Windows 95 was released by Microsoft in 1995, and its system sounds quickly became familiar to millions of people using personal computers at home, school, and work. The shutdown chime, with its short rising flourish, marked the end of a session in an era when turning off a computer was a deliberate moment rather than an instant one. As those machines were replaced, the sound lived on in nostalgia videos, retro gaming content, and online soundboards, where it now works as a shorthand for endings, old technology, and 1990s computing culture.
Über diesen Sound
The classic Windows 95 shutdown jingle, a short triumphant chime that plays when the system powers down. Creators use it to end videos and retro jokes.
This is the short, bright shutdown chime from Windows 95, lasting just over a second and built around a rising, triumphant musical flourish that sounds like a tiny fanfare. It begins softly, swells quickly, and lands on a warm, satisfying final note, giving the listener the feeling that a task has been completed cleanly and the computer is signing off in style. In videos, that instant sense of closure makes it perfect for punchlines, exits, and endings, because audiences who grew up with older PCs recognise it immediately and associate it with powering down, finishing work, and a wave of light, playful nostalgia.
