Windows 95 build 216

4.00.216
	Build of Windows 95
OS family	Windows 9x
Version number	4.00
Build number	216
Architecture	x86
Compiled on	1994-10-27
Expiration date
Timebomb	1995-03-31 (+155 days)
Product key
Beta Site ID	186349
Password	94730fb34
About dialog

Windows 95 build 216 is a Beta 2 Release Candidate build of Windows 95, which was scene leaked on 2 November 1994 by warez group NTA, and later on it was shared on BetaArchive on 14 May 2010.^[1]

NFO file[edit | edit source]

The following NFO file was included as part of the NTA release.^[2]

NFO contents

                 * THE NOKTURNAL TRADING ALLIANCE PRESENTS *
     ┌──────────┬───────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐
     │Date:     │ 10/31/94      │ File Date: 11/2/94                    │
     ├──────────┼───────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┤
     │Software: │ MS CHICAGO / WINDOWS V4.0 BUILD 216                   │
     ├──────────┼───────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┤
     │S/N:      │ Beta 162330   │Location: 01a74a138                    │                     │
     └──────────┴───────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘
          Thanks to Ambassador Gkar Final Frontier For This Release!

              THE FINAL FRONTIER IS WORLD HEADQUARTERS FOR =RiSc=
                    RiSc Is The Official Courier For =NTA=

 Greetings To Our Sister Group: RiSc! The Guys Who DO The Impossible Everyday!
                ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
                │-=NTA=- Boards:              SysOps:         │
                ├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
                │The PITS                 The PieMan          │
                │The Unknown              The Punk            │
                │The Final Frontier       MikeySoft           │
                │Access Denied            The Wanderer        │
                │The Eclipse              The Mustang         │
                │The Elusive Dream        The Toyman          │
                │Turbo Italian Network    Jurgen              │
                │Orion's Belt             The Drunkard/Pompei │
                ├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
                │             -=NTA=- Members                 │
                ├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
                │The Mustang    Oyl Patch      William Zardoz │
                │The Toyman     The Punk       MikeySoft      │
                │Jurgen         The Wanderer   The Cat        │
                │The PieMan     Bryn Rogers    Hi.T.Moonweed  │
                │                                             │
                │Fiona          Void Master    Boomer         │
                └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

 *      Important Final Note *  FROM MIKEYSOFT / NTA LEAD BOARD             *
 * We all must strive to bring as much credibilty to the vast community of  *
 * "Groups" which make-up the system that we all contribute to and enjoy!   *
 * The Friendly Rivalry between these groups is just  that, "FRIENDLY". It  *
 * adds a certain flavor of positive competition that we feel is necessary  *
 * to encourage the greater sharing of information.  "*KEEP IT FRIENDLY*"   *
 * Please honor our group ID'S tags by NOT removing this file!  If you feel *
 * the necessity to rename the ZIP, maintain the integrity of the group ID  *
 *         WE EXTEND THE SAME COURTESY AND POLICY TO OTHER GROUPS           *
 *             Remember to make it work, keep it friendly!                  *

New features and changes[edit | edit source]

The "Background" tab in Display Properties received a minor update.
The boot screen now mentions "Beta 2".
The "Snap to grid" context menu option for the desktop was renamed to "Line up Icons".
Wastebasket has been renamed to "Recycle Bin".
ScanDisk has been redesigned and now looks similar to the RTM version.
The Start menu now uses a new banner.
Close, minimize/maximize and help buttons have been updated.
MS-DOS Prompt now reports the version as Microsoft® Windows 95.
winver has been redesigned to look like its RTM counterpart.
- The copyright year in the About box has also been updated to 1995, despite being compiled in 1994. The Chicago reference has been replaced with Windows 95, and the "Enhanced Mode" reference has been removed.
EDIT.COM has been updated to version 0.9.020.
Beta Site ID and Password required to install Windows have been changed. Both are also used for later builds of Windows 95 until the requirement was dropped in build 311.

This is one of the first Windows builds to include a timebomb, which is activated by IO.SYS. Once activated, it will display a message saying that the pre-evaluation period has expired. Windows will immediately shut down and no longer boot until it is reinstalled with the correct BIOS date set, as IO.SYS patches itself to run on an infinite loop once the timebomb activates. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to disable time syncing with the host if using a VM, if available, or replace IO.SYS with the version from build 189 before boot.