Windows 3.0 arrived in 1990 as Microsoft's graphical operating system for PCs, and its Multimedia Extensions version added support for sound cards, CD-ROM drives and video playback. The startup chime was part of that new multimedia identity, signalling a machine ready for audio and games rather than just text. Shared online by retro computing fans, the short sound has survived as a sample for nostalgia edits, tech history videos and memes about old computers, long after the software itself stopped being used.