Windows Me

Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me (marketed with the pronunciation of the pronoun "me"), is an operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows 9x family of operating systems. It was the direct successor to Windows 98, and was released to manufacturing on June 19, 2000, with retail sales beginning on September 14, 2000. It was the last Windows version to be based on the Windows 95 kernel and MS-DOS, with its successor Windows XP being based on Microsoft's Windows NT kernel instead.
Windows Me was targeted specifically at home PC users, and included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7, and the new Windows Movie Maker software, which provided basic video editing and was designed to be easy to use for home users. Microsoft also incorporated features first introduced in Windows 2000, which had been released as a business-oriented operating system seven months earlier, into the graphical user interface, shell, and Windows Explorer. Although Windows Me was still ultimately based around MS-DOS like its predecessors, access to real-mode MS-DOS was restricted to decrease system boot time.
Windows Me initially received generally positive reviews, with reviewers citing the operating system's integrity protection (branded as "PC Health") and the new System Restore feature as steps forward for home users. However, users' real-world experience did not bear this out, with industry publications receiving myriad reports of issues with the "PC Health" systems, PCs refusing to shut down cleanly, along with general stability problems. 
As time went on, reception became more negative, to the point where Windows Me was heavily panned by users, mainly due to stability issues. Retrospectively, Windows Me is viewed as one of the worst operating systems Microsoft has ever produced, comparing very poorly to particularly its immediate predecessor and successor. In October 2001, Windows XP was released to the public, having already been under development at the time of Windows Me's release, and popularized most of Me's features, while being far more stable. Extended support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006.
Development.
At the 1998 Windows Hardware Engineering conference, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates stated that Windows 98 would be the last iteration of Windows to use the Windows 9x kernel, with the intention for the next consumer-focused version to be based on the NT kernel, unifying the two branches of Windows. However, it soon became apparent that the development work involved was too great to meet the aim of releasing before the end of 2000, particularly given the ongoing parallel work on the eventually-cancelled Windows Neptune project. The Consumer Windows development team were therefore re-tasked with improving Windows 98 while porting some of the look-and-feel from Windows 2000. Microsoft President Steve Ballmer publicly announced these changes at the next Windows HEIC in 1999.
On July 23, 1999, the first alpha version of Windows Me was released to testers. Called Development Preview 1 it was very similar to Windows 98 SE, with a very early iteration of the new Help and Support feature the only major change. Three more Development Previews were released over the subsequent two months.
The first beta version was released to testers and the industry press on September 24, 1999, with the second coming on November 24 that year. Beta 2 showed the first real changes from Me's predecessor, including importing much of the look-and-feel from Windows 2000, and the removal of real-mode DOS. Industry expert Paul Thurrott reviewed Beta 2 upon release and spoke positively of it in a review. By early 2000, Windows Me was reportedly behind schedule, and an interim build containing the new automatic update feature was released to allay concerns about a delayed release.
Beta 3 was released on April 11, 2000, and this version marked the first appearance of its final version startup and shutdown sounds (derived from Windows 2000), as the previous betas used Windows 98's startup and shutdown sounds.
Although Microsoft signed off on the final build of Windows Me on June 28, 2000 after trialling three Release Candidate builds with testers, final retail release was pushed back to September 14 for reasons that were not clear.
Release.
In February 2000, Paul Thurrott revealed that Microsoft had planned to exclude Windows Me, as well as new releases of Windows NT 4.0, from CD shipments for MSDN subscribers. The reason given in the case of Me was that the OS was designed for consumers. However, Thurrott alleged that the real motivation behind both changes was to force software developers to move to Windows 2000. Three days later, following a write-in and call-in campaign by hundreds of readers, Microsoft announced that Windows Me (including development versions) would ship to MSDN subscribers after all. Microsoft also apologized personally to Thurrott, claiming he received misinformation, though in a follow-up article he stated that it was "clear that the decision [...] actually changed".
Shortly after Windows Me was released to manufacturing on June 19, 2000, Microsoft launched a marketing campaign to promote it in the U.S., which they dubbed the "Meet Me Tour". A national partnered promotional program featured the new OS, OEMs and other partners in an interactive multimedia attraction in 25 cities.
Windows Me was released for retail sale on September 14, 2000. At launch time, Microsoft announced a time-limited promotion from September 2000 to January 2001 which entitled Windows 95 or Windows 98 users to upgrade to Windows Me for $59.95 instead of the regular retail upgrade price of $109. Non-upgrade versions cost $209, the same as Windows 98 on its release.
New and updated features.
User interface.
Windows Me featured the shell enhancements inherited from Windows 2000 such as personalized menus, customizable Windows Explorer toolbars, auto-complete in Windows Explorer address bar and Run box, Windows 2000 advanced file type association features, displaying comments in shortcuts as tooltips, extensible columns in Details view (IColumnProvider interface), icon overlays, integrated search pane in Windows Explorer, sort by name function for menus, "Places bar" in common dialogs for "Open" and "Save", cascading Start menu special folders, some Plus! 95 and Plus! 98 themes, and updated graphics. The notification area in Windows Me and later supported 16-bit high color icons. The Multimedia control panel was also updated from Windows 98. "Taskbar and Start Menu" options allowed disabling of the drag and drop feature and could prevent moving or resizing the taskbar, which was easier for new users.
Removed features.
Real mode DOS.
Windows Me restricted support for real mode MS-DOS. As a result, codice_5 in Windows Me disregards codice_1, codice_13 and codice_14 and directly executes codice_15. In its default configuration the system would neither boot into an MS-DOS command prompt nor exit to DOS from Windows; real mode drivers such as codice_16 could not be loaded and older applications that require real mode could not be run. Microsoft argued that the change improved the speed and reliability of the boot process.
In Windows Me, the codice_1 and codice_2 files are used only to set global environment variables. The two files (if present) are scanned for settings relating to the environment variables, and any other commands present are moved into a Windows registry key (see below). The two files thus contain only settings and preferences which configure the "global environment" for the computer during the boot phase or when starting a new virtual DOS machine (VDM).
To specify or edit other startup values (which, in Windows 98, would be present in the codice_2 file) the user must edit the following Windows registry key:
For troubleshooting and crash recovery, both the Windows Me CD-ROM and the Windows Me startup disk (a user-createable floppy disk, known as the Emergency Boot Disk (EBD)) allowed booting into real mode MS-DOS.
It is possible to restore real mode DOS functionality through various unofficial means. Additionally, a registry setting exists that re-enables the "Restart in MS-DOS mode" option in the shutdown dialog box; however, unless patched unofficially with third party software, Windows Me cannot be booted to MS-DOS real mode.
Other components.
Unlike past versions of Windows 9x, Windows Me was entirely aimed at home users, and thus had certain enterprise-oriented features removed. Several features of its predecessors did not work or were officially unsupported by Microsoft on Windows Me, including Automated Installation, Active Directory client services, System Policy Editor, Personal Web Server and ASP. These features were supported on its predecessors, Windows 98 and Windows 95. A Resource Kit publication, targeted towards system administrators, was never published for Windows Me.
Other features that were removed or never updated to work with Windows Me included Microsoft Fax, QuickView and DriveSpace, as well as the GUI FAT32 conversion tool. Several Windows Explorer commands were also modified in Windows Me, matching the menu structure in Windows 2000. While some were simply moved to a different location, certain functionality of the Go menu, as well as the Find command on the Tools menu, are no longer available. For the latter change Microsoft recommends using a variety of similar functionality labeled Search.
Upgradeability.
Windows Me could have its components upgraded or have new components installed up to the following versions:
System requirements.
Windows Me is only designed to handle up to 512 MB of RAM by default. Systems with larger RAM pools may lose stability; however, depending on the hardware and software configuration, it is sometimes possible to manually tweak the installation to continue working with somewhat larger amounts of RAM as well. Systems with 1.5 GB of RAM or more may reboot continuously during startup. The /nm setup switch can be used at the DOS command line to bypass the minimum requirements, allowing for installation on a CPU as low as the 16 MHz 80486SX.
Support lifecycle.
Compared with other releases of Windows, Windows Me had a short shelf-life of just over a year. Windows Me, along with Windows 2000, was eventually succeeded by the NT-based Windows XP, which was launched on August 24, 2001. It is noteworthy that the first preview build of Windows XP (then codenamed "Whistler") was released to developers on July 13, 2000, two months before Me's general availability date.
Microsoft planned to end support for Windows Me on December 31, 2004. However, in order to give customers more time to migrate to newer Windows versions, particularly in developing or emerging markets, Microsoft decided to extend support until July 11, 2006. Microsoft ended support for Windows Me because the company considers Windows Me obsolete and prone to security risks, and recommended customers upgrade to Windows XP for the latest security improvements. Windows Me is no longer available in any form due to the terms of Java-related settlements Microsoft made with Sun Microsystems. 
In 2011, Microsoft removed the update website for Windows Me. Microsoft announced in July 2019 that the Microsoft Internet Games services on Windows Me (and XP) would end on July 31, 2019.
Reception.
While initial reception was positive, Windows Me was heavily panned by many users and critics, mainly due to stability issues. Due to its many bugs and glitches, Windows Me is considered one of the worst operating systems of all time. A "PC World" article dubbed Windows Me the "Mistake Edition" and placed it 4th in their "Worst Tech Products of All Time" feature in 2006. The article states: "Shortly after Me appeared in late 2000, users reported problems installing it, getting it to run, getting it to work with other hardware or software, and getting it to stop running."Consequently, most home users remained with Windows 98, while some moved to Windows 2000 despite the latter being enterprise-oriented.
System Restore suffered from a bug in the date-stamping functionality that could cause System Restore to date-stamp snapshots that were taken after September 8, 2001 incorrectly. This could prevent System Restore from locating these snapshots and cause the system restore process to fail. Microsoft released an update to fix this problem.
Byron Hinson and Julien Jay, writing for ActiveWin, took an appreciative look on the operating system. On the removal of real mode DOS, they had noted "The removal of DOS has clearly made a difference in Windows Me in terms of stability (far less Blue Screens of Death are seen now) and booting speed has greatly increased." In a recommendation of the operating system upgrade for users of Windows 95 and 98, they had stated "If Windows Me isn't a revolutionary OS it's clear that Microsoft has focused its efforts to make it more user-friendly, stable and packed full of multimedia options. The result is great and the enhancements added are really worth the wait." The new features that Windows Me introduced were also praised and have since remained part of subsequent Windows generations.
Along with Windows 2000 from the NT family, Windows Me was the last version of Windows that lacked product activation.