Windows 98

Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is an operating system developed by Microsoft and is the second major release in the Windows 9x operating system line released in 1998. It was designed as an evolution of Windows 95 and introduced features such as the Windows Driver Model, Internet Explorer 4.0 (which included Active Desktop, Windows Desktop Update, and integration with Windows Explorer itself. ), FAT32 file system (though this was already part of the OEM-only Windows 95 OSR2 two years earlier) and improved setup. It is also the last Windows version to support upgrade paths to Windows 2000 or Windows Me, and also supports upgrade paths to Windows XP.

Two versions of Windows 98 were released: the original release in 1998, known simply as "Windows 98" and sometimes retroactively called "First Edition", and "Windows 98 Second Edition" in 1999. The latter fixed major issues from the original release, updated Internet Explorer to version 5.0, included updated drivers and introduced features such as Internet Connection Sharing.

It succeeded all releases of Windows 95 and was itself succeeded by Windows Me in 2000. Over the years it became one of the more popular releases of Windows, though its changes to the shell through the Active Desktop were criticized by some.

This is the last version of Windows to be available on 3.5-inch floppy disks for the original release only, as Second Edition was never officially distributed on floppy disks. It is also the last version to support upgrade paths from Windows 3.1x.

Despite Windows 98, Microsoft in their application releases muddied the issue, releasing 32-bit versions of Microsoft Office right up to Office XP (the last version of Microsoft Office supported on Windows 98), but relying upon 32-bit versions of Internet Explorer technology from versions 4.01 to 6.0 SP1. Web browsers for Windows 98 based on and including Mozilla Firefox were operable up to version 9.0.1, released in December 2011; they required KernelEx to work without compromising browsing security.

System requirements
According to Microsoft, Windows 98 requires a 486DX2 66 MHz processor, at least 16 MB of RAM, 175 MB of hard drive space (varies depending on components being installed), and a VGA or better display adapter. Windows 98 drops support for EGA display adapter. Windows 98 Second Edition drops support for floppy-based installation and requires a CD-ROM drive to install.

It is possible to bypass most of these requirements via the  parameter for. By doing so, it becomes possible to install the original release of Windows 98 on an 80386 processor with as low as 4 MB of RAM.

Hardware compatibility
The original release of Windows 98 does not support AMD processors faster than 350 MHz and Intel processors faster than 2.1 GHz due to divide by zero bugs from timer calibration in several drivers. Additionally, Windows 98 (both the original release and Second Edition) does not support having more than 1 GB of RAM due to a bug in the memory allocator. Windows 98 will often encounter system instability or crashing upon boot on these systems without additional fixes.

Product Team credits Easter Egg
Keeping with the tradition of hiding easter eggs, Windows 98 included an easter egg to showcase the people who worked on the development. But interestingly, there are 2 ways to access it. The first way to access the Easter egg involves going into the Welcome directory. Once there, find the program Weldata.exe. Then, right click on the executable and create a shortcut to that program. Once that is done, right click on the shortcut, click Properties, and place your cursor at the end of the textbox, and add the phrase "You_are_a_real_rascal". Then, go to the run section of the dialog box and choose the Minimized option and press OK. Running the program like usual results in Windows 98's version of the Product Team Easter Egg. This is a little more animated than the Windows 95 version and plays the soundtrack first heard when the Welcome menu appears. The second way to access this easter egg involves going into the Control Panel and opening up the Regional Settings. This method is more tedious as you have to spot three places on the map.

Original release
This release is also retroactively referred to as the "First Edition".

Second Edition
Second Edition was originally meant to be released as a Service Pack 1 update for First Edition users, as well as a full OEM Service Release, just like Windows 95 OSR 2.x. Early builds were thus made in both forms before SP1 was canceled and OSR1 rebranded as Second Edition that would also be available in retail stores.