1445:, the low-level disk I/O interrupt. When a program issued an int 21h call to access MS-DOS, the call would go first to the 32-bit file system manager, which would attempt to detect this sort of patching. If it detects that the program has tried to hook into DOS, it will jump back into the 16-bit code to let the hook run. A 16-bit driver called IFSMGR.SYS would previously have been loaded by CONFIG.SYS, the job of which was to hook MS-DOS first before the other drivers and programs got a chance, then jump from 16-bit code back into 32-bit code, when the DOS program had finished, to let the 32-bit file system manager continue its work. According to Windows developer
55:
2759:
2748:
723:
2736:
3563:
817:
98 Second
Edition had its mainstream support end on June 30, 2002, and mainstream support for Windows Me ended on December 31, 2003. Microsoft then continued to support the Windows 9x series until July 11, 2006, when extended support ended for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) – 4 years after extended support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2001.
3553:
3543:
638:
531:
562:) for reasons of compatibility, performance and development time. Additionally it was necessary to carry over design decisions from earlier versions of Windows for reasons of backwards compatibility, even if these design decisions no longer matched a more modern computing environment. These factors immediately began to impact the operating system's efficiency and stability.
1601:
768:
affected by
Windows Me's instabilities (as well as those who negatively viewed Windows Me) ultimately stuck with the more reliable Windows 98 Second Edition for the remainder of Windows Me's lifecycle until the release of Windows XP in 2001. A small number of Windows Me owners moved over to the business-oriented Windows 2000 Professional during that same time period.
1196:
for ordinary users to detect or undo. The profile support in the
Windows 9x family is meant for convenience only; unless some registry keys are modified, the system can be accessed by pressing "Cancel" at login, even if all profiles have a password. Windows 95's default login dialog box also allows new user profiles to be created without having to log in first.
1056:
allow those virtual devices to intercept interrupts and faults to control the access that an application has to hardware devices and installed software. Both the VMM and virtual device drivers run in a single, 32-bit, flat model address space at privilege level 0 (also called ring 0). The VMM provides multi-threaded,
1474:
Windows 95 and
Windows 98 also offer backwards compatibility for DOS applications in the form of being able to boot into a native "DOS Mode" (MS-DOS can be booted without booting Windows, but not putting the CPU in protected mode). Through Windows 9x's memory managers and other post-DOS improvements,
1287:
Drivers written for
Windows 9x are loaded into the same address space as the kernel. This means that drivers can by accident or design overwrite critical sections of the operating system. Doing this can lead to system crashes, freezes and disk corruption. Faulty operating system drivers were a source
1199:
Users and software can render the operating system unable to function by deleting or overwriting important system files from the hard disk. Users and software are also free to change configuration files in such a way that the operating system is unable to boot or properly function. This phenomenon is
1055:
The VMM provides services that manage memory, processes, interrupts and protection faults. The VMM works with virtual devices (loadable kernel modules, which consist mostly of 32-bit ring 0 or kernel mode code, but may include other types of code, such as a 16-bit real mode initialisation segment) to
816:
Over time, support for the
Windows 9x series ended. Windows 95 had lost its mainstream support in December 31, 2000, and extended support was dropped from Windows 95 on December 31, 2001 (which also ended support for older Windows versions prior to Windows 95 on that same day). Windows 98 and Windows
1478:
Having a command line mode outside of the GUI also offers the ability to fix certain system errors without entering the GUI. For example, if a virus is active in GUI mode it can often be safely removed in DOS mode, by deleting its files, which are usually locked while infected in
Windows. Similarly,
1347:
drives (except for
Windows Me). There are, however, many SATA-I controllers for which Windows 98/Me drivers exist (and indeed Windows 2000 and Windows XP also provided SATA support via third-party drivers as well), and USB mass storage support has been added to Windows 95 OSR2 and Windows 98 through
767:
was highly critical of
Windows Me months after it was released (and indeed when it was no longer available), with their article infamously describing Windows Me as "Mistake Edition" and placing it 4th in their "Worst Tech Products of All Time" feature in 2006. Consequently, many home users that were
762:
Windows Me initially gained a positive reception upon its release, but later on it was heavily criticized by users for its instability and unreliability, due to frequent freezes and crashes. Windows Me has been viewed by many as one of the worst operating systems of all time, both in critical and in
696:
over the original release, and hardware support through device drivers was increased. Many minor problems present in the original release of
Windows 98 were also found and fixed. These changes, among others, makes it (according to many) the most stable release of Windows 9x family—to the extent that
1195:
can modify all files on the system that aren't open, in addition to being able to modify the boot sector and perform other low-level hard drive modifications. This enables viruses and other clandestinely installed software to integrate themselves with the operating system in a way that is difficult
754:
Code-named "Millennium", Windows Me was conceived as a quick one-year project that served as a stopgap release between Windows 98 and Windows XP (then code-named Whistler at the time). Many of the new features from Windows Me were also available as updates for older Windows versions such as Windows
546:
began to develop a new consumer oriented version of the operating system code-named Chicago. Chicago was designed to have support for 32-bit preemptive multitasking, that of which was available in OS/2 and Windows NT, although a 16-bit kernel would remain for the sake of backward compatibility. The
1569:
Windows 93 (stylized as "WINDOWS93" in the title) is a web-based parody site created by two French musicians and programmers who go by the names of jankenpopp and Zombectro. Designed to look and feel like an actual operating system, It is also a parody of the Windows 9x series. It features several
1223:
Windows 9x offers share-level access control security for file and printer sharing as well as user-level access control if a Windows NT-based operating system is available on the network. In contrast, Windows NT-based operating systems offer only user-level access control but integrated with the
1190:
or have multiple user accounts with different access privileges, which allows important system files (such as the kernel image) to be immutable under most user accounts. In contrast, while Windows 95 and later operating systems offer the option of having profiles for multiple users, they have no
1067:
The VMM is also responsible for creating MS-DOS environments for system processes and Windows applications that still need to run in MS-DOS mode. It is the replacement for WIN386.EXE in Windows 3.x, and the file vmm32.vxd is a compressed archive containing most of the core VxD, including VMM.vxd
1307:
Often the software developers of drivers and applications had insufficient experience with creating programs for the 'new' system, thus causing many errors which have been generally described as "system errors" by users, even if the error is not caused by parts of Windows or DOS. Microsoft has
1029:
Although Microsoft discourages using .INI files in favor of Registry entries, a large number of applications (particularly 16-bit Windows-based applications) still use .INI files. Windows 9x supports .INI files solely for compatibility with those applications and related tools (such as setup
795:
versions after 3.0, preventing its users from playing contemporary games. Windows 2000 on the other hand, while primarily made towards business and server users, featured an updated user interface and better support for both Plug and Play and USB, as well as including built-in support for
1167:(including FAT12/FAT16/FAT32), which are the only ones that Windows 9x supports officially, though Windows NT also supports FAT12 and FAT16 (but not FAT32; which wouldn’t be supported until Windows 2000) and Windows 9x can be extended to read and write NTFS volumes using third-party
1283:
Windows 9x retains backwards compatibility with many drivers made for Windows 3.x and MS-DOS. Using MS-DOS drivers can limit performance and stability due to their use of conventional memory and need to run in real mode which requires the CPU to switch in and out of protected mode.
1257:. The 32-bit VxD message server (msgsrv32) is a program that is able to load virtual device drivers (VxDs) at startup and then handle communication with the drivers. Additionally, the message server performs several background functions, including loading the Windows shell (such as
1440:
The second role of MS-DOS (as the 16-bit legacy device driver layer) was as a backward compatibility tool for running DOS programs in Windows. Many MS-DOS programs and device drivers interacted with DOS in a low-level way, for example, by patching low-level BIOS interrupts such as
64:
954:
and heap resources. By running multiple applications, applications with numerous GDI elements or by running applications over a long span of time, it could exhaust these memory areas. If free system resources dropped below 10%, Windows would become unstable and likely crash.
1451:
MS-DOS was just an extremely elaborate decoy. Any 16-bit drivers and programs would patch or hook what they thought was the real MS-DOS, but which was in reality just a decoy. If the 32-bit file system manager detected that somebody bought the decoy, it told the decoy to
840:
with Service Pack 1 is the last version compatible with latter releases of Windows 9x (i.e. 98 and Me). While Internet Explorer 6 for Windows XP did receive security patches up until it lost support, this is not the case for IE6 under Windows 98 and Me. Due to its age,
485:, which has been implied by some to succeed both Windows NT and Windows 3.1's successor under one unified system. Microsoft publicly demonstrated Cairo at the 1993 Professional Developers Conference, complete with a demo system running Cairo for all attendees to use.
856:
continued to be available for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows Me after their end of support date; however, during 2011, Microsoft retired the Windows Update v4 website and removed the updates for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows Me from its servers.
934:
the operating system. This was a source of instability as faulty applications could accidentally write into this region, potentially corrupting important operating system memory, which usually resulted in some form of system error and halt.
507:
However, it had become apparent that Cairo was a much more difficult project than Microsoft had anticipated, and the project was subsequently cancelled 5 years into development. A subset of features from Cairo were eventually added into
771:
The inability of users to easily boot into real mode MS-DOS like in Windows 95 and 98 led users to quickly figure out how to hack their Windows Me installations to provide this missing functionality back into the operating system.
1581:
EmuOS is another web-based site that aims to replicate the look and feel of Windows 9x as a whole, featuring 3 themes based on all major Windows 9x releases starting from Windows 95 up to Windows Me. It was created by Emupedia, a
1429:) transferred all state information from MS-DOS to the 32-bit file system manager, and then shut off MS-DOS. These VxDs allow Windows 9x to interact with hardware resources directly, as providing low-level functionalities such as
730:
On September 14, 2000, Microsoft introduced Windows Me (Millennium Edition; also known as Windows ME), which upgraded Windows 98 with enhanced multimedia and Internet features. It borrowed some features from the business-oriented
2220:
1030:
programs). The AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files also still exist for compatibility with real-mode system components and to allow users to change certain default system settings such as the PATH environment variable.
807:
After the release of Windows XP, Microsoft stopped selling Windows 9x releases to end users (and later to OEMs) in the early 2000s. By March 2004, it was impossible to purchase any versions of the Windows 9x series.
328:
The internal release number for versions of Windows 9x is 4.x. The internal versions for Windows 95, 98, and Me are 4.0, 4.1, and 4.9, respectively. Previous MS-DOS-based versions of Windows used version numbers of
868:
The growing number of important updates caused by the end of life service for these operating systems have slowly made Windows 9x even less practical for everyday use. Today, even open source projects such as
831:
on all Windows 9x releases have also ended. Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me all lost security patches for Internet Explorer when the respective operating systems reached their end of support date.
555:". A new GUI was not originally planned as part of the release, although elements of the Cairo user interface were borrowed and added as other aspects of the release (notably Plug and Play) slipped.
880:
aimed at bringing "improved compatibility on the modern web" for versions of Windows as old as Windows 95 and NT 4.0. The latest version, 2.2, was released in February 2019 and added support for
787:
marked a shift in the user experience between the Windows 9x series and the Windows NT series. Windows NT 4.0, while based on the Windows 95 interface, suffered from a lack of support for USB,
2093:
1475:
the overall system performance and functionality is improved. Some old applications or games may not run properly in the virtual DOS environment within Windows and require real DOS Mode.
1203:
Installation software often replaced and deleted system files without properly checking if the file was still in use or of a newer version. This created a phenomenon often referred to as
926:
applications for compatibility reasons. This area of memory contains code critical to the functioning of the operating system, and by writing into this area of memory an application can
751:
came shipped with Windows Me. The role of MS-DOS has also been greatly reduced compared to previous versions of Windows, with Windows Me no longer allowing real mode DOS to be accessed.
2241:
2212:
1586:
and computer history community-based site, and was designed to play retro games and applications within a web browser. The aforementioned Windows 93 parody site is also featured.
990:. Hardware-specific settings are also stored in the registry, and many device drivers use the registry to load configuration data. Previous versions of Windows used files such as
282:
Mainstream support for Windows 98 ended on June 30, 2002. Mainstream support for Windows Me ended on December 31, 2003. Extended support for both 98 and Me ended on July 11, 2006.
1589:
Windows 98 has been recreated in web-based format under the name 98.js (also known as Windows 98 Online). It featured web-based versions of several classic Windows applications.
431:, which included several minor improvements to Windows 3.0, primarily consisting of bugfixes and multimedia support. It also excluded support for Real mode, and only ran on an
820:
Microsoft DirectX, a set of standard gaming APIs, stopped being updated on Windows 95 at version 8.0a. It also stopped being updated on Windows 98 and Me after the release of
4124:
616:
that would preload the OS onto computers. Some companies sold new hard drives with OSR2 preinstalled (officially justifying this as needed due to the hard drive's capacity).
2790:
2751:
2574:
1746:
1402:
and earlier. According to Microsoft developer Raymond Chen, MS-DOS served two purposes in Windows 95: as the boot loader, and as the 16-bit legacy device driver layer.
3652:
1171:
drivers. FAT systems have very limited security; every user that has access to a FAT drive also has access to all files on that drive. The FAT file systems provide no
860:
Microsoft announced in July 2019 that the Microsoft Internet Games services on Windows Me (and XP) would end on July 31, 2019 (and for Windows 7 on January 22, 2020).
337:, which was aimed at professional users such as networks and businesses, used a similar but separate version number between 3.1 and 4.0. All versions of Windows from
739:, which allowed users to revert their system state to a previous "known-good" point in the case of a system failure. Windows Me also introduced the first release of
1713:
551:
first introduced with Windows NT was adopted as the standard 32-bit programming interface, with Win16 compatibility being preserved through a technique known as "
1421:. The WIN.COM program used MS-DOS to load the virtual machine manager, read SYSTEM.INI, load the virtual device drivers, and then turn off any running copies of
1566:
being created in the 2010s that aimed to replicate the look and feel of Windows 9x (and indeed an actual operating system as a whole) on a single web browser.
1105:; however, there are third-party solutions available for Windows 9x that allows read-only access to NTFS volumes. Early versions of Windows 95 did not support
2762:
2422:
1200:
not exclusive to Windows 9x; many other operating systems are also susceptible to these vulnerabilities, either by viruses, malware or by the user’s consent.
612:
OSR2, OSR2.1, and OSR2.5 ("OSR" being an initialism for "OEM Service Release") were not released to the general public, rather, they were available only to
3599:
2326:
759:. As a result, Windows Me was not acknowledged as a distinct operating system along the lines of 95 or 98, and is often included in the Windows 9x series.
1479:
corrupted registry files, system files or boot files can be restored from real mode DOS. Windows 95 and Windows 98 can be started from DOS Mode by typing
3484:
1329:
1152:
that the Windows NT family of operating systems has, although software like Norton CrashGuard can be used to achieve similar capabilities on Windows 9x.
2127:
1160:
Windows 9x is designed as a single-user system. Thus, the security model is much less effective than the one in Windows NT. One reason for this is the
492:
kernel, Cairo was a next-generation operating system that was to feature as many new technologies into Windows, including a new user interface with an
3425:
645:
On June 25, 1998, Microsoft released Windows 98, code-named "Memphis" during development. It included new hardware drivers and better support for the
3556:
3479:
2825:
2360:
2105:
1509:
windows. The GUI provides a means to control the placement and appearance of individual application windows, and interacts with the window system.
496:(this new user interface would officially debut with Windows 95 nearly 4 years later while the object-based file system would later be adopted as
3445:
3440:
3420:
3029:
2783:
1543:
1276:
format and are loaded in user-mode, and are commonly used to control devices such as multimedia devices. To provide access to these devices, a
804:
in late 2001 confirmed the change of direction for Microsoft, bringing the consumer and business operating systems together under Windows NT.
3928:
3899:
3435:
3430:
1849:
516:
nearly 5 years later, when Microsoft began to merge its consumer and business line of Windows under a single brand name based on Windows NT.
2249:
2810:
372:
would be more appealing to consumers. Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an "operating environment" that extended
3116:
3091:
2956:
1068:
itself and ifsmgr.vxd (which facilitates file system access without the need to call the real mode file system code of the DOS kernel).
504:). According to Microsoft's product plan at the time, Cairo was planned to be released as late as July 1996 following its development.
3546:
2815:
478:
2037:
3467:
3452:
2820:
2776:
1779:
1191:
concept of access privileges, making them roughly equivalent to a single-user, single-account operating system; this means that all
548:
350:
1956:
439:, a touch-up to Windows 3.1 which included all of the patches and updates that followed the release of Windows 3.1 in early 1992.
3703:
3647:
2458:
1757:
1375:
CD-ROMs, however it had buggy ATAPI implementation. Windows 95 prior to OSR2 also had buggy support for processors implementing
986:
Like Windows NT, Windows 9x stores user-specific and configuration-specific settings in a large information database called the
3622:
3592:
2961:
2582:
1614:
654:
613:
512:
released on August 24, 1996, albeit without the object file system. Windows NT and Windows 9x would not be truly unified until
306:, both of which were updated in subsequent versions. The first version in the 9x series was Windows 95, which was succeeded by
1872:
1462:
Windows 9x can run MS-DOS applications within itself using a method called "Virtualization", where an application is run on a
3815:
3713:
2832:
2072:
1839:
412:, released in 1990. In addition to improved capabilities given to native applications, Windows also allowed users to better
2740:
1813:
4093:
3642:
3627:
3457:
3390:
552:
455:
4114:
3688:
3673:
3632:
3340:
1721:
1437:, win.com was no longer executed during the startup process; instead it went directly to execute VMM32.VXD from IO.SYS.
1102:
501:
2518:
3854:
3801:
3180:
1687:
1665:
1113:
1086:
681:
677:
206:
142:
1921:
1505:(or GUI). The default mode for Windows is usually the graphical user interface, whereas the CLI is available through
1348:
third party drivers. Hardware driver support for Windows 98/Me began to decline in 2005, most notably in motherboard
943:
The user-mode parts of Windows 9x consist of three subsystems: the Win16 subsystem, the Win32 subsystem and MS-DOS.
4119:
3869:
3708:
3585:
3566:
3501:
3472:
3462:
3410:
3405:
3385:
3164:
2436:
1619:
1301:
898:
558:
Microsoft did not change all of the Windows code to 32-bit; parts of it remained 16-bit (albeit not directly using
3904:
3723:
3683:
3678:
3637:
3528:
3513:
3400:
3395:
3335:
3330:
3185:
3121:
1533:
1513:
1364:
1325:
1321:
951:
911:
474:
188:
2338:
1433:
and memory management. All future file system operations would get routed to the 32-bit file system manager. In
3947:
3834:
3698:
3286:
3144:
3046:
2611:
1502:
1446:
1022:
files became too unwieldy for the limitations of the then-current FAT filesystem. Backwards-compatibility with
881:
493:
482:
229:
2489:
2272:"rn10950/RetroZilla: A fork of Gecko 1.8.1 to improve support for the modern web in older versions of Windows"
649:
file system which allows support for disk partitions larger than the 2 GB maximum accepted by Windows 95. The
1240:
in Windows 9x can be virtual device drivers or (starting with Windows 98) WDM drivers. VxDs usually have the
1018:
extension to maintain configuration settings. As Windows became more complex and incorporated more features,
364:, released on November 20, 1985, achieved little popularity. Its name was initially "Interface Manager", but
3693:
3506:
3496:
3159:
3034:
2139:
1709:
1583:
1168:
1149:
1061:
1057:
608:
Windows 95 C – (OSR2.5) included all the above features, plus IE 4.0. This was the last 95 version produced.
4081:
4020:
3909:
3889:
3838:
3796:
3355:
3058:
3041:
1529:
1498:
1380:
1333:
1208:
1176:
904:
584:
279:
Mainstream support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2000. Extended support ended on December 31, 2001.
1987:
1483:
at the command prompt and then hitting "Enter", akin to earlier versions of Windows such as Windows 3.1.
963:
The kernel mode parts consist of the Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), the Installable File System Manager (
435:
or better processor. Windows 3.1 was released on April 6, 1992. In November 1993 Microsoft also released
3864:
3830:
3732:
3668:
2374:
1376:
1161:
833:
748:
580:
413:
2548:
2161:
1048:
kernel at the core of Windows 9x. Its primary responsibility is to create, run, monitor and terminate
4061:
4035:
3491:
1277:
968:
923:
915:
788:
744:
602:
314:, which was the third and last version of Windows on the 9x line, until the series was superseded by
242:
4030:
3982:
3859:
3523:
3375:
3370:
3350:
3217:
3073:
3068:
3063:
3053:
3024:
3017:
3012:
1463:
1308:
repeatedly redesigned the Windows Driver architecture since the release of Windows 95 as a result.
1192:
1172:
1033:
The registry consists of two files: User.dat and System.dat. In Windows Me, Classes.dat was added.
842:
837:
740:
689:
685:
658:
245:
2615:
775:
Windows Me never received a dedicated Microsoft Plus! add-on like with Windows 95 and Windows 98.
3967:
3874:
3365:
3360:
3237:
3232:
3227:
3222:
1430:
1241:
1145:
1117:
2327:"Transcript: Chat with Ed Bott and Carl Siechert, Co-Authors of Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out"
63:
836:
with Service Pack 2 is the last version of Internet Explorer compatible with Windows 95, while
4076:
4025:
3957:
3914:
3755:
3291:
3270:
3265:
2799:
2427:
2365:
1897:
1845:
1525:
1289:
927:
919:
828:
692:
as opposed to Internet Explorer 4 in the original version. Windows 98 Second Edition also has
676:(also known as Windows 98 SE), an interim release whose notable features were the addition of
591:
292:
194:
824:
in 2006, making DirectX 9.0c the last version of DirectX to support these operating systems.
4056:
3608:
2758:
2747:
2466:
1809:
1539:
987:
931:
877:
387:
322:
295:
237:
722:
4000:
3962:
3933:
3518:
3306:
3301:
3296:
3260:
3255:
2936:
2187:
2047:
1841:
Showstopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft
1761:
1571:
1563:
1551:
1317:
1049:
620:
54:
2298:
1787:
978:, divided into a lower 2 GiB for applications and an upper 2 GiB for kernel per process.
845:, the first major update to Internet Explorer 6 in half a decade, was only available for
1516:, which is a part of the Win32 and Win16 subsystems, is also a module that is loaded in
394:
of memory. In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasking system like
4086:
4010:
3972:
3844:
3212:
3207:
3199:
3154:
3002:
2941:
2931:
2926:
1964:
1492:
1273:
1212:
1045:
853:
846:
756:
736:
509:
467:
421:
402:
365:
218:
171:
31:
2735:
1817:
4108:
3952:
3791:
3745:
3247:
2968:
1754:
1575:
1293:
1237:
1186:
Some operating systems that were available at the same time as Windows 9x are either
1129:
821:
666:
662:
225:
111:
1425:
and switch into protected mode. Once in protected mode, the virtual device drivers (
704:
Like with Windows 95, Windows 98 received the Microsoft Plus! add-on in the form of
3879:
2946:
2068:
1901:
1606:
1414:
1399:
1343:
host bus adapters (and neither do Windows 2000 nor Windows XP for that matter), or
1297:
1258:
1133:
992:
784:
732:
698:
680:
and improved WDM audio and modem support. Internet Connection Sharing is a form of
539:
436:
1643:
1304:, are also susceptible to malfunctioning drivers impeding the kernel's operation.
37:
For the Microsoft Windows operating system formerly referred to as Windows 9, see
2708:"1j01/98: 💿 Web-based Windows 98 desktop recreation █████▓█▓▓▒▓▒▒░▒░░░🗕︎🗗︎🗙︎"
4005:
3987:
3770:
3760:
3750:
3311:
3131:
2982:
2871:
2866:
2861:
2856:
2851:
1521:
1410:
1262:
1164:
797:
657:
editions of Windows 95. It also introduces the controversial integration of the
447:
428:
417:
409:
399:
380:
361:
330:
255:
211:
2213:"Farewell to Microsoft Internet Games on Windows XP, Windows ME, and Windows 7"
2012:
1064:) time between the threads in which the applications and virtual machines run.
3096:
2992:
2987:
2951:
2909:
2899:
2894:
2889:
2397:
1596:
1434:
1406:
1391:
1353:
1340:
1187:
1121:
1010:
998:
964:
801:
717:
693:
673:
637:
632:
566:
530:
525:
513:
489:
443:
338:
334:
315:
311:
307:
299:
266:
160:
134:
78:
69:
38:
653:
support in Windows 98 was more robust than the basic support provided by the
30:"Windows 4.x" redirects here. For the operating system in the NT family, see
3942:
3849:
3775:
3740:
2978:
2973:
2623:
2526:
2497:
2432:
2370:
2334:
2135:
2101:
2042:
1929:
1542:
is the default user interface for the GUI; however, a variety of additional
1517:
684:, allowing several machines on a LAN (Local Area Network) to share a single
559:
543:
384:
83:
1933:
1600:
368:, the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name
4071:
1991:
1624:
1547:
1368:
1204:
705:
569:
as the product name for Chicago when it was released on August 24, 1995.
463:
395:
391:
2271:
477:(Windows 95, code-named Chicago) began, Microsoft announced at its 1991
4066:
3995:
3765:
1418:
1349:
1082:
1004:
870:
792:
470:, would be released on July 27, 1993 and used Windows 3.1's interface.
451:
2303:
2276:
1506:
1442:
1422:
1395:
1042:
1026:
files was maintained until Windows XP succeeded the 9x and NT lines.
376:. Consequently, it shared the inherent flaws and problems of MS-DOS.
373:
303:
198:
93:
17:
3577:
2768:
1371:
support for Windows 95 RTM). Windows 95 had preliminary support for
572:
Microsoft went on to release five different versions of Windows 95:
2665:
1536:
in Windows 9x, unlike with Windows NT releases since Windows 2000.
481:
that they would be developing a successor to Windows NT code-named
4015:
1717:
1372:
1106:
721:
646:
636:
595:
529:
497:
462:, but Cutler created a completely new system instead based on his
432:
181:
2013:"How to restart from Windows Millennium into Windows 98 DOS mode"
1532:
effects, such as fade effects in menus, are not supported by the
325:. In 1998, Windows made up 82% of operating system market share.
1253:
1180:
1125:
1098:
735:
into the Windows 9x series, and introduced the first version of
459:
3581:
2772:
1745:
is usually used to refer to the three operating systems, as in
1060:. It runs multiple applications simultaneously by sharing CPU (
967:), the Configuration Manager, and in Windows 98 and later, the
4051:
2842:
1426:
1360:
1344:
975:
947:
650:
458:. Microsoft hired him in August 1988 to create a successor to
2707:
1562:
The sheer popularity of the Windows 9x series led to several
2644:
1714:"Caldera shows Windows on DR-DOS, denying Microsoft claims"
1251:, whereas WDM compatible drivers usually use the extension
590:
Windows 95 B – (OSR2) included several major enhancements,
1957:"Windows 98: Stable and fast, as well as new and improved"
27:
Discontinued series of Microsoft Windows operating systems
2162:"I can't access Windows Update v4 - Windows 9x/ME - MSFN"
701:
was more stable than Windows 95's final (gamma) version.
2575:"XUSBSUPP - eXtended USB Supplement for Windows 95 OSR2"
1898:"Windows 8: An awful lot of change for a single release"
1224:
operating system's own user account security mechanism.
974:
As a 32-bit operating system, virtual memory space is 4
922:, it does not protect the first megabyte of memory from
1497:
Users can control a Windows 9x-based system through a
291:
is a generic term referring to a line of discontinued
2752:
Basic Computing Using Windows/Appendices/Dual Booting
2686:
1405:
When Windows 95 started up, MS-DOS loaded, processed
1124:. Unlike Windows 3.x, Windows 9x has support for the
466:
project at Digital. The first version of Windows NT,
910:
Like most operating systems, Windows 9x consists of
408:
Microsoft Windows scored a significant success with
360:
The first independent version of Microsoft Windows,
4044:
3981:
3927:
3888:
3823:
3814:
3784:
3731:
3722:
3661:
3615:
3320:
3279:
3246:
3198:
3173:
3143:
3130:
3109:
3082:
3001:
2917:
2908:
2880:
2841:
2094:"DirectX 8.1 Runtime for Windows 98 and Windows Me"
1780:"Chronology of Microsoft Windows Operating Systems"
1132:with a maximum of 255 characters instead of having
273:
262:
251:
236:
217:
205:
187:
177:
167:
141:
117:
107:
99:
89:
77:
2188:"Where is Windows Update for Win98? - BetaArchive"
1749:. Sometimes Windows Me is included as a member of
1922:"Windows 95 OSR2.x Support for External USB Hubs"
873:will not run on Windows 9x without major rework.
383:, was released on December 9, 1987, and used the
321:Windows 9x is predominantly known for its use in
1359:Early versions of Windows 95 had no support for
1215:to handle common problems caused by this issue.
697:some commentators used to say that Windows 98's
2763:Operating System Design/Case Studies/Windows 9x
2519:"Function of the Windows 32-Bit Message Server"
1520:, unlike Windows NT where the GDI is loaded in
1288:of instability for the operating system. Other
72:, the first version of Windows in the 9x series
1398:in Windows much further than had been done in
669:(then known as Windows Explorer at the time).
341:onwards are based on the Windows NT codebase.
3593:
2784:
2398:"Resource Management Under Microsoft Windows"
379:The second installment of Microsoft Windows,
8:
2616:"What was the role of MS-DOS in Windows 95?"
47:
1814:"Windows NT and VMS: The Rest of the Story"
1578:from the late 1990s up to the early 2000s.
1085:can be installed on Windows 9x through the
601:Windows 95 B USB – (OSR2.1) included basic
390:model, which confined it to a maximum of 1
298:from 1995 to 2000, which were based on the
4125:Discontinued versions of Microsoft Windows
3820:
3728:
3600:
3586:
3578:
3552:
3542:
3140:
2914:
2791:
2777:
2769:
1768:is used to include Windows 95, 98, and Me.
918:memory. Although Windows 9x features some
442:Meanwhile, Microsoft continued to develop
46:
1041:The Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) is the
946:Windows 9x/Me set aside two blocks of 64
1988:"The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time"
416:older MS-DOS-based software compared to
302:kernel and its underlying foundation of
2606:
2604:
2602:
2600:
1635:
446:. The main architect of the system was
2423:"Chapter 28 - Windows 98 Architecture"
1720:news. Hanover, Germany. Archived from
475:development of Windows 3.1's successor
1574:which reference and features various
1339:Windows 9x has no native support for
1316:Windows 9x has no native support for
1097:Windows 9x does not natively support
672:On June 10, 1999, Microsoft released
623:add-on pack was sold for Windows 95.
7:
2361:"Windows 95 Architecture Components"
2128:"Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1"
2069:"Windows 9x end of support lifetime"
1280:is required (such as MMSYSTEM.DLL).
2337:. November 21, 2001. Archived from
1379:as well as processors based on the
1268:Another type of device drivers are
579:Windows 95 A – included Windows 95
2549:"Maximus-Decim Native USB Drivers"
2459:"FAT32 or NTFS: Making the Choice"
2223:from the original on July 14, 2019
1932:. October 31, 2003. Archived from
1116:, Windows 9x provides support for
479:Professional Developers Conference
25:
450:, one of the chief architects of
351:Microsoft Windows version history
3704:Object-oriented operating system
3562:
3561:
3551:
3541:
2757:
2746:
2734:
2581:. August 3, 2014. Archived from
2488:Jin, Allen (February 20, 2014).
1873:"So what exactly IS COM anyway?"
1599:
1367:acceleration (including lack of
420:, thanks to the introduction of
62:
53:
2248:. June 19, 2008. Archived from
2075:from the original on 2015-03-07
1778:Polsson, Ken (April 22, 2008).
1615:Comparison of operating systems
1394:was able to reduce the role of
3714:Supercomputer operating system
2739:Learning materials related to
1955:Fasoldt, Al (March 29, 1998).
1144:Windows 9x has no support for
147:4.90.3000 / June 19, 2000
1:
1871:Larry Osterman (2004-10-15).
1688:"Microsoft Support Lifecycle"
1666:"Microsoft Support Lifecycle"
1644:"Microsoft Support Lifecycle"
907:16/32-bit operating systems.
576:Windows 95 – original release
456:Digital Equipment Corporation
3689:Just enough operating system
3674:Distributed operating system
1896:Anderson, Tim (2012-10-23).
1177:file-system level encryption
726:Wordmark logo for Windows Me
641:Wordmark logo for Windows 98
565:Microsoft marketing adopted
534:Wordmark logo for Windows 95
502:development of Windows Vista
3802:User space and kernel space
3117:Preinstallation Environment
3092:Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
2687:"98.js - Windows 98 Online"
1986:Tynan, Dan (May 26, 2006).
1838:Zachary, G. Pascal (2014).
1764:. In this article the term
1272:drivers. These drivers are
1114:Windows for Workgroups 3.11
1087:Microsoft Layer for Unicode
829:Microsoft Internet Explorer
682:network address translation
678:Internet Connection Sharing
4141:
3709:Real-time operating system
2523:Microsoft Help and Support
1620:Architecture of Windows 9x
1546:exist. Other GUIs include
1544:Windows shell replacements
1490:
903:Windows 9x is a series of
899:Architecture of Windows 9x
896:
715:
630:
523:
348:
36:
29:
3905:Multilevel feedback queue
3900:Fixed-priority preemptive
3684:Hobbyist operating system
3679:Embedded operating system
3537:
3529:Windows Server Essentials
3514:Windows for Pen Computing
2806:
2132:Microsoft Download Center
2098:Microsoft Download Center
1326:symmetric multiprocessing
1322:Data Execution Prevention
1146:event logging and tracing
1140:Event logging and tracing
971:Driver Manager (NTKERN).
674:Windows 98 Second Edition
278:
61:
52:
3948:General protection fault
3699:Network operating system
3653:User features comparison
2299:"Release RetroZilla 2.2"
1503:graphical user interface
1312:CPU and bus technologies
1207:. Windows Me introduced
1014:and other files with an
876:RetroZilla is a fork of
494:object-based file system
473:About a year before the
3694:Mobile operating system
1877:Larry Osterman's WebLog
1584:video game preservation
1169:Installable File System
1062:central processing unit
1058:preemptive multitasking
1037:Virtual Machine Manager
3797:Loadable kernel module
2490:"Chapter 9 - Security"
2242:"Firefox 3 Windows 98"
1760:June 19, 2010, at the
1499:command-line interface
1209:System File Protection
1128:file system, allowing
854:Windows Update website
745:Windows Media Player 7
727:
642:
587:into the installation.
535:
149:; 24 years ago
123:; 29 years ago
3865:Process control block
3831:Computer multitasking
3669:Disk operating system
2614:(December 24, 2007).
2341:on September 18, 2004
2217:answers.microsoft.com
1458:MS-DOS Virtualization
834:Internet Explorer 5.5
749:Internet Explorer 5.5
725:
661:web browser into the
640:
533:
4036:Virtual tape library
3628:Forensic engineering
2439:on December 21, 2007
2038:"Windows life cycle"
1936:on December 10, 2005
1381:P6 microarchitecture
1278:dynamic link library
1173:access control lists
1081:Partial support for
694:certain improvements
598:file system support.
427:Microsoft developed
4115:Computing platforms
4045:Supporting concepts
4031:Virtual file system
3524:Microsoft PowerToys
3181:Embedded Automotive
2585:on October 24, 2014
2377:on February 7, 2008
2307:. February 24, 2019
2192:www.betaarchive.com
2108:on January 15, 2005
1844:. Open Road Media.
1464:Virtual DOS machine
950:memory regions for
849:and Windows Vista.
843:Internet Explorer 7
838:Internet Explorer 6
741:Windows Movie Maker
690:Internet Explorer 5
688:. It also includes
686:Internet connection
659:Internet Explorer 4
356:Windows prior to 95
246:commercial software
49:
3968:Segmentation fault
3816:Process management
3480:Version comparison
3165:Embedded Compact 7
2529:on January 7, 2007
1564:web-based projects
1558:In popular culture
1431:32-bit disk access
1242:filename extension
1118:32-bit file access
728:
643:
594:(IE) 3.0 and full
536:
121:July 14, 1995
4120:Microsoft Windows
4102:
4101:
3958:Memory protection
3929:Memory management
3923:
3922:
3915:Shortest job next
3810:
3809:
3609:Operating systems
3575:
3574:
3417:Removed features
3194:
3193:
3186:Embedded Industry
3122:MultiPoint Server
3105:
3104:
2800:Microsoft Windows
2620:The Old New Thing
2428:Microsoft Technet
2366:Microsoft Technet
2252:on March 29, 2010
1851:978-1-4804-9484-8
1812:(December 1998).
1810:Russinovich, Mark
1784:www.islandnet.com
1755:this version list
1526:Alpha compositing
920:memory protection
800:. The release of
592:Internet Explorer
398:, which used the
296:operating systems
293:Microsoft Windows
286:
285:
16:(Redirected from
4132:
4057:Computer network
3821:
3729:
3602:
3595:
3588:
3579:
3565:
3564:
3555:
3554:
3547:List of versions
3545:
3544:
3141:
3047:Home Server 2011
2915:
2793:
2786:
2779:
2770:
2761:
2750:
2738:
2723:
2722:
2720:
2718:
2704:
2698:
2697:
2695:
2693:
2683:
2677:
2676:
2674:
2672:
2662:
2656:
2655:
2653:
2651:
2641:
2635:
2634:
2632:
2630:
2608:
2595:
2594:
2592:
2590:
2571:
2565:
2564:
2562:
2560:
2555:. April 11, 2005
2545:
2539:
2538:
2536:
2534:
2525:. Archived from
2515:
2509:
2508:
2506:
2504:
2485:
2479:
2478:
2476:
2474:
2465:. Archived from
2455:
2449:
2448:
2446:
2444:
2435:. Archived from
2419:
2413:
2412:
2410:
2408:
2402:www.apptools.com
2393:
2387:
2386:
2384:
2382:
2373:. Archived from
2357:
2351:
2350:
2348:
2346:
2323:
2317:
2316:
2314:
2312:
2295:
2289:
2288:
2286:
2284:
2268:
2262:
2261:
2259:
2257:
2238:
2232:
2231:
2229:
2228:
2209:
2203:
2202:
2200:
2198:
2184:
2178:
2177:
2175:
2173:
2168:. 27 August 2011
2158:
2152:
2151:
2149:
2147:
2142:on June 27, 2011
2138:. Archived from
2124:
2118:
2117:
2115:
2113:
2104:. Archived from
2090:
2084:
2083:
2081:
2080:
2065:
2059:
2058:
2056:
2055:
2046:. Archived from
2034:
2028:
2027:
2025:
2023:
2009:
2003:
2002:
2000:
1998:
1983:
1977:
1976:
1974:
1972:
1967:on June 14, 2002
1963:. Archived from
1952:
1946:
1945:
1943:
1941:
1928:(3.0 ed.).
1926:Help and Support
1918:
1912:
1911:
1909:
1908:
1893:
1887:
1886:
1884:
1883:
1868:
1862:
1861:
1859:
1858:
1835:
1829:
1828:
1826:
1825:
1816:. Archived from
1806:
1800:
1799:
1797:
1795:
1786:. Archived from
1775:
1769:
1739:
1733:
1732:
1730:
1729:
1706:
1700:
1699:
1697:
1695:
1684:
1678:
1677:
1675:
1673:
1662:
1656:
1655:
1653:
1651:
1640:
1609:
1604:
1603:
1572:web applications
1540:Windows Explorer
1482:
1417:and finally ran
1271:
1256:
1250:
1246:
1228:Hardware support
1072:Software support
1050:virtual machines
1025:
1021:
1017:
1013:
1007:
1001:
995:
988:Windows registry
157:
155:
150:
131:
129:
124:
66:
57:
50:
44:Operating system
21:
4140:
4139:
4135:
4134:
4133:
4131:
4130:
4129:
4105:
4104:
4103:
4098:
4040:
4001:Defragmentation
3986:
3977:
3963:Protection ring
3932:
3919:
3891:
3884:
3806:
3780:
3718:
3657:
3611:
3606:
3576:
3571:
3533:
3519:Microsoft Plus!
3453:Version history
3316:
3275:
3242:
3190:
3169:
3160:Embedded CE 6.0
3146:
3135:
3133:
3126:
3101:
3084:
3078:
3035:HPC Server 2008
3004:
2997:
2919:
2904:
2876:
2837:
2802:
2797:
2731:
2726:
2716:
2714:
2706:
2705:
2701:
2691:
2689:
2685:
2684:
2680:
2670:
2668:
2664:
2663:
2659:
2649:
2647:
2643:
2642:
2638:
2628:
2626:
2610:
2609:
2598:
2588:
2586:
2573:
2572:
2568:
2558:
2556:
2547:
2546:
2542:
2532:
2530:
2517:
2516:
2512:
2502:
2500:
2487:
2486:
2482:
2472:
2470:
2469:on May 27, 2012
2457:
2456:
2452:
2442:
2440:
2421:
2420:
2416:
2406:
2404:
2395:
2394:
2390:
2380:
2378:
2359:
2358:
2354:
2344:
2342:
2325:
2324:
2320:
2310:
2308:
2297:
2296:
2292:
2282:
2280:
2270:
2269:
2265:
2255:
2253:
2246:Mozilla Support
2240:
2239:
2235:
2226:
2224:
2211:
2210:
2206:
2196:
2194:
2186:
2185:
2181:
2171:
2169:
2160:
2159:
2155:
2145:
2143:
2126:
2125:
2121:
2111:
2109:
2092:
2091:
2087:
2078:
2076:
2067:
2066:
2062:
2053:
2051:
2036:
2035:
2031:
2021:
2019:
2011:
2010:
2006:
1996:
1994:
1985:
1984:
1980:
1970:
1968:
1954:
1953:
1949:
1939:
1937:
1920:
1919:
1915:
1906:
1904:
1895:
1894:
1890:
1881:
1879:
1870:
1869:
1865:
1856:
1854:
1852:
1837:
1836:
1832:
1823:
1821:
1808:
1807:
1803:
1793:
1791:
1777:
1776:
1772:
1762:Wayback Machine
1740:
1736:
1727:
1725:
1708:
1707:
1703:
1693:
1691:
1686:
1685:
1681:
1671:
1669:
1664:
1663:
1659:
1649:
1647:
1642:
1641:
1637:
1633:
1605:
1598:
1595:
1560:
1552:Program Manager
1495:
1489:
1480:
1472:
1460:
1389:
1318:hyper-threading
1314:
1269:
1252:
1248:
1244:
1235:
1230:
1221:
1219:Network sharing
1158:
1150:error reporting
1142:
1095:
1079:
1074:
1039:
1023:
1019:
1015:
1009:
1003:
997:
991:
984:
961:
941:
901:
895:
890:
871:Mozilla Firefox
866:
814:
783:The release of
781:
720:
714:
635:
629:
621:Microsoft Plus!
528:
522:
358:
353:
347:
281:
280:
220:
158:
153:
151:
148:
132:
127:
125:
122:
118:Initial release
73:
45:
42:
35:
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
4138:
4136:
4128:
4127:
4122:
4117:
4107:
4106:
4100:
4099:
4097:
4096:
4091:
4090:
4089:
4087:User interface
4084:
4074:
4069:
4064:
4059:
4054:
4048:
4046:
4042:
4041:
4039:
4038:
4033:
4028:
4023:
4018:
4013:
4011:File attribute
4008:
4003:
3998:
3992:
3990:
3979:
3978:
3976:
3975:
3973:Virtual memory
3970:
3965:
3960:
3955:
3950:
3945:
3939:
3937:
3925:
3924:
3921:
3920:
3918:
3917:
3912:
3907:
3902:
3896:
3894:
3886:
3885:
3883:
3882:
3877:
3872:
3867:
3862:
3857:
3852:
3847:
3845:Context switch
3842:
3827:
3825:
3818:
3812:
3811:
3808:
3807:
3805:
3804:
3799:
3794:
3788:
3786:
3782:
3781:
3779:
3778:
3773:
3768:
3763:
3758:
3753:
3748:
3743:
3737:
3735:
3726:
3720:
3719:
3717:
3716:
3711:
3706:
3701:
3696:
3691:
3686:
3681:
3676:
3671:
3665:
3663:
3659:
3658:
3656:
3655:
3650:
3645:
3640:
3635:
3630:
3625:
3619:
3617:
3613:
3612:
3607:
3605:
3604:
3597:
3590:
3582:
3573:
3572:
3570:
3569:
3559:
3549:
3538:
3535:
3534:
3532:
3531:
3526:
3521:
3516:
3511:
3510:
3509:
3504:
3499:
3489:
3488:
3487:
3477:
3476:
3475:
3470:
3465:
3460:
3450:
3449:
3448:
3443:
3438:
3433:
3428:
3423:
3415:
3414:
3413:
3408:
3403:
3398:
3393:
3388:
3380:
3379:
3378:
3373:
3368:
3363:
3358:
3353:
3345:
3344:
3343:
3338:
3333:
3324:
3322:
3318:
3317:
3315:
3314:
3309:
3304:
3299:
3294:
3289:
3283:
3281:
3277:
3276:
3274:
3273:
3268:
3263:
3258:
3252:
3250:
3244:
3243:
3241:
3240:
3235:
3230:
3225:
3220:
3215:
3213:Pocket PC 2002
3210:
3208:Pocket PC 2000
3204:
3202:
3200:Windows Mobile
3196:
3195:
3192:
3191:
3189:
3188:
3183:
3177:
3175:
3171:
3170:
3168:
3167:
3162:
3157:
3151:
3149:
3138:
3128:
3127:
3125:
3124:
3119:
3113:
3111:
3107:
3106:
3103:
3102:
3100:
3099:
3094:
3088:
3086:
3080:
3079:
3077:
3076:
3071:
3066:
3061:
3059:Server 2012 R2
3056:
3051:
3050:
3049:
3042:Server 2008 R2
3039:
3038:
3037:
3032:
3022:
3021:
3020:
3009:
3007:
2999:
2998:
2996:
2995:
2990:
2985:
2976:
2971:
2966:
2965:
2964:
2959:
2949:
2944:
2939:
2934:
2929:
2923:
2921:
2912:
2906:
2905:
2903:
2902:
2897:
2892:
2886:
2884:
2878:
2877:
2875:
2874:
2869:
2864:
2859:
2854:
2848:
2846:
2839:
2838:
2836:
2835:
2830:
2829:
2828:
2823:
2813:
2807:
2804:
2803:
2798:
2796:
2795:
2788:
2781:
2773:
2767:
2766:
2755:
2744:
2743:at Wikiversity
2730:
2729:External links
2727:
2725:
2724:
2699:
2678:
2657:
2636:
2596:
2566:
2540:
2510:
2494:Microsoft Docs
2480:
2463:The Elder Geek
2450:
2414:
2388:
2352:
2318:
2290:
2263:
2233:
2204:
2179:
2153:
2119:
2085:
2060:
2029:
2004:
1978:
1947:
1913:
1888:
1863:
1850:
1830:
1801:
1790:on May 2, 2008
1770:
1734:
1712:(1998-03-23).
1701:
1679:
1657:
1634:
1632:
1629:
1628:
1627:
1622:
1617:
1611:
1610:
1594:
1591:
1576:internet memes
1559:
1556:
1528:and therefore
1501:(or CLI) or a
1493:User interface
1488:
1487:User interface
1485:
1471:
1468:
1459:
1456:
1388:
1385:
1313:
1310:
1294:hybrid kernels
1274:New Executable
1238:Device drivers
1234:
1231:
1229:
1226:
1220:
1217:
1213:System Restore
1157:
1154:
1141:
1138:
1094:
1091:
1078:
1075:
1073:
1070:
1046:protected mode
1038:
1035:
983:
980:
960:
957:
940:
937:
897:Main article:
894:
891:
889:
886:
865:
862:
847:Windows XP SP2
813:
812:End of support
810:
780:
777:
757:Windows Update
737:System Restore
716:Main article:
713:
710:
631:Main article:
628:
625:
610:
609:
606:
599:
588:
577:
524:Main article:
521:
518:
510:Windows NT 4.0
468:Windows NT 3.1
422:virtual memory
403:Protected Mode
366:Rowland Hanson
357:
354:
346:
343:
284:
283:
276:
275:
274:Support status
271:
270:
264:
260:
259:
253:
249:
248:
240:
234:
233:
223:
221:user interface
215:
214:
209:
203:
202:
192:
185:
184:
179:
175:
174:
172:Windows Update
169:
165:
164:
145:
139:
138:
119:
115:
114:
109:
105:
104:
101:
97:
96:
91:
87:
86:
81:
75:
74:
68:Screenshot of
67:
59:
58:
43:
32:Windows NT 4.0
26:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
4137:
4126:
4123:
4121:
4118:
4116:
4113:
4112:
4110:
4095:
4092:
4088:
4085:
4083:
4080:
4079:
4078:
4075:
4073:
4070:
4068:
4065:
4063:
4060:
4058:
4055:
4053:
4050:
4049:
4047:
4043:
4037:
4034:
4032:
4029:
4027:
4024:
4022:
4019:
4017:
4014:
4012:
4009:
4007:
4004:
4002:
3999:
3997:
3994:
3993:
3991:
3989:
3984:
3980:
3974:
3971:
3969:
3966:
3964:
3961:
3959:
3956:
3954:
3953:Memory paging
3951:
3949:
3946:
3944:
3941:
3940:
3938:
3935:
3930:
3926:
3916:
3913:
3911:
3908:
3906:
3903:
3901:
3898:
3897:
3895:
3893:
3887:
3881:
3878:
3876:
3873:
3871:
3868:
3866:
3863:
3861:
3858:
3856:
3853:
3851:
3848:
3846:
3843:
3840:
3836:
3832:
3829:
3828:
3826:
3822:
3819:
3817:
3813:
3803:
3800:
3798:
3795:
3793:
3792:Device driver
3790:
3789:
3787:
3783:
3777:
3774:
3772:
3769:
3767:
3764:
3762:
3759:
3757:
3754:
3752:
3749:
3747:
3744:
3742:
3739:
3738:
3736:
3734:
3733:Architectures
3730:
3727:
3725:
3721:
3715:
3712:
3710:
3707:
3705:
3702:
3700:
3697:
3695:
3692:
3690:
3687:
3685:
3682:
3680:
3677:
3675:
3672:
3670:
3667:
3666:
3664:
3660:
3654:
3651:
3649:
3646:
3644:
3641:
3639:
3636:
3634:
3631:
3629:
3626:
3624:
3621:
3620:
3618:
3614:
3610:
3603:
3598:
3596:
3591:
3589:
3584:
3583:
3580:
3568:
3560:
3558:
3550:
3548:
3540:
3539:
3536:
3530:
3527:
3525:
3522:
3520:
3517:
3515:
3512:
3508:
3505:
3503:
3500:
3498:
3495:
3494:
3493:
3490:
3486:
3483:
3482:
3481:
3478:
3474:
3471:
3469:
3466:
3464:
3461:
3459:
3456:
3455:
3454:
3451:
3447:
3444:
3442:
3439:
3437:
3434:
3432:
3429:
3427:
3424:
3422:
3419:
3418:
3416:
3412:
3409:
3407:
3404:
3402:
3399:
3397:
3394:
3392:
3389:
3387:
3384:
3383:
3382:New features
3381:
3377:
3374:
3372:
3369:
3367:
3364:
3362:
3359:
3357:
3354:
3352:
3349:
3348:
3346:
3342:
3339:
3337:
3334:
3332:
3329:
3328:
3326:
3325:
3323:
3319:
3313:
3310:
3308:
3305:
3303:
3300:
3298:
3295:
3293:
3290:
3288:
3285:
3284:
3282:
3278:
3272:
3269:
3267:
3264:
3262:
3259:
3257:
3254:
3253:
3251:
3249:
3248:Windows Phone
3245:
3239:
3236:
3234:
3231:
3229:
3226:
3224:
3221:
3219:
3216:
3214:
3211:
3209:
3206:
3205:
3203:
3201:
3197:
3187:
3184:
3182:
3179:
3178:
3176:
3172:
3166:
3163:
3161:
3158:
3156:
3153:
3152:
3150:
3148:
3142:
3139:
3137:
3129:
3123:
3120:
3118:
3115:
3114:
3112:
3108:
3098:
3095:
3093:
3090:
3089:
3087:
3081:
3075:
3072:
3070:
3067:
3065:
3062:
3060:
3057:
3055:
3052:
3048:
3045:
3044:
3043:
3040:
3036:
3033:
3031:
3028:
3027:
3026:
3023:
3019:
3016:
3015:
3014:
3011:
3010:
3008:
3006:
3000:
2994:
2991:
2989:
2986:
2984:
2980:
2977:
2975:
2972:
2970:
2967:
2963:
2960:
2958:
2955:
2954:
2953:
2950:
2948:
2945:
2943:
2940:
2938:
2935:
2933:
2930:
2928:
2925:
2924:
2922:
2916:
2913:
2911:
2907:
2901:
2898:
2896:
2893:
2891:
2888:
2887:
2885:
2883:
2879:
2873:
2870:
2868:
2865:
2863:
2860:
2858:
2855:
2853:
2850:
2849:
2847:
2844:
2840:
2834:
2831:
2827:
2824:
2822:
2819:
2818:
2817:
2814:
2812:
2809:
2808:
2805:
2801:
2794:
2789:
2787:
2782:
2780:
2775:
2774:
2771:
2764:
2760:
2756:
2753:
2749:
2745:
2742:
2737:
2733:
2732:
2728:
2713:
2709:
2703:
2700:
2688:
2682:
2679:
2667:
2661:
2658:
2646:
2640:
2637:
2625:
2621:
2617:
2613:
2612:Chen, Raymond
2607:
2605:
2603:
2601:
2597:
2584:
2580:
2576:
2570:
2567:
2554:
2550:
2544:
2541:
2528:
2524:
2520:
2514:
2511:
2499:
2495:
2491:
2484:
2481:
2468:
2464:
2460:
2454:
2451:
2438:
2434:
2430:
2429:
2424:
2418:
2415:
2403:
2399:
2396:White, Gary.
2392:
2389:
2376:
2372:
2368:
2367:
2362:
2356:
2353:
2340:
2336:
2332:
2331:microsoft.com
2328:
2322:
2319:
2306:
2305:
2300:
2294:
2291:
2279:
2278:
2273:
2267:
2264:
2251:
2247:
2243:
2237:
2234:
2222:
2218:
2214:
2208:
2205:
2193:
2189:
2183:
2180:
2167:
2163:
2157:
2154:
2141:
2137:
2133:
2129:
2123:
2120:
2107:
2103:
2099:
2095:
2089:
2086:
2074:
2070:
2064:
2061:
2050:on 2010-10-12
2049:
2045:
2044:
2039:
2033:
2030:
2018:
2014:
2008:
2005:
1993:
1989:
1982:
1979:
1966:
1962:
1961:aroundcny.com
1958:
1951:
1948:
1935:
1931:
1927:
1923:
1917:
1914:
1903:
1899:
1892:
1889:
1878:
1874:
1867:
1864:
1853:
1847:
1843:
1842:
1834:
1831:
1820:on 2013-01-12
1819:
1815:
1811:
1805:
1802:
1789:
1785:
1781:
1774:
1771:
1767:
1763:
1759:
1756:
1752:
1748:
1747:this tutorial
1744:
1743:Windows 9x/Me
1738:
1735:
1724:on 2012-03-15
1723:
1719:
1715:
1711:
1705:
1702:
1689:
1683:
1680:
1667:
1661:
1658:
1645:
1639:
1636:
1630:
1626:
1623:
1621:
1618:
1616:
1613:
1612:
1608:
1602:
1597:
1592:
1590:
1587:
1585:
1579:
1577:
1573:
1567:
1565:
1557:
1555:
1553:
1550:, bbLean and
1549:
1545:
1541:
1537:
1535:
1531:
1527:
1523:
1519:
1515:
1510:
1508:
1504:
1500:
1494:
1486:
1484:
1476:
1469:
1467:
1465:
1457:
1455:
1453:
1448:
1444:
1438:
1436:
1432:
1428:
1424:
1420:
1416:
1412:
1408:
1403:
1401:
1397:
1393:
1386:
1384:
1382:
1378:
1374:
1370:
1366:
1362:
1357:
1355:
1351:
1346:
1342:
1337:
1335:
1331:
1327:
1323:
1319:
1311:
1309:
1305:
1303:
1299:
1295:
1291:
1285:
1281:
1279:
1275:
1266:
1264:
1260:
1255:
1243:
1239:
1232:
1227:
1225:
1218:
1216:
1214:
1210:
1206:
1201:
1197:
1194:
1189:
1184:
1182:
1178:
1174:
1170:
1166:
1163:
1155:
1153:
1151:
1147:
1139:
1137:
1135:
1134:8.3 filenames
1131:
1127:
1123:
1119:
1115:
1110:
1108:
1104:
1100:
1092:
1090:
1088:
1084:
1076:
1071:
1069:
1065:
1063:
1059:
1053:
1051:
1047:
1044:
1036:
1034:
1031:
1027:
1012:
1006:
1000:
994:
989:
981:
979:
977:
972:
970:
966:
958:
956:
953:
949:
944:
938:
936:
933:
929:
925:
921:
917:
913:
908:
906:
900:
892:
887:
885:
883:
879:
874:
872:
864:Current usage
863:
861:
858:
855:
850:
848:
844:
839:
835:
830:
825:
823:
822:Windows Vista
818:
811:
809:
805:
803:
799:
794:
790:
789:Plug and Play
786:
778:
776:
773:
769:
766:
760:
758:
752:
750:
746:
743:and included
742:
738:
734:
724:
719:
711:
709:
707:
702:
700:
695:
691:
687:
683:
679:
675:
670:
668:
667:File Explorer
664:
663:Windows shell
660:
656:
652:
648:
639:
634:
626:
624:
622:
617:
615:
607:
604:
600:
597:
593:
589:
586:
582:
578:
575:
574:
573:
570:
568:
563:
561:
556:
554:
550:
545:
541:
532:
527:
519:
517:
515:
511:
505:
503:
499:
495:
491:
488:Based on the
486:
484:
480:
476:
471:
469:
465:
461:
457:
453:
449:
445:
440:
438:
434:
430:
425:
423:
419:
415:
411:
406:
404:
401:
397:
393:
389:
386:
382:
377:
375:
371:
367:
363:
355:
352:
344:
342:
340:
336:
332:
326:
324:
323:home desktops
319:
317:
313:
309:
305:
301:
297:
294:
290:
277:
272:
268:
265:
261:
257:
254:
250:
247:
244:
241:
239:
235:
231:
227:
226:Windows shell
224:
222:
216:
213:
210:
208:
204:
200:
196:
193:
190:
186:
183:
180:
176:
173:
170:
168:Update method
166:
162:
146:
144:
143:Final release
140:
136:
120:
116:
113:
112:Closed source
110:
106:
102:
100:Working state
98:
95:
92:
88:
85:
82:
80:
76:
71:
65:
60:
56:
51:
40:
33:
19:
3988:file systems
3880:Time-sharing
3485:Vista and XP
3327:Development
2962:Media Center
2881:
2765:at Wikibooks
2754:at Wikibooks
2715:. Retrieved
2711:
2702:
2690:. Retrieved
2681:
2669:. Retrieved
2666:"EmuOS v1.0"
2660:
2648:. Retrieved
2639:
2627:. Retrieved
2619:
2587:. Retrieved
2583:the original
2578:
2569:
2557:. Retrieved
2552:
2543:
2531:. Retrieved
2527:the original
2522:
2513:
2501:. Retrieved
2493:
2483:
2471:. Retrieved
2467:the original
2462:
2453:
2441:. Retrieved
2437:the original
2426:
2417:
2405:. Retrieved
2401:
2391:
2379:. Retrieved
2375:the original
2364:
2355:
2343:. Retrieved
2339:the original
2330:
2321:
2309:. Retrieved
2302:
2293:
2281:. Retrieved
2275:
2266:
2254:. Retrieved
2250:the original
2245:
2236:
2225:. Retrieved
2216:
2207:
2195:. Retrieved
2191:
2182:
2170:. Retrieved
2165:
2156:
2144:. Retrieved
2140:the original
2131:
2122:
2110:. Retrieved
2106:the original
2097:
2088:
2077:. Retrieved
2063:
2052:. Retrieved
2048:the original
2041:
2032:
2020:. Retrieved
2016:
2007:
1995:. Retrieved
1981:
1969:. Retrieved
1965:the original
1960:
1950:
1938:. Retrieved
1934:the original
1925:
1916:
1905:. Retrieved
1902:The Register
1891:
1880:. Retrieved
1876:
1866:
1855:. Retrieved
1840:
1833:
1822:. Retrieved
1818:the original
1804:
1792:. Retrieved
1788:the original
1783:
1773:
1765:
1750:
1742:
1737:
1726:. Retrieved
1722:the original
1704:
1692:. Retrieved
1682:
1670:. Retrieved
1660:
1648:. Retrieved
1638:
1607:1990s portal
1588:
1580:
1568:
1561:
1538:
1530:transparency
1511:
1496:
1477:
1473:
1461:
1450:
1447:Raymond Chen
1439:
1415:AUTOEXEC.BAT
1404:
1400:Windows 3.1x
1390:
1358:
1338:
1336:processors.
1315:
1306:
1286:
1282:
1267:
1259:Explorer.exe
1236:
1222:
1202:
1198:
1185:
1165:file systems
1159:
1143:
1111:
1096:
1093:File systems
1080:
1066:
1054:
1040:
1032:
1028:
993:AUTOEXEC.BAT
985:
973:
962:
945:
942:
912:kernel space
909:
902:
875:
867:
859:
851:
827:Support for
826:
819:
815:
806:
785:Windows 2000
782:
774:
770:
764:
763:retrospect.
761:
753:
733:Windows 2000
729:
703:
699:beta version
671:
644:
618:
611:
585:slipstreamed
571:
564:
557:
540:Windows 3.11
537:
506:
487:
472:
441:
437:Windows 3.11
426:
407:
378:
369:
359:
331:3.2 or lower
327:
320:
288:
287:
263:Succeeded by
108:Source model
103:Discontinued
4006:Device file
3996:Boot loader
3910:Round-robin
3835:Cooperative
3771:Rump kernel
3761:Multikernel
3751:Microkernel
3648:Usage share
3218:Mobile 2003
3136:Windows IoT
3134:Embedded /
3110:Specialized
3074:Server 2022
3069:Server 2019
3064:Server 2016
3054:Server 2012
3025:Server 2008
3018:Home Server
3013:Server 2003
2645:"WINDOWS93"
1710:Lea, Graham
1690:. Microsoft
1668:. Microsoft
1646:. Microsoft
1522:kernel mode
1470:MS-DOS Mode
1411:COMMAND.COM
1409:, launched
1354:video cards
1263:Progman.exe
959:Kernel mode
878:Gecko 1.8.1
798:DirectX 7.0
500:during the
448:Dave Cutler
433:Intel 80286
429:Windows 3.1
418:Windows/386
410:Windows 3.0
381:version 2.0
362:version 1.0
258:(1992-1993)
256:Windows 3.1
252:Preceded by
243:Proprietary
212:Windows API
4109:Categories
3936:protection
3892:algorithms
3890:Scheduling
3839:Preemptive
3785:Components
3756:Monolithic
3623:Comparison
3557:Comparison
3238:Mobile 6.5
3233:Mobile 6.1
3228:Mobile 6.0
3223:Mobile 5.0
2910:Windows NT
2882:Windows 9x
2826:Comparison
2811:Components
2741:Windows 9x
2629:October 6,
2311:October 6,
2283:October 6,
2227:2019-08-04
2079:2017-01-13
2054:2010-01-27
1971:October 6,
1940:October 6,
1907:2019-03-14
1882:2023-02-02
1857:2021-01-04
1824:2008-12-16
1766:Windows 9x
1751:Windows 9x
1728:2012-03-15
1631:References
1491:See also:
1435:Windows Me
1407:CONFIG.SYS
1392:Windows 95
1334:multi-core
1302:Windows NT
1290:monolithic
1188:multi-user
1130:file names
1122:IFSHLP.SYS
1011:SYSTEM.INI
999:CONFIG.SYS
916:user space
905:monolithic
802:Windows XP
718:Windows Me
712:Windows Me
633:Windows 98
627:Windows 98
619:The first
567:Windows 95
526:Windows 95
520:Windows 95
514:Windows XP
490:Windows NT
444:Windows NT
349:See also:
339:Windows XP
335:Windows NT
316:Windows XP
312:Windows Me
308:Windows 98
300:Windows 95
289:Windows 9x
267:Windows XP
195:Monolithic
161:Windows Me
154:2000-06-19
135:Windows 95
128:1995-07-14
70:Windows 95
48:Windows 9x
39:Windows 10
4026:Partition
3943:Bus error
3870:Real-time
3850:Interrupt
3776:Unikernel
3741:Exokernel
3492:Criticism
3468:10 Mobile
3347:Editions
3292:Nashville
3280:Cancelled
3271:10 Mobile
3266:Phone 8.1
3145:Embedded
2833:Criticism
2624:Microsoft
2589:April 20,
2559:April 20,
2533:April 21,
2503:April 21,
2498:Microsoft
2473:April 22,
2443:April 20,
2433:Microsoft
2407:April 20,
2381:April 20,
2371:Microsoft
2345:April 20,
2335:Microsoft
2256:April 20,
2197:April 25,
2172:April 25,
2146:April 20,
2136:Microsoft
2112:April 20,
2102:Microsoft
2043:Microsoft
2022:April 20,
1997:April 20,
1930:Microsoft
1794:April 20,
1753:, e.g in
1741:The term
1694:April 12,
1672:April 12,
1650:April 12,
1518:user mode
1193:processes
1120:based on
939:User mode
560:real mode
544:Microsoft
414:multitask
385:real-mode
310:and then
230:Graphical
178:Platforms
90:OS family
84:Microsoft
79:Developer
4072:Live USB
3934:resource
3824:Concepts
3662:Variants
3643:Timeline
3567:Category
3132:Windows
3085:releases
3030:EBS 2008
3003:Windows
2920:releases
2816:Versions
2221:Archived
2166:msfn.org
2073:Archived
2017:mvps.org
1992:PC World
1758:Archived
1625:MS-DOS 7
1593:See also
1548:LiteStep
1369:Infrared
1350:chipsets
1205:DLL hell
1156:Security
982:Registry
924:userland
765:PC World
706:Plus! 98
605:support.
553:thunking
396:DESQview
392:megabyte
207:Userland
4067:Live CD
4021:Journal
3985:access,
3983:Storage
3860:Process
3766:vkernel
3633:History
3616:General
3321:Related
3307:Polaris
3302:Odyssey
3297:Neptune
3261:Phone 8
3256:Phone 7
3147:Compact
2957:Pro x64
2937:NT 3.51
2821:History
2717:July 6,
2692:July 6,
2671:July 6,
2650:July 6,
1443:int 13h
1419:WIN.COM
1296:, like
1233:Drivers
1083:Unicode
1077:Unicode
1005:WIN.INI
882:TLS 1.2
793:DirectX
779:Decline
755:98 via
370:Windows
345:History
238:License
219:Default
152: (
126: (
3875:Thread
3746:Hybrid
3724:Kernel
3155:CE 5.0
3083:Other
3005:Server
2942:NT 4.0
2932:NT 3.5
2927:NT 3.1
2845:-based
2712:GitHub
2304:GitHub
2277:GitHub
1848:
1507:MS-DOS
1452:quack.
1423:EMM386
1413:, ran
1396:MS-DOS
1387:MS-DOS
1043:32-bit
965:IFSHLP
932:freeze
893:Kernel
888:Design
547:Win32
538:After
388:memory
374:MS-DOS
304:MS-DOS
269:(2001)
189:Kernel
94:MS-DOS
4077:Shell
4016:Inode
3502:Vista
3458:Phone
3426:Vista
3391:Vista
3356:Vista
3341:Vista
3287:Cairo
3174:Other
2969:Vista
2918:Base
1718:CeBIT
1481:'WIN'
1373:ATAPI
1332:, or
1298:Linux
1179:like
1112:Like
1107:FAT32
928:crash
647:FAT32
596:FAT32
498:WinFS
483:Cairo
182:IA-32
18:VMM32
3638:List
2947:2000
2719:2024
2694:2024
2673:2024
2652:2024
2631:2019
2591:2019
2579:MSFN
2561:2019
2553:MSFN
2535:2019
2505:2019
2475:2019
2445:2019
2409:2019
2383:2019
2347:2019
2313:2019
2285:2019
2258:2019
2199:2021
2174:2021
2148:2019
2114:2019
2024:2019
1999:2019
1973:2019
1942:2019
1846:ISBN
1796:2019
1696:2019
1674:2019
1652:2019
1512:The
1427:VxDs
1352:and
1341:SATA
1330:APIC
1300:and
1292:and
1270:.DRV
1254:.sys
1249:.386
1245:.vxd
1211:and
1181:NTFS
1175:and
1126:VFAT
1103:HPFS
1099:NTFS
1024:.INI
1020:.INI
1016:.INI
914:and
852:The
791:and
665:and
614:OEMs
464:MICA
460:OS/2
191:type
159:(as
133:(as
4094:PXE
4082:CLI
4062:HAL
4052:API
3855:IPC
3312:10X
2983:8.1
2872:3.1
2867:3.0
2862:2.1
2857:2.0
2852:1.0
2843:DOS
1534:GDI
1514:GDI
1449:, "
1377:MMX
1365:AGP
1363:or
1361:USB
1345:USB
1265:).
1261:or
1247:or
1162:FAT
1148:or
1101:or
976:GiB
969:WDM
952:GDI
948:KiB
930:or
655:OEM
651:USB
603:USB
581:OSR
549:API
454:at
452:VMS
400:286
199:DOS
4111::
3837:,
3507:10
3497:XP
3473:11
3463:10
3446:11
3441:10
3421:XP
3411:11
3406:10
3386:XP
3376:11
3371:10
3351:XP
3336:XP
3331:95
3097:RT
2993:11
2988:10
2981:/
2952:XP
2900:Me
2895:98
2890:95
2710:.
2622:.
2618:.
2599:^
2577:.
2551:.
2521:.
2496:.
2492:.
2461:.
2431:.
2425:.
2400:.
2369:.
2363:.
2333:.
2329:.
2301:.
2274:.
2244:.
2219:.
2215:.
2190:.
2164:.
2134:.
2130:.
2100:.
2096:.
2071:.
2040:.
2015:.
1990:.
1959:.
1924:.
1900:.
1875:.
1782:.
1716:.
1554:.
1524:.
1466:.
1454:"
1383:.
1356:.
1328:,
1324:,
1320:,
1183:.
1136:.
1109:.
1089:.
1052:.
1008:,
1002:,
996:,
884:.
747:.
708:.
583:1
542:,
424:.
405:.
333:.
318:.
3931:,
3841:)
3833:(
3601:e
3594:t
3587:v
3436:8
3431:7
3401:8
3396:7
3366:8
3361:7
2979:8
2974:7
2792:e
2785:t
2778:v
2721:.
2696:.
2675:.
2654:.
2633:.
2593:.
2563:.
2537:.
2507:.
2477:.
2447:.
2411:.
2385:.
2349:.
2315:.
2287:.
2260:.
2230:.
2201:.
2176:.
2150:.
2116:.
2082:.
2057:.
2026:.
2001:.
1975:.
1944:.
1910:.
1885:.
1860:.
1827:.
1798:.
1731:.
1698:.
1676:.
1654:.
232:)
228:(
201:)
197:(
163:)
156:)
137:)
130:)
41:.
34:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.