The GDM in Ubuntu changed a bit since Karmic. Now you no longer need to type in both username and password. Instead there is a list of users that shows up, similar to what we have in Windows and Mac. That way you don’t accidentally type in the password when you are supposed to be typing your user name. While this is a really nice way to login, Ubuntu added a drum sound which plays each time you arrive at the login screen – this can be when a user logs out or starts the computer. There is no simple way to disable that sound using GUI. There is however a simple command line which disables this login screen sound as lets you login silently.
If you are a sudoer, open up the terminal and type in:
sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 –set /desktop/gnome/sound/event_sounds –type bool false
The next time you logout, or restart the computer, the sound won’t be played again.
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Update: The above methods doesn’t work for everyone. There have been a couple of other methods that have been known to work.
To actually disable the “login ready” sound you need to edit your /etc/gdm/custom.conf file.
sudo gedit /etc/gdm/custom.conf
Under the [greeter] section add the line:
SoundOnLogin=false
Another method that has worked for some is the removal of ubuntu-sounds package. This will remove all the event sounds as well, but your media should work just fine.
sudo apt-get remove ubuntu-sounds
These are some of the methods that have worked for several people. YMMV – unfortunately.
