Guru Guy's Vintage Computer Software Shop
Windows 9x (Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME) Retail Boxed Software
Windows 9x was a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system family. Starting firstly with the release of Windows 95 in August 1995 which within a year or two of its release had become the most successful operating system ever produced!
Windows 95, 98, 98 Second Edition and laslty Millennium Edition, were Microsoft's consumer version of Windows, whilst businesses relied on the Windows NT family of operating systems. Various evolutions in the 9x family were then brough across to Windows NT families. For instance, Windows 95's cairo User Interface (start menu and Windows Explorer for file management) was then ported across to Windows NT 4. Similarly, the first version of Windows NT, Windows NT 3.1 was based on the UI of Windows 3.1.
The Windows 9x family finally died a death after Microsoft merged the two product families into one with Windows XP. Windows XP brought Windows NT stability and business features with the consumer features of multimedia, Plug 'n' Play and the latest hardware compatibilities; whilst also dropping the MS-DOS operating system to which the Windows 9x family were based on.
Below are the following items for sale:
Windows 95 Upgrade
Windows 98 - For PCs Without Windows
Windows 98 Second Edition - Upgrade
Released: 24 August 1995
Windows 95 was intended to integrate Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products and includes an enhanced version of DOS, MS-DOS 7.0. It features significant improvements, most visibly in the graphical user interface (GUI).
The basic elements of the interface introduced in Windows 95 - including the taskbar, Start button and menu, and the Windows Explorer file manager - remain fundamentally unchanged in later versions of Windows more than a decade later!
Windows 95 included support for 255-character mixed-case long filenames and multitasked 32-bit applications. Whereas earlier versions of Windows are optional "DOS extending shells" requiring an MS-DOS or MS-DOS compatible operating system (usually sold separately).
Windows 95 incorporated MS-DOS into a consolidated operating system, which was a significant marketing change. The release of Windows 95 also marked wider acceptance of Plug and Play standards on the IBM PC platform.
In the marketplace, Windows 95 was a major 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.
Condition This is a complete original, sealed unopened box in excellent as-new condition. The OSR-2 release ("Now includes Internet Explorer 4.0")
Contents CDROM Media, Manuals, License etc. Price £59.99 + Postage; Contact to buy now.
^ Back to top ^
Windows 98 (First Edition) for PCs without Windows
Released: 25th June 1998
Like its predecessor, Windows 95, Windows 98 is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit monolithic product based on MS-DOS. It was re-written and relaunched as Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) in 1999 prior to it be succeeded by Windows Me (Millennium Edition) on 14 September 2000.
The release of Windows 98 was preceded by a notable press demonstration at Comdex in April 1998. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was highlighting the operating system's ease of use and enhanced support for Plug and Play (PnP). However, when presentation assistant Chris Capossela plugged a scanner in and attempted to install it, the operating system crashed, displaying a Blue Screen of Death. Gates remarked after applause and cheering from the audience, "That must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet."
System Requirements
- 486DX-2/66 MHz or higher processor (Pentium processor recommended)
- 16 MB of RAM (24 MB recommended, it's possible to run on 8 MB machines with /im option used during the installation process)
- At least 500 MB of space available on HDD. The amount of space required depends on the installation method and the components selected, but virtual memory and system utilities as well as drivers should be taken into consideration.
- Upgrading from Windows 95 (FAT16) or 3.1 (FAT): 140-400 MB (typically 205 MB).
- New installation (FAT32): 190-305 MB (typically 210 MB).
- Note: Both Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE can have significant problems associated with hard drives that are over 32 Gigabytes (GB) in size. This issue only occurs with certain Phoenix BIOS settings. A software update has been made available to fix this shortcoming.
- Note2: Also, both Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE are unable to handle hard drives that are over 137 Gigabytes (GB) in size, because of missing 48 Bit LBA support. Data corruption is possible. An experimental third party software update is available to fix this shortcoming.
- VGA or higher resolution monitor
- CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
- Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device (optional)
Condition This is a complete original, opened but in very good condition indeed. Includes all original contents, almost as-new!
Contents CDROM Media, Manuals, Reg cards, getting started, EULA, etc. Price £69.99 + Postage; Contact to buy now.
^ Back to top ^
Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) Upgrade
Released: 5th May 1999
Windows 98 Second Edition (often shortened to SE) is an updated release of Windows 98, which includes fixes for many minor issues: improved USB support, and the replacement of Internet Explorer 4.0 with the significantly faster and less error-prone Internet Explorer 5.0. Also included is Internet Connection Sharing, which allows multiple computers on a LAN to share a single Internet connection through Network Address Translation. Other features in the update include Microsoft NetMeeting 3.0 and integrated support for DVD-ROM drives. A memory overflow issue was resolved which in the older version of Windows 98 would crash most systems if left running for 49.7 days.
Also included on the CD-ROM is the option to install Microsoft Plus! themes for Windows 98. Windows 98SE could be obtained as retail upgrade and full version packages, as well as OEM and a Second Edition Updates Disc for existing Windows 98 users.
All versions of DirectX up to 9.0c can be installed on Windows 98 SE. Microsoft .NET Framework up to version 2.0 is supported. Internet Explorer can be updated to version 6.0 (6.00.2800.1106 Service Pack 1), the same version included with Windows XP SP1 (and the last version available for versions of Windows prior to XP), but it cannot receive current Internet Explorer security updates. Windows 98 can handle the Visual C++ 2005 library and L2TP/IPSec VPN client by Microsoft as well as versions of the Microsoft Installer (MSIA) services up to 2.0. Windows Media Player 9.0 is also supported and can be installed without problems.
Support for more than 512 MB RAM is achieved with a third-party patch or by modifying system.ini. Support for hard disks above 137 GB and up to 2 TB is also possible via several third-party tools.
Condition Genuine, Brand New Retail Sealed unopened retail box set!!!! Not very easy to find!!!
Contents CDROM Media, Manuals, Reg cards, getting started, EULA, etc. Price £49.99 + Postage; Contact to buy now.
^ Back to top ^
Return to Guru Guy's Vintage Computer Software's Webshop homepage.
