Old Dell; single beep on boot

[Shrek]

I have an old Dell (Inspiron 545s) that runs just fine but it does issue a single beep on boot; is this normal or is it trying to tell me something?

 

[AsRock]

Dell Inspiron 545s single beep at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[Shrek]

It passes Dell Diagnostics

 

[Bill_Bright]

A short single beep is pretty much the de facto standard for beep codes indicating a successful POST (power on self test). Back in the day when every case included a system speaker, that little reassuring beep was standard.

Then a few motherboard makers started including little piezoelectric "button" speakers on a few of their boards so case makers took that cost cutting opportunity to stop including them with cases. But sadly, integrated motherboard system speakers never became a standard and never became widespread. So still to this day, only a few motherboards include them.

HOWEVER, the ATX Form Factor standard still requires all motherboards support system speakers so the motherboard front panel I/O header (where the leads connect for the case power button, power LED, reset button, drive indicator light, etc.) still provide a connection if there is no integrated speaker. In fact, some boards have an integrated speaker and provide support to connect another via that header. Note the 4 pins in the upper right of that white header connection are for the speaker. It is a 4 pin connector though there are only two wires going to the speaker.

On all our builds here, if a motherboard does not have an integrated system speaker, we always include one. That little beep is reassuring for us, and the clients seem to appreciate it too. If your system does not have one, it is very inexpensive to add a System Speaker. Note that price is for 20 speakers!

 

[jboydgolfer]

i pull those speakers.

just yank it if it bothers you
you can always put it back if you feel inclined.
i had a box full of those damn things

 

[Bill_Bright]

Why would you pull them? The beeps can be a valuable trouble shooting tool. And again, a successful POST is just a single, short beep. In a quality case, you can barely hear it. How often do you reboot that that could be that annoying?

 

[Shrek]

A short single beep is pretty much the de facto standard for beep codes indicating a successful POST (power on self test). Back in the day when every case included a system speaker, that little reassuring beep was standard.

That is reassuring as the machine runs great; at first I wondered if it was a CPU upgrade I did that might not be recognized by the BIOS, but no such complaints.

 

[jboydgolfer]

Why would you pull them? The beeps can be a valuable trouble shooting tool. And again, a successful POST is just a single, short beep. In a quality case, you can barely hear it. How often do you reboot that that could be that annoying?

i find that sound horrible. i always pulled them. i like a silent system, not annoying beeps.

besides, if your system isnt working, you dont need a beep to tell you it isnt working, at which point, if you dont have a diagnostic tool, you can plug the speaker in & get the beep sequence

the majority of people i encountered hated it too, they always would ask if i could "stop that annoying beep"
they dont service the PC's , techs did, so why should the accountant, or secretary listen to it if they dont want to?

 

[Shrek]

i pull those speakers.

just yank it if it bothers you
you can always put it back if you feel inclined.
i had a box full of those damn things
View attachment 195659

You desolder the mother board speaker?

 

[Bill_Bright]

It is important to remember that POST only indicates the basic hardware is working. That is the keyboard, mainboard, CPU and RAM and graphics. POST is completed BEFORE the hard drive is accessed. So POST provides no information about the OS booting successfully.

i find that sound horrible. i always pulled them. i like a silent system, not annoying beeps.

Well, it certainly is not a pleasing harmonic "tintinnabulation" of finely tuned orchestra bells, but then "error" sounds typically are not meant to be.

But, to each his own.

 

[jboydgolfer]

You desolder the mother board speaker?

they plug in like a fan header.
if its soldered, then its not worth removing, but you might be able to silence it through the bios possibly
they are optional, they can be removed, & most major manufacturers ship PC's with them separate, atleast before the PC is deployed. id never install them

 

[Shrek]

they plug in like a fan header

I misunderstood your picture where you circled the on-board speaker.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I misunderstood your picture where you circled the on-board speaker.

i didnt know if you were aware of what to look for. whether soldered on or plugged in, they often have the exact same speaker end. which is a short half inch black plastic cylinder wit ha small hole in the top

 

[Shrek]

It is important to remember that POST only indicates the basic hardware is working. That is the keyboard, mainboard, CPU and RAM and graphics. POST is completed BEFORE the hard drive is accessed. So POST provides no information about the OS booting successfully.

Well, it certainly is not a pleasing harmonic "tintinnabulation" of finely tuned orchestra bells, but then "error" sounds typically are not meant to be.

But, to each his own.

I still recall the old Mac crash sound which was recorded glass breaking.

 

[jboydgolfer]

incidentally, when it comes to soldered on speakers, you can take a small length of electrical tape, & tape over the top opening of the speaker , it will muffle the beep a good bit, but it will still be audible.

its a nice middle ground if you dont like the sound as well.

you can also use a drink lid, for example a coca cola 20oz bottle cap, it can be taped, or hot glues over the speaker, which will really muffle the sound.

 

[Bill_Bright]

If you know how to use a solder sucker, the integrated speakers are not hard to remove. But to me, that would be like covering up the Check Engine light.

I guess since I only reboot when some update requires it, my computers may go weeks without actually rebooting. So again, one single, short beep just isn't annoying for me. In fact, as mentioned above, I find it reassuring - especially since I can take my eyes off my monitors during boot and still have a sense of how the boot process is going.

 

[Shrek]

Strange that one beep should be so annoying to some; I actually find video card fans quite annoying.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I actually find video card fans quite annoying.

I hate all fan noise. So again, a quality case will help suppress fan noise, as well as the occasional beep.

Of course, with a graphics card (and PSU too) mounted directly to the back of the case, total fan noise suppression from those devices is pretty much impossible - especially when the fans ramp up to full speed when the devices are tasked. A strategically placed acoustic panel on the wall, a few inches behind the computer to absorb most of that sound can help there.