how would one change the boot up sound on windows 11?

Hi

Welcome to Microsoft community.

Changing the startup sound in Windows 11 involves modifying system files and the Windows Registry. Here's how you can do it:

1. Replace the Windows Startup Sound File
   • The startup sound is located in the  C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll  file. You'll need to take ownership of this file first in order to modify it.
   • First, make a backup copy of the  imageres.dll  file.
   • Use a resource editor program like Resource Hacker to open the file.
   • The startup sound is located under  WAVE -> 5080 . Replace it with the sound file you want. The sound file must be in .wav format.
   • Save the modified  imageres.dll  file and replace the original file with it.
2. Enable the Startup Sound in Windows Registry
   • Press  Win + R type  regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
   • Navigate to  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\EventLabels\WindowsLogon
   • On the right pane, double-click on  ExcludeFromCPL  and change its value to  0
   • Close the Registry Editor.
3. Enable the Startup Sound in Sound Settings
   • Right-click on the sound icon in the taskbar and select  Sounds
   • In the  Sound  window, check  Play Windows Startup sound
   • Click  Apply  and then  OK

After these steps, you should hear the new startup sound when you boot up your computer. If you don't hear it, make sure your sound drivers are up to date, and your speakers are working correctly.

Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support to view the article. 

Best regards

Derrick Qian | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Looks like changes have been made. For step 1, the file you need to edit is now C:\Windows\SystemResources\imageres.dll.mun

Can option 2 be inverted to disable startup sound? I can not get it to work

In fact all the spam bots are reporting all over google that the way to disable startup sound in windows 11 is specifically the WRONG way to do it like from windows 10. (This is a huge ongoing problem now with many many windows 11 things)

Doesn't work:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" -Name "DisableStartupSound " -Type DWord -Value 1	

Doesn't work

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\BootAnimation

DisableStartupSound

When microsoft changes these things : it is now a complete nightmare because you can't google the answers any more. 1000 secret unknowable registry settings that are constantly changing is NOT the right way to do anything.

And I NEED a way to do this with powershell scripts. Registry entries is the only way it has been for 20+ years now.

Windows 11 is going to be a huge death blow to microsoft if you keep up this insanity of shoving ads into the base operating system, and not let people set the SMALLEST of settings in a reliable way. Companies are going to have to give up on Windows if we cant even INTERNET SEARCH for these fixes anymore.

I have done all of this and even tried to change the imageres.dll.mun file. I was able to use Resource Hacker to change the file but when I click save it says the file can't be changed. I tried making a copy and changing the copy and putting the changed copy into the folder and it denies it. I have tried "taking ownership of the folder" but It only gives full access to the Trustedinstaller and I can't figure out how to change it. I have tried in the Administrator account and still nothing.

Not working, when open file imageres.dll it just have MUI and version info