Laptop beeps sometimes as DE loads

[BostonPeng]

(I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this so if it isn't please move it to the appropriate place.)

I recently rebuilt my Lenovo T61 with LMDE KDE UP4 and immediately updated it to UP5 and since then I'm noticing that every few boots I get a beep as KDE begins loading, with another beep after the desktop appears and (for lack of a better way to say it) as my additional programs. It's happened occasionally in the past but it seems to be happening more often. I know the longish beeps mean there's a problem but I'm not getting any indication of what's not happening properly. Is there a log I could check to try to identify what the alerts are trying to tell me?

[sagirfahmid3]

Try reading the output of /var/log/boot
If everything looks good inside the boot log, try blacklisting pcspkr like this:

Code: Select all

echo "blacklist pcspkr" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

[BostonPeng]

Thanks for the quick response, sagirfahmid3. I checked it but all the file says is "(Nothing has been logged yet.)" I'm hesitant to mute the speaker because I suspect it's trying to tell me something so I'll hold off on blacklisting it for now, but I'll keep checking that file as I do more boots that get me beeps.

[sagirfahmid3]

Don't worry man, blacklisting the pcspkr wont actually disable your speakers--it's a misnomer lol It gets rid of the beep usually.

[bigbenaugust]

Depending on your hardware, you might also want to fire up tour favorite mixer (alsamixer is pretty universal) and mute the Beep device if it exists.

I've had a laptop and a netbook where I've had to do both.

[BostonPeng]

Thanks guys, but I'd still like to get an idea of why it's beeping before I shove a rag in its proverbial mouth.

[bigbenaugust]

I know gdm/mdm beep on load for accessibility reasons and that used to be turned off in gdm-config.
KDE4 doesn't have a startup sound or an accessibility beep feedback setting?

[BostonPeng]

I hadn't thought to check the accessibility settings because it's an intermittent issue, which is why I'm trying to track down the message I assume it's trying to tell me. I do have a startup sound that's working beautifully.