Microsoft released Windows Millennium Edition in 2000 as a home-focused successor to Windows 98, and its startup sound became part of the daily routine for millions of PC users at the time. As those machines were replaced, the jingle survived through retro computing videos, nostalgia compilations and soundboard collections shared online. It remains popular because it instantly signals the early 2000s era of home computing, before modern silent logins and streamlined interfaces. Creators now use it as a shorthand for old technology, Y2K culture and childhood memories of family computers.
About this sound
The startup chime from Windows Millennium Edition (ME), played as the system booted up in 2000. Creators use it for retro computer and nostalgia videos.
This is the short startup jingle that greeted Windows Millennium Edition users as their computer finished booting. It opens with a bright, rising synth melody before settling into a warm, polished orchestral flourish that feels optimistic and distinctly late 1990s Microsoft. The tune is clean, upbeat and instantly recognisable to anyone who used a home PC around the turn of the millennium. Hearing it today triggers a rush of nostalgia, recalling dial-up era desktops, chunky monitors and the excitement of a machine finally ready to use. It sounds dated in the best possible way, charming rather than clunky.
