~PJ~

2.4Ghz CPU
752Mb RAM [upgraded from 256]
XP Pro + SP2 and all updates

I've had this laptop two or three years, and once I'd invested in some more RAM it's been a very useful piece of kit.
However, about a year ago the original HDD died, and all I had to hand was a s/h 20Gb HDD. This worked nicely, but was too small, so I've just bought a new 60Gb replacement.

Now.
I installed the new drive, and installed XP using my usual disk with SP2 on [I should say that I am actually a computer technician - I tend to use the same CD for installation with, obviously, different COAs]. All went fine until I plugged a USB keyboard and mouse in. It started beeping. Not the usual high pitched beep you get due to a empty battery, but more of a squawk. FJ helpline didn't have a clue.
I finally narowed it down to the USB drivers and, when updating and uninstalling / reinstalling them didn't help, I wiped the disk and started again. This time it started beeping during Windows setup.

I put the old HDD back in and messed around with the USB for ~24 hours - not a single beep.

Reinstalled the new HDD, erased using the Hitachi Travelstar DFT utility [having already done the full error check on the HDD, with no errors showing]. Then I went against all my principles and installed Windows using the FJ Product Recovery CDROM. All was fine until SP2 downloaded - and as soon as it had finished the beeps started. I don't really want to not install SP2, as the USB is USB2 which doesn't work without SP2, and my pen drives are horribly slow on USB 1.

The beeps are highly annoying. They come about once every ten minutes, and are loud enough to be heard from upstairs. As I use my laptop, amongst other things, to record the sermons from church, this beeping is a bit terminal...

So has anyone come across this before? I can't for the life of me understand why it wouldn't beep on the old s/h drive and yet does on the new. It has to be some kind of driver / installation issue, but I install XP so many times a week that it's become more or less automatic to always do things the same way. What I'm saying is, I'd have installed Windows the last time the same way as I did this, and yet I've got beeps!

Any help most gratefully appreciated.

Fujengineer

Have you tried using the machine without a battery installed?

~PJ~

Ooh. I have to say that is one things I HAVEN'T tried! Presume turn it off, remove battery, and switch it back on again?

~PJ~

Beeped straight away on boot without the battery.

Fujengineer

Do you get a display at all when you turn the machine on?

Terrister

Have you checked the system logs? Go to the control panel,admin tools and event viewer.

~PJ~

The machine is fully functional except for the noise.

Nothing relevant as far as I can tell in Application, as the last event was 14.53, and it's now 16.35 and there have been lots of beeps since!
Same with Security - last was a Success Audit at 15.20.
Same with System - last at 14.55 from Service Control Manager. Not quite sure why there was so much going on up til that time, and nothing since, as apart from running NSW earlier on, I haven't used the machine today. The last entry says 'The telephony service entered the stopped state' whatever that means. I'm on Broadband through a LAN.

OMGmissinglink

The usb devices were plugged in while the laptop was powered on or off.

~PJ~

Originally, they were plugged in with the laptop on. The second time round, I plugged them in whilst off. Now they're not plugged in at all, and haven't been since the last reinstall of Windows. I haven't even plugged in a pen drive.

OMGmissinglink

could the usb port be damaged, do they work after either install /

~PJ~

They certainly work. One USB pen drive recognises them as USB 2, the other one doesn't - but it does that on some other computers so I think that's a red herring. There are NO beeps of this type when I put the old HDD back in again - not during boot, nor in Windows, whether I hot swap devices or switch off to plug them in. That's why I feel it's either to do with the installation, the drivers, or possibly the new hard drive - although it's hard to see why, as the drive comes up clean with the diagnostics. In fact, the laptop works all round - all the drivers are in place with no conflicts etc., it's nice and speedy, installs programs with no problems, does the internet stuff well.

The beeps are fairly regular, and do not seem to happen in response to anything I do anymore. I think the fact that it started beeping when the keyboard and mouse were plugged in may have been coincidence.
Is there any kind of max HDD size in these laptops? Is there a BIOS update I need??

If we can't find a solution to the problem, can anyone point me at a tech manual so that I can open it up and physically remove the beeper????

OMGmissinglink

the old HD jumpered or the new one? does that laptop support that HD?

~PJ~

Neither are jumpered - I simply switch off, unplug, remove HDD, change fittings over, and plug the other one in. Don't have both in at the same time - the old HDD still has Windows installed.
The new HDD is a Hitachi Travelstar like the old one - the only difference is that the old is 20Gb, the new 60Gb. The original HDD was 40Gb.

OMGmissinglink

IMHO the model might not accept 60gb hd call Fujitsu support and ask.

OMGmissinglink

last bios Version: 1.70 does not say additional HD support , if the laptop came with 40gb this might be the most you can run in that model.

~PJ~

I've spoken to FJ, and they said that if BIOS recognises the HDD [which it does] it's supported. I've found all the latest drivers using RadarSync, and I'm in the process of updating them one by one and waiting for the machine to beep. So far I've done the chipset, the cardbus, and the sound card.
FJ also suggested flashing the BIOS, which I've done, and to disable the drivers [apart from the video, of course!] one by one. I'll do that once I've done the driver updates.

This is not just annoying, it's flipping mysterious. why do I always get the headbagers of problems that no-one else has ever even heard of?

Fujengineer

Is the speed of the drive the same as the old one?, I've been told that some drives have different speeds and that some of the laptops cant quite handle the higher speeds properly.

~PJ~

No, it isn't. The old one is 4200RPM - the new one is 5400 RPM. Also, the old one is an IBM Travelstar and the new a Hitachi - although I've been using them as interchangeable for years. I don't know what the original one was 'cos I threw it away...

~PJ~

Put the old drive back in. Nothing has made any difference so far.

OMGmissinglink

Old drive and the laptop still beeps