Windows Nt 4. 0 Software

This page lists and links to information on the various versions of Microsoft Windows, a major computer operating system developed by Microsoft.

Software Power Off on Windows NT 4.0 Introduction: Software 'Power Off' was first introduced for compliant hardware with Windows 95. Windows NT 4.0, as released by Microsoft in 1996, did not support the operation 'out of the box', except in some cases of laptop computers (with Vendor installed versions of NT - more details here). Feb 04, 2003  End Of Life - This download, Windows NT. 4.0 Driver NT40DRV304.EXE 3.04, and older, will no longer be available after October, 28, 2019 and will not be supported with any additional functional, security, or other updates. All versions are provided as is. Intel recommends that users of Windows NT. 4.0 Driver NT40DRV304.EXE 3.04 uninstall and discontinue use as soon as possible. Windows NT 4.0 4.0. Windows NT 4.0 is the successor to the Windows NT 3.x release. In this release, the user interface from Windows 95 was integrated, making NT just as easy to use as its consumer counterpart. Internet Explorer was bundled, providing a web browser out of the box.

  • 3Device versions

Personal computer versions[edit]

In this section, a client version of Windows is a version that end-users or OEMs can install on personal computers, including desktop computers, laptops and workstations.

Windows versionCodenamesRelease dateRelease versionEditionsLatest buildSupport status
Windows 10Threshold, Redstone,
YYHx[1], Vibranium (2020)
July 15, 2015

July 29, 2015 (Availability)

NT 10.0[2]
  • Windows 10 Home
  • Windows 10 Pro
  • Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
  • Windows 10 Pro Education
  • Windows 10 Enterprise
  • Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC (formerly LTSB)
  • Windows 10 Education
  • Windows 10 IoT Core
  • Windows 10 IoT Enterprise
  • Windows 10 S (now an operational mode within Enterprise and Education)[3]

See Windows 10 editions and Windows 10 version history

18362

1903 (May 2019 Update)

  • All editions except LTSB/LTSC: March updates serviced for 18 months from release date; September updates serviced for 18 months from release date (30 months for Enterprise customers).[4]
  • 2015 LTSB: Mainstream support until October 13, 2020; Extended support until October 14, 2025
  • 2016 LTSB: Mainstream support until October 12, 2021; Extended support until October 13, 2026
  • 2019 LTSC: Mainstream support until January 9, 2024; Extended support until January 9, 2029
Windows 8.1BlueAugust 27, 2012

October 17, 2013 (Availability)

NT 6.3
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 8.1 Pro
  • Windows 8.1 Enterprise
  • Windows 8.1 OEM
  • Windows 8.1 with Bing

See Windows 8 editions

9600

(April 8 update)

  • Mainstream support ended on January 9, 2018
  • Extended support until January 10, 2023
Windows 8N/AAugust 1, 2012

October 26, 2012 (Availability)

NT 6.2
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 8 Pro
  • Windows 8 Enterprise
  • Windows 8 OEM

See Windows 8 editions

9200
  • Unsupported as of January 12, 2016
Windows 7Blackcomb, ViennaJuly 22, 2009

October 22, 2009 (Availability)

NT 6.1
  • Windows 7 Starter
  • Windows 7 Home Basic
  • Windows 7 Home Premium
  • Windows 7 Professional
  • Windows 7 Enterprise
  • Windows 7 Ultimate
  • Windows Thin PC

See Windows 7 editions

7601

(Service Pack 1)

  • Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015
  • Extended support ends on January 14, 2020
Windows VistaLonghornNovember 8, 2006

January 30, 2007 (Availability)

NT 6.0
  • Windows Vista Starter
  • Windows Vista Home Basic
  • Windows Vista Home Premium
  • Windows Vista Business
  • Windows Vista Enterprise
  • Windows Vista Ultimate

See Windows Vista editions

6002

(Service Pack 2)

  • Mainstream support ended on April 10, 2012
  • Extended support ended on April 11, 2017
Windows XP Professional x64 EditionN/AApril 25, 2005NT 5.2N/A3790

(Service Pack 2)

  • Mainstream support ended on April 14, 2009
  • Extended support ended on April 8, 2014
Windows XPWhistlerAugust 24, 2001

October 25, 2001 (Availability)

NT 5.1
  • Windows XP Starter
  • Windows XP Home
  • Windows XP Professional
  • Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (July 8, 2006)

See Windows XP editions

2600

(Service Pack 3)

  • Mainstream support ended on April 14, 2009
  • Extended support ended on April 8, 2014
Windows MeMillenniumJune 19, 2000

September 14, 2000 (Availability)

4.90N/A3000
  • Mainstream support ended on December 31, 2003
  • Extended support ended on July 11, 2006
Windows 2000N/ADecember 15, 1999 (Release to Manufacturing)

February 17, 2000

NT 5.0Professional2195
  • Mainstream support ended on June 30, 2005
  • Extended support ended on July 13, 2010
Windows 98MemphisMay 15, 1998

June 25, 1998 (Availability)

4.10
  • Windows 98
  • Windows 98 Second Edition (April 23, 1999)
2222 A
  • Mainstream support ended on June 30, 2002
  • Extended support ended on July 11, 2006
Windows NT 4.0Shell Update Release, CairoJuly 31, 1996

August 24, 1996 (Availability)

NT 4.0Windows NT 4.0 Workstation1381

(Service Pack 6a)

  • Mainstream support ended on June 30, 2002
  • Extended support ended on June 30, 2004
Windows 95ChicagoAugust 15, 1995

August 24, 1995 (Availability)

4.00
  • Windows 95
  • Windows 95 SP1 (December 31, 1995)
  • Windows 95 OSR1 (February 14, 1996)
  • Windows 95 OSR2 (August 24, 1996)
  • Windows 95 USB Supplement to OSR2 (August 27, 1997)
  • Windows 95 OSR2.1 (August 27, 1997)
  • Windows 95 OSR2.5 (November 26, 1997)
950
  • Mainstream support ended on December 31, 2000
  • Extended support ended on December 31, 2001
Windows NT 3.51UnknownMay 30, 1995NT 3.51Windows NT 3.51 Workstation1057
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows NT 3.5DaytonaSeptember 21, 1994NT 3.5Windows NT 3.5 Workstation807
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 3.2UnknownNovember 22, 19933.2N/A153
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows for Workgroups 3.11SnowballNovember 8, 19933.11N/A300
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows NT 3.1NT/OS2July 27, 1993NT 3.1Windows NT 3.1528
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2000
Windows 3.1JanusApril 6, 19923.10
  • Windows 3.1
  • Windows for Workgroups 3.1 (October 1992)
103
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 3.0N/AMay 22, 19903.00N/AN/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 2.11N/AMarch 13, 19892.11
  • Windows/286
  • Windows/386
N/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 2.10N/AMay 27, 19882.10
  • Windows/286
  • Windows/386
N/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 2.03N/ADecember 9, 19872.03N/AN/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 1.04N/AApril 10, 19871.04N/AN/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 1.03N/AAugust 21, 19861.03N/AN/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 1.02N/AMay 14, 19861.02N/AN/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows 1.0Interface ManagerNovember 20, 19851.01N/AN/A
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001

Server versions[edit]

Windows versionRelease dateRelease versionEditionsLatest buildSupport status
Windows Server 2019November 13, 2018NT 10.0
  • Windows Server 2019 Essentials
  • Windows Server 2019 Standard
  • Windows Server 2019 Datacenter
17763
  • Mainstream support until January 9, 2024
  • Extended support until January 9, 2029
Windows Server 2016October 12, 2016NT 10.0
  • Windows Server 2016 Essentials
  • Windows Server 2016 Standard
  • Windows Server 2016 Datacenter
14393
  • Mainstream support ends on January 11, 2022
  • Extended support ends on January 12, 2027
Windows Server 2012 R2October 17, 2013NT 6.3
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Foundation
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
9600
  • Mainstream support ended on October 9, 2018
  • Extended support ends on October 10, 2023
Windows Server 2012September 4, 2012NT 6.2
  • Windows Server 2012 Foundation
  • Windows Server 2012 Essentials
  • Windows Server 2012 Standard
  • Windows Server 2012 Datacenter
  • Windows MultiPoint Server 2012
9200
  • Mainstream support ended on October 9, 2018
  • Extended support ends on October 10, 2023
Windows Server 2008 R2October 22, 2009NT 6.1
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based Systems
  • Windows Web Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Storage Server 2008 R2
  • Windows HPC Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Small Business Server 2011
  • Windows MultiPoint Server 2011
  • Windows MultiPoint Server 2010
7601
  • Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015
  • Extended support ends on January 14, 2020
Windows Server 2008February 27, 2008NT 6.0
  • Windows Server 2008 Standard
  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
  • Windows Server 2008 Datacenter
  • Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems
  • Windows Server Foundation 2008
  • Windows Small Business Server 2008
  • Windows Storage Server 2008
  • Windows Web Server 2008
6003
  • Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015
  • Extended support ends on January 14, 2020
Windows Server 2003 R2December 6, 2005NT 5.2
  • Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2
  • Windows Server 2003 R2 Web Edition
  • Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition
  • Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition
  • Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition
  • Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (CCS)
3790
  • Mainstream support ended on July 13, 2010
  • Extended support ended on July 14, 2015
Windows Server 2003April 24, 2003NT 5.2
  • Windows Small Business Server 2003
  • Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
  • Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
  • Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
  • Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition
3790
  • Mainstream support ended on July 13, 2010
  • Extended support ended on July 14, 2015
Windows 2000February 17, 2000NT 5.0
  • Windows 2000 Server
  • Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
2195
  • Mainstream support ended on June 30, 2005
  • Extended support ended on July 13, 2010
Windows NT 4.0July 29, 1996NT 4.0
  • Windows NT 4.0 Server
  • Windows NT 4.0 Server Enterprise
  • Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
1381
  • Mainstream support ended on December 31, 2002
  • Extended support ended on December 31, 2004
Windows NT 3.51May 29, 1995NT 3.51Windows NT 3.51 Server1057
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001
Windows NT 3.5September 20,

1994

NT 3.5Windows NT 3.5 Server807
  • Unsupported as of December 31, 2001

Device versions[edit]

Appliances[edit]

NameRelease
date
Release
version
An edition ofSold with
Windows RT 8.1October 18, 2013NT 6.3Windows 8.1ARM-based tablet computers
Windows RTOctober 26, 2012NT 6.2Windows 8ARM-based tablet computers
Windows XP Tablet PC EditionNovember 2002NT 5.1Windows XPMicrosoft Tablet PC
Windows XP Media Center Edition2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005NT 5.1/NT 5.2Windows XPHome theater PCs, network attached storage (NAS) and set-top boxes

Mobile devices[edit]

Mobile devices include smartphones, handheld tablet computers and personal digital assistants

  • Windows 10
  • Windows Phone
  • Windows Mobile

Embedded devices[edit]

  • Windows Embedded
    • Windows NT 4.0 Embedded – Abbreviated NTe, it is an edition of Windows NT 4.0 that was aimed at computer-powered major appliances, vending machines, ATMs and other devices that cannot be considered computers per se. It is the same system as the standard Windows NT 4.0, but it comes packaged in a database of components and dependencies, from which a developer can choose individual components to build customized setup CDs and hard disk boot images. Windows NT 4.0 Embedded includes Service Pack 5.
  • Windows Embedded Compact
    • Windows Embedded CE 6.0 (2006)
    • Windows CE 5.0 (2005), with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Windows Mobile 5.0
    • Windows CE 4.2 (2004), with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Windows Mobile 2003 SE
    • Windows CE 4.1 (2003), with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Pocket PC 2003
    • Windows CE 4.0 (2002), with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Pocket PC 2002
    • Windows CE 3.0 (June 2000), with version for smart phones and PDAs sold as Pocket PC 2000
    • Windows CE 2.12 (1999 August)
    • Windows CE 2.11 (1998 October)
    • Windows CE 2.1 (1998 July)
    • Windows CE 2.0 (September 1997)
    • Windows CE 1.0 (November 1996)

Cancelled versions[edit]

  • Windows Odyssey – a version intended to be an update to the Microsoft Windows NT 5.x codebase. The teams working on Neptune and Odyssey combined to work on Windows XP.
  • Windows Mobile 7 or Photon - originally a successor of Windows Mobile, it had been scrapped for Windows Phone 7 with Metro UI.[5][6]
  • Windows Neptune (December 27, 1999) – the first planned version of Microsoft Windows NT to have a consumer edition variant, based on the Windows 2000 codebase. A version was sent out to testers but was never released.[7]
  • Windows Nashville (May 2, 1996) – also known as Windows 96
  • Cairo (February 29, 1996) – a 'true object-oriented OS', planned after Windows NT 4.0.
  • Windows Longhorn – Planned to be after XP but was eventually scrapped and became Windows Vista.

Timeline[edit]

A family tree of operating systems created by Microsoft. This time line is neither complete nor comprehensive. For example, Windows Server and Windows Embedded families are left out.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Bowden, Zac (March 28, 2018). 'Microsoft to move away from 'Redstone' codename for Windows 10 updates in 2019'. Windows Central. Retrieved May 3, 2019. Microsoft will be moving to a new codename format starting in 2019 [...] now known internally as 19H1. [...] The '19' stands for the year in which the update is released, and the 'H1' stands for the first update of that year. [...] following that format, the update coming after 19H1 would be codenamed 19H2, being the second update for 2019, followed by 20H1, 20H2, and so on.
  2. ^Thurrott, Paul (November 22, 2014). 'Microsoft Confirms that Windows 10 will also be Version 10 Internally'. SuperSite for Windows. Penton Media.
  3. ^. Microsoft.com. April 27, 2019 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4020089/windows-10-in-s-mode-faq. Retrieved May 3, 2019.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^Microsoft Corporation 'Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet', Microsoft, 5 June 2019. Retrieved on 4th July 2019.
  5. ^'Windows Mobile 7 vs Windows Phone 7'. Popular Pages at brighthub.com. May 20, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  6. ^'Revealed: Original Windows Mobile 7 UI'. news at neowin.net. February 20, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  7. ^'Microsoft combines Neptune, Odyssey into Whistler'. CNN. January 27, 2000. Archived from the original on September 1, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Microsoft_Windows_versions&oldid=918208637'
Windows NT 4.0
A version of the Windows NT operating system
A screenshot of Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP6, showing the Start menu and Windows Explorer
DeveloperMicrosoft
Source modelClosed source
Released to
manufacturing
July 31, 1996; 23 years ago[1]
General
availability
August 24, 1996; 23 years ago
Latest release4.0 SP6a with Post SP6a Security Rollup (Build 1381) / July 26, 2001; 18 years ago[2]
PlatformsIA-32, Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC
Kernel typeHybrid
License
Preceded byWindows NT 3.51 (1995)
Succeeded byWindows 2000 (2000)
Official websitemicrosoft.com/ntworkstation/ (archived January 1999)
Support status
EmbeddedMainstream support ended on June 30, 2003[3]
Extended support ended on July 11, 2006[3]
ServerMainstream support ended on December 31, 2002[4]
Extended support ended on December 31, 2004[4]
WorkstationMainstream support ended on June 30, 2002[5]
Extended support ended on June 30, 2004[5]

Windows NT 4.0 is an operating system that is part of Microsoft's Windows NT family of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on July 31, 1996.[1] And was launched to retail on August 24, 1996. It was Microsoft's primary business-oriented operating system until the introduction of Windows 2000. Workstation, server and embedded editions were sold; all editions feature a graphical user interface similar to that of Windows 95.

Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation on June 30, 2002 and extended support on June 30, 2004, while Windows NT 4.0 Server mainstream support ended on December 31, 2002 and extended support on December 31, 2004. Both editions were succeeded by Windows 2000 Professional and Server, respectively.[6][7][8]

  • 4Editions

Overview[edit]

The successor to Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0 introduced the user interface of Windows 95 to the Windows NT family, including the Windows shell, File Explorer (known as Windows NT Explorer at the time), and the use of 'My' nomenclature for shell folders (e.g. My Computer). It also includes most components introduced with Windows 95. Internally, Windows NT 4.0 was known as the Shell Update Release (SUR).[9] While many administrative tools, notably User Manager for Domains, Server Manager and Domain Name Service Manager still used the old graphical user interfaces, the Start menu in Windows NT 4.0 separated the per-user shortcuts and folders from the shared shortcuts and folders by a separator line.[10] Windows NT 4.0 includes some enhancements from Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 such as the Space Cadet pinball table, font smoothing, showing window contents while dragging, high-color icons and stretching the wallpaper to fit the screen. Windows Desktop Update could also be installed on Windows NT 4.0 to update the shell version and install Task Scheduler.[11] Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit included the Desktop Themes utility.[12]

Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptively multitasked[13], 32-bit operating system that is designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers.

Windows NT 4.0 is the last major release of Microsoft Windows to support the Alpha, MIPS or PowerPC CPU architectures. It remained in use by businesses for a number of years, despite Microsoft's many efforts to get customers to upgrade to Windows 2000 and newer versions. It was also the last release in the Windows NT family to be branded as Windows NT although Windows 2000 carried the designation 'Built on NT Technology'.[14]

Features[edit]

Although the chief enhancement has been the addition of the Windows 95 shell, there are several major performance, scalability and feature improvements to the core architecture, kernel, USER32, COM and MSRPC.[9][15] Windows NT 4.0 also introduced the concept of system policies[16] and the System Policy Editor.

Other important features were:

  • Crypto API[9]
  • Telephony API 2.0 with limited Unimodem support,[17] which was the first release of TAPI on Windows NT
  • DCOM and new OLE features[18]
  • Microsoft Transaction Server for network applications
  • Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), which improved interprocess communication
  • Winsock 2 and the TCP/IP stack improvements
  • File system defragmentation support[19]

The server editions of Windows NT 4.0 include Internet Information Services 2.0, Microsoft FrontPage 1.1, NetShow Services, Remote Access Service (which includes a PPTP server for VPN functionality) and Multi-Protocol Routing service. There are new administrative wizards and a lite version of the Network Monitor utility shipped with System Management Server. The Enterprise edition introduced Microsoft Cluster Server.

One significant difference from previous versions of Windows NT is that the Graphics Device Interface (GDI) is moved into kernel mode[20] rather than being in user mode in the CSRSS process. This eliminated a process-to-process context switch in calling GDI functions, resulting in a significant performance improvement over Windows NT 3.51, particularly in the graphical user interface. This, however, also mandated that graphics and printer drivers had to run in kernel mode as well,[21] resulting in potential stability issues.

Windows NT 4.0 was the first release of Microsoft Windows to include DirectX as standard—version 2 shipped with the initial release of Windows NT 4.0, and version 3 was included with the release of Service Pack 3 in mid-1997. Later versions of DirectX were not released for Windows NT 4.0. However, OpenGL was supported; it was used by Quake 3[22] and Unreal Tournament.[23]

In early releases of 4.0, numerous stability issues did occur as graphics and printer vendors had to change their drivers to be compatible with the kernel mode interfaces exported by GDI. The change to move the GDI to run in the same process context as its caller was prompted by complaints from NT Workstation users about real-time graphics performance, but this change put a considerable onus on hardware manufacturers to update device drivers.[24]

Windows NT 4.0 also included a new Windows Task Manager utility. Previous versions of Windows NT included the Task List utility, but it only shows applications currently on the desktop. To monitor CPU and memory usage, users were forced to use Performance Monitor. The task manager offers a more convenient way of getting a snapshot of all the processes running on the system at any given time.[25]

Internet Explorer 2 was bundled with Windows NT 4, with updated versions included with each service pack. Service Pack 6, the last service pack for Windows NT 4, included Internet Explorer 5.01 although it also supports Internet Explorer 6.0.[26]

Windows NT 4.0 upgraded NTVDM's x86 emulation in the RISC versions from 286 to 486.[27]Sysprep was introduced as a deployment tool with Windows NT 4.0.

Comparison with Windows 95[edit]

While providing much greater stability than Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0 was less flexible from a desktop perspective. Much of the stability was gained through the use of protected memory and the hardware abstraction layer. Direct hardware access was disallowed and 'misbehaving' programs were terminated without needing the computer to be restarted. The trade-off was that NT required much more memory (32 MB for normal desktop use, 128 MB or more for heavy 3D applications) in comparison to consumer targeted products such as Windows 95.[28]

While nearly all programs written for Windows 95 run on Windows NT, many 3D games would not, partly because of limited DirectX support for Windows NT 4.0. Third-party device drivers were an alternative to access the hardware directly, but poorly written drivers became a frequent source of the infamous error known as the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) that would require the system to be restarted.[26]

In spite of shipping a year later than Windows 95, by default there is no Plug and Play support and no Device Manager on Windows NT 4.0, which greatly simplifies installation of hardware devices (although limited support could be installed later). Many basic DOS programs would run; however, graphical DOS programs would not run because of the way they accessed graphics hardware. Although Windows NT 4.0 introduced an application programming interface (API) for defragmentation,[19] there was no built-in defragmentation utility, unlike Windows 95. Also, Windows NT 4.0 lacked USB support, a preliminary version of which would be added to OEM editions of Windows 95 in OSR 2.1.[29][30]

The difference between the NT family and 9x family would remain until the release of Windows XP in 2001. At that time, the APIs — such as OpenGL and DirectX — had matured sufficiently to be more efficient to write for common PC hardware. On the other hand, the hardware itself had become powerful enough to handle the API processing overhead.

The maximum amount of supported physical random-access memory (RAM) in Windows NT 4.0 is 4 GB,[31] which is the maximum possible for a purely 32-bit x86 operating system. By comparison, Windows 95 fails to boot on computers with more than approximately 480 MB of memory.[32]

Like previous versions of NT, version 4.0 can run on multiple processor architectures. Windows 95, however, can only run on x86.

Windows Nt 4.0 Backup Software

Editions[edit]

Windows NT 4.0 Server was included in versions 4.0 and 4.5 of BackOffice Small Business Server suite.

Client[edit]

  • Windows NT 4.0 Workstation was designed for use as the general business desktop operating system.

Free Windows Nt 4.0 Download

Servers[edit]

  • Windows NT 4.0 Server, released in 1996, was designed for small-scale business server systems.[26]
  • Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition, released in 1997, is the precursor to the Enterprise line of the Windows server family (Advanced Server in Windows 2000). Enterprise Server was designed for high-demand, high-traffic networks. Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition includes Service Pack 3.[33] The Enterprise Edition saw the introduction of the /3GB boot flag, which changed the default virtual address space mapping from 2 GB kernel and 2 GB user space to 1 GB kernel and 3 GB userland. It also introduced a PSE36 driver for mapping up to 64 GB memory (although chipsets of the era supported only up to 8 GB.)[34] This version also sees the first introduction of cluster service.[35]
  • Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, released in 1998, allows the users to log on remotely.[36] The same functionality was called Terminal Services in Windows 2000 and later server releases, and also powers the Remote Desktop feature that first appeared in Windows XP.
Windows Nt 4. 0 Software

Embedded[edit]

  • Windows NT 4.0 Embedded (abbreviated NTe) is an edition of Windows NT 4.0 that was aimed at computer-powered major appliances, vending machines, ATMs and other devices that cannot be considered general-purpose computers per se. It is the same system as the standard Windows NT 4.0, but it comes packaged in a database of components and dependencies, from which a developer can choose individual components to build customized setup CDs and hard diskbootimages. Windows NT 4.0 Embedded includes Service Pack 5. It was succeeded by Windows XP Embedded.[37]


Upgradeability[edit]

An Option Pack was available as a free-bundled CD starting around 1998, which included IIS 4.0 with Active Server Pages, FrontPage Server Extensions, Certificate Server, MTS, MSMQ, CDONTS, Internet Authentication Service (IAS), Indexing Service, Microsoft Management Console 1.0, Microsoft Site Server, SMTP and NNTP services and other new software.

Several features such as Distributed File System and Windows NT Load Balancing Service (WLBS) were delivered as addons for Windows NT Server 4.0. The Routing and Remote Access Service was also a downloadable feature which replaced Windows NT 4.0's separate RAS and Multi-Protocol Routing services.

The last version of Microsoft Office to be compatible with Windows NT 4.0 is Office XP, and the last version of Internet Explorer compatible with the operating system is Internet Explorer 6 with SP1 (Service Pack 6 and 6a are required, respectively).

Windows NT 4.0 could be directly upgraded to Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional.[38]

Service packs[edit]

Service packRelease date
Service Pack 1 (SP1)October 16, 1996
Service Pack 2 (SP2)December 14, 1996
Service Pack 3 (SP3)May 15, 1997
Service Pack 4 (SP4)October 25, 1998
Service Pack 5 (SP5)May 4, 1999
Service Pack 6 (SP6)November 22, 1999
Service Pack 6a (SP6a)November 30, 1999
Post SP6a Security RollupJuly 26, 2001
Software

Windows NT 4.0 received seven service packs during its lifecycle, as well as numerous service rollup packages and option packs. Only the first service pack was made available for the MIPS architecture, and Service Pack 3 was the final release for the PowerPC architecture. The last full service pack was Service Pack 6a (SP6a).

Service Pack 7 was planned at one stage in early 2001, but this became the Post SP6a Security Rollup and not a full service pack, released on July 26, 2001, 16 months after the release of Windows 2000 and nearly three months prior to the release of Windows XP.[39]

In addition to bug fixes, the service packs also added a multitude of new features such as newer versions of or improvements to Internet Information Services, public-key and certificate authority functionality, user accounts and user profile improvements, smart card support, improved symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) scalability, clustering capabilities, COM support improvements, User Profile Disk Quotas, Event Log service, Security Configuration ManagerMMC snap-in, MS-CHAPv2 and NTLMv2, SMB packet signing, SYSKEY, boot improvements, WINS improvements, Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS), PPTP, DCOM/HTTP tunneling improvements, IGMPv2, WMI, Active Accessibility and NTFS 3.0 support among others.[40]

Resource Kits[edit]

Microsoft released five revisions of the Windows NT 4.0 Workstation and Server Resource Kit (original release plus four supplements) which contained a large number of tools and utilities, such as desktops.exe which allowed the user to have multiple desktops, as well as third-party software.

Security[edit]

Microsoft stopped providing security updates for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation on June 30, 2004 and Windows NT 4.0 Server on December 31, 2004, due to major security flaws including Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-010, which according to Microsoft could not be patched without significant changes to the core operating system. According to the security bulletin, 'Due to [the] fundamental differences between Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 and its successors, it is infeasible to rebuild the software for Windows NT 4.0 to eliminate the vulnerability. To do so would require re-architecting a very significant amount of the Windows NT 4.0 operating system, and [...] there would be no assurance that applications designed to run on Windows NT 4.0 would continue to operate on the patched system.'

Between June 2003 and June 2007, 127 security flaws were identified and patched in Windows 2000 Server, many of which may also affect Windows NT 4.0 Server; however, Microsoft does not test security bulletins against unsupported software.

References[edit]

  1. ^ ab'Microsoft Announces the Release of Windows NT Workstation 4.0'. News Center. Redmond, WA: Microsoft. July 31, 1996.
  2. ^'Post-Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a Security Rollup Package (SRP)'. Support. Microsoft. June 19, 2014.
  3. ^ ab'Microsoft Support Lifecycle for Windows NT Embedded 4.0'. Microsoft. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  4. ^ ab'Microsoft Support Lifecycle for Windows NT 4.0 Server'. Microsoft. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
  5. ^ ab'Microsoft Support Lifecycle for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation'. Microsoft. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
  6. ^'Q&A: Support for Windows NT Server 4.0 Nears End; Exchange Server 5.5 to Follow in One Year'. Stories. December 3, 2004. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  7. ^'Windows NT 4.0 Support Ends Tomorrow'. www.serverwatch.com. December 30, 2004. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
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Windows Nt 4.0 Software

External links[edit]

  • Guidebook: Windows NT 4.0 Gallery – A website dedicated to preserving and showcasing Graphical User Interfaces

Windows Nt 4.0 Software

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