Windows plays a startup audio and other audio effects regularly, and they can get obnoxious. They're especially annoying on Windows 7, where Windows plays a click sound every time you switch folders in Windows Explorer. You lot can disable them entirely—or even set custom sound furnishings, if you prefer.

Update, 11/12/21: Looking to disable the startup sound on your Windows 11 PC?

RELATED: How to Disable the Startup Sound on Windows 11

How to Disable All Sound Effects

To open the Sound command panel, right-click the speaker icon in your organisation tray and select "Sounds". Y'all can also simply navigate to Control Panel > Hardware and Audio > Sound.

On the Sounds tab, click the "Sound Scheme" box and select "No Sounds" to disable sound effects entirely. If y'all also want to disable the sound that appears when yous sign into Windows, uncheck the "Play Windows Startup audio" checkbox.

You lot can too choose to disable sound effects for specific events. For example, you might want to disable "Notification" sound furnishings while leaving "Critical Bombardment Alert" sound effects enabled. To do this, select a sound upshot in the list, click the "Audio" box at the bottom of the window, and click "(None)".

Click "OK" to save your changes when you're washed. You lot can ever return here and ready the sound scheme back to "Windows Default" to restore the default audio furnishings.

How to Disable the Windows Explorer Click Sound

If you're using Windows seven, you may be particularly annoyed by the sound effect that plays when you navigate to a new folder in Windows Explorer. This detail sound consequence is disabled past default on Windows x, and for good reason.

To disable only this audio, whorl down in the list and select the "Commencement Navigation" sound consequence. Click the "Sounds" box at the lesser of the window and select "(None)". Click "OK" to save your changes.

How to Customize Sound Effects

If you similar the sounds instead, you can customize them from hither. Select an event and use the "Sounds" box to choose a sound file for it. You can click "Examination" to hear a preview of the dissimilar sound furnishings hither.

To use a custom audio file, click the "Browse" push button. Your custom audio effect file must be in the .wav file format.

To relieve your settings equally a sound scheme, click the "Relieve Every bit" button at the top of the window and provide a proper noun. You can then cull your saved sound scheme from the list hither in the future.

Why Practise Sounds Keep Turning Dorsum On?

Y'all may observe that sound effects automatically re-enable themselves when you customize your desktop. This occurs when you lot change your desktop theme using either the onetime Control Console interface on Windows 7 or the new Settings interface on Windows ten. That'due south because desktop themes can include sound schemes every bit well as desktop background images, colors, and mouse cursor themes. However, nigh themes just specify the "Windows Default" sound scheme, re-enabling it if you've disabled it.

RELATED: How to Install Desktop Themes on Windows 10

Subsequently changing to a new theme, you'll take to caput dorsum to the Sounds window to disable sound effects, if you lot don't want to hear them.

Changing your system audio settings volition disable them in some—merely non all—desktop applications. If an application continues playing sound furnishings fifty-fifty afterward you disable them in the Sounds control panel, you'll need to disable sound furnishings in that awarding's settings window.