How do I stop strange "Windows" sound?

dumark · 24 May 2017

Here's the issue, every 30 minutes or so a sound plays through my speakers. I have identified it as the "Windows Background" sound.

If you right click on the volume icon and click on sounds, it's the sound used for a number of different items, including the "Default Beep" "Asterisk" "Exclamation" "Low Battery" and "System Notification."

Here are the fixes I had tried to date...

1) Changing my sound scheme to "No Sounds"
2) Opening up the volume mixer and muting System Sounds
3) Unplugging all USB peripherals and using a different keyboard/mouse
4) Disabling Windows defender and turning off all system notifications
5) Unplugging all cords attached to the motherboard, clean and reattach
6) Monitoring system events in the event viewer
7) Clean install of Windows 10

The repeating sound will not stop. If you know of a fix, I will be immensely grateful.

Thanks so much in advance :)

dumark · 24 May 2017

Not sure if this is a fix, more of a bandaid solution...I deleted the "Windows Background" sound from the C>Windows>Media folder. Is there any harm in doing that, apart from not hearing that sound for certain notifications?

*EDIT - Deleting the "Windows Background" sound did not work

Digital Life · 24 May 2017

I don't know the answer to your question but in the future instead of deleting files you think are a problem you should rename them or move them just in case things go horribly wrong.

AndreyT · 24 May 2017

dumark said:

The repeating sound will not stop. If you know of a fix, I will be immensely grateful.

Did you try to find this sound in the currend Windows sound scheme? I.e. Control Panel -> Sound, then Sounds tab.

dumark · 24 May 2017

AndreyT said:

Did you try to find this sound in the currend Windows sound scheme? I.e. Control Panel -> Sound, then Sounds tab.

Yes, it's the "Windows Background" sound which is used for the "Default Beep" "Asterisk" "Exclamation" "Low Battery" and "System Notification."

zbook · 24 May 2017

Consider creating a bootable ubunto flash drive or creating a partition on the drive for Ubuntu. Then use Ubuntu to see whether it is related to Windows or related to the hardware.

dumark · 24 May 2017

zbook said:

Consider creating a bootable ubunto flash drive or creating a partition on the drive for Ubuntu. Then use Ubuntu to see whether it is related to Windows or related to the hardware.

Assuming it is hardware, what could it be? A bad motherboard perhaps?

dumark · 24 May 2017

sml156 said:

I don't know the answer to your question but in the future instead of deleting files you think are a problem you should rename them or move them just in case things go horribly wrong.

Thanks, I did make a copy of the "Windows Background" sound in case I ever needed to restore. Good to know for future reference though.

zbook · 24 May 2017

The problem that you described was not fixed by a clean install. Sometimes the term is used generally for many things. But if you deleted partitions, formatted the drive, made it an unallocated drive and then installed a fresh operating system you did a clean install. There should not be any unusual windows noise after a clean install. It is puzzling. Switching to another operating system allows you to rule in or rule out the operating system. If you have noise while using Ubuntu then it is more likely to be the hardware. If you have no noise while using Ubuntu then it is more likely to be the Windows operating system. It may not be 100% but it seems like this would be close to it. If you use the identical driver then it is not 100%. Once you pass this fork in the road you can focus your energy on troubleshooting one or the other.

zbook · 25 May 2017

What is the make and model of your computer? And what is the make and model of your speakers?
Open device manger and view audio inputs and outputs, and sound, video and game controllers.
Uninstall and reinstall drivers once again from your computer manufacturer's web site for your computers configuration and operating system.
Run through this link and repeat or perform any steps that may have been missed:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...sound-problems

or https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-fix-solutions

Let us know if any problems were discovered or fixed. If there were no changes with the above, keep us informed about your progress with Ubuntu and testing for the same sound problems.