Editing Windows 9x (section)

===Windows prior to 95===
The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, [[Windows 1.x|version 1.0]], released on November 20, 1985, achieved little popularity. Its name was initially "Interface Manager", but [[Rowland Hanson]], the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name ''Windows'' would be more appealing to consumers. Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an "operating environment" that extended [[MS-DOS]]. Consequently, it shared the inherent flaws and problems of MS-DOS.

The second installment of Microsoft Windows, [[Windows 2.0|version 2.0]], was released on December 9, 1987, and used the [[real mode|real-mode]] [[computer storage|memory]] model, which confined it to a maximum of 1 [[megabyte]] of memory. In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasking system like [[DESQview]], which used the [[Intel 80286|286]] [[protected mode|Protected Mode]].

Microsoft Windows scored a significant success with [[Windows 3.0]], released in 1990. In addition to improved capabilities given to native applications, Windows also allowed users to better [[Computer multitasking|multitask]] older MS-DOS-based software compared to [[Windows/386]], thanks to the introduction of [[virtual memory]].

Microsoft developed [[Windows 3.1]], which included several improvements to Windows 3.0. It also excluded support for Real mode, and only ran on an [[80286|Intel 80286]] or better processor. Windows 3.1 was released on April 6, 1992. In November 1993 Microsoft also released [[Windows 3.11]], a touch-up to Windows 3.1 which included all of the patches and updates that followed the release of Windows 3.1 in early 1992.

Meanwhile, Microsoft continued to develop [[Windows NT]]. The main architect of the system was [[Dave Cutler]], one of the chief architects of [[OpenVMS|VMS]] at [[Digital Equipment Corporation]].<ref name="ntvmsrussinovich">{{cite web
|url=http://www.krsaborio.net/research/1990s/98/12_b.htm
|title=Windows NT and VMS: The Rest of the Story
|last=Russinovich
|first=Mark
|author-link=Mark Russinovich
|date=December 1998
|access-date=2008-12-16
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130112184237/http://www.krsaborio.net/research/1990s/98/12_b.htm
|archive-date=2013-01-12
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> Microsoft hired him in August 1988 to create a successor to [[OS/2]], but Cutler created a completely new system instead based on his [[DEC MICA|MICA]] project at Digital.<ref name="showstopper">{{cite book |last1=Zachary |first1=G. Pascal |title=Showstopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft |date=2014 |publisher=Open Road Media |isbn=978-1-4804-9484-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o2IkAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Dave+Cutler%22+march+13&pg=PT9 |access-date=2021-01-04|language=en}}</ref> The first version of Windows NT, [[Windows NT 3.1]], would be released on July 27, 1993 and used Windows 3.1's interface.

About a year before the [[Development of Windows 95|development of Windows 3.1's successor]] (Windows 95, code-named Chicago) began, Microsoft announced at its 1991 [[Professional Developers Conference]] that they would be developing a successor to Windows NT code-named [[Cairo (operating system)|Cairo]],<ref name="LarryCOM">{{cite web | url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/larryosterman/so-what-exactly-is-com-anyway | title=So what exactly IS COM anyway? | author=Larry Osterman | date=2004-10-15 | work=Larry Osterman's WebLog | access-date=2023-02-02}}</ref> which some viewed it as succeeding both Windows NT and Windows 3.1's successor under one unified system.<ref name="cairo">{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/23/road_to_windows_8/ |publisher=[[The Register]] |title=Windows 8: An awful lot of change for a single release |last=Anderson |first=Tim |date=2012-10-23 |access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref> Microsoft publicly demonstrated Cairo at the 1993 Professional Developers Conference, complete with a demo system running Cairo for all attendees to use.

Based on the [[Windows NT]] kernel, Cairo was a next-generation operating system that was to feature as many new technologies into Windows, including a new user interface with an [[object-based file system]] (this new user interface would officially debut with Windows 95 nearly 4 years later while the object-based file system would later be adopted as [[WinFS]] during the [[development of Windows Vista]]). According to Microsoft's product plan at the time, Cairo was planned to be released as late as July 1996 following its development.

However, it had become apparent that Cairo was a much more difficult project than Microsoft had anticipated, and the project was subsequently cancelled 5 years into development. A subset of features from Cairo were eventually added into [[Windows NT 4.0]] released on August 24, 1996, albeit without the object file system. Windows NT and Windows 9x would not be truly unified until [[Windows XP]] nearly 5 years later, when Microsoft began to merge its consumer and business line of Windows under a singular brand name based on Windows NT.