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BRILLIANT IDEA - MAKE PC BEEP WHILE CD DRAWER IS OPEN
How can I get my Dell PC to beep every few seconds whenever the CD/DVD drawer is open? This will prevent broken drawers and large, ugly, bleeding gashes on various body parts. I hereby surrender my interest in any patents to Dell on condition that Dell provide this as a download within the next ten (10) days.
My own Dell PC's are an Optiplex 755 and a Latitude D830, both running WinXPPro SP3, and in the office an Optiplex GX280 running Win2000Pro SP4.
OK, Dell, this is a good idea, and you can probably make this possible in a few hours. Let's see how responsive and imaginative you can be.
glnz
Nerisrath
8 Posts
0
March 9th, 2009 16:00
well that wouldn't be such a hard thing to code, simply monitor when the the drive is open have a little doWhile loop that says while DoorOpen = true, execute subprogram BeepEveryThreeSecond; however, a more brilliant idea would be to CLOSE THE TRAY WHEN NOT IN USE..... I would have to say the the majority of people close the CD tray while the removed disk is still in hand, and from a Project Management standpoint for dell to waste tens of thousands of dollars(yes that's what it takes for major companies to release even a minor update) in developing and deploying a patch like this, when many people don't even get the dell specific updates, is quite pointless...you would have better luck suggesting it to microsoft to add to the new windows 7, and even that's a longshot
though i have myself forgotten and banged my shin on the tray and do sympathize and feel your pain, and as an IT professional have even ACTUALLY gotten that too often joked about help call for the "retractable cup holder" that is stuck open ..... its just not a realistic goal
glnz
309 Posts
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March 9th, 2009 16:00
Mr. Nerisrath - Sounds like you know how to do this. What would the code be exactly, where do I put that code, and how do I do that? Thanks!
Nerisrath
8 Posts
0
March 10th, 2009 14:00
I have an idea of how its done from my programming and flowcharting classes, but the exact code i couldn't tell you.....It would depend on the operating system, the programming language you choose, syntax of said language, and then there is implementing it. I dont know how to intergrate pieces of code into windows, only how to make independant programs. My specialties are in hardware and networking (certifications in A+, Net+, CCNA and soon MCSE). This is a problem for a programmer, I only know the basics of how it would work from my college classes.....sorry i can't be of more help.
Japedi
4 Posts
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March 10th, 2009 14:00
Sorry I can't help you with your problem, but I feel your pain I did exactly the same thing a few months ago.
Jonno52
13 Posts
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April 3rd, 2009 07:00
I don't know the answer on how it would be done, but it's a good idea. The vertically-mounted CD tray on my C521 refuses to open (except by sticking a pin in the hole next to it) unless I keep a blank CD parked in it all the time. Going through the ritual of ejecting a CD I've just written, & leaving the tray open before replacing it with the blank one, then finally closing it, means that I've been within a whisker of bashing the open tray with an elbow several times. If it kept beeping, that would certainly help.
I'd be careful what "body parts" you stick in the drive ;-)
glnz
309 Posts
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April 23rd, 2009 07:00
HEY, DELL - HOW ABOUT REPLYING TO US? THIS IS A GOOD IDEA AND WOULD BE EASY FOR YOU TO IMPLEMENT. OR DO YOU PREFER TO REPLACE CD-DVD UNITS THAT ARE UNDER WARRANTY? I HEREBY RELEASE ALL RIGHTS TO THIS IDEA.
hrova
2.2K Posts
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April 23rd, 2009 12:00
The thing is, for every one who loves the idea, there may be several who hate it. I think it's ridiculous and not needed, and would want to make sure there was an easy way to disable it, as I prefer to run only needed services.
Factor in the cost not just to write it, but then support it, and there is virtually no benefit to Dell for doing this.
Perhaps an after market software creator can do it, maybe as freeware or shareware.
glnz
309 Posts
0
April 23rd, 2009 13:00
Mr. Hrova: You are certainly correct - it should be the owner's choice whether his PC beeps when the CD drawer is open. But I wish we had that choice the last time my wife cut herself and almost broke the drawer. I'm not a programmer, but would this really be so hard? PC's already beep for the Caps Lock key and other events (with some choices in Control Panel) -- why not just tie in to those little programs? Would that really be too much to support? There are undoubtedly many broken drawers out there that have already been replaced by Dell under warranty - a little beeper should more than pay for itself, don't you think? COME ON, DELL TECHS, WHAT DO YOU THINK?