I’ve discovered the fix to the elusive keyboard beeps which occurred whenever I pressed certain combinations of three (3) keys. Using experimentation, I came up with this rule:
The computer beeps when I press any three key combination all in the same row including at least two of these keys: 4567rtyufghjvbnm.
Some Google searching found me the fix in a ThinkPad mailing list. At first, I thought they were talking about Linux. But no, it was Windows, and yes, it worked. Another person blogged it too (the original link to his blog was broken, so I feel it is especially important for me to blog it and clarify the instructions). Here’s what you do:
1. Open the Device Manager. You can do this from My Computer -> Properties -> Hardware -> Device Manager.
2. Show Hidden Devices. You can do this from View -> Show hidden devices. This is where I was stuck: I didn’t know the Device Manager had hidden devices.
3. Under Non-Plug and Play Drivers, open the properties for Beep. Go to Driver -> Stop, and the beeping will cease. I think you can also Disable the device, but for me, this would require a reboot.
I believe the Beep device is the most stupid device ever invented. It’s really the stupidest. It serves only as an annoyance, in very strange instances. And I’ve only seen this on the ThinkPad, after using lots of other computers.
Can anybody explain to me why this beep even exists?!
Anyway, I hope somebody found this interesting, or maybe, if you had one of the beeping ThinkPads, found it useful. I’m on a Z61t by the way.
Update: I reinstalled Windows Vista on my ThinkPad and had the same problem again. The steps are similar, but here are updated Vista screenshots to ensure nobody’s confused on what they’re looking for to fix this. Sorry for the low quality, but Microsoft Paint doesn’t compress images very well.
Make sure you select “Show hidden devices”.
There’s that dreaded beep, listed under “Non-Plug and Play Drivers.”
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Pingback from Inside the Box » Blog Archive » ThinkPad Quirks on 12/23/2006 at 12:04 pm
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Holy crap. thanks. that was so easy.
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Worked like a charm. Thank you!
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Thank you so much! That beep was driving me crazy.
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I’m sitting here in the middle of the night coding with my headphones on. I suddently get this really load beep and I jump in my chair. Found you on Google! I hope this fix’ll spare my ears!
Thanks!
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Thanks for the solution, I hated that beep. I would sure like to know why IBM/Lenovo thought that the Beep driver was a good idea.
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OMG THANKS! I have a Z61t also and the beep scares the bejesus out of me when I’m wearing headphones and accidentally strike those key you mentioned. You’re awesome!
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This was killing me about my T60, too. Thanks!
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Yes, Brilliant.
Maybe IBM is still nostalgic for the ‘good old days’ and had to include just one mehcanical and hearless feature in their new PC!
Worked a treat -
Many Thanks,
G.Hampshire.
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THANK YOU!!! that was a true pain with my headphones on!
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You rule. Today you are my favorite person, ever. Ever. I’ve nearly peed my pants from this stupid thing going off in my ears as I worked and enjoyed some loud tunes. It literally tenses up my entire body waiting for it. I looked EVERYWHERE to disable it before deciding to seek help – yours.
Thanks again.
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Wow, I have a dell laptop, and for some reason the sound is normal volume but just the beep would be very loud. this tweak fixed that too! thanks!
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you are the man. i have a Z61T wich is an awesome business unit, but that seemingly random beep was about to make me lose it
nice fix, incidently, this works for Vista as well as XP
my ‘beep’ seemed to be triggered around the u-t-r-o keys
THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!
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thanks a million. i was about to dig my ears out.
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Add my thanks to the growing pile. It’s a sanity-saver.
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oh my god. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. That was really making me crazy.
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Thanks. This really helped me. I assume some sort of BIOS level error is going on, but I can’t think of any reason I’d ever need the BEEP device with a working soundcard, so I am THRILLED to kill it off.
The BEEP device is what gets used when there is no soundcard for system alerts. Maybe there is a bug in the soundcard driver where some sound tries to get made and then the BEEP kicks in.
Anyway: I *NEVER* want to hear that beep, so thanks for the pointer!
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Hello
I’m afraid it didn’t work for me. Even tried deactivating, then deinstalling the device, deleting the registry key – which is on ‘no’ anyway, and now…?
Please anybody, any ideas -
Thanks! I was looking for this info everywhere and the noice kept annoying me! Now I can leave the volume up all the time =)
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Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.
I am on an X40, and this is one of the quirks of my otherwise wonderful Thinkpad that is making me seriously consider a Mac for my next machines.
What I know is that to save on the number of wires/hardware needed to process keystrokes, keyboard manufacturers will design the keyboard in such a way that certain keys cannot register at the same time.
My theory is that the BEEP signals that certain keystrokes aren’t happening.
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Thank you SO MUCH! Worked the same on Vista client, I’m really glad this came up at the top of my search for ThinkPad, keyboard, and beeps.
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Thank you very much. I was fed up with that stupid beeping sound when I listen to music by earphones. My T60 was making me crazy…
Now I can listen to music safely while I am typing… -
Good lord, thank you for explaining how to fix this! Every time I typed the word you it would happen! Me and my poor cat nearly jumped out of our skins. No more beeping, thanks to you! And I agree, what a stupid driver to put on in the first place.
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Pingback from ThinkPad Keyboard System Beep - problem solved ! on 4/3/2007 at 8:10 pm
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