A black screen. Then, the familiar, chunky gray loading bar.

He had the original product key, a faded yellow sticker still glued to the bottom of the laptop. But the installation DVD was long gone, scratched into oblivion during a move in 2012.

The purple-gradient setup screen bloomed. The glossy, almost-too-pretty Aero glass effect. That specific, slightly-synthesizer-heavy startup chime. It was 2007 again. He entered the key. The installation finished in forty-five minutes, punctuated by three reboots and a moment of panic when the network driver didn't load.