Okay, I've been getting a constant and regular beeping (Windows chime bell) while using my new rig on both Vista and now Windows 7. The weird thing is that I hear it for a while and then I don't hear it for a while. And then suddenly it starts annoying me again.

I've looked over everything darn thing inside and out, software and hardware. I'm now thinking it maybe due to a low CMOS battery (or a faulty one). The thing that bothers me is that the mobo and rig is only 1 year and 1 month old (built in July 2008). I've only replaced a CMOS battery twice and those mobos were well over 5 years old.

Does anyone know of a low/faulty CMOS battery would cause a Windows chime bell to play softly in the background at regular intervals?

And, would it be a fault CMOS battery since the board is so new?

(There I heard the chime again.)

Edit: Ah wait a second. Something else just crossed my mind: contacts signing into Windows Live Messenger might also be alerted with a chime bell sound. Just have to wait for one to sign on or off again.

Problem *possibly* solved. I think the default alert sound in Messenger for when contacts sign on was set to the Windows chime and the "regular and constant beeps" I was hearing was Messenger annoying me that contacts on my buddies list were signing on. I have since changed the chime to something less related to Windows problems (and annoying) to something more distinct.

I'll post back tomorrow if I'm still hearing chimes. I would still love to know if a low or fault CMOS battery would cause Windows to play a chime? (I do know that on startup I might lose system time/date settings for a low battery or a system might reboot. Otherwise, I don't know if Windows has a separate chime if the battery only shows problematic symptoms every so often and not during startup.)