Someone asked how to PLAY a sound from the Command Prompt but I cannot find the relevant post. However, here is how it can be done:

This uses a .wav file from the C:\WINNT\Media\ folder in W2k and from the C:\Windows\Media\ folder in Win XP Home. The player will open unseen (minimised) and will close on completion.

Start /min "" sndrec32 /play /close %systemroot%\media\tada.wav

Several .wav files are available in the Media folder or you can change the path\filename to access another .wav file.

Good luck.




Yes... I used a routine like this before to contact myself Via Cell Phone when problems arise in IT. I have a old Pentium 3 computer set up with a VOIP Phone in a cardboard box with a set of old sound blaster 16 speakers.

How it works:

I have software that I wrote that tests devices on the network as well as monitors data. When something is wrong it triggers a macro to run an automated routine in which it will dial my cell phone through the VOIP software and a VOIP phone and wait 15 seconds and then through a command execution like the one you described it will execute a prerecorded message TELLING me where the problem is. It calls me over and over until I shut the alert off, so that if I am in a dead zone, the minute I get a cell signal I get the call and know where to go.

People call me the IT McGuyver for all the tricks I put together to make some really COOL stuff happen, and in this case, I can act proactively before users complain or the problem becomes worse ( hopefully ). Generally through this I am able to snuff out problems before the users start to call and before other operations attempt to take troubled data and integrate it into databases when all the satellite locations go through their data replications before the next day opening at all the food store locations that I oversee the IT of.

Searched all over the internet for a tool like this and nothing is like it out there that I COULD find, so I had to piece it together myself. Obviously if the P3 or phone line goes down I wouldnt get a call, but its on a UPS and the phone lines rarely have problems fortunately.

Before this tool was rolled out, I WOULD find out after the fact and would be in a situation where the stores are opening and data has problems or important servers were offline.

There are monitoring services out there that will watch your infrastructure for you 24/7/365, but you have to allow for them to have access into your network to monitor which could open up a security vulnerability, and you have to pay them a good chunk of change to watch it, when the Pentium 3 which is fully depreciated is only costing the cost of what little electricity it uses idling, and I even have some SCSI drives in it to use it also as a file server for myself.Very interesting Dave. I think that the original query was made for a simple tone or tune which would sound when a user response was required when running a batch script, or just to signal that a certain point had been reached in the script, nothing too complex.

Thanks for your interest and info.