Tutorial for Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise & Education

If you have any of these versions then it will be quick and easy for you, since the command we're gonna be using, gpedit.msc , is available by default in these versions of Windows 11.

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:

$player = New-Object System.Media.SoundPlayer 'C:\Media\StartupSound.wav'
$player.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.

Now we need to add a PowerShell script in the Group Policy Editor so that it runs at startup.

Step 2: Set up the sound

Open the Start Menu, type gpedit in the search bar and click on Edit group policy. (Another way of opening Group Policy Editor would be right-clicking on the Start menu, choosing Run, typing gpedit.msc and clicking Enter or OK)

In the left panel, navigate to Computer Configuration --> Windows Settings --> Scripts (Startup/Shutdown). In the right panel, click once on Startup and choose Properties. In the Startup Properties dialog, select PowerShell Scripts tab. Click on "Add" to open an Add a Script dialog. Here, click "Browse..." and navigate to C:\Media, select StartupSound.ps1 and click Open. Choose "OK" to close the dialog. Do not exit Startup Properties.

In the same Properties window, navigate to the drop-down list ("Not configured" is set as default) and change it to "Run Windows PowerShell scripts first". Click Apply and OK. Now you can close the Group Policy Editor completely :)

Restart your Windows to check if it worked. The StartupSound.ps1 script should run and play the configured start up sound.

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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