Why did Microsoft remove the Windows startup sound?

Jensen Harris, former Director of Program Management for the Windows User Experience team, explains why Microsoft decided to remove the Windows startup sound.

If you are a longtime Windows user, you will surely remember that every time you start the operating system, the space is not always as quiet as it is now.

All older versions of Windows came with a sound every time the operating system was started. For desktop computers, the more special this sound is, the more likely it is that the machine is ready to go.

Recent versions of Windows no longer have the startup sound. This was well received by everyone, but Microsoft never gave a reason to remove the sound.

In a recent video, Jensen Harris, former Director of Program Management for the Windows User Experience team, provides more details on the startup sound and reveals why Microsoft decided to kill it off. .

Why did Microsoft remove the Windows startup sound? Picture 1 Why did Microsoft remove the Windows startup sound? Picture 1

Harris said the reason he thought the sound should be removed was because he couldn't use the computer one night because he was afraid the noise would affect his newborn baby, who was sleeping in the same room.

'I had an experience around this time with my MacBook Pro. Late at night, it was my turn to get up in the middle of the night with my baby. I really want to start the laptop, but I'm not sure if I've turned the volume down or not. I realized that my chances were 50 – 50 when I turned on the machine. The start-up sound can wake up my wife and sleeping child, I have no way of controlling it' - Harris shared.

He then chose to close the laptop rather than risk opening it. At that point, Harris understood that the start-up sound device was a really bad feature when it was designed to be used in private and intimate spaces with people at any time of the day. night or day.

"So I asked my team to remove the startup sound from Windows 8," he shared.

Harris said that, after that, he began to regret removing the sound from the operating system, adding that his team was working on bringing it back. However, the Windows Fundamentals team was tasked with optimizing the operating system's boot time, the boot speed should be faster, so the sound was removed forever.