Some Windows 11 Users Are Hearing an 18-Year-Old Startup Noise

Remember your PCs startup noise in the late noughties? Some Windows 11 users have been treated to a blast from the past with a bug accidentally switching the modern sound effect to the Windows Vista chime.

As spotted by The Verge, some users of the latest Insider Preview Build for Windows 11 are finding the sound effect is automatically added when restarting their computer.

Those with preview build 26200.5651 installed need to have restarted their PC since Friday, June 13, to have heard the noise. Some users began to report the change over the weekend, and Microsoft has now acknowledged it without explaining why it’s happening.

In a new line within the release notes for the software, Microsoft confirmed this was a bug rather than an intentional easter egg. Microsoft said, “This week’s flight comes with a delightful blast from the past and will play the Windows Vista boot sound instead of the Windows 11 boot sound.”

This isn’t going to stick around for long as Microsoft has confirmed it’s currently working on a fix. Exactly how this noise was readded is unclear. Some Microsoft employees have joked that they readded the sound effect, but they’ve since confirmed that’s not true, so we’re no closer to knowing why it has returned.

Rather than installing the software yourself to hear the old chime, you can watch the video above from The Verge’s Tom Warren. The clip shows you how it looks and sounds on a modern laptop.

Last week, after the launch of Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language for macOS Tahoe 26 and its other software, some fans noticed the look is remarkably similar to Windows Vista. For a piece of software approaching its twentieth anniversary, Windows Vista is having a bigger impact on the tech community right now than it has done for many years.

About James Peckham

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I’ve written tech news for over a decade, and as a Reporter at PCMag, I cover the latest developments across the gadgets and services you use every day. Previously, I worked for Android Police, TechRadar, and more.

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