The Windows XP Startup Sound comes from Windows XP, the Microsoft operating system released in 2001 that became one of the most widely used versions of Windows. Its login chime was heard daily in homes, schools and offices throughout the 2000s, so it became deeply tied to early internet culture. As XP was retired, the sound survived online through nostalgia videos, memes and soundboards, where creators reuse it whenever a computer starts, a system reboots, or a joke needs an instantly familiar retro tech cue.