Maximum RAM supported on Windows 95 and Windows 2000?

[A31]

Hi all...
I found some copies of Windows 95 and Windows 2000 under my bed and I want a create a dual boot between the two systems - I am wanting to install both OS's on 2.OGB RAM, question is though - will they function properly on that amount of RAM (when Win95 was released, 64MB RAM was considered a lot!!)
Thanks!
A31

EDIT, by the way, I know neither of these two OS's are no longer supported (Win 2000 till June/July and support for Win 95 ended in 2001), but I am just curious to know what these OS's are like as I've never used them before - the earliest Windows I have used is Win 98 but I've never used Windows 2000 or 95 before.

[robert213]

I am not familiar with Microsoft's Virtual PC. However, Virtual PC was developed for people wishing to switch back and forth between different older version of Windows.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en


Windows 95 was the first version of windows to eliminate the config.sys and autoexec.bat DOS start up files. Going from memory, I don't remember many differences between Windows 95 and 98. Windows 98 Second Edition seemed to be the most stable.

If you really would like to go back in history, install MS DOS 5.0 or 6.0 (with DeviceHigh and LoadHigh config.sys and autoexec.bat commands) with Windows 3.1 for Workgroups.

[A31]

I have used virtual PC in the past on Vista with XP... though XP on just 128MB RAM was pretty painful!!
Why didn't I think of that before?
Thanks Rob!

Should imagine both 95 and 2000 will work fine no problems on 128mb ram...

[RealBlackStuff]

How often do you clean under your bed, every 15 years or so?

[rkawakami]

A few minutes Googling finds this from the horse's mouth: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pl ... AEmem.mspx

Additional resources:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/253912
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 51120.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 68198.aspx

[Unknown_K]

Why anybody would run Win 9x with more them 512MB of RAM is beyond me, Win2k is a better choice for that kind of RAM.

[A31]

How often do you clean under your bed, every 15 years or so?

Well, I must have got a new computer with Windows 95 as the disc(s) were only to be distributed with a new PC only. It's still in the seal wrap.

Why anybody would run Win 9x with more them 512MB of RAM is beyond me, Win2k is a better choice for that kind of RAM.

That's why I'll be probably ruuning Windows 95 under a virtual machine as they have 128MB RAM as opposed to 512MB +. Windows 2000 on 2GB RAM would be good only I've discovered that my Windows 2000 CD has a massive scratch on it so I doubt it'll work properly... Shame really as I'm curious to see what 2K is like...

[Ravenheart]

It's just like XP but with some of the fat trimmed.

[Bookworm]

> It's just like XP but with some of the fat trimmed.

2000 only supports 8 bit icons and no skins. The British Library icon set really would look better in 32 bit.

Of course, you could install the revolutions pack or Vista pack. That would give you 32 bit icons. But a case of dynamite would be better for your system files.

[A31]

Shame really as I'm curious to see what 2K is like...

I found out this week. My Grandad has a laptop with Windows 2000 Professional and 128MB RAM. It was very slow but Windows 2000 is OK I found out. I tried that Windows 2000 CD by the way and it's a no go, CD drive won't detect it.

It's just like XP but with some of the fat trimmed.

Yeah, it's a bit like that. Most things look the same in 2000 and XP (automatic updates, Device Manager etc) but it really looks more like Windows 9x (95, 98 and Me) than XP, even when XP is set to Classic View.

[craigmontHunter]

I personally like the look and feel of win2k more than xp, but I need and use the Dualview function, and that means that I cannot use win2k.

My xp install is going outdated same day as a win2k install, since sp3 seems to mess various things up, so I leave it off my computers.

I had a computer with windows 95. IE 4 was the biggest upgrade I ever did to it. I love quick launch.

[A31]

I prefer XP to 2000 by a mile. Windows XP SP2 and Windows 2000 go out of support this year, so only XP SP3 will now be supported.

[Temetka]

I personally feel the 2000 was one of Microsoft's best operating systems to date. Words cannot describe my love for that OS. However I would recommend XP over it mainly for security reasons and for the Wireless Zero Configuration (XP's built in wifi manager).

Windows 7 and Vista are my next to favorite OS's followed by Windows 98SE. I personally love Vista and have zero issues with it. I run Windows 7 because it is faster. If Vista could run just as fast as 7 on my X41T and give me the new taskbar, but in Vista black I would be all over it.

[craigmontHunter]

I run Windows 7 because it is faster. If Vista could run just as fast as 7 on my X41T and give me the new taskbar, but in Vista black I would be all over it.

There was a website I found that had instructions on changing the windows 7 basic colors. You need to replace the aero.theme file, and patch uxtheme.dll. I used it and it worked really well, and looked better.

Good luck.

[A31]

I'm going to get myself a legacy PC or laptop to try Windows 95 on... becuase I can't get it to work in Virtual PC 2007.

Does anybody know of a free Virtual Machine software that supports Windows 95, or how to get Windows 95 to work in Virtual PC 2007?

Another question... to install Windows 2000 from the I386 folder, do you need to do it from DOS? I imagine you'll type a command similar to this:
D:\I386\winnt32.exe (the Windows 2000 setup file and the location).

Thanks!
A31

[Temetka]

For running Windows 95 a legacy laptop is your best bet. Anything above 166MHz will do just fine, although I recommend a P233MX at the low end and any kind of PII for the higher end.

You could also try virtual box. I've run Win98SE in it just fine.

Also as far setting up Windows 2000, that should work just fine.

[A31]

I just installed my Windows 2000 Pro in Virtual pc 2007 along with lots of other OS's (yes, I found them all under the bed )

Windows 2000 is all right, but booting up takes a long long time!!

But like I said earlier, I still prefer XP (and I've been on Virtual PC a lot recently, I learned how to make Windows Millennium BSOD!!), mainly because of the better hardware / software compatibility, the better stability, and I like the 'Luna Experience' in XP - I am not a fan of the Windows 2000 interface (or that of 95, 98, NT 4.0, Me etc) and I found getting used to the Windows 2000 start menu hard - but that's probably becuase I was bought up with XP and I've been using it most of my life (apart from when I was using Vista last year).

To get Windows 95 OSR2.5 working in a Virtual PC, I just installed MS-DOS 7.10 with CD-ROM support in VPC, and then I inserted my Win95 OSR2.5 disc and did the commands:

C:\>md Win95
C:\>d:
D:\>copy *.* Win95
D:\>setup

Then that started Windows 95 setup, but when I got to the license agreement part, the mouse kept on freezing, so in the end I had to give up and I didn't know which key to press on the keyboard to say 'Yes'. If anyone does know, that would be most helpful!!

[Neil]

Don't remember for certain what the Win95 EULA looks like, but, I think you can navigate between yes and no with the tab key, and/or maybe arrow keys, then hit enter to select.

[craigmontHunter]

Try Virtual PC 2004 - IIRC, it has support for windows 95 (not sure) otherwise check for the underlined characters, and press "alt+character" to access that option.

Good luck

[A31]

Thanks for the tips!! My keyboard also freezes I forgot to say but I'm using a USB keyboard... I have a PS/2 spare so I'll try that when I next try to get W95 on Virtual PC.

[A31]

I successfully got Windows 95 OSR 2.5 to install (without freezing!) on Virtual PC 2007!

I was going in the wrong direction by using MS DOS 7.10 to install Windows 95, but when I used MS DOS 6.22 to install Windows 95, it went perfectly and didn't freeze at all. Took about 20 minutes to install I have Office 97 Pro installed on it, too.

I had a computer with windows 95. IE 4 was the biggest upgrade I ever did to it. I love quick launch.

(My) Windows 95 OSR 2.5 (also known as Windows 95 C) comes with quick launch and IE4. You can't go very far on IE4 nowadays... (well, not without every page looking terrible!)