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General discussion

Background sound bugs me

Feb 9, 2015 8:16AM PST

I have 5+ year old Compaq Presario Desktop with Wind.7.
A couple of days ago it started with the 2-tone sound that usually accompanies, when a new device is plugged in/out.
It does that every few minutes, seemingly unrelated to any activity, but stops, when I do nothing.
No error message, nothing indicating anything, only the sound.

Is a controller broken ?
Or do I have some sort of bug ?
How can I test for it or turn it off.
I ran Malwarebytes and it comes back clean, which really doesn't mean much.

Any help would be great

Regards
Al

Discussion is locked

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Until you find it. Try this
Feb 9, 2015 8:20AM PST
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unplug keyboard and mouse
Feb 9, 2015 11:46AM PST

see if the sound keeps happening. If so, unplug other devices till the sound stops, or you discover it 's not devices causing it.

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drives me crazy
Feb 10, 2015 7:05PM PST

It is not caused by devices, as I have nothing other than keyboard and mouse plugged in.
It stops for awhile and then over and over, every other minute +- ..
I suspect a bug, keylogger or other such nonsense... .
for the last couple of hours it stopped, no idea why...,
but I suspect it'll be back.
I'll check back here if it does.
Thanks so far
Al

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might be a squeaky fan
Feb 10, 2015 8:02PM PST

open the side of the case and watch, see if a fan is stopping and starting in relation to the sound. Use a paper towel tube to your ear, aim at parts inside when you hear the sound, locate it.

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Memory or HD ?
Feb 19, 2015 6:13PM PST

I finally figured it out (what's causing the sound)
The mouse, when moved too fast, stalls, then makes the sound.
Is that a sign of what ?
Too little memory, or not enough space on HD or maybe need a driver update or even a new mouse ?
Thanks for any ideas.
Regards
Alex

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You should try another mouse
Feb 19, 2015 7:15PM PST

Assuming it's the wired type, the cables do break inside. The symptoms can vary but the sound comes from the detection of a USB device being connected or disconnected. An intermittent break in a single wire will cause this. It's not that unusual. You could try another USB port but it's likely the mouse. I've seen this several times...especially on the thin wires of laptop mice.