Summary
- Windows 11’s recent test builds are unexpectedly playing the Windows Vista startup sound.
- The bug had been fixed in Dev and Beta builds, but reappeared in the Canary branch.
- Microsoft has explained that the fix did not make it to the Canary build, and a patch is on its way.
It seems that Apple’s announcement of the Vista-like Liquid Glass UI has stirred up a spectre of some sort. A month ago, we saw a really weird issue where Windows 11’s test builds started playing Vista’s startup sound. While it’s easy to assume it was a joke from Microsoft related to Apple’s new announcement, it quickly became apparent that this was a legitimate bug. Windows 11 somehow managed to fetch a startup sound from decades past.
Microsoft managed to fix this weird bug, but in the newest Canary builds, Vista has once again reappeared and changed the startup sound. Fortunately, there’s no need to call the Ghostbusters just yet, as Microsoft has explained why, exactly, the Windows Vista bug has returned once more.
Related
Microsoft gives a sassy reminder to Apple that Vista had “Liquid Design” almost 20 years ago
Let’s hope it’s the only design element that lives on from Vista.
The Windows Vista startup sound continues to lurk within Windows 11
As spotted by XenoPanther on X, the Windows Vista noise has made a return in Windows 11’s Canary branch. It’s a little weird, given how the Dev and Beta builds got a fix for this weird bug, and the Canary build is usually the one that gets all the latest updates and patches first.
So, what’s going on here? Is this a case of Windows Vista taking revenge for Microsoft trying to silence it? Well, not quite. Turns out that, while the Windows Vista startup fix managed to deploy on both the Dev and Beta builds, it didn’t quite make it over to the Canary branch. As such, Canary users get to experience this weird bug for themselves, albeit they should expect a patch very soon to fix it once more.
I have no idea how the Windows Vista startup sound managed to sneak into Windows 11’s settings in the first place, but it’s a pretty funny bug given the current talk about Apple’s Liquid Glass UI and how it’s very similar to what Microsoft achieved years ago. And if this has given you a dose of nostalgia for older Windows systems, check out our pieces on whether Windows Vista really was as awful as we remember and our video on why Windows Vista is the most hated version of the operating system even today. Because while the operating system definitely looked the part, there were some changes introduced that people really did not like, especially given how Vista had to carry the torch from the legendary Windows XP.