The Default Beep sound is played instead of the Low Battery Alarm sound or the Critical Battery Alarm sound on a Windows XP-based computer

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This article was previously published under Q307154

SYMPTOMS

When the battery power level of your portable Microsoft Windows XP-based computer is low, the Default Beep sound is played instead of the Low Battery Alarm sound or the Critical Battery Alarm sound that you selected in Sounds and Audio Devices in Control Panel.

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RESOLUTION

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

Windows XP Service Pack 1 or Windows XP Service Pack 2

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version           Size     File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   13-Aug-2004  23:24  5.1.2600.1579     398,848  Licdll.dll       
   13-Aug-2004  23:00  5.1.2600.1584     482,816  Winlogon.exe     
   13-Aug-2004  23:01  5.1.2600.2505     502,784  Winlogon.exe

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WORKAROUND

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To work around this problem for the original release version of Windows XP, you can add a registry sub key for both the Low Battery Alarm and the Critical Battery Alarm. To do this, follow these steps.

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
In the left pane, locate and then right-click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\
Click New, click Key, type Powercfg for the new key name, and then click Enter.
Right-click Powercfg, click New, click Key, type LowBatteryAlarm for the new key name, and then click Enter.
Right-click LowBatteryAlarm, click New, click Key, type .Current for the new key name, and then click Enter..
Right-click .Current, click New, click String Value, type (Default) for the string value name.
Double-click the string value, type the full path of the sound file that you want to play in the Value data box, and then click OK
In the left pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\PowerCfg\LowBatteryAlarm\
Right-click LowBatteryAlarm, click New, click Key, type .Default for the new key name, and then click Enter.
Right-click .Default, click New, click String Value, and then type (Default) for the string value name.
Double-click the string value, type the full path of the sound file that you want to play Value data box, and then click OK.
In the left pane, locate and then right-click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\PowerCfg\
Click New, click Key, type CriticalBatteryAlarm for the new key name, and then click Enter.
Right-click CriticalBatteryAlarm, click New, click Key, type .Current for the new key name, and then click Enter.
Right-click .Current, click New, click String Value, and then type (Default) for the string value name.
Double-click the string value, type the full path of the sound file that you want to play Value data box, and then click OK. .
In the left pane, locate and then right-click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\PowerCfg\CriticalBatteryAlarm
Click New, and then click Key.
Type .Default for the new key name, and then click Enter.
Right-click .Default, click New, and then click String Value.
Type (Default) for the string value name.
Double-click the string value, type the full path of the sound file that you want to play Value data box, and then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor.