 Technical Briefs
Ding Ding Ding
Sometimes it may seem like your computer makes noises simply to
annoy, alarm, or embarrass you. But the fact is those beeps, chirps,
and honks are meant to inform you. Generally, if the computer
makes noise, it's to let you know one of the following things:
- Your computer is up and running.
- Something is wrong with the computer
- Something is wrong with a device the computer is trying to use.
- Something is wrong with what you've typed in.
- Nothing's wrong: the programmer just wanted a beep at this
point.
Can you do anything to control the noises your computer makes?
That depends. Some programs allow you to decide whether you
want beeps along with error messages. For Macintosh users, you can
use the volume control on a control panel to set the speaker volume
at any level. Unfortunately, there's no volume control on the IBM PC
or compatibles.
What should you do when your computer beeps at you? Try to
figure out why the computer beeped at this point. What did you do
just before the beep? If you were trying to print, check to see that
the printer is turned on, on-line, and connected to the computer. If
you were trying to save a file on disk, check to see that the diskette
is inserted correctly in the disk drive and that the drive door or latch
is closed. If you can't deduce the reason for the beeps or do anything
without getting more beeps, make notes about the situation before
calling a repair center.
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Tips, Tricks, and Other Computing Help Files