Windows ME

From Computing Knowledgebase

[edit] Development and History

Windows Millennium Edition (Also Codenamed Millennium) was made for two reasons. The first, was down to it's planned merger of the Windows 9x and Windows NT product lines. This was supposed to materialise shortly before Millennium, but it was pushed back two years to Windows XP.

Windows Millennium Edition (Also known as Windows ME) was, at it's heart, based on the Windows 98 Kernel. However, it was also classified as a 'Stopgap' release to tide people over until Windows XP hit the shelves. Subsequently, Windows ME incorporated elements from the Whistler project, as it was known at the time, and such elements like System Restore found their way into Windows ME.

[edit] System Requirements

150MHz Pentium-Grade Processor
32MB RAM
320MB Hard Drive Space (FAT16/FAT32 Partitions Supported)
CD-ROM Drive (Network Install Not Supported)
VGA-Grade Graphics System
Mouse
Keyboard

[edit] System Requirements for the bundled Movie Maker

Pentium II-Grade Processor, running at 300MHz or better.

For other activities, such as DVD Playback, specialist Hardware and/or software is needed, such as an MPEG2 Decoder.

[edit] Features

[edit] Criticisms

Windows ME lacked Real Mode MS-DOS Support, although such a mode could be added with an addon, made by a third party. As such, the system could not shut down to MS-DOS, like Windows 95 or Windows 98 could. Also, the Windows 98 Architecture did not stand up well to having elements of what were later to become Windows XP, integrated into the Kernel. As such, Windows ME is, in some circles, rated as more unstable then the first Windows 98 release.

Windows ME was also touted as a whole new release of Windows... in reality, it was almost identical to Windows 98 Second Edition. Thus, many users were annoyed at having to shell out, at full price, what was was, at best, an upgrade. Of course, Windows ME was purely designed as a Stopgap release, with a limited lifespan, to nake sure there was a new Windows release to sater the masses, before Windows XP arrived.

Windows ME also had a rather blatent System Restore problem: After September 8, 2001, the Datestamp would be incorrectly marked, and thus, with Windows ME unable to locate any System Snapshots after that date, the System Restore Process would fail.

Microsoft Operating System Versions

Microsoft Operating System Versions:

MS-DOS: QDOS | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.11 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.21 | 3.3 | 3.3A | 3.31 | 4.0 | 4.01 | 4.01A | 5.0 | 5.0A | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.21 | 6.22 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 8.0