Toggle Keys Does Not Make a Tone

Thank you for your reply. Before posting, I followed the instructions in Windows 7 Help. The links you provided are a repetition of that.

My keyboard and mouse already use the manufacturer's latest device drivers.

In your second link, the poster dsw274 explained: "Vista uses the speakers of the PC, not the system beep sound like in XP". I checked that I have the most recent device driver for my motherboard sound chip. Even with the volume turned all the way up, there is still no tone when I press the Caps Lock key. My speakers play Windows system sounds and music perfectly.

After doing further research I have discovered that this may actually be a problem with 64-bit versions of Windows 7. (Mine is 64-bit.)

64-bit versions of windows don’t support internal PC speaker beeps because originally, 64-bit Windows was intended for servers, which didn’t include support for assistive technologies. However, client OS’s have to support assistive technologies (to comply with the Federal ADA). There may be a problem with Microsoft's implementation of 'beeps' in 64-bit Windows, depending on the particular hardware on which it is run.

I welcome any other suggestions you have.

I know this thread is bit old now so just in case somebody else stumbles in, here's how I was able to resolve the problem:

I recently had to do a factory restore and noticed Toggle Keys had stopped working after re-installing. To cut a long story short, I finally updated the Audio drivers which I downloaded from Dell's website (Realtek for Dell Studio XPS 8100) and lo and behold, they are now working again. Yay.

Hope this helps somebody else along the way.

After spending hours on Google to research this question, I have come to the conclusion that I'm stuck with one of those quirky Windows problems that affects some users but not all, and for which there is no established cause or cure. (And ToggleKeys is not my only problem - see below.)

For most users (I presume), the tones made by ToggleKeys play just fine. But for many other users - including me - they do not play at all. For some users, ToggleKeys has to be turned on with every re-boot. Other users need to check bothTurn on Toggle Keys and Turn on Toggle Keys by holding down the NUM LOCK key for 5 seconds to hear the tones. Some users can only hear the tones when they use their on-board sound controller; others can only hear them after installing a sound card. For some, updating or rolling back sound drivers fixes the problem, but not for all. I don't have enough information to say whether this problem affects both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows.

I was hoping this might be a hardware problem - they're often easier to fix. But, unfortunately, this problem manifests on different hardware setups: desktop and laptop, sound card and sound chip. And in every case where this problem is found, all other system sounds play perfectly well, as does music.

There is no explanation for this (or if someone knows the explanation, they aren't telling) and only one workaround: There are third-party utilities that replace  and extend the functionality of ToggleKeys.

For those with working ToggleKeys tones, here's a tip: Microsoft decided to send the tones to the system's external speakers (or headphones, as the case may be) instead of using the motherboard's built-in speaker (the one that makes 'beeps') as in Windows XP. So if you're working late at night and mute the sound so as not to disturb your family's sleep, you won't hear the ToggleKeys tones.

As I mentioned, ToggleKeys is not the only quirk I have to deal with. I also discovered that Narrator doesn't work at all. It doesn't read anything out loud, so matter how high the volume. For me, Narrator is just a novelty, but still: why doesn't it work? It worked perfectly in Windows XP.

In researching my Narrator problem, I learned that Narrator is a test-to-speech utility, so I immediately went to the Speech Recognition control panel and the Text To Speech tab, to see if that functionality was working. When I clicked on thePreview Voice button, Microsoft Anna didn't say a word. Eventually, an error message appeared:

"The requested task cannot be carried out because the necessary engine could not be created. Please select a different engine and/or a different audio device."

It turns out that this is another one of those quirky Windows problems for which no one seems to have an explanation or a resolution that works for everybody.

To put things in perspective: Windows 7 also has many, many improvements over Vista and XP, and I'm grateful for that. But the new OS also removes and breaks (in this case) features that worked perfectly well in XP. What's particularly surprising is that Windows 7 breaks accessibility features. Many businesses, public institutions and government agencies are required by law to provide computers with accessibility features.

Hello since having to have a complete reinstall of windows 7 64bit (had all the not respondiong problems as on many other forums) I now also cannot get the caps lock beep - I could previously - I have done everything - checked all the drivers etc; ticked and unticked the toggle key boxes but no sound - has any one found a fix for this?

Here's the procedure to make the tones happen with Toggle Keys.  There seem to be several options - try them all: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsvista/togglekeys.aspx.

Hare's an even better article on how to turn on and off the tone with Toggle Keys in Vista: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/74689-toggle-keys-beep-alert.html.  I suggest you check out this article first.

If this doesn't help, try downloading updated devide drivers for your keyboard and audio devices. 

Go to Device Manager by going to start / search box and type device manager and enter and then double-click on the program icon that appears.  Check each device for a red x, yellow ! or white ?.  These identify devices with problems (probably drivers, but also conflicts or something else).  Click on each for further details and troubleshooting tips.  If you need to get drivers (and you should definitely do so for your keyboard and audio devices), do so from the computer vendor or device manufacturer (NOT from Microsoft Updates).  In fact, you should turn off automatic driver updates from Windows Update as follows: http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/how-to-disable-automatic-driver-installation-in-windows-vista/. Proceed as follows to get the drivers: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/driverssupport/ht/driverdlmfgr.htm.  Once you have the drivers, you can install them through Device Manager as follows: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/193584-device-manager-install-driver.html. 

I hope that helps.

Good luck!

Lorien - MCSE/MCSA/Network+/A+ --- If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.