C: B_retro Ausgabe_86 : The Windows that should never appear

Even if it was never published in the end: Between “Chicago” and “Memphis”, “Nashville” alias Windows 96 should appear as an upgrade to Windows 95. The unauthorized publication of build 4.10.999 made the existence of Windows 96 public.

Table of contents

1 C : B_retro Ausgabe_86 Windows_96_Nashville
1. Windows 96 (“Nashville”)
2. Windows 96 Build 4.10.999 revealed “Nashville”
3. Windows 96 (“Nashville “) Download
4. “Cleveland” became “Nashville”
5. A Windows 98 in 1996
6. Forgotten
C: B_retro Survey
1. Which is the best Windows of the Windows 9x series?
C:B_retroFeedback
1. Feedback is always welcome
C:B_retroReview
1. An overview of the last fifteen issues

C: B_retro Ausgabe_86 Windows_96_Nashville

The hustle and bustle of Windows 11, which was previously unauthorized, and in particular its system requirements, which make a comparatively tough cut, dominated the headlines of the last week on ComputerBase as well, but also existed in the 1990s there are exciting releases – or not.

Windows 96 (“Nashville”)

After history repeats itself once again this year and Microsoft with the release of Windows 11 a detailed Windows 10 with a very much revised GUI, more multi-tasking tools, but also with TPM and at least in the Home Edition presented as “Next Windows” with an account obligation, the company also experimented in 1996 with an “upgrade” behind closed doors, which came to the public too early.

While Windows 11 Build 21996.1 (report) first attested to the existence of Windows 11, Windows 96 Build 4.10.999 revealed “Nashville” at the time, a “new” operating system that bridged Windows 95 and Windows 98 but was never supposed to be officially released .

Windows 96 Build 4.10.999 revealed “Nashville”

Then as now, it was an unauthorized release that announced a new Windows even before Microsoft did. In the case of Windows 96, alias “Nashville”, it was build 4.10.999 that anticipated the Redmond company.

Even before the introduction of Windows 95b, which is also known as the service release “OSR 2.x” and was supposed to appear as build 4.00.950B on August 24, 1996, the beta of the operating system planned as “Windows 96” was still unclear today Make its way into the public.

Download Windows 96 (“Nashville”)

The WinWorld website also has some interesting information about” Nashville “and also offers the 40 megabyte” large “original system image of Build 4.10.999 (.7z) for download.

“Cleveland” became “Nashville”

Microsoft was already working under the code name “Cleveland “On a successor to Windows 95, which was a kind of upgrade or an improved version and was to appear as Windows 96 as early as 1996.

Some of the e-mails and memos on this topic that were classified as “confidential” at the time have now been made public and confirm the planned project and the existence of “Nashville”, as the project was to be called a little later.

Microsoft emails and memos about Windows Nashville

Microsoft Confidential
Systems Three Year Plan (.PDF)

< li> Desktop Operating Systems Mission Draft (.PDF)

Desktop Operating Systems Mission Memo (.PDF)
Personal Systems Division 3 Yr Outlook (.PDF)

In his article “Beyond Windows 95”, the author Michael J. Miller reported in PC Magazine in October 1995 about “Nashville” and a possible Windows 96.

A Windows 98 in 1996

Windows 96, which was planned for 1996, already anticipated Windows 98, which was released on June 25, 1998 as Build 4.10.1998 during its development in 1995, and was supposed to be the first Microsoft operating system to combine the elements of the Internet Explorer API with the shell as it should be typical later under Windows 98.

In addition to the higher level of Internet integration using Active Desktop, Internet channels and online support – features that were all found in Windows 98 – Windows 96 for the first time included the personal information manager Microsoft Athena, a powerful management software for the time.

Internet Explorer 3 also appeared as alpha for the first time in “Nashville” and was then rolled out with the service release Windows 95b.

Athena later found its way into Windows 95 as “Microsoft Internet Mail and News” and was then released in 1997 as Outlook Express together with Internet Explorer 4 in a bundle.

For the first time in Windows 96, the “zoom” effect of menus and the underlined icons that looked like hyperlinks were also seen. The operating system should also offer full USB support for the first time.

forgotten

Over the years, Windows 96 alias “Nashville” fell into oblivion, among other things because Microsoft rejected its original plan to allow a Windows 96 between Windows 95 and Windows 97, as “Memphis”, later published as Windows 98, was to be called at the time publish.

Microsoft 96 was originally intended to serve as an intermediate station from Windows NT 4.0 to Cairo, which after a few postponements finally only appeared as Windows 2000, and was intended to represent a kind of interim revision. As the Windows Wiki on Fandom claims to have found out, Windows 96 was planned for a release in January 1996.

Ultimately, Internet Explorer 3 flowed into Windows 95 and other features in Windows 98, while the Nashville project was dropped by Microsoft. Shortly thereafter, the code name “Nashville” was transferred to Internet Explorer 4.

Even if it was said for a long time that the name Windows 96 was invented by the press, both the code name “Nashville” and the name “Windows 96” can be found in various files, such as the SETUPC.INF of the image.

In the control panel, the operating system was also found as Windows 96 in the dialog for programs to be installed or uninstalled. Windows 96 should have the following system requirements:

PC with a 486DX2 with 66 MHz (or higher)
16 megabytes of RAM (24 MB recommended)
120 are 295 megabytes of free hard disk space
VGA-compatible graphics card (SVGA recommended)
Mouse or compatible pointing device

The mentioned system requirements were selected by Microsoft as a reasonable minimum standard for the proper operation of Windows 96, in practice the operating system as well as Windows 95 ran on older and weaker hardware.

The YouTube channel “Windows On Windows” presents Windows 96 alias “Nashville” in a 10-minute video.

C: B_retro Umfrage

Which is the best Windows of the Windows 9x series?

The editors are happy to find out which Windows of the Windows 9x series has preferred the community. Experience has shown that the Windows Millennium Edition is unlikely to make the race for the favor of the community members of the ComputerBase forum.

Which Windows of the Windows 9x series was the best?

Windows 95 with MS-DOS 7.0
Windows 95a with MS-DOS 7.0
Windows 95b with MS-DOS 7.1
Windows 95c with MS-DOS 7.1
Windows 98 with MS-DOS 7.1
Windows 98 Second Edition with MS-DOS 7.1
Windows Millennium Edition with MS-DOS 8.0
Abstain (show result)

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C: B_retro Feedback

Feedback is always welcome

The editorial team welcomes constructive criticism, praise, but also suggestions in order to be able to align the series even more closely to the wishes of the readership in the future. The editors wish you a relaxing Sunday with this reading material in your luggage.

C: B_retro Review

The last fifteen issues in the overview

The last 15 topics of the previous editions of C: B_retro :

C: B_retro Edition_85 : AMD Phenom and Opteron (“K10”)
C: B_retro Issue_84 : FIFA Soccer and other football pioneers
C: B_retro Issue_83 : Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 with PowerVR Kyro II
C: B_retro Ausgabe_82 : ComputerBase builds the perfect Voodoo-2-Retro-PC
C: B_retro Ausgabe_81 : The first graphics cards of the ComputerBase-Community
C: B_retro Issue_80 : The early history of the graphics card
C: B_retro Issue_79 : Nokia Communicator
C: B_retro Issue_78 : The first Microsoft Xbox
C: B_retro Edition_77 : The Sinclair ZX81
C: B_retro Edition_76 : The perfect gaming PC for 1999
C : B_retro Issue_75 : The first MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo
C: B_retro Issue_74 : Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
C: B_retro Issue_72 : A look at the history of the PC benchmarks
C: B_retro Issue_71 : The Nintendo GameCube
C: B_retro Issue_70 : The Sega Game Gear

Even more content of this kind and many more reports and anecdotes can be found in the retro corner of the ComputerBase forum as well as in the subject areas C: B_retro and Retro.