Windows 95 build 81

Windows 95 build 81 is an internal Milestone 5 build of Windows 95, which was uploaded to the BetaArchive FTP on 21 May 2010.

While the build itself is real, some copies found online are said to have a modified boot screen saying "January 1994". The unmodified copy still has the "November 1993" boot screen, identical to builds 73f and 73g.

New features and changes

 * Setup has been slightly updated, and the "Please wait while Setup initiates" message is moved to the center of the screen.
 * This build introduces support for the Sound Blaster 16, although it does not work correctly until build 180.

Shell features

 * This build is the earliest available build to have a single Start button and menu enabled by default (though builds 73f and 73g also have it, it is disabled by default and there is no UI to enable it).
 * This build now has the ubiquitous close button on the right side of window titlebars, instead of using the style from Windows 3.1. The button in the top-left corner has now been replaced with the application's icon, which functions the same as its predecessor. This feature remains until nowadays.
 * Tray Properties is now renamed to "Taskbar Properties" and has the ability to re-minimize windows.
 * Selected options now have shadow effect on the text instead of bold.
 * Some icons have been updated, such as the CD-ROM icon and the Control Panel icon.
 * The option to view as Detail/Folder view on the Explorer has been removed from the upper toolbar.
 * Shutdown Windows renamed all references of "Windows" to "Chicago".

Application features

 * Dr. Watson has been removed and no longer starts up on boot.
 * This build includes the System Monitor, which serves to monitor CPU activity and replaces the WinMeter application later on.

Control Panel features

 * The Color applet has been merged with the Display applet (which was renamed from Desktop) as the Appearance tab.
 * The Advanced System applet has also been merged with the System applet as the Device Manager tab.
 * There is now a new "New Device" applet to allow the user to easily install hardware onto the system.

File differences
The following files have been introduced or removed compared to build 73g: