ARCHIVED: What is the difference between Windows 95 and Windows 98?

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Note: UITS recommends that you use a current version of Windows on computers connected to the Indiana University network; see Recommended Windows operating systems at IU.

Windows 98 uses basically the same kernel as Windows 95 does, but there are some differences in the graphical user interface (GUI), device drivers, and networking support (particularly the Internet).

New features of Windows 98

Shell

Desktop integrated with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
System Troubleshooter tool that aids in diagnosing problems with your system
Web-based technical support
Dr. Watson utility to provide more information when a General Protection Fault (GPF) occurs

Control panel

Multiple display support, which allows use of more than one monitor on the system at the same time
Integration of Microsoft Plus! control panel tab (like Windows NT)
ACPI Power Management support

Drivers

Windows 98 uses the Windows NT driver model, making the drivers for both systems interchangeable.
Display drivers are fully DirectX compatible.
Faster floppy disk drivers
300 new modem drivers
175 new monitor drivers
600 new printer drivers
Built-in drivers for still image and video capture devices
Updated support for LS120 drives (120MB floppy drives)
Support for bus mastering IDE controllers, SMART technology, ATAPI CD-changers, CDI disks, and IDE tape backup devices
Universal Serial Bus (USB) support
IEEE 1394 device support
DVD storage and movie playback

Other

PCMCIA modem power-down support
Automatic hard disk spindown
Infrared networking support for up to 4Mbps
Smart Card support
Improved registry speed

Note: This information is from the WindowsCentral web site, which you can access at the following URL:

  http://www.winplanet.com/