In 2005, it was discovered that Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation would crash a particular laptop because it matched the natural resonant frequency of its hard drive. The PC manufacturer behind this model solved the issue by introducing an audio filter to Windows XP that dampened the offending frequency and prevented it from killing the laptop. Programmer Raymond Chen posted on the Microsoft Dev Blog that this particular filter was installed “at least until Windows 7”.
However, Microsoft imposed a new directive that required Audio Processing Objects (APO), the technical term for these audio filters on Windows, to be disabled by the user on command. That means if you go to Windows’ classic Sound settings Control Panel app, open the properties of your default speaker, click on the Advanced tab, and uncheck Enable audio enhancements, all filters, including the one potentially protecting your PC from Janet Jackson’s errant hit, will be deactivated.
