Windows NT 3.5

A little more than a year later, Microsoft released WNT Server and Workstation version 3.5, which was a performance-enhanced release that ran significantly faster. The server version enhanced support for the NetWare and UNIX environments, including tools to aid in support NetWare interoperability. NT 3.5 also had improved remote support via its upgraded Remote Access Service (RAS).

Windows NT 3.51 (released in 1995) added support for the PowerPC processor and was the last version to use the Windows 3.1 Program Manager–type interface. Windows 95 also released in 1995 and replaced the previous separate products of Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, and MS-DOS as the single mass-market desktop OS. Windows 95 was a 32-bit OS, had built-in TCP/IP support, and included new plug-and-play technologies. Plug-and-play greatly improved the usability of Windows for end users to install new hardware and software, and cemented Windows as the OS of choice. Windows 95 introduced support for long filenames on the FAT file system via the Virtual File Allocation Table (VFAT) file system, which used a file system workaround to enable filenames beyond the 8.3 limitation. Windows 95 also had a new interface based around the Start button and Windows Explorer, which made the old Program Manager interface extinct. This new interface was available for WNT 3.51 as the “Shell Update Release” download.