ThinkPad Keyboard System Beep – problem solved !
I’ve noticed an annoying beep that happens sometimes when I type. It’s always happened at random times with many of the ThinkPad’s I’ve used, but I’ve never found out what was causing it. It has become extremely annoying with my new T60, because the beep (which sounds like a plain old “system beep” kind of sound), is actually really really loud – especially when I have my headphone plugged directly into my laptop … the volume control doesn’t seem to make any difference either.
So, I decided to try a Google search to see if I could work out how to turn off this system beep … there didn’t seem to be any options in the ThinkPad Configuration application.
I quickly found the reason for the problem and the solution (Google to the rescue again !).
It turns out that for some very strange reason, there are certain keys on the ThinkPad keyboard that when you press three of them at once, the system beeps. I have no idea why they would do that.
It seems that I (like some other people who have reported the same problem), type so quickly, that the laptop considers that we are actually hitting three keys at once (or it may be that we are hitting two at once, with the third being a key hit accidentally at the same time).
According to Greg Hughes, if at least two of the keys “4567rtyufghjvbnm” are pressed, along with any third key in the same row at the two that were pressed, the system will beep. Hmmm – why would they do that (only thing I can think of is some undocumented system diagnostic tool ?)
Anyway, Greg linked to Elliot Lee Straightheads dvd
who provides the surprisingly simple solution – there happens to be a “Beep” driver that can be disabled. The trick is that it is hidden from the normal list of drivers.
The solution (for Windows XP … unsure about other versions):
1. Go to Device Manager … Start -> Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager
2. (the trick !!) Show Hidden Devices. (Look in the menu … View -> Show hidden devices).
3. In the “Non-Plug and Play Drivers” section, you will find a “Beep” driver … double click on it to open the properties – then click on the “Driver” tab in the properties dialog.
4. Click on the “Stop” button to turn it off now, and set the Startup Type to “Disabled” to prevent it starting again.
Simple huh ? Thanks to Greg and Elliot for the answer (and to Google for letting me find them easily !).
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What the…[beep].
I’ve had that problem from time to time too and, like you wondered what the…
Still – it happens so infrequently to me that I won’t bother with going though the steps you used. Nice to know one can do something about it if it becomes a hassle. All it means is that my typing speed is increasing somewhere near the point it is a potential problem.
You’re welcome :) I still don’t understand why IBM included it in the first place. It seems to have caused a lot of people anguish over the years!
Trevor, the steps aren’t difficult– you can do do it within a couple minutes. AFAIK, typing speed has nothing to do with it; it happens when you press multiple keys at the same time. Although I /am/ a fast typist, so.. who knows :)
but this doesnt fix the ultimate problem. how can u set it that u can type 3 keys at the same time (or if u’re playing a game and are pressing >3 keys at the same time)
Thank you thank you! I have an IBM ThinkPad T43, and when I listen to headphones, no matter what level the master or wav volume is, (excluding mute), the beep would be way nearly deafening.
Thanks again,
Chris.
good lord -
i’m glad i found your website. that beep has been driving me NUTS. i spent the last hour rooting around in bios and control panel, trying to get rid of it.
thanks
Greatest Tip Ever!
Thanks, it is a lifesaver!
THANK YOU! That beep is so loud when you have your headphones on. It has startled me for the last time though! Thank you for posting this. My coworkers are going to love me, as we all have Thinkpads.
I’m a 3d modeler and this beep plagued me for the past three months at my new job. It would happen when I use 3d max, and after the beep it acted as if ctrl or shift was held down, really annoying (which might be another problem…stickykeys?)
but anyway, I can finally stop listening to that deafening beep!