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Tom’s Hardware
Tom’s Hardware
Technology
Christopher Harper

M.2 device generates PC startup sounds that mimic the NEC PC-9800 series from 80s Japan

NEC Japan
The longest and shortest variations of the M.2 PC-98 Startup Sound Generator.

Fans of retro PC hardware, particularly the NEC PC-9800 series of Japanese personal computers released in the 80s, may be happy to know that the PC-9800 series' unique startup chime can now be added to most modern PCs and laptops through a specialized M.2 adapter, reports GDM.Co.JP. If you miss commonplace PC startup sounds in general and have a free M.2 SSD or M.2 Wi-Fi slot on your desktop or laptop motherboard, this little gizmo should also scratch that itch.

The initial release of the NEC PC-9800 series started with the noted PC-9801, a 16-bit machine with 640 KB of RAM, color graphics, and an x86 architecture that still enabled compatibility with ports of MS-DOS or Windows. This humble starting point for domestic PC production in Japan quickly took off among enterprise customers in particular—even leading to the PC-98LT in '86, a PC-9800 Series laptop.

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