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MessageBeep function (winuser.h)

  • Article
  • 02/05/2025

Plays a waveform sound. The waveform sound for each sound type is identified by an entry in the registry.

 
Note  On Windows Server 2022, the Microsoft\Windows\Multimedia\SystemSoundsService task in Task Scheduler is disabled. This task will need to be enabled for MessageBeep to function.

Syntax

BOOL MessageBeep(
  [in] UINT uType
);

Parameters

[in] uType

The sound to be played. The sounds are set by the user through the Sound control panel application, and then stored in the registry.

This parameter can be one of the following values.

Value Meaning
0xFFFFFFFF A simple beep. If the sound card is not available, the sound is generated using the speaker.
MB_ICONASTERISK
0x00000040L
 See MB_ICONINFORMATION.
MB_ICONEXCLAMATION
0x00000030L
 See MB_ICONWARNING.
MB_ICONERROR
0x00000010L
 The sound specified as the Windows Critical Stop sound.
MB_ICONHAND
0x00000010L
 See MB_ICONERROR.
MB_ICONINFORMATION
0x00000040L
 The sound specified as the Windows Asterisk sound.
MB_ICONQUESTION
0x00000020L
 The sound specified as the Windows Question sound.
MB_ICONSTOP
0x00000010L
 See MB_ICONERROR.
MB_ICONWARNING
0x00000030L
 The sound specified as the Windows Exclamation sound.
MB_OK
0x00000000L
 The sound specified as the Windows Default Beep sound.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.

If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

Remarks

After queuing the sound, the MessageBeep function returns control to the calling function and plays the sound asynchronously.

If it cannot play the specified alert sound, MessageBeep attempts to play the system default sound. If it cannot play the system default sound, the function produces a standard beep sound using the Beep function. Starting in Windows 7, this plays a simple tone on the default sound device. See the documentation for the Beep function for further details.

The user can disable the warning beep by using the Sound control panel application.

Note  To send a beep to a remote client, use the Beep function. The Beep function is redirected to the client, whereas MessageBeep is not.

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client Windows XP [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server Windows Server 2003 [desktop apps only]
Target Platform Windows
Header winuser.h (include Windows.h)
Library User32.lib
DLL User32.dll
API set ext-ms-win-ntuser-misc-l1-1-0 (introduced in Windows 8)

See also

Beep

Error Handling Functions

FlashWindow

Notifying the User

Additional resources