Intel 486DX2 66mhz Startup Sounds

Old school computer. 32 MB RAM. ATI MACH 64 ISA. SoundBlaster 8-bit. 500mb hard drive. Windows 95. 32MB RAM.

[balazskelemen]

Who needs a HDD activity LED when you have this HDD sound

[MarioPfhorG]

When the computer stopped making sounds you knew something was wrong

[concujak]

omg those hdd noises, brings back serious memories

[talibhassan]

Back in the days when computers actually looked like computers. And that sound was like supersonic engine starting.

[aceofhearts]

I love the noise right after you hit the power button. Like a futurstic machine powering up

[rpersen]

The sound of my childhood. The first computer we got at home was a 386 sx25 with 4 MB of RAM. Playing Doom on it was the greatest thing ever.

[Pasan]

Back when having a SoundBlaster was a flex.

[hs_doubbing]

I’m 19, and I’ve been into retro computing most of my life.
I absolutely adore that Quantum hard drive. Quantum drives’ “theme song” of a seek test will always put a goofy smile on my face.

[xrayperforator]

That beep was a nightmare, when I wanted to play in early morning and tried not to wake up my parents. Once I even wrapped the whole PC with a blanket, but it didn't help.

[poppedweasel]

I kinda miss the ability to gauge the overall health of my PC by the grinding and graunching noises it made. It was almost as comforting as a purr. Until you got a click click click or a faint whine, then panic set in.

[juljul]

This is the sound my brain makes at 2 AM when doing math

[SladeForelly]

i remembering getting one from my grandfather when i was little, my first games (commander keen) and all this magic. This short video made me tear up, god, i miss him and my childhood so much... Thank you OP

[eppiox]

Cool to see this is where the 66mhz song got the sfx from

[henrik]

I moved into an almost all male dormitory floor back in 1994. I had just bought a 486DX2 33MHz which was faster than what the other guys had, so there was quite a bit of friendly envy! All of us upgraded during the three years I lived there though. I think I got a 120MHz AMD or something. Btw. we made an Ethernet network between four of our rooms by drilling through the wall and physically connecting the computers with Ethernet cables 🙂 Then we played Doom 2 multiplayer. So many good memories!

[brostenen]

We who grew up, from the 8088/8086 to the 486 era, and were in our mid to late teens in the Pentium1 era. We have a special relation with them old machines. Not like todays teens that have heard that 486 is the new retro thing, after 8bit consoles became too expensive. To us, this is more than just retro. It is 90% nostalgia and 10% vintage. Its more than just retro.

[daniel_]

So beautiful! Wish I still had one of these somewhere!

[RedDevilMoto]

Whoaa takes me back in time!! My first comp was a IBM 286 12mhz, 1 meg of ram and 5 meg HD...when i upgraded to the 486 33mhz i thought i had the fastest computer ever! And those sounds!! The "BEEP" on startup, ratchet sounds of the hard-drive working, the loud fan in the back....and turning it on, you can make a coffee and it might be ready when you got back. Add in the sound of a dial-up modem and your in major memory lane!

[mariobrito]

Wow that takes me back. When dialup was the way to get online. When getting online really meant dialling a local BBS. When whispers of something called "the internet" started, and few people believed it could ever become anything more than a geek time sink. :D Good times! Cheers!

[ndr_]

I love those HDD sounds. I used to create, then copy and paste a bunch of notepad files just to listen to the sound of it

[aikane]

I have to admit I'm old enough to remember this sound and visual back memories