The Commodore PET was one of the first personal computers, launched by Commodore in 1977 alongside the era that also produced the Apple II and TRS-80. Its brief power-on chirp became part of the machine's identity for owners, collectors and emulator users who heard it every time the system started. As retro computing grew on video platforms, recordings of vintage boot sounds were shared as nostalgic sound effects. The PET chirp survives because it instantly marks a machine as early home computing, long before modern startup jingles and operating system sounds.
About this sound
The Commodore PET startup chirp is the brief electronic beep played when the 1977 computer powers on, now used for retro tech reveals and boot-up jokes.
The Commodore PET startup chirp is a very short, high electronic beep lasting less than a second, produced when the machine finishes its power-on sequence. It has a clean, square-wave tone that cuts through silence rather than fading in, giving it an instantly recognisable retro computer feel. Despite its brevity it signals that an old system is awake and ready, which makes it effective as a tiny punctuation mark. Placed over a blank screen or a frozen expression, it turns a simple start, reboot or idea into a clear, nostalgic joke about vintage technology coming back to life.
