Windows 10 Pro unknown, constant, notification sounds

[paulb104]

So I just installed Windows 10 Pro on my computer, completely removing the old install.

I keep getting a notification like I just plugged something usb. At least that's what I thought it was. After a lot of plugging and unplugging all the usb stuff I have attached, I realized something.

When I plug in a usb device, I get a three note sound. When I unplug it, I get the same sound in reverse. This is a high pitch sound.

The sound that plays is the same three notes but it is a deeper, more resonant, sound. Sometimes it's the plugging in sound, other times it the unplugging sound. Sometimes it's the same sound in a row. There doesn't seem to be any pattern. It can go for over an hour without the sound, other times it would happen one right after the other.

At one point the only cables plugged into my pc were power, ethernet, and sound. I don't have wifi and I don't have bluetooth.

I posted a four second audio clip here. It has three sounds: usb being unplugged, usb being plugged in, and the weird connection sound that I want to stop hearing.

Hopefully someone can identify that tone and help me figure out how to stop it.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Ralston18]

I would go into Task Manager and/or Performance Monitor and watch what processes and services start/stop in conjunction with the tones.

May give you a clue about what is going on.

 

[paulb104]

I would go into Task Manager and/or Performance Monitor and watch what processes and services start/stop in conjunction with the tones.

May give you a clue about what is going on.

Thanks for that but my task manager is showing ninety six processes. Four apps, sixty five background processes, twenty seven windows processes. I wouldn't know how or what to watch for.

 

[Ralston18]

Close and shut down all possible end user applications running in the background.

Click the Name column to sort processes.

Plug and unplug USB. Watch the other columns for a change. Then select that column - the more active services/processes should be at the top.

See if the counts you have noticed change.

And you can right click the little speaker icon and select "Sound"s. Scroll through the Program Events to see if you can find a matching "extra tone".

Unfortunately you will just need to grind through a few runs to see if you can spot some change(s).

 

[paulb104]

Close and shut down all possible end user applications running in the background.

Click the Name column to sort processes.

Plug and unplug USB. Watch the other columns for a change. Then select that column - the more active services/processes should be at the top.

See if the counts you have noticed change.

And you can right click the little speaker icon and select "Sound"s. Scroll through the Program Events to see if you can find a matching "extra tone".

Unfortunately you will just need to grind through a few runs to see if you can spot some change(s).

So I went into windows\media folder and listened to all the sounds there and the two notifications are not in there. Then I used Agent Ransack (lightning fast fantastic search program) and I searched my entire drive for every mid and every wav and every mp* file and that sound, the third one in the audio clip I posted, is *not* there.

Today I recorded both of the unknown tones and recreated that audio file. The first sound is Windows Hardware Insert, the second sound is Windows Hardware Remove, the other two are the unknowns. [Props to http://123apps.com/ for having online free mp3 tools.] Hear that file here: https://goo.gl/BLlKA5

My next step will have to be what you suggested, so I'll shut down as many programs as possible and see what happens.

 

[paulb104]

Frack me.

I figured this out. Since I had to install everything new, my chat program (Pidgin) had its sound notifications turned on.

Ralston18, I wouldn't have figured it out with your suggestion to do things methodically.

Meh.

 

[Ralston18]

Glad it was something that you had control over...... Versus some deep bug or other unacknowledged configuration glitch.

 

[rawraj]

I had the same problem thats why I landed here. Thanks for the inputs. I found out my 11 year old maxtor external hard disk (320 GB which had a power cable, Yeah Its that old) was dying or is dying. When I restart the computer it is fine for sometime then the light starts flickering and it keeps getting detected and then goes back off.
I just turned of the USB sound in windows sound for plugged and unplugged, I don't need a sound anyways for that function. Until I restart my computer. I should have sold this long ago. This is a PATA drive Even if the HDD is working I cant attach it my system.