computer beeping - asus p4pe/radeon 9800

[larg0]

I made the decision to sign up for a forum account after reading every related forum post with similar issues.

Anyways, the problem is that an internal speaker somewhere within my computer goes on a beeping rampage whenever my comp runs anything video-intensive. Before you ask, it is not a beep code, but rather constant beeps frequently changing in pitch. This has been going on as long as i can remember, even after replacing my previous P4PE board that i spilled bong water on (with another free P4PE board provided by ASUS).

The beeping starts when the game (or benchmark program, or spinny box on ati tools - anything that uses 3D stuff) does - this has always been bareable because the games run absolutely fine; it's simply a matter of irritation that has driving me to seek a solution.

I have read many other forum posts with similar issues, but never found a definate answer - just a few possible causes (namely memory errors, CPU or vid card overheating, and sometimes fans being unplugged). So the first step i took was to get MBM and ATI tools to monitor temperatures:

MBM - CPU 49 C, case 30 C
ATI tools - GPU 52 C

these temps only slightly rise (2-3 degrees) when beep-inducing applications are run. One thing that caught my eye however, was that the 'fan speed' on ati tools says 0%...however i can see the fan spinning when i look at the card.

So next i tried to trace the noise by ear...it didnt seem to be coming from my vid card or mobo, but rather the front of my case...when i looked closer i saw that one of my case fans wasnt running, but it was plugged in. So i unplugged it thinking that would stop the beeps - nope! but it did do something...now the beeps sound like they're coming from a different speaker - i think one that is located on my motherboard.

I tried to disable my PC sounds using control panel, using tweakUI, and using the registry...all with no result.

i saw somewhere that by manually messing with the mobo jumpers, one could disable internal speakers - the only information on the jumpers in the p4pe manual deals with keyboard power, PCI/USB settings, and clearing clock ram. Besides, i also thought i read somewhere that serious warning noises couldnt be disabled - while i dont think anything serious is actually going on, the computer might.

my specs are in my sig...if anyone knows something i could do to stop this crazy noise, i'd be much obliged


-larg0

 

[Sharkfood]

The P4P series will beep the PC speaker if one of it's set alarms is triggered.

While you can always go into the Hardware Monitor page of the BIOS and set all of them to Disabled, it would be more prudent to try and discover what alarm is firing in case it is indeed something important to be rectified.

Things that can cause the PC Speaker alarm to fire:
1) Voltage rail fluctuation.
2) CPU, Power or Chassis FAN RPM falling below acceptable RPM
3) CPU or Chassis temp exceeding acceptable level.

If you go into the BIOS and look for the Hardware Monitor page, you will see a list of temps, fan rpms and voltage monitors. You can use the arrows to travel to each one with a value and set it to "Disabled" or "[N/A]" in order for the BIOS agents to be disabled. I would instead try to determine which one is firing.

Another thing you can do is install Asus Probe and run it with it's Monitor/Recording enabled. You can find Asus Probe on your original CD that came with the motherboard, or try this version direct from Asus' website:
http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/flash/probe32-22410.zip

If this version is compatible with your motherboard, go to the last tab and enable Recording after installing.. run your system as normal and when the beeping occurs, you can launch this application and look at it's various graphs for what tripped the alarm.

 

[larg0]

good idea with that asus probe. i dont understand much of what i'm seeing here, but sure enough, when i ran a 3D app, one of the values in the 'voltage monitor' started blinking and that part of the graph turned red.

so in this voltage monitor, there are 4 values which, while running regularly and not beeping are:

+12V: 11.904
+5V: 4.783
+3.3V: 3.072
Vcore: 1.568

when i induced beepage, the +3.3V value dipped down to 2.944 and started blinking.

so what, exactly, do these values coorespond do? is this dip to 2.944 really that serious? i cant imagine that it is because i've been dealing with this beeping for over a year now.

now that i know what my computer thinks is wrong, what is causing this flux and what can i do to keep the 3.3V variable more stable?

thanks again for getting me this far

 

[Sharkfood]

It means one of two things:
1) The voltage sensor for the 3.3V rail is inaccurate (possible).
2) The 3.3V voltage rail on your power-supply is weak and not providing solid power feed.

You have really two choices on how to proceed:
1) Disable the 3.3V monitoring in the BIOS to prevent the annoying alarm and look for signs of instability (making the assumption the rail sensor is inaccurate). Weak power feed though *can* be kinda dangerous to data or system integrity.
2) Pick up a new power supply in hopes of a more stable 3.3V rail.

This can be the signs of a weak or cheap power supply. The inability to provide a solid 3.3V rail >3.0V would definately qualify a poor/weak power source. You could also simply be underrated with your hardware- from which I'd say a 300-320W minimum should be used with your hardware.

If you do replace the power supply though- it may not stop the alarm if this is just a case of a faulty/inaccurate sensor. Worst case scenario though is you'd know your power feed is okay and can just choose to ignore the 3.3V rail.

 

[s3xynanigoat]

Omgwtfhax

I have the exact same set up as you with my mobo/vid card. It's funny because I also have this same problem. My beeping sound is not always there though, it sort of comes and goes when it wants to and it only started about 1 month ago. The rig is a year old. I usually drop to the desktop with the windows key and then the beeping stops and the beep may or may not come back a few minutes later after I've re-entered the game. My beeping sound is coming from the front of my case as well. I just find it interesting that you have this problem also. I plan to change out my power supply because this is the one component that I bought as a bargain buy.

 

[larg0]

yeah, yours is one of the problems i saw on other forums when trying to find a solution...the beeping on my computer, along with the 3.3 voltage drop are not 'random' at all, though - they only occur when video-heavy apps are run.

you should get that ASUS monitoring program that shark talked about...i'm curious to see what your computer thinks is going on, compared to mine

sharkfood: i disabled the 3.3V warning in the bios and it seemed to reduce the beep frequency - however my comp is still beeping...just at a slightly slower rate. the ASUS monitor implies that this 3.3V drop is the only problem - nothing else flashes or turns red.

short of getting a new power supply (which will actually be happening for xmas...i'm getting a whole new mobo/chip/power supply/case) how else can i forcefully stop this irritating noise?

 

[Sharkfood]

There might be another rail dipping or peaking too high if it's a bad power supply.

Realize that values in Asus Probe and the BIOS are usually a little bit different. It's possible one of the other rails is dipping low enough for the BIOS to trigger an alarm but not Asus Probe.

As you have a new power supply in your near future, you may want to try disabling ALL the voltage rail and fan RPM alerts in the BIOS and see if this hushes the beep/mainboard alarm. Once you do swap the power supply, these should go away.

I'd also say use the "Record" button in Asus Probe and minimize it while playing games. It will then create a log/graph of everything it monitors- including temps. I'd be interested in what your cpu/mainboard temp readings are when the alarms go off as these may be not high enough to flash Probe, but enough to alarm the BIOS as well.

 

[s3xynanigoat]

Actually, my beeping is not always there while I'm playing games. It is only there perhaps 1/4th of the time I've got one running.

 

[rodbay14]

Mine too...

My systems unit is also beeping and continously everytime i start running my pc. I look in the Hardware Monitor in BIOS, and i saw for figures of voltage there and one that has a value of 3.30V has a counter part value that is more than 3.30V and it was in red color, sometimes it goes up and down but never gone lower than 3.30V... sometimes it was 3.70 and higher...

pls help me stop this annoying beeps. actually, i was told by a friend that it might be the cpu fan, so i took it off and clean it up by a vacuum. after that it stop the beeps but just in a while it began beeping again.

any idea there to solve this messy noise... thanks in advance...