An iconic part of Windows has been removed from Windows 11. Earlier this summer, a peculiar bug caused the Windows Vista boot chime to play when starting Windows 11.
The bug only appeared for Windows Insiders and surprised many when it was first discovered.
While Vista was considered a poor version of Windows by many, its startup chime was well-received and stuck around for Windows 7.
As far as I'm aware, Microsoft never admitted the Vista sound being added for Insiders was intentional — at least not outright. The timing was certainly interesting, given that Apple had just released its Vista-esque Aero Liquid Glass.
"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. We’re working on a fix," said Microsoft in June.
It took a few months, but Microsoft's engineers finally managed to squash the bug. The tech giant maintained it was a bug rather than a move done to troll Apple.
Latest Windows 11 preview build has a fun bug that restores Windows Vista's iconic boot up sound. A surprise blast from the past lol pic.twitter.com/YeAeHAiyL5June 16, 2025
The release notes for Windows 11 Build 27913 states Microsoft "Fixed an issue where the Windows Vista boot sound was unexpectedly being used instead of the Windows 11 boot sound."
I'm sure the Windows team lost sleep over the summer spending countless hours figuring out how to restore the appropriate chime.
A brief history of Windows startup sounds
The little jingles that play when booting a PC last at most a few seconds, but they have a surprisingly rich history.
Startup sounds first graced Microsoft's operating systems with Windows 3.1. They continued as a constant presence until the launch of Windows 8, which famously lacked a jingle.
Those booting up their PCs were stuck with the sound of silence for years, but Microsoft ultimately decided to create a startup sound for Windows 11. The company was so excited that it released a slo-fi remix of all Windows startup sounds from throughout history.
Jensen Harris, the previous Director of Program Management for the Windows User Experience team, has dropped Windows startup sound lore over the years. One video explains why Windows stopped having them.
Harris also shared the jingle that was created for Windows 8 but never used. A slight variation of that sound was also made for Surface PCs. Files of both jingles are available, thanks to Harris.
