When you turn on your computer, you hear a startup sound indicating that Windows has started. While this is an important feature, it does not mean that you will find it useful. Maybe you find it annoying, or maybe you just want a distraction-free workspace. Whatever the case, you can easily disable it.
So if you’re someone who prefers a quiet environment or just doesn’t want to hear the startup sound anymore, this article is for you. This guide will show you different methods to disable startup sound in Windows 11. So let’s take a close look at each of them.
How to disable startup sound in Windows 11
If you’re not a fan of the startup sound in Windows 11, you can disable it via Windows Settings, Group Policy Editor, or Registry Editor. Here is a detailed explanation of each of them.
How to disable startup sound via settings
The easiest way to disable your computer’s startup sound is through Settings. We have covered how to do this in our article on how to disable the startup sound in Windows 10 and 11.
Once you have made the changes in the above article, restart your computer. You should no longer hear a startup sound.
If you want to re-enable the startup sound, open System Settings. Then navigate to Personalization > Themes > Sounds.
On the Sounds tab, select the check box next to Play Windows startup soundthen click on the okay button to save changes.
How to disable startup sound using local group policy editor
The Local Group Policy Editor is a very useful tool for troubleshooting system issues and configuring system settings. If you find that the startup sound irritates you or you just don’t need it, you can disable it using this tool.
The only problem is that Windows Home Edition doesn’t come with Local Group Policy by default. For this scenario, you must first enable Group Policy Editor in Windows Home, and then follow the steps below. If that seems too complicated, you can skip it and go straight to the next solution.
- press the Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type “gpedit.msc” in the text field and press Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
- Once you are in the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to the following:
Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon - Select the Log in folder from the left pane, then double-click the Disable Windows startup sound on the right.
- In the dialog box that appears, select the Activated radio button.
- now click Apply Y okay to save your changes.
Once you’ve completed the steps above, restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Now when your computer restarts, you won’t hear any startup sounds.
If you ever want to enable the startup sound, open the Local Group Policy Editor again and set Disable Windows startup sound radio button disabled. Be sure to click on the okay once you have made the changes.
How to disable startup sound using Registry Editor
You can also disable the startup sound using Registry Editor. However, if you edit the wrong keys, it might damage your device. Therefore, it is recommended that you back up your Windows registry before making any changes.
The following guide will walk you through the process of disabling startup sound in Windows 11 with this tool.
- Use the Windows + R to open the Run Command dialog box.
- In the text field, type regedit and click okay continue.
- When UAC appears on the screen, click on the Yes button to confirm your action.
- Once you open the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\BootAnimation - From there you will see Disable startup sound in the right panel.
- If you don’t find it there, you’ll have to create it. To do this, right-click in the blank area and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Give it the name “DisableStartupSound” and then press Enter to save it.
- Now double click on the newly created DWORD key.
- In the popup, set the value data to 0 and choose hexadecimal as the base
- To save your changes, click okay.
Once you’ve made the above changes, close the Registry window and restart your computer. The next time you boot, you won’t hear the startup sound.
You can enable startup sound at any time if you need. To do this, you need to open the Registry Editor and right-click on the Disable startup sound wrench. Choose Modify from the context menu and set Value Data to 1. After selecting Hexadecimal as your base, click okay to save your changes.
Why not set a custom startup sound?
If you’re disabling the Windows startup sound because you find it annoying, why not replace it with a custom sound? That way, you’ll hear the sound of your choice when you start your PC, instead of the jingle that Microsoft puts there by default.
If you are interested, we have an article on how to change the default startup sound in Windows 10 that will help you achieve this. And our guide on how to change sounds in Windows 11 will help if you use that operating system instead.
Disable Windows 11 startup sound
If you want to disable the startup sound in Windows 11, you can do so via Windows Settings, Group Policy, or Registry Editor, as explained in this article. By doing so, you will be able to prevent the sound from playing every time you start your computer.
