ARCHIVED: How do I upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows NT Workstation 4.0?

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Note: For security and support reasons, UITS recommends using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional, rather than NT Workstation 4.0, on Indiana University's network. Microsoft retired both mainstream and extended support for this version in June 2004, which means security updates are no longer being developed. For more information, see Microsoft's Windows Desktop Product Lifecycle Guidelines page at:

  http://support.microsoft.com/?LN=en-us&pr=lifecycle

Windows NT Workstation 4.0 does not include an automated upgrade path from the Windows 95 operating system. If you decide to upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows NT Workstation 4.0, you should follow these steps:

Check to see if all Windows 95 devices and applications are supported by Windows NT Workstation 4.0.
Install Windows NT Workstation 4.0 into a separate directory, creating a dual boot system.

Note: For security reasons, you should install Windows or rebuild your Windows computer offline (i.e., unplug your network cable), and then take certain measures to assure its security before putting it back on the network. For instructions, see Safely rebuild your Windows computer
Re-install all applications (to the same directory if upgrading; to a different directory if dual booting).
Manually delete the Windows 95 directory. (This step is optional.)

Technical issues to consider

An automatic upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows NT Workstation 4.0 is difficult for two reasons:

Application use of system registry: Due to different design goals behind Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation, their respective system registries are different, which results in applications registering themselves in different locations.
Hardware device support: Hardware devices that are supported by Windows 95 may not be supported by Windows NT. It may not be possible to upgrade a Windows 95 system that includes a device which is not supported by Windows NT Workstation version 4.0.