Why Windows 10’s Startup sound is disabled by default

Presumably, many users still remember the boot prompts of Windows XP and Windows 7, but the boot prompts in Windows 10 have disappeared.

To be precise, the power-on prompt sound does not disappear but is disabled by Microsoft by default. If the user needs it, the power-on prompt sound can still be restored through the sound setting.

So why did Microsoft disable the boot sound by default after it has been used for many years? The former head of Microsoft’s user experience team who decided to disable the beep revealed the reason.

The boot sound can be used to remind the user that the computer has started successfully, of course, for most users, whether there is this sound may not affect the actual use.

However, when serving as Director of Program Management for Windows User Experience, Jensen Harris decided to disable the power-on prompt because the way modern computers work has changed.

What is different from the past is that modern computers can be used anytime and anywhere, such as using computers for online courses and using computers for meetings in conference rooms.

During these processes, no matter whether the user is turning on the system or restarting the system, there may be interference with the sound, so there is no need for the boot prompt sound to continue to exist.

Earlier, some media said that when Jensen Harris started to work in the middle of the night, the start-up sound would wake up the sleeping baby and found this situation a little embarrassing.

Therefore, in order to avoid the user’s possible interference due to the power-on prompt sound during use, it is a very wise decision to disable the power-on prompt sound by default.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Microsoft only disables the boot prompt by default instead of deleting it completely, so users can restore the prompt if necessary.