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 Windows products. During development it was referred to by the internal codename Chicago.

Windows 95 was intended to integrate 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 in later versions such as Windows Vista. There were also large changes made to the underlying workings, including support for 255-character mixed-case long filenames and preemptively multitasked protected-mode 32-bit applications. Whereas the previous versions of Windows were optional "operating environments" requiring the MS-DOS operating system (usually available separately), Windows 95 was a consolidated operating system, which was a significant marketing change.

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 the 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

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

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 produced. It also had the effect of driving other major players in the DOS-compatible operating system out of business, something which would later be used in court against Microsoft.

Internet Explorer 4.0 came with an optional shell update known as Windows Desktop Update that gave Windows 95 (and NT 4.0) a user interface that would become the graphical user interface of Windows 98. Only the 4.x series of the browser contained the shell update, so those that wanted the new shell had to install IE4 with the desktop update before installing a newer version of Internet Explorer.

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, except for Windows Vista, which replaces the Start button with the Windows Orb; the functionality remains the same.

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)^[2]. 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. According to sources at Microsoft, however, this was just a rumor spread by the Stones to increase their market value, and Microsoft actually paid a fraction of that amount.^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]}

In the UK, the largest computer chain PC World received a huge amount of oversized Windows 95 boxes, posters and point of sale material, and many branches opened at midnight to sell the first copies of the product, although these customers were far fewer in number than publicity had suggested.

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).

Internet Explorer

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

Editions

While Windows 95 was originally sold as a shrink-wrapped product, later editions were provided only to computer OEMs for installation on new PCs. The term OEM Service Release is frequently abbreviated OSR, as in OSR1 or OSR2.1. Thus, for example, OSR1 was the OEM release that was identical to Windows 95 retail with Service Pack 1 applied (with the addition of Internet Explorer). In order to maintain compatibility with existing programs, Windows 95 would always supply a version number of "4.00.950", regardless of the internal build number, thus giving Windows 95 a higher version than Windows 3.1 or Windows NT 4.0. (Similarly, Windows 98 would claim to be Windows 4.10.) Later versions are sometimes referred to by the trailing letter appended to this version string, such as Windows 95 B for OSR2 and OSR2.1.

Official system requirements were an Intel 80386 DX CPU of any speed, 4 MB of system RAM, and 50 MB 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. To achieve optimal performance, Microsoft recommends an Intel 80486 or compatible microprocessor with at least 8 MB of RAM.^[7]

Windows 95 was superseded by Windows 98 and could still be directly upgraded by both Windows 2000 ^[8] and Windows Me. As of December 31, 2001, Microsoft ended its support for Windows 95, making it an "obsolete" product according to the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy.^[9] Even though support for Windows 95 has ended, the software still remains in widespread use on many home computers because of budget issues, or a lack of knowledge or lack of desire to upgrade to Windows XP or Windows Vista. Another main reason is that a computer purchased around the era of Windows 95's introduction is unlikely to meet the hardware requirements of Windows XP, let alone Vista, and many do not wish to upgrade their existing or buy a new computer. Microsoft has tried to get these people to migrate from Windows 95 because it is an obsolete product and no longer fit for Internet use but has failed to seize the attention of many customers.

Windows 95 has been released on both floppy disks and on CD-ROM, as some computers at the time did not include a CD-ROM drive. The floppy disk version of Windows 95 came on 13 DMF formatted floppy disks, excluding additional software that some releases might have featured, such as Internet Explorer. Microsoft Plus for Windows 95 was also available on floppy disks.

Trivia

• Brian Eno was the composer of the Windows 95 start-up sound. It was included in later products as The Microsoft Sound.
• Two music videos were included on the install CD-ROM for Windows 95: Weezer's "Buddy Holly" and Edie Brickell's "Good Times". Also included were short animations by Bill Plympton and Joan Gratz[1], as well as the trailer for the movie Rob Roy.
• Its startup sound is featured in Office 2000, and as a file in Windows 2000.
• The install CD also contained the video game Hover!.
• The Windows 95 beta release included a PIM applet called WinPad.^[10], apparently a replacement for the Windows 3.1 utilities Cardfile and Calendar. It was dropped before Windows 95 was released.
• The Indian release of Windows 95 had to be recalled, as the timezone selection screen, which displayed a world map, displayed 8 pixels of Kashmir as being under Pakistani control. This is illegal in India [2].

See also

• VCOMM

References

• Windows 95: The hype and beyond, Guardian Unlimited
• With Windows 95's Debut, Microsoft Scales Heights of Hype, Washington Post
• Windows 95 Installation Requirements, Microsoft
• Windows 95 end of support date, Microsoft
• Schulman, Andrew (1994). Unauthorized Windows 95: A Developer's Guide to Exploring the Foundations of Windows "Chicago". IDG Books. ISBN 1-56884-169-8 (paperback). 

Notes

Wikipedia information about Windows 95 This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Windows 95". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.