A31p three beeps when moved

[c0sm0l0gist]

I have a problem with my A31p that I've never seen discussed elsewhere. Under Windows XP (but not Linux) it will beep after it has been moved. It's three beeps, then a pause, then three beeps, then a pause, continuously forever until I mute it. It stops after a reboot.

The machine works perfectly otherwise, and there's no glitching or other odd behaviors associated with the beeping. Sometimes it's more sensitive to movement than other times. It never does this under Linux---when booted to Linux I can move it all I want and it's fine.

I've disabled the "beep" driver under "hidden devices" under the device manager. That didn't help.

[ajkula66]

I'm tempted to say that the likely culprit is either a DIMM slot, or a GPU. If I had to place a bet, I'd say it were the latter, because of its sensitivity to the movement.

Linux doesn't stress out GPU the way Windows do, and I've owned A31p machines that would work fine in Linux 90% of the time but display scrambled screens under XP.

Another thing to check would be whether your media drive(s) are sitting properly in the UltraBay(s).

Good luck and keep us posted.

[c0sm0l0gist]

I think I fixed the problem.

I did a comprehensive memory check with the Ubuntu memory tester, and found that one bit was sometimes (but not always) bad for one particular memory transition. I replaced that memory module, and now the problem is gone.

That's pretty obscure. I can only imagine that:

1) the memory module was not perfectly seated, and sometimes lost contact when the computer was moved (although it seemed OK when I replaced it, and why wouldn't this happen under Linux?) or

2) some part of Windows XP was loaded into that part of memory, and was called when the computer was moved (disk motion sensor?).

Anyway, this problem has plagued me for a couple years, and now it seems to have gone away. Thanks for your help.