MacBook Chimes at me

[brucemillar]

Folks

My Macbook (13") running OSX 10.8.5 has recently started chiming 5 times with no apparent reason given and no change in performance.

As I type this it has just done it again. 5 chimes - nothing changes everything carries on as before.

I have had a look in activity monitor an see no obvious villains.

I run MS Office for Mac and use Outlook mail client connected to exchange for mail, calendar and sync.

Any clues. Google only refers to chimes during power up (which I do not have).

 

[PXW]

It will be the key logger saying thank you.

 

[IanA2]

Anything in your calendar or reminder list.....those set off funny noises.

 

[brucemillar]

Well I am not sure from Activity Monitor that I have any Key Logger activity going on?

I have run a full scan with Sophos that shows no issues.

Nothing is unusual in my calendar. The 5 chimes do not correspond with any events .

Any other clues?

 

[developer]

Is there a persistent Avon lady at the door .

 

[Dieselman]

5 chimes means a processor problem, but it's strange how it still runs.

 

[IanA2]

AS DM says it is a processor problem, see:

The power on self-test resides in the ROM of the computer. This test runs whenever the computer is turned on after being fully shut down (the power-on self-test does not run if the computer is only restarted).

If a fault is detected during the test, you will not hear a normal startup chime. Instead, the system will beep as explained below. If you experience one of these beeps, you may call your Apple Authorized Service Provider for additional troubleshooting assistance.

1 beep = no RAM installed
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types
3 beeps = no good banks
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block)
5 beeps = processor is not usable

In addition to the beeps, on some computers the power LED will flash a corresponding number of times plus one. The LED will repeat the sequence after approximately a 5-second pause. The tones are only played once.

But it does seem odd that it's still running. Vis a vis Calendar. Do you have five item in today's page? Mine beeps for each entry.

 

[brucemillar]

I read it that5 chimes during boot/startup was a processor problem?

I have no chimes during boot. And everything is fine. It just randomly does it with no other symptoms.

 

[IanA2]

Bit of a mystery....

 

[balge]

I read it that5 chimes during boot/startup was a processor problem?

I have no chimes during boot. And everything is fine. It just randomly does it with no other symptoms.

If it's not at boot how can it be anything to do with POST....

Doorbell-like sound at random - MacRumors Forums

It will almost certainly be a notification sound from some program, check for running processes when it bongs

 

[brucemillar]

If it's not at boot how can it be anything to do with POST....

Doorbell-like sound at random - MacRumors Forums

It will almost certainly be a notification sound from some program, check for running processes when it bongs

Yup. This makes sense thank you. I will have a rummage and see what I find in the console

 

[nigel cross]

Its not a notifier that you have received emails, when your email is open bit you are looking at a safari page?

 

[brucemillar]

Its not a notifier that you have received emails, when your email is open bit you are looking at a safari page?

Well that would make me look mor stooopid than normal. Could well be though as I am running Outlook for Mac.

Keep em coming please.

 

[nigel cross]

Well that would make me look mor stooopid than normal. Could well be though as I am running Outlook for Mac.

Keep em coming please.

How would that make you look more stupid than usual, its simply a feature that you may not be awere of.

 

[Dieselman]

How would that make you look more stupid than usual

Not a nice thing to say...

 

[nigel cross]

Not a nice thing to say...

I simply repeated what he said about himself

 

[brucemillar]

Nigel, All

So here is the answer. Thank you to all who replied.

I went to Outlook - Settings - Sounds.

It lists all the sounds for each type of alert. When I clicked on "Mail Sync Alert" There it was. Bingo. So it appears that Outlook occasionally fails to sync correctly with Exchange. When that happens I get these 5 chimes.

I know that Outlook is syncing well enough for me. So I have unchecked the box.

MBClub Thank you.

 

[nigel cross]

I love apple products, they have that little bit extra, the only trouble is finding what that is .... sometimes

 

[brucemillar]

I love apple products, they have that little bit extra, the only trouble is finding what that is .... sometimes

Nigel. I am an Apple fan. In fairness here it could be argued that Outlook was actually the issue.

Or.

User error on my part. Reading the manual is a sign of weakness. Always better to just get stuck in then do your own head in trying to work it out.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[IanA2]

Outlook was actually the issue....

I use Apple's "Mail".....no probs