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I'm running some lengthy video encodes using the Handbrake command line interface. After all my encodes are done, I would like to have the PC speaker beep, as I usually turn my large external speakers off.
On Linux I would install the "beep" package, but so far I haven't found such a program for Windows 7.

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Edit: The question seems to have morphed into "How to make Windows 7 beep the PC speaker?", for which the answer provided by HarryMC is the most appropriate.

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On Linix, you could simply do printf "\7". – Dennis Williamson Jan 1 '11 at 15:39
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Ctrl+G>enter gets a system beep in command prompt. Multiples of Ctrl+G gets multiple beeps. – Moab Jan 1 '11 at 15:41
@Dennis Williamson: Yes, but I'm using Windows 7 in this case. I'm mostly aware of my options as far as Linux goes. – oKtosiTe Jan 1 '11 at 17:30
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Some systems default to the PC speaker if there are no other speakers attached. – Moab Jan 1 '11 at 18:10
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@oKtosiTe Interesting. On my computer with PC speaker and 64bit 7, I hear beep from it when using ^G in CMD. – AndrejaKo Jan 1 '11 at 19:40
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5 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted
+50

It would help to know whether your Windows 7 is 64-bit or 32-bit.

From Default Beep PC Speaker changed in windows 7 – How to get back to old style :

The default beep is controlled by a driver under, c:\windows\system32\drivers\beep.sys. Maybe if you switched it out with a driver from XP/Vista it would increase the volume.

To see this driver you have to open device manager then click on View > Show hidden devices. Then under Non-Plug and Play Drivers you’ll see “Beep.” This is the driver that runs your beep. Right click on it then choose properties and go to the driver tab, then click on Driver Details… This shows the file version which looks like it’s been change with Windows 7. So replace it with an older version and see what happens.

Procedure to follow :

  1. Boot from an UBCD4WIN disc (or BartPE if you don’t have an SATA hard drive)
  2. Take ownership of the “C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Beep.sys” file and give the local “Administrators” Group “Full Control” permissions.
  3. Rename “Beep.sys” to “Beep.old” (just in case)
  4. Copy “Beep.sys” from an XP machine to this location.
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The Windows 7 I'm working on is 32 bit. Will try to swap beep.sys out with the one from Windows XP. – oKtosiTe Jan 7 '11 at 12:26
Luckily I dual boot with XP and Arch Linux, so I think I can skip over the Live CD bit. :-) – oKtosiTe Jan 7 '11 at 12:33
That seems to do the trick! Thank you. – oKtosiTe Jan 8 '11 at 15:57
up vote 7 down vote

In Windows 7, Beep was rewritten to pass the beep to the default sound device for the session. This is normally the sound card, except when run under Terminal Services, in which case the beep is rendered on the client.

(source) (An article on why) For those who can't be bothered to read: It was to reduce manufacturing cost

But if you are content with having the beep come out of your speakers a simple batch file can do it.

You can write a DOS batch file that beeps by doing the following: at the DOS prompt type:
echo @echo (Alt-7)>beep.bat

but instead of typing the characters: "(Alt-7)", you hold down the Alt key and press 7 on the numeric keypad. Don't use the 7 on the qwerty part of the keyboard, it has to be on the keypad, and Num Lock has to be on.

(source)

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Sadly, I'm not content with having the beep come out of the speakers. – oKtosiTe Jan 1 '11 at 16:14
@oKtosiTe - Then you're probably out of luck – Nifle Jan 1 '11 at 16:23
Is there any alternative to the numpad for the Alt-7? I only have a laptop and no numpad. – CajunLuke Jan 2 '11 at 13:58
@Cajun - Use the On-Screen Keyboard that is included in windows, but make sure you hit the Options key (on the on-screen keyboard) and turn on the Numpad – Nifle Jan 2 '11 at 15:46
@CajunLuke, yes, don’t use the Alt-key combo at all for ASCII control codes (1-31), just press Ctrl+G; that’s the Ctrl-key combo for BEL. – Synetech Jun 27 '11 at 4:12
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up vote 1 down vote

Grab NirCmd and run nircmd stdbeep.

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I'm afraid that makes the default speakers beep, not the PC speaker. – oKtosiTe Jan 1 '11 at 16:18
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Are you sure it's enabled? – digitxp Jan 1 '11 at 17:56
@digitxp: The BIOS beep and the ability to issue beeps from the Linux console lead me to believe it is, but you raise a valid point. I will investigate. – oKtosiTe Jan 1 '11 at 21:08
As far as I can tell, it's enabled in every possible way. – oKtosiTe Jan 1 '11 at 21:15
@oKTos Can you make it beep anyhow? – digitxp Jan 1 '11 at 23:32
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up vote 0 down vote

BEEPx (SPKRFIX)

http://www.waldbauer.com/tmp/reference.php?

This little VDD driver fixes a problem with the Windows 7 NTVDM where the PC Speaker output is not wrapped correctly. This may be due to the fact that the functionality of the BEEP.SYS System driver was moved to the Usermode Sound Agent. For further information, see the blog of Larry Osterman. This driver tries to fix the problem by hooking the NTVDM-Function resposible for the Beep (LazyBeep) and replace it with our own implementation that has various options to fix the Problem. Read the changelog here...(support in german but you're allowed to post in english too)

http://www.waldbauer.com/tmp/dl.php?download=beepx

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Be careful posting links like this. While this does not appear to be spam, you should state whether you are affiliated with the developer. See the FAQ for more information. – DragonLord Oct 11 '12 at 15:07
up vote 0 down vote

If you have python 2.x installed this line in a bat-file works

python -c "print '\7'"
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