Windows 95
personal computer operating system by Microsoft
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft, released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and to retail on August 24, 1995. The first of the Windows 9x line of operating systems, Windows 95, which replaced Windows 3.1, merged Microsoft's MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows operating systems into a single product, and featured major changes to the core components of the operating system, such as moving from the mainly cooperatively multitasked 16-bit architecture of its predecessor to a 32-bit preemptive multitasking architecture.
Windows 95 featured a new graphical user interface (GUI), introducing the Windows Explorer file manager, a taskbar with the Start menu and a notification area, and file shortcuts on the desktop, and implemented a number of improvements over its predecessor, including Plug-and-Play driver integration, native Internet integration, and support for longer filenames (from 8 to 255 characters). Accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign that generated much prerelease hype, it was a major success and is regarded as one of the most significant products in the personal computing industry.
Three years after its introduction, Windows 95 was followed by Windows 98. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 95 on December 31, 2000, with extended support lasting until December 31, 2001.
Development
The initial design and planning of Windows 95 can be traced back to around March 1992 (three years before the official release of Windows 95), just before the release of Windows 3.1. At this time, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT 3.1 were still in development. At this point, Microsoft's strategy was to have a next generation, high-end OS based on Windows NT, namely, Cairo, and a low-end, consumer-focused one as an evolution of Windows 3.1. The latter strategy was to develop a 32-bit underlying kernel and filesystem with 32-bit protected mode device drivers in Windows for Workgroups 3.11, to be used as the basis for the next version of Windows, code named "Chicago." Cairo would be Microsoft's next-generation operating system based on Windows NT, featuring a new user interface and an object-based file system, but it was not planned to be shipped before 1994.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Windows 95” is personal computer operating system by Microsoft. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Windows, personal and computer, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “personal computer operating system by Microsoft” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q83370. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1995, 2000, 2001 and 1992.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Windows 95”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Windows 95 primary sources, Windows 95 archive and Windows research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Windows 95”?
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This entry incorporates text from “Windows 95” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.