Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 were successive Microsoft operating systems that powered home and office computers through the 2000s and early 2010s, and their startup sounds became part of everyday computing. Short clips of those chimes later circulated as memes and soundboard favourites because listeners recognised them instantly, even without seeing a screen. Creators now reuse the combined sound as shorthand for an older era of personal computing, a time of chunky monitors, desktop icons and waiting for a machine to wake up.