Windows 95

Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous versions of Windows. During development it was referred to by the Microsoft's internal codename Chicago.

Windows 95 was intended to combine the functions of Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products. It featured significant improvements over the popular Windows 3.1, most visibly the graphical user interface (GUI) whose basic format and structure is still used today in Windows XP. There were also large changes to the underlying workings, including support for 255-character mixed-case long filenames and preemptively multitasked protected-mode 32-bit applications.

Windows 95 followed Windows for Workgroups 3.11 with its lack of support for older, 16-bit x86 processors, thus requiring an Intel 80386 (or compatible) processor running in protected mode.

32-bit

The introduction of 32-bit File Access in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 meant that 16-bit real mode MS-DOS was no longer used for managing the files while Windows was running, and the earlier introduction of the 32-bit Disk Access meant that PC BIOS wasn't used for managing hard disks. This essentially reduced MS-DOS to the role of a boot loader for the protected-mode Windows kernel. DOS could still be used for running old-style drivers for compatibility, but Microsoft discouraged using them, as this prevented proper multitasking and impaired system stability. The Control Panel allowed a user to see what MS-DOS components were still used by the system; optimal performance was achieved when they were all bypassed. The Windows kernel still used MS-DOS style real-mode drivers in the so-called Safe mode, but this mode existed merely to allow a user to fix problems with loading native, protected-mode drivers.

Long File Names

The 32-bit File Access was necessary for the long file names feature introduced with Windows 95 through the use of the VFAT file system. It was available to both Windows programs and MS-DOS programs started from Windows (they had to be adapted slightly, since accessing long file names required using larger pathname buffers and hence different system calls). Competing DOS-compatible operating systems needed an upgrade to be able to see these names. Using older versions of DOS utilities to manipulate files meant that the long names were not visible and would be lost if files were copied or moved around. During a Windows 95 automatic upgrade of an older Windows 3.1 system, DOS and third-party disk utilities which could destroy long file names were identified and made unavailable (Microsoft Anti-Virus for Windows indicated that the upgrade program was itself a computer virus). If Windows 95 was started in DOS mode, e.g. for running DOS games, low-level access to disks was locked out. If the need arose to depend on disk utilities that do not recognize long file names, such as MS-DOS 6.22's defrag utility, a program was provided on the CD-ROM called LFNBACK for backup and restoration of long file names. The program is in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\LFNBACK directory of the Windows 95 CD-ROM.

User interface

Windows 95 brought much greater power and usability to the desktop GUI, and also stifled competition in the DOS compatible operating system market. While it was technically possible (but not a good idea given the above) to start the Windows 95 kernel and GUI from DR-DOS — and probably PC-DOS too — this did not emerge in court until some years later, by which time the other major players in the DOS market were effectively out of business. In the marketplace, Windows 95 was an unqualified success, and within a year or two of its release had become the most successful operating system ever made.

Internet Explorer 4.x came with an optional item known as Windows Desktop Update that, once installed, gave Windows 95 (and NT 4.0) a user interface much the same as Windows 98. This was dropped from later versions of Internet Explorer, but was not removed from the system if it was already installed.

A very early beta release of the software featured "Navigator", a GUI whereby the user clicked on parts of images to move around a "house" from study to living-room to dining room. Software was then opened by clicking individual items, e.g. a notepad on the coffee table to open Microsoft Works. This functionality was later released as a separate program, Microsoft Bob.

Release

Windows 95 was released with a great fanfare, including a commercial featuring the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up" (a reference to the Start button)Microsoft detractors were quick to point out that the second verse of Start Me Up begins "you make a grown man cry" (a line which is repeated throughout). The phrase subsequently featured as a humorous reference in many critical expositions of Windows 95. It was widely reported that Microsoft paid the Rolling Stones between $8 and $14 million for the use of the song (from the 1981 album Tattoo You) in the '95 advertising campaign.. Microsoft's $300 million advertising campaign featured stories of people waiting in line outside stores to get a copy, and there were tales of people without computers buying the software on hype alone, not even knowing what Windows was.

In New York City, the Empire State Building was lit to match the colors of the Windows logo. In Toronto, a 300-foot banner was hung from the top of the CN Tower. Copies of The Times were available for free in the UK where Microsoft paid for 1.5 million issues (twice the daily circulation at the time).

Windows 95 marked the introduction of the Start button and taskbar to Microsoft's GUI, both of which have remained fixtures of all subsequent versions of Windows.

Internet Explorer

Windows 95 OEM Service Release 1 was the first release of Windows to include Internet Explorer (Codenamed O'Hare) with the OS, there was no uninstaller, but it could be deleted easily if the user desired. The last version of Internet Explorer supported on Windows 95 is Internet Explorer 5.5 which was released in 2000 and is also the version included with Windows Me.

Editions

Release	Version	Release Date	Internet Explorer	USB Support	FAT32 Support	DMA Support
Windows 95 Retail	4.00.950This version of Windows 95 is sometimes called "950r6" because there were five prior release candidates of build 950. Release candidate 6 was the build that shipped in retail boxes.	1995	noInternet Explorer v1.0 was available with the additional purchase of Microsoft Plus!.	no	no	no
Windows 95 Retail SP1	4.00.950A	1996	no	no	no	no
OEM Service Release 1	4.00.950A	1996	2.0	no	no	no
OEM Service Release 2	4.00.950B (4.00.1111)	1996	3.0	no	yes	yes
OEM Service Release 2.1	4.00.950B (4.03.1212-1214)	1996	3.0	yes	yes	yes
OEM Service Release 2.5	4.00.950C (4.03.1214)	1997	4.0	yes	yes	yes

OEM Service Release was often abbreviated to OSR, so an edition may have been called OSR1 or OSR2 etc.

Windows 95 has been superseded by Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows 2000, Windows Me, and Windows XP. The Windows NT-based kernel used in Windows 2000 and Windows XP has shown itself to be much more robust and powerful than its predecessor in Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me. As a result, those versions of Windows are being phased out. As of December 31, 2001, Microsoft ended its support for Windows 95. Windows 95 has been released on both floppy disks and on CD-ROM, as some computers at the time did not include the CD-ROM capability. The floppy disk version of Windows 95 is featured on 13 floppy disks, excluding the boot disk and additional software that some releases might have featured, such as Internet Explorer being bundled with the Windows 95 software as well. They even put Windows 95 Microsoft Plus on these disks.

Official system requirements were an Intel 80386 DX CPU of any speed, 4Mb of system RAM, and 50Mb of hard drive space. These minimal claims were made in order to maximise the available market of Windows 3.1 converts. This configuration was distinctly suboptimal for any productive use on anything but single tasking dedicated workstations due to the heavy reliance on virtual memory. Also in some cases if any networking or similar components were installed the system would refuse to boot with 4 megabytes of RAM. It was possible to run windows 95 on a 386 SX but this led to even less acceptable performance.

Notes

References

Windows 95: The hype and beyond, Guardian Unlimited
With Windows 95's Debut, Microsoft Scales Heights of Hype, Washington Post

Bibliography

Books

Trivia

Brian Eno was the composer of the Windows 95 start-up sound.
Two music videos were included on the install CD for Windows 95: Weezer's "Buddy Holly" and Edie Brickell's "Good Times". Also included were short animations by Bill Plympton. ^*

External links

Microsoft's Windows 95 webpage
GUIdebook: Windows 95 Gallery - A website dedicated to preserving and showcasing Graphical User Interfaces
Windows timeline
Description of Windows 95 OEM Service Release 1
Windows® Family Versions
The Microsoft HCI report for Windows 95
HPC:Factor Windows 95 Patches & Updates Guide

Microsoft Windows | Discontinued Microsoft software

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