[Plutox]

In XP I can set up toggle keys to make a sound when I press Caps Lock on PCs but when I try on laptops and netbooks there is no sound (speakers on and volumes up).

This doesn't seem right - any explanations or help please?

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These sounds are made by the system speaker. Most laptops just don't have a system speaker these days.

[Neil Jones]

These sounds are made by the system speaker. Most laptops just don't have a system speaker these days.

[Plutox]

Thanks for your response.

What do you mean by a system speaker? How is the speaker system on laptops different? And why - seems strange.

Edited by Plutox, 17 February 2010 - 04:52 PM.

[Neil Jones]

Modern laptops and netbooks don't have system speakers.
The system speaker is a hardware speaker that is connected to a motherboard and its primary use is to generally allow the system to beep at you if something's gone so badly wrong that it can't write anything on the screen.
The same principle is theoretically possible on laptops, but since they get smaller and cheaper (and if they do have board problems they won't beep anyway rendering them scrap) the speakers have fallen out of use.

[Plutox]

Thanks Neil for that info.

I am surprised that from all the mags I've gone through, even the 'novice' ones like ComputerActive and Webuser from 3 odd years ago to recently,I have never seen this pointed out. They give the instructions to activate this feature but don't say this won't work on laptops - very odd.

[Neil Jones]

The Accessibility options will work on any version of Windows on any machine you care to mention as they're part of the operating system. The beeps themselves probably won't on modern laptops.