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If you mean ICQ’s famous incoming-message alert, you are probably looking for the short vocal “Uh oh!” sound. It is the best-known match for the request, but it was not universal: ICQ releases and user sound schemes used different alerts, including a helicopter-like sound remembered by some users.
The most credible recovery path is a preserved ICQ 98a, 99a, or 2000 installer or an extracted sound-scheme archive—not a generic modern ringtone. ICQ’s live service shut down on June 26, 2024, so the sound now has to come from archival material, a preserved file, or a recording.
Which ICQ sound does “incoming message” mean?
“The old ICQ incoming message sound” describes an event, not one guaranteed filename. The iconic alert is commonly remembered as “Uh oh!”, and contemporary nostalgia coverage identifies it as ICQ’s signature message-arrival sound. However, different releases, sound schemes, and personal settings changed the defaults. Some users recall a helicopter or “copter” effect instead.
A 2005 AnandTech discussion shows the distinction clearly: the requester wanted an older incoming-message WAV because newer ICQ releases used a different notification. Treat “Uh oh!” as the strongest identification, not proof that every ICQ installation contained the same bytes.
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ICQ launched in November 1996, and its long release history makes version and configuration important. The service itself is no longer a retrieval method: ICQ stopped working on June 26, 2024 (Channel NewsAsia; TASS).
The best surviving lead
The AnandTech thread is the most useful documented lead for this specific request: “Anyone have the old ICQ incoming message wav?” A historically circulated direct link used the filename uhoh.wav, but that link is reported as dead. The filename therefore proves that one shared copy was called uhoh.wav; it does not establish a canonical filename inside every original installer.
A later reply described a user-uploaded archive containing sounds extracted from an ICQ 98a/130 installation and mentioned ICQ 99a and ICQ 2000 installers. Use the thread as a preservation lead, not as a guarantee that a current download is live, authentic, complete, or safe. Inspect any file you obtain before treating it as an original.
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| Source | What it can provide | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Extracted WAV from a preserved installer | Best evidence of a historical original | Hard to find; old installers may be unsafe to execute |
| ICQ sound-scheme archive | Several original event sounds in one package | Requires identifying the event position and archive format |
| Community mirror or user archive | Convenient installers or extracted files | Provenance and integrity may be unclear |
| Video or soundboard copy | Quick way to identify the remembered alert | Usually re-encoded, edited, or recorded |
| Recording from playback | Fallback when no file survives | Not bit-for-bit original |
| Modern ringtone or remake | Easy to use | May be a different generation or imitation |
ICQ sound schemes can bundle multiple WAV files, with event meanings determined by their positions in the scheme. The technical format description is documented at ICQ Sound Scheme Format. A file found in an archive may therefore need to be mapped to “incoming message” rather than trusted by its filename alone.
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How to recover the sound from an old package
- Preserve the source first. Make a read-only copy of the installer or archive and record its original filename, download location, and checksum if available.
- Extract without installing where possible. Use an archive or installer-extraction utility and search the result for
.wav,.scm,.snd, and sound-related directories. - If execution is unavoidable, isolate it. Use a disposable virtual machine with networking disabled. Do not install obsolete ICQ software on an everyday, internet-connected computer merely to hear one alert.
- Play and map candidates. Test each sound against incoming message, contact online/offline, chat request, file transfer, email, startup, and shutdown events. In a sound scheme, inspect the documented event order.
- Keep the untouched original. Convert only a copy for editing or use in a modern system.
How to verify that a download is the right sound
- Listen for the remembered vocal “Uh oh!”; do not rely on a filename.
- Confirm that it represents an incoming message rather than another ICQ event.
- Prefer a file demonstrably extracted from a late-1990s or early-2000s installer over a screen recording.
- Inspect format, sample rate, channel count, duration, and embedded metadata with an audio editor or media-information tool.
- Compare it with a historical reference, while allowing for different trimming, loudness, or encoding.
- Preserve the downloaded file before normalizing, trimming, or transcoding it.
Do not assume every “Uh oh!” upload is identical. Copies may represent different ICQ generations, have added silence, be loudness-normalized, or have been recorded from speakers. A modern MP3 can sound convincing while no longer being the original WAV.
If only a video or recording survives
Import the recording into an audio editor, trim only obvious leading and trailing silence, and avoid aggressive noise reduction that could alter the voice or transient. Export a WAV copy for use, but retain the untouched recording as your reference.
Label the result accurately:
- Original WAV: extracted from a historical ICQ package.
- Converted copy: the same audio transcoded to another format.
- Recorded copy: captured from playback or a video.
- Recreation: newly produced imitation.
The AnandTech discussion itself points to a YouTube approximation and recording it with Audacity after the older file link failed. That is a practical fallback, but it is not equivalent to recovering the original file.
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Safety, copyright, and redistribution
Old installers are archival artifacts. They may attempt network access, contain vulnerable software, or come from an untrusted mirror. Scan downloads, isolate execution, and avoid entering credentials or connecting the software to a live service.
Copyright and redistribution rights are not established merely because a WAV is downloadable. A random mirror may not be authorized to distribute ICQ assets. If you publish or embed a copy, identify its provenance and permission status; otherwise, link readers to a legitimate archival or discussion source and explain how to verify their own copy.
Why memories differ
ICQ supported multiple event sounds and customizable schemes. An Ars Technica forum discussion records a helicopter-like incoming-message recollection, while broader historical coverage highlights “Uh oh!” as the iconic alert (Ars Technica forum; Channel NewsAsia). These accounts can both be genuine because they refer to different versions or configurations.
The Bottom Line
The likely target is ICQ’s classic “Uh oh!” incoming-message alert. Search first for preserved ICQ 98a, 99a, or 2000 installers and sound-scheme archives, and treat uhoh.wav as a historically circulated filename rather than a proven universal original. If you use a video or recording, label it as a reconstruction—not an extracted original WAV.
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