(
Codename '''Chicago''') is a hybrid
16-bit /
32-bit Graphical User Interface -based
Operating System released on
August 24 ,
1995 by the
Microsoft Corporation.
The development of Windows 95 occurred as a direct result of combining Microsoft's formerly separate
MS-DOS and
Windows products. Along with the previous Windows version,
Windows For Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95 was the second in that line without support for older, 16-bit
X86 processors, thus requiring an
Intel 80386 (or compatible) processor running in
Protected Mode . It featured significant improvements, 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 Filename s and preemptively-multitasked protected-mode 32-bit applications.
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.
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 Buffer s and hence different
System Call s). 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 recognise 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.
Windows 95 brought much greater power and usability to the desktop GUI, and also ended competition in the desktop 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 i.e. a notepad on the coffee-table to open Microsoft Works.
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's 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.
Windows 95 marked the introduction of the Start button and
Taskbar to Microsoft's GUI, both of which have remained staples of all subsequent versions of Windows.
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 Me ,
Windows 2000 , 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. As of 2006, Windows 95 is still widely used among "technically-incompetent" computer users who purchased computers during the Windows 95 era and lack the skills and/or knowledge to desire an upgrade.
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.
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 $14 million for the use of the song (from the 1981 album ''
Tattoo You '') in the '95 advertising campaign.
This 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.
Internet Explorer v1.0 was available with the additional purchase of
Microsoft Plus! .
Official system requirements
{Link without Title} : a 386 "DX" CPU of any speed (32-bit processor), 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.
- Brian Eno was the composer of the Windows 95 start-up sound.
