You've never heard the Windows XP startup music sound like this

Windows XP, aka the operating system that people and corporations just won’t let go of even though they really should, has more to contribute to the world than occasional malware outbreaks. While so far it hasn’t been as celebrated as, say, Windows 95, the OS will never leave popular culture when it’s been everywhere for almost two decades.

That’s probably why “artist, producer and DJ” ROMderful felt the need to do this to its startup music, taking the six-second chime composed by Bill Brown and making it a full R&B song about a girl who should message him. The musician previously paid homage to blue screen errors with his project Press L to Continue, but this one leans more heavily into the PC nostalgia.

And he’s far from the only one inspired by the music. A recent rework of the tune that turned it into a JRPG soundtrack made a viral splash, and across YouTube and Soundcloud, remixes of the chimes are practically their own genre, although this one is a bit more listenable than most attempts.

If you feel like taking a trip back through time, someone helpfully put all of the Windows start up sounds (up through Windows 7) into one video. You can even listen to the Windows XP installation music if you’d like — probably for the first time ever, since the default drivers seemingly never worked during setup.

billbrownmusic · Bill Brown ~ Windows XP (score)