Windows XP was released by Microsoft in 2001 and became one of the most widely used desktop operating systems of its decade. Its logon chime formed part of a small set of system sounds heard daily in homes, offices, and schools, alongside clicks, alerts, and the shutdown melody. As XP was retired and replaced, recordings of its sounds circulated on video platforms and meme edits as shorthand for an older internet era. It remains popular because even listeners who never used XP recognise it instantly as the sound of a computer starting a session.
About this sound
The Windows XP logon sound effect is the classic startup chime from Microsoft's 2001 operating system, used for retro PC scenes and nostalgia edits.
The Windows XP logon sound is a short, gentle melodic chime that played when a user signed in to the computer. A soft synth swell rises through a few bright, rounded notes and settles with a calm, welcoming finish, instantly signalling that the system is ready. For many listeners it triggers immediate nostalgia for early 2000s home computing, school computer labs, and family desktops. Its tone is optimistic rather than dramatic, which is why a brief play can make an otherwise ordinary screen recording feel warm, familiar, and unmistakably retro.
