
Macintosh Startup Sound History [video] - dsego
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7LW_NvSuIk
======
KenanSulayman
When I got a new TouchBar MacBook I was wondering why the sound was muted
from-factory, so I cleared the PRAM ... three or four times ... just to find
myself very saddened by the fact that the chime was removed.

It was always incredibly mesmerising to unwrap a new Mac, boot it and hear
that sound. Like buying a car and listening to the engine powering on the
first time.

~~~
kitsunesoba
Can sounds be played from EFI? It might be possible to create a stub EFI
bootloader that does nothing but play the chime and kick off the normal macOS
boot process.

EDIT: In fact I think Apple may have done something like this in their own EFI
for the startup chime on Intel Macs – compared to PPC Macs, the sound was
always a little delayed and clearly played further into the boot process.

~~~
amyjess
Honestly, as much as the Mac startup sound makes me nostalgic, if I was going
to go to that much effort, I might as well have it play the SGI Indy's
glorious startup sound [0].

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH9saUP2460](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH9saUP2460)

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otterpro
I was reminded of how pleasant the startup beep was on Apple II. The beep was
pleasant, soft, and inviting. On the PC side, most motherboard would emit
harsh shrilling beep, which sounds more like something had gone really bad.

While some would argue that such post-bios/boot beep is not necessary in
modern computers, I disagree, especially on machines that do not have built-in
monitors or on headless system. Sometimes, I am left to wonder if the computer
booted ok. I sometimes have check the monitor/cable/etc... just to see if it
actually turned on.

~~~
Waterluvian
Especially machines without a fan. I've dealt with this often in the robotics
field. Trying to figure out if my darn onboard computer is even running or
not. The LED hidden away in the electronics bay.

------
makecheck
It’s amazing how annoying it is to _not_ have a sound, especially when trying
to restart, etc. You just have to “know” that you hit the button correctly and
wait one or two awkward seconds of black screen for _any_ sign of life. I’m
sure I’ve accidentally power-cycled because I wasn’t sure the thing was
booting. Just a stupid thing to remove, really.

------
joezydeco
Just in case you miss the original Mac128 beep and, just for kicks, wanted to
rewrite it in Javascript? Here you go:

[https://web.archive.org/web/20130302075708/http://blog.parse...](https://web.archive.org/web/20130302075708/http://blog.parse.com:80/2013/02/27/reproducing-
the-macintosh-boot-beep-from-javascript-cloud-code/)

------
general_pizza
There’s a great Welcome to Macintosh podcast episode[1] that interviews Jim
Reekes about this history, highly recommend it. Fun fact, in addition to the
iconic startup sound Jim is also responsible for the camera shutter sound on
iPhones.

[1]
[https://www.macintosh.fm/episodes/13](https://www.macintosh.fm/episodes/13)

------
athenot
There's also another sound that macs would make, in case the initial
diagnostic tests came back negative, to go with the "Sad Mac" screen. My
favorite is still the NuBus Power Mac one (car crash sound).

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTwmtvrdJlQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTwmtvrdJlQ)

~~~
gdavisson
Much more appropriate than the Mac II crash sound -- that was a happy arpeggio
that completely failed to convey the message that something had gone wrong.

------
netsharc
I remember finding a Filemaker database file online which contained the specs
of every model Mac, including the startup sound the model made, I found it
neat that Filemaker could embed sound files.

That must've been during the pre-historic Internet times...

~~~
rdsnsca
Mactracker is still being updated.

[http://mactracker.ca](http://mactracker.ca)

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ToFab123
Not a mac user, but to disable all system sounds is the very first thing I do
after installing windows. I would do the same on a mac. I simple just don't
want to listen to that noise every time I turn on my computer.

~~~
yoz-y
The startup sound was removed in the previous macOS version. Having a setting
would be better because with buttons rather than switches and the removal of
the state led it is now really not possible to know if the machine is booting
or not.

~~~
ToFab123
Is looking at the monitor an option?

~~~
yoz-y
If it works yes, but the startup chime was akin to a PC passing post so it
sounds before the screen turns on. Without the sound , if the mac does not
display anything you can not really know if there is no power, or something
fried or your drive is dead...

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notadoc
As a Mac user since the 1980s I enjoyed the startup sound and miss it. It was
removed for no obvious reason, presumably for some perceived minimalism or
desire for austerity, which you can put in the same basket as removing all
useful ports and the escape key from their "pro" laptops, or the headphone
jack from their cellphone, offering no benefit but apparently done for the
sake of doing.

~~~
seiferteric
I agree, new macs are moving toward all polish and no humanity, just a clean
sterile machine.

~~~
reaperducer
_I agree, new macs are moving toward all polish and no humanity, just a clean
sterile machine._

There's a reason for that. Tim Cook is a bean counter, not a technologist, and
not an artist.

Steve Jobs was a technologist, and a wannabe artist.

"The goal was never to beat the competition, or to make a lot of money; it was
to do the greatest thing possible, or even a little greater. Steve often
reinforced the artistic theme; for example, he took the entire team on a field
trip in the spring of 1982 to the Louis Comfort Tiffany museum, because
Tiffany was an artist who learned how to mass produce his work."

Source:
[https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor...](https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Signing_Party.txt)

------
b1daly
I didn’t know this, as the various Macs I use are all 2015.

That startup sound is a great idea example of the importance of the utility of
affordances in interface design.

After you’ve done something that might have hosed your whole system, the sound
alone can bring a sense of relief that at least some life is left in the
machine.

Because the stakes are actually kind of high for those making a living with
their computer.

------
exikyut
Tangential question:

[http://reddit.com/r/loadingicon](http://reddit.com/r/loadingicon) and similar
places list interesting (if not especially useful/practical) concept art
ostensibly useful as loading graphics.

Is there somewhere I can similarly find good small sound effects useful as
startup chimes? I'm only aware of the Mac and Indy boot sounds, which
obviously surface due to their reputation as being used at boot time. Surely
there are other cool sound effects, I'm just not sure where to look for them.

------
Tsiklon
I liked the startup sound, however if i've hosed my OS and I'm rebooting
frequently during the troubleshoot it could get quite irksome to people
nearby.

------
KevanM
First thing I switch off when I get a new one.

~~~
reaperducer
Unlikely, since new Macs haven't had the startup sound for years.

~~~
KevanM
2016 apparently, I haven't had a new one since then?

