Windows 95

Windows 95 is the great "compromise" operating system. In some respects, it has its own way of handling access to the hard disk, but in other ways it resembles, and even uses, standard DOS. This is how Windows 95 strives for performance while retaining compatibility with older software. Windows 95 in fact includes a version of DOS, DOS 7.x, that is designed to work with it and its file structures.

The "official" file system used by Windows 95 is VFAT, which is supported by both it and the DOS 7.x with which it ships. Starting with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2), FAT32 is also supported, which allows the use of larger hard disk partitions.

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