What the hell is Windows Default.wav?


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AdreKiseque

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Been poking through þe olde system sounds and looking into their legacy mapping before 8 replaced everything with Windows Background/Foreground.wav, and one file that has left me perplexed is Windows Default.wav. On first instinct one might expect it to be associated with the "Default Beep" event, but having checked both 7 and XP I found it's Windows Ding.wav used there. Stranger still, Windows Default.wav doesn't seem to be mapped to any events... but it's been around since 98 and updated for each major release. What was this sound for?
 

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AdreKiseque said:
What was this sound for?
Click to expand...


That seems to be just the default "get your attention" sound, as far as I can tell.

For example... when I close an image editor without saving the image... I get that sound.
It's not an emergency, but just something to take note of.


NOTE: Mine is called Default.beep ... in Control Panel > Sound > Sounds
 
Last edited:

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Have a look in mmsys.cpl and see if it’s associated with something, that is if mmsys.cpl provides that info.
 

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But... as you mentioned, I tested every sound in Control Panel > Sound > Sounds, and none of them sounds like Default.wav
It may never have been associated with anything from XP onward?

 

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    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
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It's a generic sound but, you can assign it where ever ...

9348.webp
 

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Ghot said:
But... as you mentioned, I tested every sound in Control Panel > Sound > Sounds, and none of them sounds like Default.wav
It may never have been associated with anything from XP onward?
Click to expand...
I mean, you don't have to test them. You can just look at the the file it's mapped to in the UI lol1737686382670.webp
To recap, the situation is:
This sound exists in the Media folder along with all the other system sounds, and it's been updated with every sound scheme update until 8.
From XP onward (also had someone check 98 but didn't verify myself), there have been no events mapped to this sound in the sound scheme manager.
The "Default Beep" event, the most obvious candidate for it, is actually mapped to Windows Ding.wav.
No one here has any idea what's going on so far either.
 

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It’s how many kilobytes in size? My guess is that Microsoft doesn’t care that it’s there. I certainly wouldn’t give a stuff but we all want to know what we want to know. So it’s a fair question.
My other guess that the wave is referenced somewhere that Microsoft doesn’t want to screw with, and per my other comment, don’t care because it is in absolutely no way intrusive.
 

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    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
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    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
It wouldn't be too out there for it to be just some legacy backwards compatibility thing (or even just something they didn't bother to remove, like 90% of the sounds in Media today), but the fact it was updated and replaced with new versions up till 7 makes that feel really weird.
 

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It's like why you can't create any Windows file named CON, COM[1-4], LPT[1-4], NUL or PRN.
Even today...
 

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Ok hold on guys, I just booted up a VM on NT 3.1 and like, I don't even know what to say1737690228476.webp
But even as far back as here, "Default Beep" is not mapped to Windows Default.wav, but to... well it wasn't Windows Ding.wav yet but the preceding ding.wav... in fact, a Windows Default.wav or even just "default.wav" didn't even exist here.
So, like... what the hell?? Was this added in some later early version of Windows but then left to rot? I don't understand 😭
 

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I don't do Sounds!

9349.webp
 

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    ASUS VivoBook
AdreKiseque said:
So, like... what the hell?? Was this added in some later early version of Windows but then left to rot? I don't understand
Click to expand...



There are "counseling sessions" for people that worry about things like this. :D
 

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    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
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    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
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    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
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    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
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    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
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    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
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    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
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