Update on Ability to Mute the Windows Vista Start-up Sound
We heard you loud and clear when it came to discussing our plans to include a default start-up sound that plays as you boot-up Windows Vista: you said you wanted to have the opportunity to mute it if and when you felt it necessary. Your collective voice truly made a difference in this matter, as we've incorporated a way for users to turn off the start-up sound when it's more appropriate to boot silently -- be it when you're mobile, at home or in the office.
Here's a shot of the control panel that will allow you to enable/disable the start-up sound:
Comments
Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://microsoft.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2006/09/25/yes-you-can-mute-the-vista-start-up-sound/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://larchoye.com/2006/10/04/vista-notes-sysadmin-coding-etc/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://blog.appelgren.org/2006/09/25/no-more-vista-startup-chime/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://beta.amanzi.co.nz/2006/09/23/new-vista-build-released/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://dreimanis.wordpress.com/2006/09/25/nebus-troksnisa/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://www.tipsdr.com/?p=383Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Everyone loves the Windows Vista startup sound, right?  Well, if you are in the hate camp, the latest...Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Over the weekend we released an interim build of Windows Vista, also known as an EDW, or External Developer...Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/2006/09/22/microsoft-listens-startup-sound-optional-in-windows-vista/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://www.triskele.com/actuary/2006/09/24/common-sense-prevails-on-vista-startup-sound/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://www.mstechtoday.com/2006/09/22/mute-the-windows-vista-start-sound/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Originally meant to be analogous to the non-mutable Mac bios chime. The startup sound is now Optional! ...Anonymous
January 01, 2003
The Windows Vista team has listened to the community (read my previous post on this) and included the option to mute the startup sound of Windows Vista. And also there are a new build (post RC1) out f...Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://news.naikmichel.com/2006/09/23/microsoft-listens-startup-sound-optional-in-windows-vista/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://kevindevin.com/?p=2361Anonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://www.pcdoctor-guide.com/wordpress/?p=3468Anonymous
January 01, 2003
See - your feedback does work!
Over the last few weeks, it's been flying round the web that we were...Anonymous
January 01, 2003
The comment has been removedAnonymous
January 01, 2003
PingBack from http://www.blueboxsystem.com/?p=1203Anonymous
September 23, 2006
Thank you very much! :)Anonymous
September 23, 2006
So, why is the startup sound hardwired? Why doesn't Vista allows you to change it as you where able in previous versions?Anonymous
September 23, 2006
How about making this as simple as the mac - the startup sound is as loud as the system volume before restarting. So if I mute my Mac and shut it down, when it starts up next, there's no sound. Simple. :)Anonymous
September 23, 2006
I'm downloading now from Connect !
Is that made by Robert Fripp ?Anonymous
September 23, 2006
The comment has been removedAnonymous
September 23, 2006
nicktaylor said: "How about making this as simple as the mac - the startup sound is as loud as the system volume before restarting. So if I mute my Mac and shut it down, when it starts up next, there's no sound. Simple. :) "
Hey NickTaylor: Even before this change, the 'mac' behavior you just described is exactly what happens in Windows Vista. This sound (and all sounds coming from Windows and applications) is 100% mutable and controlled by the default device volume slider setting that is adjustable in the Windows Volume Control.
If you mute or turn down your device volume in the systray Volume Control or in the new Volume Mixer, this sound respects that setting. Even better, unlike all Windows XP sounds, the new Windows Vista Startup sound is authored at a 'comfortable' level, so that if you set your device volume so that the new Startup sound plays comfortably, the rest of your sounds will also be 'comfortable.'
This new checkbox simply gives users the ability to mute only the pre-logon Windows Vista Startup sound.
-Steve
* * *Anonymous
September 23, 2006
One other note for those who may still be thinking that the sound experience in Windows Vista is different than XP:
You can still have exactly the same, 100% customizable sound experience that you have today in XP.
You can set the "Windows Logon' event sound to be whatever WAV file you wish, this effectively replaces what used to be the XP Startup sound (which always played post-logon before you land on the desktop.)
If you still want your own 'custom' post-logon 'startup' sound, this "Windows Logon" event provides just that: it plays just before you land on the desktop.
In addition to adding this checkbox, we will also be removing the actual 'Start Windows' event from the Sounds tab listbox to avoid confusion. And, we're now officially calling the new Windows Vista pre-logon sound the "Windows Startup" sound.
What was previously the XP 'Start Windows' sound is now simply the 'Windows Logon' sound and event (and this is 100% customizable.)
With this, for all practical purposes, the Windows Vista sound UX is 100% parallel to XP. If you want 'no sound' simply uncheck the checkbox and select the "No Sounds" scheme - done!
There are many complicated gory details about why we implemented this the way we did (checkbox, vs using existing event, etc.) that I'll gladly share if anyone wishes to go deeper.
* * *Anonymous
September 24, 2006
Good choice to include this option, it gives the control back to the user. Do you have any idea when the real Windows Vista startup sound (the one channel9 was referring to) will be included? Last-minute for RTM?
And what about the black titlebar when a window is maximized :). I know why you like it black (weird CRT reasons, "transparency is useless when maximized"). Just turning off transparecy when maximized, would look a lot better IMO.Anonymous
September 25, 2006
Indeed a very appreciable feature added to the list of excellence. There could be another chance for us to rejoice if the shut down sound could also be equipped with a similar power to mute itself or better still if an independent sound control option is added for both the shutdown and the start-up sounds it could really make the whole idea sparkle.Anonymous
September 25, 2006
Good now do something regarding the Backspace key and the Up one level functionality. Breadcrumb bar is only for mouse users what about keyboards?Anonymous
September 25, 2006
Muhannad, you've always had the ability to mute the shutdown sound (even in previous versions of Windows).
In Vista, right-click the volume icon in the notification area, click Sounds. Scroll down the list of sound events until you come to "Exit Windows". Change the sound for that event to "[None]". There's also a sound event for logoff in case you also want to disable that. It's event is called "Windows Logoff".
someone, use Alt+Up Arrow to go up one level using the keyboard. Backspace just traverses backwards in the navigation history as it does in IE.Anonymous
September 25, 2006
To Steve Ball and the Windows audio team:
THANK YOU!
Being able to easily disable the startup sound is music to my ears ;)