Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001, and its short startup chime played every time the system finished booting, becoming one of the most familiar sounds of home computing in the early 2000s. As XP machines aged and were replaced, the sound survived online through nostalgia videos, retro tech compilations and meme edits that used it as shorthand for an older, slower internet era. It remains popular because it is instantly recognisable, brief enough to drop into a joke, and tied to a shared memory of first family computers.
About this sound
The classic Windows XP startup sound, the short orchestral chime heard when the operating system loaded. Creators use it for nostalgia and retro tech edits.
This is the brief, rising chime that greeted users when Windows XP finished loading, a smooth orchestral flourish that builds gently before resolving in a warm, hopeful tone. It lasts only a few seconds, but its soft strings and clear, bell-like melody make it instantly recognisable even to people who never used the system. Hearing it tends to trigger a wave of early-2000s nostalgia, recalling dial-up days, chunky desktop monitors and after-school computer time, which is why it still lands so well as a punchline or a sentimental beat in short videos.
