Tutorial for Windows 11 Home (without using Group Policy Editor)

If you have Windows 11 Home (like i do), you do not have Group Policy Editor enabled by default. You will either have to go thru a long way to enable the gpedit.msc command we used here or follow this tutorial that does not require Group Policy Editor.

Set Everything Up

If you want a custom Windows start up sound, you need to first download your desired sound in a .wav format. I recommend changing the title of it as well so it looks like this: StartupSound.wav. This will come in handy, because the majority of the codes here feature this title. If your file is in a different format, you can easily find online converters that can do that for you. I've been using Convertio for quite a long time.

It would be best if you already have File name extensions enabled (this means that you are able to see all file extensions like .exe, .mp3, .html etc.). If it's not enabled, it's pretty easy to enable it. Follow this pattern: File explorer --> View --> Show --> File name extensions.

Step 1: Create a script

Open the File explorer and create a folder titled "Media" in C:\ Drive ("This PC"). This folder will hold all the needed files in the future. Drag & Drop the .wav file you wish to use into this folder.

Open the Start Menu, type PowerShell ISE and run it as Administrator. In PowerShell ISE, choose File --> New and paste this code:

powershell.exe -c (New-Object Media.SoundPlayer 'C:\Media\StartupSound.wav').PlaySync();

From the File menu, click Run (or F5) to make sure that the sound plays correctly. Save the file as StartupSound.ps1 in the C:\Media directory.

Step 2: Create a .BAT file

Open the Start Menu, type "notepad" in the search bar and click Open (or just open the Notepad app). Paste this code:

PowerShell -Command "Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted" >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1 
PowerShell "C:\Media\StartupSound.ps1" >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1

Save this file in a .bat format, name it StartupSound.bat and save in the C:\Media directory. Close Notepad, go to C:\Media and run StartupSound.bat as Administrator. It should play your custom sound automatically. If the file doesn't play, check if you did everything correctly.

Step 3: Copy Shortcut

Right-click on the Start Menu and select Run (or use Win+R key combination) and paste this code:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\

Select OK or press Enter. this will open a File explorer window.

Open another File explorer window and navigate to C:\Media directory. Right-click on the StartupSound.bat and select Copy (or click on the .bat file and use Ctrl+C). Go to the previous File explorer window (the empty one), right-click and choose "Show more options". Select "Paste shortcut".

Right-click the pasted shortcut and select "Properties" (or use Alt+Enter). Locate Run, navigate to the drop-down ("Normal window" is set as default) and select "Minimized". Select Apply and OK.

If the default startup sound still plays alongside your custom sound, here's a quick tip on how to disable it:

Open Start menu, type "change system sounds" in the search bar and click open. In the Sound dialog, uncheck "Play Windows Startup Sound", click Apply and OK.

Restart your Windows and enjoy your new custom Startup sound :)

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