1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,120 When you think of the worst version of Windows ever, 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,680 you might think of Vista, which performed sluggishly out of the box, 3 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:11,840 or 98, which was so ridden with bugs that Microsoft was forced to release a second edition, 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:16,400 or even Windows 8, in which Microsoft axed the much-beloved start menu 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,840 and instead tried to shove a mosaic of gimmicky live tiles down our throats, 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,880 who's very uncomfortable. But aside from these greatest hits, 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:29,800 one Windows version stands head and shoulders above the rest as a monument to failure. 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:35,040 Windows Millennium Edition, better known as Windows Me, or Windows ME, 9 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,800 for those who refuse to buy into the cheesy marketing. But why was it so bad? 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:44,760 Microsoft had plenty of time to learn from common gripes people had with Windows 95 and 98, 11 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:49,400 the biggest one being how often the OS would blue screen or straight up crash. 12 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,560 To be fair to Microsoft, they did have a pretty good solution to this, 13 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,640 move home users onto a version of Windows built on the much more stable NT kernel, 14 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:01,480 which of course they eventually did with Windows XP in 2001. 15 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,200 However, Microsoft originally wanted an NT edition of Windows for home users 16 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:10,320 before the end of 2000. But due to how much development time was required, 17 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,960 Windows ME was released instead in June of that year. 18 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:17,160 It was the third major Windows release in the 9x series, 19 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:22,960 and while it was designed to be easier for home users, it was somehow worse than its predecessors 20 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,640 due to how unstable it was. But with Windows 9x already having 21 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,200 a bad reputation for stability, how was it possible for Microsoft 22 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,720 to allow Windows ME to be even more frustrating? 23 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,720 The biggest problem with Windows ME was probably that it didn't really know who it was. 24 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:44,400 Although it was firmly part of the Windows 9x family, Microsoft tried to drag Windows Millennium Edition 25 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,080 into the new millennium by stripping away some 26 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:53,420 of the MS-DOS components older versions of Windows relied on, but not all of them. 27 00:01:53,420 --> 00:01:59,560 The idea was to improve boot times, but many applications that relied on DOS just stopped working. 28 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:04,560 Even if you weren't running any DOS-based programs though, there was a very good chance you'd have hardware 29 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,440 that would start acting up. Although Windows ME had higher minimum requirements 30 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,200 than its predecessor, Windows 98, they weren't that much higher, 31 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,200 meaning that many users thought they wouldn't have too many issues installing ME 32 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,600 without upgrading their hardware. Unfortunately though, enough had changed under the hood 33 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,940 with Windows ME, including a restructured registry, to give thousands of users massive headaches 34 00:02:24,940 --> 00:02:30,000 when their old Windows 95 and 98 drivers simply would not work with the new operating system. 35 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,420 What was really infuriating is that Microsoft faced similar issues when its customer upgraded 36 00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:38,300 to Windows 98 from 95, yet again, 37 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:42,860 they didn't adequately ensure enough driver support when ME hit store shelves. 38 00:02:42,860 --> 00:02:47,980 Complicating matters further was the fact that ME attempted to handle two different driver standards, 39 00:02:47,980 --> 00:02:51,500 one from the Windows 95 era and one from the Windows 98 era, 40 00:02:51,540 --> 00:02:55,140 and these drivers had a tendency to conflict. 41 00:02:55,140 --> 00:02:58,700 They don't like each other. And while it was possible in some cases 42 00:02:58,700 --> 00:03:04,580 for tech-savvy users to find workarounds, the problem was that Windows ME was specifically marketed 43 00:03:04,580 --> 00:03:09,700 as being Microsoft's first ever entirely home-oriented operating system, 44 00:03:09,700 --> 00:03:13,540 meaning that it was supposed to be simple and reliable 45 00:03:13,540 --> 00:03:17,540 for the average Joe or Jane at home. And I'm pretty sure booting up 46 00:03:17,540 --> 00:03:22,980 and having multiple pieces of hardware and software simply refuse to work is the opposite of simple. 47 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:26,500 Now, let's be fair, Windows ME wasn't all bad. 48 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:32,380 It introduced some important features that have held on to this day, including system restore, automatic Windows updates, 49 00:03:32,380 --> 00:03:38,500 and generic drivers that enabled the OS to recognize any USB flash drive as soon as you plugged it in. 50 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:43,060 But considering the fact that Windows ME was an overall nightmare for home users, 51 00:03:43,060 --> 00:03:48,780 it wasn't a surprise that Microsoft finally pulled the plug on the old Windows 9X ecosystem in 2001. 52 00:03:48,820 --> 00:03:51,860 And now, it's time for us to pull the plug on this video. 53 00:03:51,860 --> 00:03:56,780 I've got NT kernels in the microwave. Mm, can't wait. 54 00:03:56,780 --> 00:03:59,860 Hey, that's it for this video, guys. Thanks for watching. Like the video if you liked it. 55 00:03:59,860 --> 00:04:04,060 Dislike it if you disliked it. Check out our other videos and comment below with video suggestions. 56 00:04:04,060 --> 00:04:11,740 But don't forget to subscribe and follow TechWiki because, you know, that's what we need you to do that.