Those who sign up for the Windows Insider program know what to expect: you get first dibs on the platform's new and interesting features, and in return, you enlist in the volunteer ranks of Microsoft's bug reporting beta army.
However, few would anticipate the kind of bug found in the latest Preview Build 26200.5651 of the Windows 11 Beta and Dev channels .
It's not disruptive, it doesn't cause any frustrating software gremlins, and neither is it particularly annoying to deal with — but it does, inexplicably, drop an 18-year-old platform relic into the Windows experience, welcoming users to their desktops with the iconic, long-retired chimes of Windows Vista/7.
While this bug would typically be seen as nothing more than your average post-update blunder, given the timing, I'm convinced it has a lot more to do with Apple's recently announced operating system makeover for iOS 26 and macOS 26 than Microsoft is willing to admit.
Hasta la Vista, baby (again)
One eagle-eyed (or eared) Windows Insider brought attention to the bug in a post to X on Friday, even tracking down its cause to the imageres.dll.mun resource file, where Windows 11's typical startup sounds had been overwritten.
In its place? The ethereal startup chimes of Window Vista (which you can preview below) — a certified classic for those with fond memories of running Windows circa 2007, and a surprising shot of nostalgia that harkens back to an era of computing that didn't require a Copilot, when the Start Menu knew its place, and a world in which Microsoft had yet to dream up the Lovecraftian horrors of Windows 8.
Microsoft's Senior Program Manager of the Windows Insider Program Team, Brandon LeBlanc, was first to acknowledge to bug on X, highlighting it as a now known issue, while also joking that it was an intentional tweak to give folks a much-needed "blast from the past."
And while LeBlanc was quick to double down on confirming the out-of-place tones as an actual bug, many a truth is also said in jest, and the timing of this so-called bug lines up almost too well with a sudden spike in interest surrounding Windows Vista following the reveal of Apple's new Liquid Glass visual overhaul at WWDC 2025 — a design that those with working eyes say borrows heavily from Vista's Aero theme.
What's next
Could the revival of Windows Vista's iconic startup sound have originally been an off-the-cuff Easter egg for those drawing parallels to Apple's new Liquid Glass design language, intended for a short stay at startup for Windows Insiders before quietly returning to the Windows graveyard?
Absolutely. It's not like Microsoft hasn't taken a few shots at Apple already, with a recent Instagram post showcasing the brand's willingness to join in on ribbing its rival over claims of Aero inspiration.
However, if it is the truth, Windows Insider lead Brandon LeBlanc isn't fessing. Instead, the patch notes for Preview Build 26200.5651 have been updated to include the lighthearted: "This week’s flight comes with a delightful blast from the past and will play the Windows Vista boot sound instead of the Windows 11 boot sound. We’re working on a fix."
Sadly, LeBlanc and his team will be looking to get Windows 11 back to its regular and far less iconic xylophone-like introduction as soon as possible.
Boo.
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