Applying Windows 95 Maintenance

The udpdates here are taken from the Microsoft support site. This is a heavily-trafficked site and may be busy at times. If you have not visited it lately, you will discover a registration screen. Fear not; you do not need to bring registration codes or credit cards; it's just Uncle Bill's attempt to keep an eye on you. Your browser must be configured to accept cookies to avoid a hassle. Both Netscape and Explorer can be set to do so. Microsoft's Windows 95 upgrades are available here. There is no charge for these files, other than any connect charges you may pay for internet access.

Before applying any maintenance, you must first determine the current maintenance level of your Windows 95 operating system. The Windows 95 Version Identification Procedure published in the PC guide, says click on Start | Settings | Control Panel | System. In the "General" tab, "System:" identifies the current maintenance level in the upper right.

       Microsoft Windows 95
       4.00.950                        Original Windows 95

       Microsoft Windows 95
       4.00.950a                       Service Pack 1 is applied

       Microsoft Windows 95
       4.00.950b                       OEM SR2, also known as OSR2


If you are at 4.00.950, you should definitely apply Service Pack 1. Download all 14 disks into a temporary directory. In Windows Explorer, double click on the "Start.exe" file. The Readme.txt file gives the installation directions.

Once this service pack has been applied, the maintenance level reported, as above, is 4.00.950a.


For those at level 4.00.950a (Service Pack 1 applied), there are a number of System Updates available. The blurbs brag about new features introduced and only make passing reference to bugs fixed. Thus, it is safest practice to take the updates that seem to have to do with the areas of interest to you.

  • Dial-Up Networking Upgrade upgrades your DUN to version 1.2.
  • Kernel32 Update is especially important to NetSurfers.
  • Windows 95 Password List Update fixes a bug in .PWL file handling.
  • Disk Type Specific Driver Update for those IDE drives greater than 540 MB.

    From Updates and Utilities, the Updated File Manager for Year 2000 support is of particular interest.
    Knowledgebase article Q176349 describes the latest update to COMCTL32.DLL.


    Poke around a bit in the downloads area while you are there. You may find fixes for some other problems you have found, or other interesting stuff.