Is there a reason why we have to hear that annoying beeping and buzzing when our computer connects to the internet? I have noticed that the volume of this varies from computer to computer, so I assume that there must be a way to shut it off. Can you explain this?
Let me guess - are you using a Mac?
But then, I have DSL.
The noises you hear are the “handshakes” of the modems (yours and theirs).
One is saying “Hi, I’m here, let me in.” The other chimes back with “Okay, join the party!”
The noise is your modem talking to the modem at your ISP. I am not sure if you can turn off the noise or not.
In Windoze, go to Control Panel, then Modems. Select your modem and click Properties, then change the speaker volume.
Those noises can be invaluable when you’re having connection trouble - they let you know that you’re getting a dial tone, whether the other computer is answering, if you have a wrong number and are getting someone’s voice line, etc. That’s why they’re normally turned on.
I was being facetious. You can turn off your modem’s speaker, but I don’t know if that turns off the negotiation sounds. To engineers like me, those sounds actually tell us something important about the connection.
But, I sure don’t miss them now that I have DSL. Only my laptops need analog modems now. 
If your using windoze go to your connection icon in Dial up Networking folder . Right click and go to properties then click on configure and lower the volume setting to off.
Don’t listen to these people. They don’t know what they are talking about.
The noises you hear are inside your head. Seek immediate help.
This is why.
Those sounds are the sounds of the two modems negotiating the speed to communicate at. Most modems (every modem I’ve ever come in contact with) have settings to have the speaker be on a) never b) during negotiation or c) always.
If you for some reason cannot set this at a high level (ie in windows somewhere), you can add a setting to your modem initialization string. From memory I believe the command is ATMx where x=0 means off, x=1 means negotiation, and x=2 means always on.
If you wanted more of an explanation on the sounds, it is because the modem converts the data bits to sounds for transmission over the phone line. The changing sounds at the start are because the modems are trying different speeds. During operation the sound is much more like white noise. Try lifting up an extension phone while the modem is connecting.
Oh and in case you think this is related to the internet, it isnt; it is a modem thing. These sounds are heard when using a modem whether the internet is involved or not.
[sarcasm]Gasp you mean modems existed before the internet?[/sarcasm]
I never hear those noises. Mind you, I have a cable modem. It’s rather, uh, stealthy.
Those noises don’t necessarily involve a modem, either. One time, while our computer was in the shop, I got so desperate for Internet por–* I mean, access, that I dialed our ISP’s number, and hummed the tone I usually hear. And you know what? It worked. But I also picked up a bit of a virus after that… ::atchoo!::
It’s okay SPOOFE, if you just delete all those cookies you ate you’ll be fine.
A lot of those noises may go away. The new proposed modem standard (v.92?) that may be approved this fall recognizes that most people dial the same remote modem over and over again. So it provides for remembering the last connection and going through a simpler and shorter negotiation process the next time.
Most of the noise is static on the line. That’s teh phone company’s fault. The only thing you should really hear on a clear line is the extended variation of the beep you hear when you turn on your computer. If you get a new internet line from the phone company, it should be much quieter.
In my experienced static on the line is pretty rtare, and when it occurs it sounds like … well … static. The noises modems make to establish a connection don’t sound like static, nor do they sound like a beep. They sound like the noises available at the link sailor posted.
I thought that was just the sound of data on the line. If you pick up the phone while you are using a modem for data transfer you get the same thing. You also hear it when someone trys to send you a fax and you pick up the phone.
The noise that you hear when you pick up a line on which two modems are connected is somewhat different from the noises the modems make when connectiong. When connecting, the modems are asking each other what standards they support and testing the line to see how good it is. Yes, data is moving during negotiations, but it’s moving in different forms and different ways than data moves after the connection is established.
If you listen in on the data after it’s been connected, the data will sound like the “shhhh” static sound of white noise, like when you turn to a TV channel that has no station (if someone has cable, does it still do that?).
If you pick up the phone line while the computer is connected, I’ve seen that sometimes it will cause the modems to go through their testing sequence again, then the plain noise sound will start again.