T42 makes annoying beep when I type fast holding shift

[etherealtml]

Hi I have a problem cant figure out for the life of me what is causing it. Sometimes, I will be typing really fast while holding down shift, and my computer will make an annoying beep sound. For example, when I type in the word DICE real fast, my computer will make a beep after the letter "C" but before "E".

T4X series users try it... type in DICE really fast... does your computer make an annoying beep sound too? It is so annoying! It only happens for certain key combinations it seems. For example, if I type in "CE" really fast like: CECECECECE, my computer will beep like crazy! But, if I type the letters "BG" really fast like "BGBGBGBGBGBGBGB" my computer never beeps at all...

Can't figure this out hoping someone can help me out, thanks

[padpad]

cCCEiccccieeeeecee

True, hold down e & c key then press i key repeatedly, I heard the beep sound

I presume this could be called I/O conflict, and the sound comes from the system speaker not the stereo speakers

[Ground Loop]

Very strange.. same here on T43.

No need for shift -- just C & E then hit I

Is this a known "feature"?

[kaplanfx]

This is due to the fact that a standard keyboard does not allow more than 3 key presses simultaneously. It just happens that the IBM keyboard warns you that a press is not being captured and the intended action may not have been carried out as you expected.

-kaplanfx

[Wholesomer]

It does not happen to me. I have turned off the Accessibility keyboard option; therefore, it might be the reason why.

[Inky]

It does not happen to me. I have turned off the Accessibility keyboard option; therefore, it might be the reason why.

Yes, the Accessibility Option is most likely the answer to that beeping.

If I hold down the shift key down for long on my desktop system I get a beep, and I also get a pop up message that says:

"By holding down the SHIFT key for eight or more seconds you have turned on the FilterKeys feature, the keyboard repeat rates, acceptance rate and bounce rates are set for users with disabilities."

"Click OK to turn this feature on. If you do not want to use the feature click CANCEL."

There's also a checkbox[] that you can check to..."Turn off keyboard shortcut for this accessibility feature"

Besides the OK button and CANCEL button, the dialog box also has a SETTINGS button which opens up the exact same "Accessability Options" you find in the Windows Control Panel.

Personally, I rarely get this because when I need the shift key continuously I usually hit the CAPS lock key and switch it off when I'm done.

Since this happens on my desktop system running Windows 2000 Professional this looks like a general Windows issue more than a ThinkPad issue.

EDITED TO SAY: I should have read the original post all the way through before responding. Seeing that it only happens when you type certain specific letters maybe when you type those particular letters, you might be inadvertently depressing some other key like the Alt or Ctrl keys and perhaps that is triggering an ordinary error beep--your word processor telling you that you can't press that combination of keys while typing.

-Inky

[jonnnny]

EDITED TO SAY: I should have read the original post all the way through before responding. Seeing that it only happens when you type certain specific letters maybe when you type those particular letters, you might be inadvertently depressing some other key like the Alt or Ctrl keys and perhaps that is triggering an ordinary error beep--your word processor telling you that you can't press that combination of keys while typing.
-Inky

no, other people have tried it and have gotten the same thing, so i doubt everyone is inadvertently pressing alt or ctrl. This is different from Sticky Keys. It happens to me when i do e, c + i but not other 3 letter combinations.... also happens when i hold semi colon and press straight line. But that may be because i have a french keyboard i.e.

[kaplanfx]

also try pressing ESD together or IJK together and a few other combinations as well. Now I am thinking its not what I had thought in my original explanation.

-kaplanfx

[Ground Loop]

Instead of just beeping, Linux gives a much more informative kernel log message:

Code: Select all

atkbd.c: Keyboard on isa0060/serio0 reports too many keys pressed.

[KillaByte]

This happens to me a lot if I type words like "sound" too fast. In that case "oun" causes the beep.

[anthony]

At the speed I type, this will never be a problem for me. At last my four finger & thumb typing style is paying off....

[GomJabbar]

At the speed I type, this will never be a problem for me. At last my four finger & thumb typing style is paying off....

Good one Anthony!

[Kenn]

This beep is unfortunately common, and a relic of the old PS/2 keyboard days. If you press certain keys together in combination (OUN for me) while typing, it will give you an error beep. There's no way to fix it other than to get an external USB keyboard or turn off all error beeps ("net stop beep" in the console).

The first time I brought it up here, I got the uber-helpful advice to "learn how to type."

Edit: Killbyte - I just noticed you have the problem with the same key combination Annoying, isn't it?

[epigram]

this beep "feature" has been around for a while - it also occurs on the T20

[Kenn]

this beep "feature" has been around for a while - it also occurs on the T20

True, and the T30 as well. In fact, I expect it's probably present in the most if not all of the thinkpad line.

[etherealtml]

If it is indeed because of too many keys pressed, then why does it beep for certain key combos and not others?

Does the sound come from the pc speaker or the regular speakers? I have a feeling it comes from the regular speakers because when I mute my computer, the beeping sound stops... otherwise please tell me im wrong so i can unplug the darn pc speaker

[Kenn]

If it is indeed because of too many keys pressed, then why does it beep for certain key combos and not others?

Does the sound come from the pc speaker or the regular speakers? I have a feeling it comes from the regular speakers because when I mute my computer, the beeping sound stops... otherwise please tell me im wrong so i can unplug the darn pc speaker

In a nutshell, that is the reason. It only happens for certain combinations because of the way the the serial interface to the keyboard is wired - keys are wired together in groups, and hitting too many in the same group (or too many groups at once, one or the other) is what triggers it.

The sound is from the stereo speakers. You can hit mute to turn it off. You can also hit Windows-R, type "cmd", and when the dos box pops up, type "net stop beep"

That will keep other sounds active, but will stop anything that triggers that specific beep.

[etherealtml]

The sound is from the stereo speakers. You can hit mute to turn it off. You can also hit Windows-R, type "cmd", and when the dos box pops up, type "net stop beep"

That will keep other sounds active, but will stop anything that triggers that specific beep.

Thanks for the explanation and solution, it seems to stop the beeping. Is this something I will have to do for every windows session? Or perhaps is there an autoexec.bat file that i could modify to reflect these changes? thanks again...

[GomJabbar]

Does the sound come from the pc speaker or the regular speakers? I have a feeling it comes from the regular speakers because when I mute my computer, the beeping sound stops... otherwise please tell me im wrong so i can unplug the darn pc speaker

I always thought that the built-in stereo speakers were the only speakers in the laptop. I wasn't aware of any motherboard speaker. Did I miss something here? I haven't had a good reason to open up my T42 yet, and verifying this is not a good enough reason for me.

[Kenn]

There is a way to make this a permanent change to windows, and it's archived somewhere in the T-series forum (but I don't remember exactly where). I suggest doing a search for "net stop beep" and looking through the results - someone posted a script or command explaining how to make the beep turn off automatically whenever you start windows.

[GomJabbar]

Does the sound come from the pc speaker or the regular speakers? I have a feeling it comes from the regular speakers because when I mute my computer, the beeping sound stops... otherwise please tell me im wrong so i can unplug the darn pc speaker

I always thought that the built-in stereo speakers were the only speakers in the laptop. I wasn't aware of any motherboard speaker. Did I miss something here? I haven't had a good reason to open up my T42 yet, and verifying this is not a good enough reason for me.

[Kenn]

I always thought that the built-in stereo speakers were the only speakers in the laptop. I wasn't aware of any motherboard speaker. Did I miss something here? I haven't had a good reason to open up my T42 yet, and verifying this is not a good enough reason for me.

Pretty sure you're right about this. I think in the T4x (and probably other laptops) the PC (mobo) speaker sounds are routed by hardware through to the stereo speakers.

[mackan]

Actually there is a fix for this beeping without writing a script that does stop the service when it has been loaded. Instead you can prevent it from getting started in the first place.

Follow these steps:

1. Right click on My Computer and choose Manage.
2. Click on Device manager.
3. Click on View and choose Show hidden devices.
4. Expand Non-plug and play devices.
5. Right click on Beep and inactivate it.

The names might be slightly wrong here, since I have translated them from swedish to english, but I hope you understand what to do.

[K. Eng]

mackan's solution works perfectly. I've had the beep disabled on my T40 for a couple months now.

[thisrob]

I don't have the problem when i type DICE, but do get a beep when i type BEEP; Right after the P ...