I have an odd issue appearing in Oblivion since today and so far no luck with any solutions. I use the Alt + W combination for running but when I hold Alt, I hear that type of sound in my game that normally occurs in Windows e.g. if you're looking for some word with the CTRL+F command and end up with no results. So this sound appears each time I click on Alt and it doesn't go away until game eventually freezes for a few seconds.

I tested Alt + W in Skyrim and in Fallout, I use the same combination for running, and pressing Alt there doesn't produce any windows-related sounds. If I change Alt for another command in OB, it works fine, but if I press Alt for some reason, even if it's not assigned to any command, I hear this sound too. If I press Alt in the main menu, I don't hear it, though.

Any ideas?

EDIT: Sticky keys are disabled.

Did you install any new software lately? It could be that ALT + W is a keyboard shortcut for something else you have that is running, and it is doing whatever it does in the background. Or failing to do it, and making that sound.

I think if that was the problem, then Skyrim/Fallout would have the same issues. This has to be something in Oblivion itself.

Does it happen with both Alt keys? It might just be that you mapped the wrong one, and it's failing to recognise the combo.

I haven't installed anything new and it happens only with left alt, the right one works fine. I tested it extensively once again in every game and this issue only appears in Oblivion.

I'd just re-do the mapping in Oblivion, making sure you set it using the left key (if that's the one you want). I think it treats the two Alt's as different keys, and you can map to just Alt with nothing else.

It doesn't work, and now it gets even more odd - the issue is unique only to Oberon's save files. I started a new character just to test it, and there's no "ding" sound when I press Alt.

I'll try and reinstall Oblivion tomorrow, see if the issue persists, in any case I'm glad this bug occurred after I finished Oberon's game.

Wow, that is weird

I would have thought it was a Windows thing (like when you rapidly press I think SHIFT five times) but apparently that´s not it.

I hope you can figure out what it is

My best explanation so far is that this annoying ding sound is a late-appearing bug of some mod. It could be related to the Druid Mod which I have enabled in Oberon's game since Day 1 though he never really used any of its features.

However, one of this mod's features is that it allows shapeshifting to some extent and I found a lone comment on Nexus, saying that this mod permanently caused his shift button (in his case he used shift for running) to let out the ding sound and it also appeared some time after it was installed and didn't go away even when uninstalled. I contacted this guy but since the post is a few years old, maybe I won't get the reply.

The good news is that the bug is gone on all new test characters which I started with various mod combinations.

Well, then. Sounds like that mod is to blame