Windows 11 was unveiled by Microsoft in June 2021 and released that October as the successor to Windows 10, bringing back a startup sound after Windows 10 had none by default. Its calm, ambient chime became part of the operating system's identity and was quickly clipped and shared online during the launch period. Because the sound is so closely tied to turning on a PC, creators kept reusing it outside Windows itself as shorthand for booting up, restarting, or a system coming back to life.