Geek Fun: Virtualized Old School Windows – Windows 95

A Nostalgic Look Back: Running Windows 95 in a Virtual Machine

Last week, we explored the experience of running Windows 3.1 within VMware Player on a Windows 7 system. Today, we’ll proceed with an upgrade to Windows 95, examining how many of us recall Windows from the 1990s. This demonstration utilizes the initial release of Windows 95 (version 4.00.950) operating within VMware Player 3.0 on Windows 7 x64.

For the sake of experimentation, the 95 upgrade was performed on the Windows 3.1 virtual machine created last week. Windows 95 represents a significant era in computing history, and revisiting it offers a unique perspective.

The Installation Process

Here is the initial setup screen presented during installation. Notably, Windows 95 completed installation in under 15 minutes within the VMware environment during our testing.

Interestingly, Windows 95 provided a selection of installation options. Users were actually given the ability to customize which components of Windows were installed, if desired.

And, who envisioned running Windows 95 on a “Portable Computer”? Contemporary smartphones possess far greater processing power than the “portable computers” available during the Windows 95 era.

Increased productivity was often touted as a benefit of utilizing Windows 95. Would anyone consider switching back?

The desire to continue working without interruption is understandable. A restart wasn’t always a welcome suggestion!

Welcome to Windows 95! It’s worth remembering that launching programs directly from the Start button was a relatively new feature at the time.

Stability Concerns and Familiar Features

Our brief exploration of Windows 95 served as a reminder of the operating system’s reputation for instability during the 1990s. Even before fully booting the test copy after installation, we encountered our first error message.

Was the “Windows in Space” screensaver the most popular in Windows 95, or is that just a personal recollection?

The user interface retained some elements from older versions, such as Windows 3.1. Certain aspects of the UI appeared somewhat outdated.

Media Player existed before it accumulated numerous features in an attempt to compete with iTunes.

However, CD playback functionality wasn’t initially included in Media Player. In fact, the CD player was a program I frequently used on a daily basis during the Windows 95 era.

The help file regarding new programs designed for Windows 95 lists many names that are now largely obsolete in the technology landscape.

Additional software was often necessary. The initial version of Windows 95 didn’t include Internet Explorer. Fortunately, Minesweeper was still present!

“My Computer” offered limited functionality, and by default, opened every action in a new window. Double-clicking on the C: drive, for example, would invariably launch a new window. This was often frustrating.

Explorer, however, began to resemble more contemporary versions of the file management system.

The Start menu search function was introduced, although its effectiveness in locating files was often questionable.

Reflections on a Bygone Era

The shutdown screen evokes a wave of nostalgia, and memories of shutdowns that seemed to take an eternity.

The prompt to turn off the computer likely left its mark on countless monitors, with those words permanently etched into the screen.

This journey down Windows memory lane is a reminder of how far computing has progressed. Many of us have experience with Windows 95, so we invite you to share your favorite – or least favorite – memories of it. We can all certainly appreciate the advancements in modern computers and operating systems, can’t we?