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How can i found out what "system sound" is making a noise?

Anonymous
2024-09-26T14:28:17+00:00

For the last 2 days I have this constant (every 2-3 seconds) notification-esque sound that I cannot find the source of. Everywhere I've looked tells me the same thing (to check the audio mixer and mess with the sliders) but I've done this already. When I mute/slide the system sounds all the way to 0, the sound stops. The problem is that I want to know what program/file/system thing is actually making the sound and I cannot find it for the life of me.

Things I have tried:

  • fully restarting
  • updating drivers
  • checking for windows update
  • malware scan
  • going into sound settings to see if there was anything there

Please help me this is legitimately driving me insane.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings

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  1. Ramesh Srinivasan 79,300 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2024-09-28T02:48:48+00:00

    Explorer is playing the "Insert Hardware' .wav file repeatedly because some USB device is being detected repeatedly.

    What USB devices are attached to the PC? One of them or the USB port itself may be intermittent.

    You can see the list of USB devices connected to the system using USB Devices View.

    https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view....

    Unplug all external hardware.

    Open "mmsys.cpl" and click "Sounds". Choose "No sounds" option and click OK.

    Standard Disclaimer: There is a link to a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to provide accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2024-09-28T03:57:18+00:00

    classic computer problem, unplugged literally everything till it stopped making a noise and then just put everything back and its gone LOL

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Ramesh Srinivasan 79,300 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2024-09-27T16:11:35+00:00

    Hi Texrenn,

    Thanks for the update. If the issue occurs every 2-3 seconds, we should be able to trace it easily using ProcMon.

    1. Download Process Monitor: http://live.sysinternals.com/procmon.exe
    2. Launch Process Monitor.
    3. Reset the filter options and click OK.
    4. If tracing does not start automatically, press Ctrl + E.
    5. Wait for the notification sound to occur.
    6. Then, switch to Process Monitor and stop tracing (Ctrl + E).
    7. Save "All Events" in a PML log file.
    8. *Zip* the log file and upload it to your OneDrive.

    The PML log size will be huge. Zipping it reduces the size by 90%.

    Share OneDrive files and folders - Microsoft Support: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/share-onedrive-files-and-folders-9fcc2f7d-de0c-4cec-93b0-a82024800c07

    OneDrive sharing options - screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/vZyxpY9

    Additional Reference: How to Find Which Program Is Making Sounds in the Background

    Standard Disclaimer: There is a link to a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to provide accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2024-09-27T16:01:06+00:00

    Hi Texrenn,

    To see which app plays that background sound, please clean boot the system. A clean boot is the process of starting Windows without loading third-party apps and services. Please see this Microsoft article for more information.

    How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support:
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-t...

    (Step 3 is very important. You need to first enable "Hide all Microsoft Services" before clicking "Disable all".)

    If that solves the issue, the next step will be to follow the steps under the section
    "How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot" in the above link.

    If your problem does not occur while the computer is in a clean boot environment, then you can determine which startup application or service is causing the problem by systematically turning them on or off and restarting the computer.

    Im sorry, but I don't understand how any of this will help me if my problem DOES still occur in a clean boot environment? It does keep making this "notification sound" pretty much no matter what ive done, including this now.

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  5. Ramesh Srinivasan 79,300 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2024-09-26T15:02:00+00:00

    Hi Texrenn,

    To see which app plays that background sound, please clean boot the system. A clean boot is the process of starting Windows without loading third-party apps and services. Please see this Microsoft article for more information.

    How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-t...

    (Step 3 is very important. You need to first enable "Hide all Microsoft Services" before clicking "Disable all".)

    If that solves the issue, the next step will be to follow the steps under the section

    "How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot" in the above link.

    If your problem does not occur while the computer is in a clean boot environment, then you can determine which startup application or service is causing the problem by systematically turning them on or off and restarting the computer.

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