT dept
> replaced it. Four years later, the last battery gave out,
> and the charging circuitry too. Now the laptop only runs on
> a charger, and needs a monitor too because the screen blanks
> itself most of the time.
> 
> ¹ typed by me, not the machine-generated ones.
> 
> Cheers,
> David.

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#208465

Thanks to all who replied -- see below:

On Thursday, May 09, 2019 02:10:16 AM Cindy Sue Causey wrote:
> On 5/8/19, Charlie Kravetz <charlie@keepingdreams.com> wrote:
> > Possibly an open website? Some of those become very annoying.

I'll look into that -- thankfully that is the computer that probably has only 
30 to 40 tabs / webpages open, not close to a thousand like my other machine 
;-)
 
> I had something similar that sounded like a little 6" Elf sneezing in
> my little ASUS laptop/netbook. 

Now I have to find a 6" Elf and blow some pepper in his face ;-)

> Same deal where it was very sporadic.
> It turned out to most likely be a warning that it was about to *CLICK*
> off due to overheating..
> 
> $ sensors -f

Sensors -f didnt work, so I had to install lm-sensors (which means sensors is 
not the source of the beep (you didn't say it was, but I guess it was a 
possibility (and man sensors doesn't say anything about a beep).

The CPU (~115 F) and MB (~85F) temperature and fan speeds (case and CPU both 
around 2200 of a possible (according to sensors) 7200 rpm) all seem to be well 
within limits this morning, but I don't hear the beep this morning -- I'll 
look again if I start hearing the beep (it is a cooler morning -- maybe I'll 
encouter the problem again this (or tomorrow) afternoon.

> ...gets me what I need for now. Others may have better favorites that
> provide really cool feedback. "sensors -f" provides the (hopefully
> correct) CPU temps plus the threshold they're not supposed to touch.
> Also provides fan speed... that's actually a number larger than zero
> in mine these days. :)

Oh, and to Curt (from a different post): 

> In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
> cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.

Interesting -- I'm not used to / familiar with a speaker on the MB -- in the 
old days there was typically a speaker in the case that (if you were building 
your own) you had to connect.  (And, so if there is no speaker, the BIOS can't 
signal an error?)

> If the OP's somewhere in West Virginia, maybe Gene turned his up so loud
> that it's audible down the block. 

I do live in Pa. (which is adjacent to WV), but on the other end of the state 
-- we probably have other people complaining if the beep was coming from 
Gene's machine. ;-)

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#208477

On 2019-05-09, rhkramer@gmail.com <rhkramer@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> In the event there is no functional motherboard speaker, I guess it
>> cannot be a BIOS alarm of any kind.
>
> Interesting -- I'm not used to / familiar with a speaker on the MB -- in the 
> old days there was typically a speaker in the case that (if you were building 
> your own) you had to connect.  (And, so if there is no speaker, the BIOS can't 
> signal an error?)

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PC_speaker

 The computer often seems to make beep noises or other sounds at various times,
 whether we want them or not ...

 Note: The sounds are caused by the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), the OS
 (Operating System), the DE (Desktop Environment), or various software programs.
 The BIOS is a particularly troublesome problem because it is kept inside an
 EPROM chip on the motherboard, and the only direct control the user has is by
 turning the power on or off. Unless the BIOS setup has a setting you can adjust
 or you wish to attempt to reprogram that chip with the proper light source, it
 is not likely you will be able to change it at all. BIOS-generated beep sounds
 are not addressed here, except to say that unplugging your computer case
 speaker will stop all such sounds from being heard. (Do so at your own risk.)

>> If the OP's somewhere in West Virginia, maybe Gene turned his up so loud
>> that it's audible down the block. 
>
> I do live in Pa. (which is adjacent to WV), but on the other end of the state 
> -- we probably have other people complaining if the beep was coming from 
> Gene's machine. ;-)
>
 Well, you're contiguous, and I'm like those hard-nosed TV cops---I don't
believe in coincidences.

;-)

-- 
Mrs Hessler, the teacher, considered me her employee, and I played along with
this to keep the frown off that somewhat shapeless face she had crowned with an
inappropriate platinum pixie. I regularly fed her made-up news items from
imaginary newspapers, and she always bought it. ‘Drone Strike on a Strip Club’,
for example. -- Thomas McGuane, https://granta.com/grandma-and-me/

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#208468

Am 09.05.19 um 02:32 schrieb rhkramer@gmail.com:
> On my Debian Jessie system, for several hours today I've been hearing a beep 
> (through my audio system / speakers / headphones) something like the beep that 
> used to come out of the PC speaker (on older computers -- I don't think I even 
> have that speaker connected on this computer).
> 
> The beep occurs at fairly random intervals, varying from about 5 seconds and 
> going up to as much as 5 minutes or more.
> 
> I've tried looking at a lot of the logs, but so far I haven't found any log 
> that tells me anything about that beep (the logs I've looked at include 
> syslog, messages, Xorg, kern, daemon, wtmp (??).
> 
> Does somebody here have some suggestions on trying to track down the source, 
> preferably without having to shut down any applications or the computer? 
> 

I had this looong time ago. Caused by a noisy/broken keyboard cable. My be there could be a situation similar on modern USB base keyboards?

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#208479

On Thursday, May 09, 2019 10:08:41 AM Martin wrote:
> I had this looong time ago. Caused by a noisy/broken keyboard cable. My be
> there could be a situation similar on modern USB base keyboards?

Thanks for the reply!

I'll watch for hints that could be the problem -- I use one keyboard / mouse / 
molnitor for two computers (with a KVM)  and get the beep on only one of them, 
and even when the KVM is switched to the other computer.  I guess it could be 
the cables between the KVM and the (beeping) computer...

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