Gorkee

Hello everyone! I thought that I would start my series focusing on the Linux platform (sorry Mac users - I’ll get to you soon). Linux is very dear to my heart so I’m excited about sharing what I’ve learned with my readers.

All right, let’s get started! In this article I’m going to discuss a minor annoyance that I always modify after installing a new system - that bleepin’ System Beep!

Have you ever been working on your Linux laptop or desktop in a quiet area, such as a library or in the bathroom, only to annoy every living creature around you with that constant beeping noise you get every time you press the backspace key one too many times; or when you use emacs and vim? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then stop reading now and come back tomorrow. But if you get where I’m coming from, then read on.

Where was I? Oh yes, that bleepin’ beep can be quite disturbing. I always get the feeling that the system is telling me I’ve made a boo-boo. I don’t need people thinking my computer is reprimanding me. So, luckily for me (and you), there is a simple solution! Bear in mind that there are several ways one can solve this problem, but I’m going to list the one that works best for me - because it’s my article and I like power.

Here’s goes…

1. Open up the Terminal 
2. Type this: sudo rmmod pcspkr

This process removes the PC Speaker module. What the heck is a module, you may ask? Well, it’s a device driver, not an escape pod for a Star Trek ship. It helps control some hardware device on your system. The module named pcspkr controls the PC speaker. You need to be an administrator to remove the module, so that’s why you must type the sudo command first. What is the sudo command? The sudo command allows a permitted user to execute a command as the superuser or as another user, as specified in the sudoers file. In other words, this command gives you great power! Always remember, though, that great responsibility comes with great power. Learn this lesson well.

If you want to have your PC speaker back again without rebooting your machine, do the following:

1. Open up the Terminal 
2. Type this: sudo modprobe pcspkr

The modprobe command is an easy way to install an existing module that the system already knows about. If you are installing a brand new module, you should then use the "depmod -a" command first. However, in our case the modprobe command will work great.

Finally, if are using a Debian-like distribution of Linux (like Debian or Ubuntu) you can do the following to make your changes permanent. This may also work for non-debian based distributions, or it may not. It’s up to the gods.

1. Open up the Terminal 
2. Type this: sudo gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
3. Add this line to the end of the file: blacklist pcspkr
4. Save the file

Once your machine reboots, the PC Speaker module will not be loaded again (since it is included in the blacklist file) and all will be quiet for you and your neighbors. Ah, peace…