Windows NT Archives

Winsage

December 4, 2025

Microsoft finds an unlikely ally — Linux developer defends Windows against BSoD jokes

Windows has traditionally held a dominant market share in operating systems, but Linux is gaining traction, particularly after Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Zorin OS, a Linux distribution, attracted around 780,000 former Windows users within a month of this announcement. Bazzite delivered a petabyte of ISO files in one month, indicating a growing interest among Windows 10 users in alternatives to Windows 11. Linus Torvalds highlighted that many blue screen errors in Windows are linked to hardware issues rather than software bugs and recommended using Error-Correcting Code (ECC) memory for better stability. Microsoft has changed its error reporting from the blue screen of death to a black screen to enhance security and prevent destabilizing updates. There are three types of Blue Screen of Death errors: the Windows 3.1 Ctrl+Alt+Del screen, the Windows 95 kernel error, and the Windows NT kernel error.

Winsage

November 26, 2025

Microsoft preloads File Explorer to mask performance issues

Microsoft is addressing sluggish launch times for File Explorer by preloading the application in the background, rather than streamlining its code or removing features. This update is available in a Windows Insider build for the Dev and Beta Channels. The preloading feature is experimental and can be disabled by users in the Folder Options under the View tab in File Explorer. Microsoft previously open-sourced the classic Windows File Manager in 2018, which was a lightweight tool for file system activities. Over time, File Explorer has increased in size and complexity, leading to performance challenges.

Winsage

November 7, 2025

Former Microsoft engineer explains why Windows ‘sucks’ now

Retired Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer proposes the introduction of a hardcore mode for Windows to eliminate unnecessary features aimed at less technical users. He emphasizes the need for a system-wide setting that makes the OS more deterministic and less chatty, advocating for centralized settings management to avoid users having to search extensively for configurations. Plummer calls for greater transparency in telemetry, suggesting that users should have clear documentation of data sent on their behalf and the ability to mute specific telemetry categories. He critiques the update process for causing unexpected changes and suggests implementing automatic rollbacks after health checks. Plummer expresses concern about Microsoft's focus on integrating AI capabilities into Windows, fearing it detracts from user education and turns the OS into a sales channel. He also criticizes Windows for recommending Edge after a user selects a different browser and for displaying sponsored applications in the Start Menu. Despite his criticisms, he acknowledges the strengths of Windows, including its kernel, storage stack, and the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Plummer's discontent stems from the additional features that detract from the user experience.

Winsage

October 29, 2025

Crowbarring Windows 95 into Windows NT with CAPITALS

The early versions of Windows NT transitioned from the Program Manager of Windows 3.1 as Windows 95 was developed, leading to the integration of the Windows 95 shell into Windows NT. The Windows NT team, while preparing for their launch, considered how to incorporate features from Windows 95, resulting in Windows NT 4.0. The teams maintained communication, with the NT team integrating the Windows 95 user interface and window management capabilities into their system. The integration involved using Windows 95 as a reference for reimplementing features rather than merging code directly. Explorer was integrated into Windows NT's architecture, allowing updates in Windows 95 to avoid redundant changes. To prevent bugs from affecting Windows 95, the NT team enclosed new code within #ifdef WINNT directives. They faced challenges with the sizeof operator due to Windows NT's Unicode awareness, leading to a macro definition for tracking verified instances. Microsoft used an internal source code management system called SLM, which lacked branch support, making the transfer of changes between Windows 95 and Windows NT a manual process.

Winsage

September 21, 2025

Microsoft’s pivotal Windows NT 3.5 release made it a serious contender, 31 years ago today

Today marks the 31st anniversary of the public release of Windows NT 3.5. Windows NT was targeted at the enterprise sector, contrasting with Windows 3.1, which was aimed at casual users. It was a fully 32-bit operating system requiring a minimum of an 80386 processor and 12MB of RAM. Windows NT featured cross-platform capabilities, with builds for various architectures, including MIPS, DEC's Alpha, and PowerPC. The user interface of NT 3.5 resembled Windows 3.1, which may have affected its adoption among professional users. Nine months after NT 3.5, Windows NT 3.51 was released, enhancing compatibility with Windows 95 applications. Windows NT 4.0, released in 1996, integrated the Windows 95 shell, leading to Windows 2000 and ultimately Windows XP in 2001, which unified workstation and consumer markets under a single NT codebase. Windows NT 3.5 was a crucial transitional release that laid the groundwork for future operating systems.

Winsage

September 18, 2025

Steam is ending support for Windows 32-bit next year

Steam will discontinue support for Windows 32-bit systems by the end of this year, with only Windows 10 32-bit currently receiving support, which represents 0.01 percent of systems according to the latest Steam Hardware Survey. The decision will likely affect only a small number of users, as Steam has over 36 million daily users. Existing installations on Windows 10 32-bit will continue to function but will lose access to updates and technical support after the cutoff. Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 on October 14, halting security updates, which may leave 32-bit users vulnerable. Valve will continue to support Steam on Windows 10 64-bit systems, and Windows 11 has removed the 32-bit version entirely. Steam's announcement indicated that core features rely on system drivers and libraries not supported on 32-bit Windows.

Winsage

September 14, 2025

Millennium edition of Windows is 25 years old

On September 14, 2000, Microsoft released Windows ME, the last version of Windows to rely on MS-DOS. It was intended as a successor to Windows 95, 98, and 98 SE, offering discounted updates and compatibility with existing software. Windows ME obscured DOS, making it less accessible for users, and eliminated the ability to create bootable DOS copies from formatted floppy disks. It inherited system file protection from Windows 2000 to prevent "DLL hell," where application software replaced system libraries, causing other programs to fail. Windows ME aimed to bridge the gap between Windows 98 and Windows XP, but users faced compatibility issues with programs not designed for the new version. The control panel adopted a web-like appearance, and documentation transitioned to HTML format. Windows ME had minimal system requirements of a 150 MHz Pentium and 32 MB of RAM, and performance tests showed negligible differences compared to Windows 2000. Windows XP was released a year later, marking the end of DOS's relevance in Microsoft's operating systems.

Winsage

September 11, 2025

Space Cadet 3D Pinball Had A Glitch That Ran It At An Absurdly High Frame Rate

In the mid-1990s, Full Tilt! Pinball featured Space Cadet 3D, a popular game that recently gained attention due to a bug revealed by former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer. While porting Space Cadet from Windows 95 to Windows NT, Plummer created a new game engine that inadvertently allowed the game to run at up to 5,000 frames per second on modern machines, instead of the intended 60 to 90 frames per second. This issue was later resolved by another engineer, Raymond Chen, who added a frame rate limiter to cap the game at 100 frames per second. A version of Space Cadet 3D Pinball is currently available on the App Store.

Winsage

September 9, 2025

Microsoft veteran’s worst Windows bug was all about Pinball

Former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer revealed that he shipped a bug in the Pinball game while porting it to Windows NT. The bug caused the game engine to render frames as fast as possible, initially manageable on older hardware but leading to excessive CPU usage on newer machines. Fellow engineer Raymond Chen identified the issue, noting the absence of a frame limiter, which resulted in frame rates exceeding 100 frames per second. By adding a frame rate limiter, Chen reduced CPU usage to approximately one percent. Plummer reflected on the seriousness of production bugs and the culture surrounding them at Microsoft.

Winsage

September 9, 2025

Former MS engineer Dave Plummer admits he accidentally coded Pinball to run ‘at like, 5,000 frames per second’ on Windows NT

Former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer shared insights about the development of the Pinball game, known as Space Cadet 3D Pinball or Microsoft 3D Pinball, which was included in Windows NT 4.0. Plummer created a resource-intensive game engine while transitioning the game from Windows 95 to Windows NT, achieving a frame rate of 60-90 fps on a MIPS R4000 processor at 200 MHz. Another engineer, Chen, introduced a frame rate limiter that capped the game at 100 fps, allowing users to play Pinball while building software. Plummer referred to the oversight in the game's development as the worst bug he ever shipped, reflecting on the strict software quality standards of the time. Despite initial embarrassment, the legacy of the bug is fondly remembered by Plummer and his colleagues, especially in light of advancements in technology and multi-core processors.