Windows Me - Introduction, facts and innovations at a glance

The long-awaited successor to Windows 98 was on the starting blocks in September 2000 and was intended to complete the long and successful product line of operating systems based on Microsoft Windows 95. However, the merger of Windows 9x and the professional operating system Windows 2000 planned by the Redmond-based software company failed and was only to be successful with Windows XP. The aim was to combine security, speed and stability with home user capabilities and ease of use and installation.

Windows Millennium Edition is clearly aimed at home users, as it is easy to use, has many security measures and makes installing new components child's play for the user. The extensive help function and the detailed explanations of the functions also underline the focus on the home sector.

The differences between Me and its predecessors

In addition to the look, which is based on the modern and serious-looking Windows 2000, some useful new features have been added.

Windows Media Player 7.0
The completely new Windows Media technology has been completely renewed in comparison to its direct predecessor, Media Player 6.4, which was still part of Win98. Click on the headline to view a screenshot gallery with more information. With this program you can easily play and organize all audio files (MP3, WAV, MIDI...) as well as music CDs.

WMP 7.0 can also be used for playing movies or live Internet broadcasts. The management functions should be particularly emphasized here. However, the otherwise quite extensive player spies on the user.


System recovery - security with the new backup system
One of the most innovative and effective new features in Windows Millennium is System Restore. At the user's request, it backs up the complete settings and system files of the operating system and can restore them immediately in the event of an error. This is done by means of so-called restore points which the user can set himself in order to be able to return to this status later.

This tool is particularly popular with users who like to experiment, but cannot keep up with current paid programs, as these back up the entire hard disk and not just settings and system files.

The perfect home video experience with Windows Movie Maker?
As a special treat, Microsoft has also thought of the video freaks among PC users and has thrown its own video editing tool into the program. It reads many file formats, but can only save in the new WMA format, which is why another user must have at least Windows Me to be able to watch them.

Although the program does not offer many options and cannot compete with professional programs in any way, it does provide an easy introduction to the colorful world of video editing.

How fast Windows Millennium really is - The performance miracle?

The software company from Redmond promised during development that the speed would be greatly improved compared to Windows 98. Due to the abandonment of the complete DOS (and thus all the old burdens), the new driver architecture and the optimization of the Windows registry database, one should be able to make out a noticeable speed advantage. Far from it, because this advantage is immediately compensated for by the overloaded features such as the complex web view, the logging system restore, the complex media player and the many other superfluous functions. The high memory consumption, which has doubled compared to Windows 98 and has therefore increased from approx. 30MB to 60MB, also has a very negative effect on speed. I can therefore use the program on computers with less than 128MB Working memory advise against switching to Windows Me.
Due to the slightly improved memory management system, Windows Me runs significantly faster on computers with 256 MB or more RAM than Windows 98 does.

The boot process has also been drastically shortened. Thanks to the abandonment of the DOS substructure and the improvement of the registry, Windows Millennium is the fastest starting operating system today. This is an important improvement for many users, as they do not want to wait long for Windows to boot up.

A close look at the stability of Millennium

With its predecessors Windows 95 and 98, Microsoft really didn't win any laurels when it came to having the most stable and crash-proof operating system. The long-suffering user had to fight his way through exception errors and blue screens of death until he could continue his work without any problems. Driver problems and software errors were often the cause. Unfortunately, these unstable programs always took Windows down with them, which meant a reboot and possible data loss.
Windows NT and its successors 2000 and XP are more advanced in this respect. Even a program crash cannot cause you to falter due to the completely changed architecture. A program only crashes in user mode, while the actual kernel remains untouched and the program can be safely removed from memory.
But what about the latest addition to the Windows 9x series? Does Windows Me have the necessary stability to be able to assert itself in the tough world of work? Only in part!

The new driver architecture and the many new functions make Millennium a more stable operating system than 98. Unfortunately, the overall situation does not look very good for the smart new Windows either. Crashes due to driver problems, the famous screen freezing and blue screens - this is also a sad reality with the new Windows, but this does not mean that Windows crashes permanently. Only if a program becomes unstable does it drag your operating system down with it.

How secure is Windows Me? An insight into the security features

For most users, computer security is still the top priority. They want absolute and permanent protection for their files, programs and settings. Attacks from outside, e.g. by hackers or unauthorized persons, should also be fended off just as successfully as protection against other people tampering with your PC.

The password properties of Windows Me (as with 9x) are a laudable approach, but totally pointless. A click on Cancel in this password dialog allows every user complete access to the computer. The creation of several separate user accounts is still reserved for Windows NT systems.
Encrypting files is also a dream that does not come true with Me. If you are looking for security, Windows Millennium Edition is completely the wrong choice and you should make friends with the professional operating systems.

Conclusion: Is Windows Millennium Edition suitable for you?

This question is very easy to answer. If you have your computer at home and you enjoy watching movies, playing computer games, listening to music or browsing the Internet as well as working on common Office applications, Windows ME is highly recommended. The speed and functions are sufficient for this and for most common programs.

Every professional should carefully consider the purchase of ME. The stability and security leave a lot to be desired and the network functions are very limited, which is why Windows 2000/XP would be more suitable here.

If you have now decided on Windows Me, you can read here how to install it: Windows Me Installation - Understandable step by step instructions.

Addition: The Windows Millennium screenshot collection for first impressions

NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.