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Windows 95 is a direct descendant of Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products. It is the first in that line without support for older, 16-bit x86 processors, thus requiring an Intel 80386 (or compatible) processor running in protected mode. It featured significant improvements to the GUI and underlying workings, including support for 256-character mixed-case long filenames and preemptively-multitasked protected-mode 32-bit applications.

Windows 95 ran on MS-DOS 7.0, which was included (but generally hidden from the user). Windows 95 was the first Windows product to be tied to a specific version of DOS; this was seen as a way to leverage the dominant position Windows 3.1 had established in the GUI market and ensure that no non-Microsoft product would be able to provide the underlying operating system services.

The introduction of 32-bit file access in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 meant that 16-bit real mode MS-DOS was no longer used for managing the files while Windows was running, and the earlier introduction of the 32-bit disk access meant that PC BIOS wasn't used for managing hard disks. This essentially reduced MS-DOS to the role of a boot loaderIn computing, booting is a bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. A boot sequence is the set of operations the computer performs when it is switched on which load an operating system. Most computer sy for the protected-mode Windows kernel. DOS could still be used for running old-style driverDevice driver vehicle driver ( driving) JDBC driver a software that allows applications to connect to a database a kind of sail on a sailboat ( driver (sail)) Driver is a computer game made by GT Interactive and Reflections.s for compatibility, but Microsoft discouraged using them, as this prevented proper multitasking and impaired system stability. The Control Panel allowed a user to see what MS-DOS components were still used by the system; optimal performance was achieved when they were all bypassed. The Windows kernelIn computer science, the kernel is the fundamental part of an operating system. It is a piece of software responsible for providing secure access to the machine's hardware to various computer programs. Since there are many programs, and access to the hard still used MS-DOS drivers in the so-called Safe mode, but this mode existed merely to allow a user to fix problems with loading native, protected-mode drivers.

32-bit file access was necessary for the long file names feature introduced with Windows 95 through the use of the VFAT file system (a variant of FAT16). It was available to both Windows programs and MS-DOS programs started from Windows (they had to be adapted slightly, since accessing long file names required using larger pathname bufferBuffer can have various meanings: In chemistry, the term buffer refers to a buffer solution, usually used to stabilize the acidity ( pH) of a liquid. In computing a buffer is a portion of memory set aside to store data, often before it is sent to an exters and hence different system callIn computing, a system call is the mechanism used by an application program to request service from the operating system. System calls often use a special machine code instruction which causes the processor to change mode (e. to " supervisor mode" or " prs). Competing DOS-compatible operating systems needed an upgrade to be able to see these names. Using older versions of DOS utilities to manipulate files meant that the long names were not visible and would be lost if files were copied or moved around. During a Windows 95 automatic upgrade of an older Windows 3.1 system, DOS and third party disk utilities which could destroy long file names were identified and made unavailable. If the need arose to depend on disk utilities that do not recognise long file names, such as MS-DOS 6.22's defrag utility, a program was provided on the CD-ROM called LFNBACK for backup and restoration of long file names. The program is in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\LFNBACK directory of the Windows 95 CD-ROM.

Windows 95 brought much greater power and usability to the desktop GUI, and also ended competition in the desktop operating system market. While it was technically possible (but not a good idea given the above) to start the Windows 95 kernel and GUI from DR-DOSDR-DOS was a new name given to what was then the latest version of Digital Research's long line of computer operating systems. Their original CP/M for 8-bit 8080, Z-80, and 8085 based systems spawned numerous spin-off versions, most notably CP/M-86 for th - and probably PC-DOSIBM PC-DOS was one of the three major operating systems that dominated the personal computer market from about 1985 to 1995. The original 1981 arrangement between IBM and Microsoft was that Microsoft would provide the base product (at that time a rather p too - this did not emerge in court until some years later, by which time the other major players in the DOS market were effectively out of business. In the marketplace, Windows 95 was an unqualified success, and within a year or two of its release had become the most successful operating system ever made.

Windows 95 was released with great fanfare, including a commercial featuring the Rolling Stones song Start Me Up (a reference to the Start button). Microsoft's advertising campaign featured stories of people waiting in line outside stores to get a copy, and there were tales of people without computers buying the software on hype alone, not even knowing what Windows was.

The release of Windows 95 coincided with a general movement of computing into the mainstream, largely fueled by a dramatic drop in hardware prices, in particular, by the end of Intel's long-held near-monopoly on CPU production with the entry of fast, low-cost parts from AMD and Cyrix.

Windows 95 marked the introduction of the "Start" button and taskbar to the desktop PC, which have remained staple features of all subsequent versions of Windows, and were later copied in other desktop environments.

Later editions of Windows 95 (OSR 2, OSR 2.1, OSR 2.5) came with Internet Explorer 3, then Internet Explorer 4 preinstalled. Internet Explorer 4 introduced several changes to some aspects of the GUI when it was integrated into the operating system. Internet Explorer was then used to render the desktop and window contents using HTML. This was a focal point in Microsoft's antitrust lawsuit, as an integrated Explorer edged out competitor Netscape's product.

Windows 95 has been superseded by Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. The Windows NT-based kernel used in Windows 2000 and Windows XP has shown itself to be much more robust and powerful than its predecessor in Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME. As a result, those versions of Windows are being phased out. As of December 31, 2002, Microsoft ended its support for Windows 95.