Overview

• Preview build 26200.5651 introduced the unintended replacement of Windows 11’s boot tone with the classic Vista chime for testers in both Beta and Dev channels.
• Microsoft added the issue to its official release notes on June 16, noting that previews would temporarily play the Vista startup sound.
• Brandon LeBlanc’s initial joke about tweaking sound files gave way to confirmation that the chime swap was accidental.
• Users uncovered that the Vista boot chime was embedded within Windows 11’s imageres.dll file, revealing long-hidden system assets.
• Windows Insider engineers are developing a fix to restore the proper Windows 11 startup sound in upcoming preview updates.