Microsoft introduced Windows XP in 2001, and its short startup chime became one of the most recognisable computer sounds of the decade. It played millions of times a day as home and school PCs booted up, and it quickly became shorthand for the early internet era. As XP remained in use for many years, the melody stayed familiar long after newer systems replaced it. Today it survives in nostalgia edits, retro computing videos and memes, where a few seconds of the chime immediately place a scene in the 2000s.
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The classic Windows XP startup chime from Microsoft's 2001 operating system, used in nostalgic edits, retro tech videos and memes about old computers.
This is the short four-note startup melody that played when Windows XP finished loading, a bright, rising chime built from soft synthesised tones with a warm, slightly orchestral feel. It begins quietly, lifts through a clear arpeggio and resolves with a gentle, hopeful finish that lasts just a few seconds. For many listeners it instantly recalls dial-up-era desktops, school computer labs and family PCs, creating a rush of nostalgia before a video has even begun. Creators use it to signal the start of something, to date a scene to the early 2000s, or to turn an ordinary moment into a fond throwback.
