I believe that to see a performance improvement, Win95 requires a fast i486 or Pentium processor, at least 8 MB of RAM (Random Access Memory). I suggest that you have at least an i486/66 MHZ (MegaHertz) processor or Win95 may not perform to your expectations.

If you have read my articles in the past, you know that I usually don’t succumb to the techie-pocket protector syndrome too often. However, a number of readers have asked for specific reasons why I think Win95 is such a great operating system. So, here are my technical reasons.

1. fully integrated 32-bit protected-mode operating system, eliminates the need for a separate copy of DOS;

2. preemptive multitasking and multithreading support improves system responsiveness and smooth background processing;

3. 32-bit installable file systems including VFAT, CDFS, and network redirectors provide better performance, use of long filenames, and an open architecture supports future growth;

4. 32-bit device drivers available throughout the operating system deliver improved performance and intelligent memory that uses a complete 32-bit system operating kernel;

5. improved system-wide robustness and cleanup after each application program ends or an application crashes, delivers a more stable and reliable operating environment.

Also, a more dynamic environment configuration reduces the need for users to tweak their system to improve system capacity. This includes better system resource limits to address issues that Win311 users encountered when running multiple applications.

In short, opening and closing applications doesn’t deplete system resources as much as when using Win311.

Win95 allows preemptive multitasking for Win32-based (32-bit) applications. Unlike Win311, which used cooperative multitasking for Win16-based (16-bit) applications, Win32 programs do not need to yield to other tasks. Win32 applications use multithreading to improve performance and allow multiple programs to operate concurrently.

Improved Memory Protection: To support a higher level of memory protection for running DOS-based applications, Win95 includes a "global memory protection" attribute that allows the DOS system area to be protected from errant memory calls initiated by DOS-based applications.

When the global memory protection attribute is set, the DOS system area sections are read-protected so that applications can't write into this memory area and corrupt DOS support and DOS-based device drivers.

By default, Win95 runs DOS-based applications in a window, and enables the background execution setting, allowing the application to continue to run when it is not the active (foreground) application.

Floppy Diskette Access: Floppy disk and multitasking performance is improved in Win95. Performance is not degraded when accessing floppy diskettes as under Win3.11.

Disk Cache: VCACHE, a 32-bit protected-mode cache driver, in conjunction with the 32-bit VFAT, replaces the 16-bit realmode SmartDrive disk cache software provided with DOS and Win3.11.

The VCACHE driver features a more intelligent caching algorithm than SmartDrive to cache information read from or written to a disk drive, and results in improved performance for reading information from cache.

Also, the VCACHE driver is responsible for managing the cache pool for the CD-ROM file System (CDFS), and the included 32-bit network redirectors.

Another big improvement in VCACHE over SmartDrive is the memory pool that is used for the cache is dynamic and is based on the amount of available free system memory. Users no longer need to statically allocate a block of memory to set aside as a disk cache, the system automatically allocates or deallocates memory used for the cache based on system use.

The performance of the system will also scale better than Win3.11 or WFWG3.11 due to the intelligent cache use.

CD-ROM Performance Improved: The 32-bit protected-mode CD-ROM file system (CDFS) implemented in Windows 95 provides improved CD-ROM access performance over the real-mode MSCDEX driver in Win3.11 and is a full 32-bit ISO 9660 CD file system.

The CDFS driver replaces the 16-bit real-mode MSCDEX driver, and features 32-bit protected-mode caching of CD-ROM data. The CDFS driver cache is dynamic and shares the cache memory pool with the 32-bit VFAT driver, requiring no configuration or static allocation on the part of the user.

Specific benefits of the 32-bit CDFS driver: no conventional memory used replacement for the real-mode MSCDEX; improved performance over DOS-based MSCDEX and real-mode cache; better multitasking when accessing CD-ROM information no blocking; and dynamic cache support to provide a better balance between providing memory to run applications versus memory to serve as a disk cache.

Network Support Improved: Win95 includes Novell NetWare drivers that connect to and communicate with NetWare file servers much faster than the Novell client drivers (Netx and VLM).

I know that I haven’t mentioned how easy Win95 is to operate. Believe me, it’s much easier to learn than Win311. If you like your current Windows system and you have the PC horsepower to run Win95, you’ll love it!

The folders and shortcuts replace groups and items in Program Manager. The taskbar clearly shows all running applications, and task switching can now be accomplished using the mouse as well as the keystroke. And true to the Microsoft advertising hype, the “Start” button really does lead to the most commonly used Windows system configuration tasks.

I’m looking forward to your upgrading to Win95. It’s an operating system that operates, finally!

David Stephen Murphy is President and CEO of Damar Group, Ltd. which presents computer training classes, publishes computer learning guides, and helps organizations do business on the Internet. The website is http://dgl.com, and Mr. Murphy may be reached at dave@dgl.com or 410.567.5366.

updated November 2, 1996
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