BleepingComputer.com: Random Cricket Sound -- Codec Issue?

Hi there! I'm new here, but hoping y'all can help me. At seemingly random moments about half an hour apart while I'm using Windows XP, a loud cricket sound plays through my computer speakers. This is accompanied by an icon appearing on the bottom right-hand taskbar that looks like the codec icons that pop up when I use Windows Media Player. The sound and icon last for about a second, then disappear -- too quick for me to right-click the icon or find it in the Ctrl-Alt-Del process menu. McAfee and AVG concur that my computer is uninfected by viruses, though I had a nasty case of Vundo four or five months ago. Has anyone heard of this before? Is it dangerous, or just annoying? What can I do to make it stop?

Thanks so much!

Do you or anyone else have an instant messenger (yahoo, msn messenger, aim) open?
If so, it could be an alert from the messenger-someone signing on, a new message received, new mail. Something for you to check, although it's most likely not from a messenger due to the fact that it happens half an hour apart.

This post has been edited by Queen-Evie: 18 February 2008 - 03:55 PM

You know, I do always have AIM open, and now that I think of it, the beginning of this phenomenon coincided with my adding a bunch of buddies to my heretofore almost empty buddy list. But the Sounds menu doesn't associate any events in AIM with the sound that's playing. I'll keep checking. Thank you!

Any other thoughts?

One way to find out if it is AIM. Scout through Preferences, and disable all sounds. You can always go back and set the sounds again.

*edit to add* At the top of AIM, Edit/Settings.

Choose SOUNDS. Put a check by every Do not play any sound. Click Apply, then Save.

This post has been edited by Queen-Evie: 18 February 2008 - 04:16 PM

Done -- though again, since none of the events on that menu are associated with this particular sound, I'm not sure how this will help. So far the problem hasn't recurred, but of course the thing about having a problem that seems to repeat itself at random intervals is that you're never sure whether it's fixed or just lying low. I'll post later about whether it's recurred! Thank you again!

I figured it out; it was one of my new buddies' custom coming-online sounds. (He signs off and on a lot, which is why the problem seemed to happen every half-hour or so.) Sorry to have wasted your time -- but you did point me towards the source of the problem! Thank you!

It was NOT a waste of time if the direction I sent you in led to the resolution. I'm glad to see you found out what was causing the crickets to chirp. Thank you for letting us know what the issue was and the problem is solved.

*edited to add* even if the direction hadn't been the right one, it would not have been a waste of my time.

This post has been edited by Queen-Evie: 19 February 2008 - 02:39 PM