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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As of yesterday, My Thinkpad R60, decided to give me a strange sequence of beeps every few hours. There is nothing on the keyboard and nothing new is plugged into it that wasnt there before the beeps started. Any ideas?
I’d look for a failing power supply producing marginal current or voltage. This can trigger beeps as the supply crosses from good to bad and back.
OMG! Thank you so much!!!
I just spent (believe it or not) 45 minutes trying to find out how to disable the beeping noise for keyboard errors. It always seems to happen when I’m focused and in a zone…then…BAM! I jump out of my skin.
I am soooo grateful!!!
This is truly awesome. And I totally agree… this is a moronic ‘feature.’ Almost as the shrieking beep when I press capslock when I’ve got my headphones on.
Thank you a lot. I really hate that sound.
Your solution indeed disables the beep, but the cause for the beep is still there: the keyboard cannot process some basic key combinations and annoyingly enough drops letters. For instance, on my Thinkpad X61s, I cannot type “BT” (as in “BTW”) with the shift depressed, unless I first release the B and only then type the T. The same happens in other older Thinkpad models. Any solution??