Windows Me

Windows Millennium Edition
Version of the Windows 9x operating system
Windows Me desktop, including taskbar and shortcuts
DeveloperMicrosoft
Source modelClosed source
Released to
manufacturing		June 19, 2000 (2000-06-19)
General
availability		September 14, 2000 (2000-09-14)[1]
Final release4.90.3000 / September 14, 2000 (2000-09-14)[2]
Marketing targetConsumer
Supported platformsIA-32
Kernel typeMonolithic kernel
LicenseProprietary software
Preceded byWindows 98 (1998)
Succeeded byWindows XP (2001)[3]
Official websiteWindows Me (archived at Wayback Machine)
Support status
Mainstream support ended on December 31, 2003
Extended support ended on July 11, 2006[4]
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Windows Me[note 1] (Millennium Edition) is an operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was the successor to Windows 98, and was released to manufacturing on June 19, 2000, and then to retail on September 14, 2000. It was Microsoft's main operating system for home users until the introduction of its successor Windows XP on October 25, 2001.[5]

Windows Me was targeted specifically at home PC users, and included Internet Explorer 5.5 (which could later be upgraded to Internet Explorer 6), Windows Media Player 7 (which could later be upgraded to Windows Media Player 9 Series), DirectX 7 (which could later be upgraded to DirectX 9) and the new Windows Movie Maker software, which provided basic video editing and was designed to be easy to use for consumers; it is the last MS-DOS-based Windows version as all consumer versions starting with Windows XP moved to the Windows NT kernel.[6] Microsoft also incorporated features first introduced in Windows 2000, which had been released as a business-oriented operating system seven months earlier, into the graphical user interface, shell and Windows Explorer. Although Windows Me was still ultimately based around MS-DOS like its predecessors, access to real-mode DOS was restricted to decrease system boot time.[7]

Windows Me was initially positively received when it was released; however, it soon garnered a more infamous reputation from many users due to numerous stability problems.[8][9][10] In October 2001, Windows XP was released to the public, having already been under development at the time of Windows Me's release,[10] and incorporated most, but not all, of the features of Windows Me, while being far more stable.

Mainstream support for Windows Me ended on December 31, 2003, followed by extended support on July 11, 2006.[11]

  1. ^ "Microsoft Announces Immediate Availability Of Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me)". News Center. Microsoft. September 14, 2000. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Windows Me: Microsoft Releases New Operating System Built From the Ground Up for Home PC Users". News Center. Microsoft. September 14, 2000. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Hoffman, Chris (August 21, 2021). "Windows Me, 20 Years Later: Was It Really That Bad?". How-to-Geek. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition". Microsoft Support Lifecycle. Microsoft. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Coursey, David (October 25, 2001). "The 10 top things you MUST know about Win XP". ZDNet. CNET Networks. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference presspass was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Overview of Real Mode Removal from Windows Millennium Edition". Microsoft Help and Support. Microsoft. January 14, 2006. Archived from the original on December 10, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference cwworstwindows was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Tynan, Dan (May 26, 2006). "The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time". PCWorld. IDG. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Collins, Barry. "20 Years Ago Microsoft Released The Worst Windows Ever: Windows Me". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  11. ^ Montalbano, Elizabeth (April 13, 2006). "Microsoft support for Windows 98, ME to end in July". Computerworld. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.


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