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Gallery: Windows 95 - 15 years after

On the biggest day of his professional career, August 24, 1995, Bill Gates took center stage to introduce the world to Windows 95.

By Andy Smith, Associate Editor on Aug. 24, 2010

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On the biggest day of his professional career, August 24, 1995, Bill Gates takes center stage to introduce the world to Windows 95. Remember, this launch was so big it helped make Gates the richest man in the world. Here's a look back at some of the features and headaches that made this product so memorable. Mary Jo Foley blogs her thoughts on Win 95's 15th anniversary and more Windows to come.

Photo and screenshot credits: Microsoft

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Windows 95 splash screen. Here are some others from Windows 1.01 to Windows 7

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Welcome to Windows 95

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Setup wizard.

According to Microsoft, here are the system requirements for installing Windows 95: (note that they're talking MB not GB.)

* Personal computer with a 386DX or higher processor (486 recommended)
* 4 megabytes (MB) of memory (8 MB recommended)
* Typical hard disk space required to upgrade to Windows 95: 35-40 MB The actual requirement varies depending on the features you choose to install.
* Typical hard disk space required to install Windows 95 on a clean system: 50-55 MB The actual requirement varies depending on the features you choose to install.
* One 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk drive
* VGA or higher resolution (256-color SVGA recommended)

To use Microsoft Exchange and The Microsoft Network:

* 8 MB of memory
* 20 MB of additional hard disk space
* Modem (required for using The Microsoft Network)

Optional components:

* Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
* Modem or fax/modem
* Audio card and speakers for sound

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Setup options for Windows 95.

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Start up your Windows menus.

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A rare site in the '90s, an almost empty Windows 95 desktop.

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Windows, windows, windows.

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Task bar options.

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Scary. Remember Bob? He was there to help with Windows 95. Here's his history in pictures.

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Registry editor.

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How the registry editor is set up.

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Remember Windows Explorer? You can probably still find it on Windows 7 but you couldn't live without it on Windows 95.

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Remember this screen? One of the most important ones in Windows 95 for home users.

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Internet Explorer 1 and its test screen. This browser first appeared just a month before the launch of Windows 95 in 1995.

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Internet Explorer 1.0

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Windows 95 accessibility

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Win 95 diagnostics - a horror page

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Finding your way through Windows 95.

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Set your clock.

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Installing a network wasn't an easy task.

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Modem ports.

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Setting up a network.

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One of the greatest time wasters of history. At least it taught Windows novices how to use a mouse and how to drag and drop. It's still in Windows (XP here).