Microsoft accidentally replaced Windows Vista startup sound with Windows 11

The recent releases of Windows 11 Dev and Beta builds have brought some welcome changes and improvements. However, these previews are often imperfect and contain quite a few bugs. For example, a recent case has been discovered: Windows 11's default startup sound has been accidentally replaced with a sound from 2006 from Windows Vista.

After Windows Insiders (a community of Windows testers) discovered that Windows 11 now plays the Windows Vista startup sound and reported it to Microsoft, the company acknowledged the issue and added it to the list of known bugs in the latest Dev and Beta builds:

"This week's build brings a nice touch of nostalgia and will play the Windows Vista startup sound instead of the Windows 11 startup sound. We're working on a fix for this."

Windows Vista, which has been around for nearly two decades, has suddenly been in the spotlight again after Apple released macOS 26 Tahoe with the controversial "Liquid Glass" design - which many considered a rather "bad" remix of Windows Aero from the Windows Vista and Windows 7 era.

While this is certainly an interesting coincidence, Microsoft did not intentionally change the startup sound in Windows 11 preview builds. Brandon LeBlanc, an engineer in charge of the Windows Insider development team, confirmed on X (Twitter) that this was simply a rare occurrence.

It looks like we accidentally re-enabled the Windows Vista startup sound in the latest build. This is a bug and we're working on a fix. 
(Translated from Brandon LeBlanc's original tweet)

The cool thing is that you can absolutely use the Windows Vista startup sound on modern versions of Windows if you want. All it takes is the original WAV file and a few clicks in the Windows Registry and Sound settings.

Which startup sound do you prefer: Windows Vista or Windows 11? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Micah Soto

Update 16 June 2025