Windows Millennium Edition, usually shortened to Windows ME, was released by Microsoft in 2000 as the home focused successor to Windows 98. Its startup and shutdown sounds were part of the default system sound scheme heard every time users booted or closed down their PCs. Like a classic error sound from the same era, they became embedded in everyday computing culture. As retro operating system videos, emulators and nostalgia edits grew online, the paired chimes were shared as a single clip and reused whenever creators wanted an instantly dated, early 2000s computer moment.