Bios beeps volume too low to hear.
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From: John on 10 May 2010 03:08 On Mon, 10 May 2010 01:02:46 -0500, VanguardLH wrote: > John wrote: > >> On Sat, 08 May 2010 20:46:11 -0700, Mike Easter wrote: >> >>> Paul wrote: >>>> VanguardLH wrote: >>> >>>>> My guess is that the problem was with a soldered-on button piezo speaker, >>>>> not with one connected to a 4-pin mobo header (which will usually take a >>>>> magnetically-driven speaker). >>> >>>> There is no piezo. Just the white PANEL header in the lower left corner of >>>> this photo. The SPKR pins are on the lower right of the PANEL header. >>>> Four pin spacing (as shown in the manual). >>> >>> The OP got the buzzer/tweeter with his Lian Li case, it didn't come on >>> the mobo. >>> >>> I got a buzzer with a Cooler Master case and it was just what I needed >>> for the mobo the case was intended for. >>> >>> I assumed that the 'industry' practices or standards were that the >>> responsibility for the mobo speaker lay with the case mfr/supplier, like >>> the little case wired coil speakers of the past, and that the case >>> people had assumed/ taken on/ the responsibility and decided to save >>> money with little buzzers to 'stick onto' the mobo. >>> >>> John wrote: >>> > The case is Lian Li PC-K58B and came with a small bud like speaker >>> > that fits direct to the motherboard. >> >> Just to clarify the situation the existing buzzer is the same as shown on >> the link that Vanguard supplied: http://www.pcpartscollection.com/mosp.html >> >> I managed to source a replacement from an old computer a friend had in his >> garage but I'm afraid it made no difference to the volume. >> >> I'm an elderly person with some hearing defect so to check that it wasn't >> my hearing I got my wife (who can hear a pin drop at 50 metres) to listen >> when I booted up. She remarked that though she could hear the beep it was >> faint. I then tried three other computers (friends) to see if the volume >> was better or the same as mine, and found that they all had very faint >> buzzer beeps. In fact the owners of the other computers were unaware that >> computers beeped on boot up and had never noticed a beep when booting the >> computer. >> >> I read with interest the points that Paul made, but my expertise is not up >> to changing the motherboard circuit wiring. I wonder is it possible to >> amplify either a cone speaker or a piezo buzzer, between the motherboard >> connection and speaker/piezo? > > The unit that I linked to that showed a 4-pin connector to a bud buzzer > meant you were using the 4-pin mobo header for the speaker connection. That > should handle a *small* 8-ohm speaker. It looks like you have a flaw in the > mobo regarding the driving circuit for the speaker. > > Oh well, if you didn't know what the beep counts meant (long beeps, short > beeps, how many of each) then you aren't losing anything important to you > that you could do anything about. Once the OS starts loading and it loads > the audio drivers, your external speakers are going to get used, anyway. I never mentioned anywhere in my messages that implicated I was unaware of the error beeps, I might not be an expert but I have been building computers since 1991, but thanks for the interest you've taken with my small problem. > I know some Dells use the externally attached speakers for the warning > buzzer instead of using one like you have. The POST beeps come through the > powered speakers (so obviously you must have them powered to hear the > beeps). I haven't bothered to read the online manual for your particular > motherboard to see what it might support for sound issued through the > backpanel connectors.
From: John on 10 May 2010 03:14 On Mon, 10 May 2010 02:06:57 -0400, Paul wrote: > John wrote: > >> I wonder is it possible to >> amplify either a cone speaker or a piezo buzzer, between the motherboard >> connection and speaker/piezo? > > Sure. You could take something, like a "portable karaoke" > machine, which has a microphone and a speaker, and hold the > microphone inside the computer. But this will also pick up fan > noise, computer noise, and generally be a bad idea. (You'd need > to build an enclosure around the microphone and speaker, to keep > out other noises.) > > You could try contacting Asus support, and see if they even > know their P6T SE is a sub-standard design. Maybe they already > know that some batch of boards, had the wrong value of resistor > stuffed in them, causing the speaker level to be weak. I suspect that this is the problem but can't be hassled returning the motherboard. > I think a superior solution, is to rig up a circuit that > connectors to the speaker pins. (Mainly, because the solution > would be "quiet" when the beep interval was finished.) But to > build that, you'll need to be a hobbyist, and have access to parts. > And it doesn't sound like you're really that interested in doing > that. I don't blame you. This should all be unnecessary. > > Paul Thanks for the detailed information it's been very interesting.
From: Paul on 10 May 2010 08:49 John wrote: > On Mon, 10 May 2010 02:06:57 -0400, Paul wrote: > >> John wrote: >> >>> I wonder is it possible to >>> amplify either a cone speaker or a piezo buzzer, between the motherboard >>> connection and speaker/piezo? >> Sure. You could take something, like a "portable karaoke" >> machine, which has a microphone and a speaker, and hold the >> microphone inside the computer. But this will also pick up fan >> noise, computer noise, and generally be a bad idea. (You'd need >> to build an enclosure around the microphone and speaker, to keep >> out other noises.) >> >> You could try contacting Asus support, and see if they even >> know their P6T SE is a sub-standard design. Maybe they already >> know that some batch of boards, had the wrong value of resistor >> stuffed in them, causing the speaker level to be weak. > > I suspect that this is the problem but can't be hassled returning the > motherboard. > You should at least report it to Asus Tech Support (as difficult as that could be :-( ). I checked the Asus FAQ page, and don't see it mentioned there. I doubt they'd add an item, just because you reported it, but it's a start. (They like to shove real design problems, "under the carpet". I've never heard a story of them "doing the right thing", when a design is bad.) If they get enough complaints, maybe an engineer at Asus will have a look at what was done. Since they may be making around 4 million motherboards per month, it is pretty hard to get personal attention from the company - they're not known for their communication skills. Any kind of circuit, which could threshold the signal on the SPKR pin, could be made to drive a speaker. But virtually any circuit we could think of, would mean a hobbyist style project. I tried looking for a product that just plugged into the speaker leads, but didn't find anything, other than the usual "piezo with wires" thing. I think the assumption is, that is loud enough. Paul
From: John on 10 May 2010 10:20 On Mon, 10 May 2010 08:49:14 -0400, Paul wrote: > John wrote: >> On Mon, 10 May 2010 02:06:57 -0400, Paul wrote: >> >>> John wrote: >>> >>>> I wonder is it possible to >>>> amplify either a cone speaker or a piezo buzzer, between the motherboard >>>> connection and speaker/piezo? >>> Sure. You could take something, like a "portable karaoke" >>> machine, which has a microphone and a speaker, and hold the >>> microphone inside the computer. But this will also pick up fan >>> noise, computer noise, and generally be a bad idea. (You'd need >>> to build an enclosure around the microphone and speaker, to keep >>> out other noises.) >>> >>> You could try contacting Asus support, and see if they even >>> know their P6T SE is a sub-standard design. Maybe they already >>> know that some batch of boards, had the wrong value of resistor >>> stuffed in them, causing the speaker level to be weak. >> >> I suspect that this is the problem but can't be hassled returning the >> motherboard. >> > > You should at least report it to Asus Tech Support (as difficult > as that could be :-( ). I checked the Asus FAQ page, and don't > see it mentioned there. I doubt they'd add an item, just because > you reported it, but it's a start. (They like to shove real design > problems, "under the carpet". I've never heard a story of them > "doing the right thing", when a design is bad.) If they get enough > complaints, maybe an engineer at Asus will have a look at what was > done. Since they may be making around 4 million motherboards per > month, it is pretty hard to get personal attention from the > company - they're not known for their communication skills. Fair enough, I'll contact them with the problem. I mentioned in a previous message that I'd tried a few other computers to see if the volume level was any different than my machine, and found the volume was just as low as my computer. I'll go back and check the motherboard manufacturer on these machines and if Asus I'll note the model and report them as well. If there from a different manufacturer it would indicate that the motherboard speaker volume isn't counted as a high priority. > Any kind of circuit, which could threshold the signal on the > SPKR pin, could be made to drive a speaker. But virtually > any circuit we could think of, would mean a hobbyist style > project. I tried looking for a product that just plugged into > the speaker leads, but didn't find anything, other than the usual > "piezo with wires" thing. I think the assumption is, that is > loud enough. Thanks again for all you're help. Though I haven't come across a solution, the exercise has been very interesting.
From: Mike Easter on 10 May 2010 11:26
John wrote: > Though I haven't come across a solution, > the exercise has been very interesting. How can you be sure that your good-eared wife's report to you, "You're right, honey, it is very very quiet." wasn't just a matter of spousal tactful support? :-) -- Mike Easter |