Why do computers beep? What causes the noise, and what made beeps the universal sound of computer?

Question

They’re everywhere, seeming since the advent of electronics beeps have been used. Why?

In: Technology

Answer 1

ELI5? A general purpose computer typically goes through a process called POST (power on self test) which comes before any output to a screen. The only way to communicate a problem found in POST is to beep at you. Some computers have POST lights on the front in lieu of or addition to beeping. There is nothing more maddening than walking through a DC and trying to find what is beeping.