Windows Longhorn build 3683

Windows Longhorn build 3683 is one of the earliest Longhorn builds. It was one of the earliest build to introduce the Plex theme and the Sidebar. One of the notable changes was that the Windows logo was only white, not colored like all the versions of Windows before it. Windows Explorer has been partially changed, like the templates in the My Documents and My Pictures were notably different as well as the Open and Save as dialog boxes also included the template, incorporating aesthetic changes and a few new user interface options.

The build was leaked in November 2002 by XBetas and their effect can be seen in the setup handle (advertising for their IRC channel) for the version leaked on the internet. The pure unmodified copy of this build isn't leaked, but it is believed some private beta scene members have it.

Features in build 3683 include the Plex visual style, Internet Explorer 6.05, the Windows Sidebar, and a display settings applet based on the Windows Presentation Foundation (then codenamed Avalon).

Build 3683 uses i386 installation but using winnt.exe to install will not work as it will state it is unsupported, thus preventing installation on DOS. Build 3683 is incompatible with a number of applications that require Windows XP or earlier. Many of these compatibility issues can be solved by running applications in Windows Compatibility Mode or by editing the CSDVersion key located in the Windows Registry.

Although this build is stable when compared to later builds of "Longhorn", Windows Explorer is known to crash frequently and will occasionally fail to terminate while ending the computer session. DCE is already present, and the OOBE music is changed to "No Hay Problema" from Pink Martini. Alongside, it is possible to terminate critical system processes in Task Manager.

WinFS
An early revision of WinFS was also included, but very little in the way of a user interface was included, and as such it appeared to early testers to be nothing more than a service that consumed large amounts of memory and processor time.

Windows Sidebar
This build was one of the earliest to include the Sidebar.A new "Sidebar" was also present, which contained many of the gadgets that would much later be seen in Windows Sidebar, such as an analog clock, slide show, and search capability. An option in this version of the sidebar also made it possible to move the Start button into it, and disable the traditional taskbar entirely.