How to Change the Startup Sound in Windows 11 & 10
It’s easy to change system sounds in Windows 11 or pick different sounds in Windows 10 because Microsoft provides a tool built right into the OS. Changing the startup sound is a different thing entirely. Fortunately, however, since we know where the Windows startup sound file is located, we can replace it with a different file that we’d rather use instead. To make this change, we’ll use a free program and some simple Command Prompt commands (via Advanced Startup Options).
How to Turn the Windows Startup Sound on or Off
Windows might not make it easy to change the startup sound, but it certainly doesn’t complicate turning it on and off. There’s actually a toggle you can switch off to disable the sound, or switch on to hear the startup sound. There are two versions of this tool on the download page. Choose the EXE link for a quicker installation. If you’re using Windows 10, and it’s not updated to v1903 or newer, choose this file instead: To use one of the audio files that comes with Windows, look in this folder: If you see a prompt about saving your work, take note of what it says, and select Restart now. Change the working path to the C drive: Change the working path to the SystemResources folder: Rename the original MUN file so Windows ignores it: Get a list of all the users on your computer: Find your username from the list, and then enter this (replace jonfi with your username) to change the working path to your Desktop folder: If the command completed successfully, you’ll see the message 1 file(s) copied. If you don’t hear it, keep reading. The startup sound might just be disabled.
How to Restore the Original Windows Startup Sound
There are a few ways to do this. The first method is a reversal of the process described above. To restore the default startup sound, use the del command to remove the edited MUN file you put in the SystemResources folder, and then rename the backup file so Windows will read from it again, and thus play the original WAV file. After you get the Command Prompt open from the ASO menu (see the steps above for help), and you enter C: to focus on the local drive, enter these commands: If you’d rather not go that route, run the sfc /scannow command to attempt to restore the default imageres file. Some users have noted that updating Windows to a new build might break the edit, too.
Changing Other Startup Sounds
Windows also lets you change the startup sound for other parts of your PC. Unlike the Windows startup sound, which plays when you first land on the lock screen when the computer boots up, there are a few other times you can have a sound file triggered. From the Sound tool are options like Start Navigation and Open Program. If you choose the latter, for example, you can make Windows play a startup sound each time a program starts. To do this, check out our How to Change Windows 11 System Sounds article. You can also edit the sound that plays when you log on to Windows, meaning after you type your password and the Desktop first appears. To do that, follow the guide linked above to learn where to go in Control Panel to access the sound editor; you’re looking for Windows Logon. This is much easier to do in older Windows versions, but still very possible in Windows 11 & 10, though only after a registry edit. To see the logon sound option in the Sound tool in these Windows versions, find this entry in Registry Editor and change the value from 1 to 0:
