How do I get the beeping to stop when playing in the Timeline?

Question

This is probably one of the most elementary questions, but for some reason I can't seem to figure out - or find in the documentation - how to get FCE to stop beeping when I play something assembled in the timeline.
In other programs I've tried (Adobe Premiere Pro for example), you hit the space bar and it plays - with audio in-tact and in sync. Here, I hear a steady beep.
Doing some research, I found that this might have something to do with unrendered audio; the problem is, every time I try to render audio with this program, as soon as it finishes it locks up BEFORE the audio file is written to the disc. And I've let it sit for over five hours - nothing.
Any help anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Quad 2.5 GHz PowerPC G5   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

Answer 1

Thanks for the reply Max. The original video came from a DVD which I ripped via HandBrake. I then, after three days of googling and finally getting an answer from some one on this forum, re-exported the resulting MPEG4 into a DV format file through MPEG Streamclip.
After reading that it needs to be in 48k format, I re-exported from MPEG Streamclip and this time, hit the option for "Resample to 48k". I brought it back into FCE and put it on the timeline, but still needed to render.
This time, I watched the folder the render sequence file went into. As soon as it finished, the render file DISSAPEARED. I'm assuming it was moved or deleted but I don't know where it could have been moved to.
Trying to use anything in the FCE interface now results in the application locking up. I can't exit it or use it at all - it's force quit or let it sit (which as I said, I've let it sit for 5+ hours earlier).
Prior to starting that render, I set the permissions on the folder ~/Documents/Final Cut Express Documents/ to read and write using Finder and applied it recursively (to all sub-folders). So there aren't any permissions problems.
Honestly, I want my money back for this program. This is unacceptable. Any Apple technicians want to give a crack at this?