[nmglug] Really annoying beeps

[Akkana Peck]

Tom Ashcraft writes:
> The problem is that *sometimes* when I use the 'action button' icon from
> either the 'main menu' or the 'panel' to suspend, shutdown, etc.; or, if I
> have to plugin or unplug the external charger/power supply for whatever
> reason, it emits an ear-splitting beep that makes anyone nearby jump right
> out of their skin and develop an instant case of PTSD.
> 
> Does anyone know how I can disable this?

First thing to figure out is whether this sound is the "system beep".
I had a Dell Laptop some years back where the system beep was
crazy loud. I don't know why a manufacturer would do that, but
sometimes they do.

If you type this:
    echo -e \\a
(try it a couple of times, for me it didn't work the first time)
does it make the same annoying loud beep?

Try:
    sudo rmmod pcspkr
and if it's the system beep, you probably won't hear it any more.
I wrote about that here:
https://shallowsky.com/blog/linux/taming-system-beep.html

On that Dell with the loud beep, I didn't want to remove it entirely
(it's useful in vim and in some other contexts). My solution was this:
    amixer -q -c 0 set Beep 5
I don't know if that still works under pulseaudio; I wasn't using
pulseaudio on that machine.

You can also use
    xset b volume pitch duration
to make the system beep quieter, shorter and higher: if you make it
short enough and high enough, it'll just be a subtle click. But
that only works under X and might not help with the shutdown tone.

Here are some other ways to get rid of the system beep:
https://linuxconfig.org/turn-off-beep-bell-on-linux-terminal

        ...Akkana