The document analyzes the risks of using outdated Windows 95 and 98 operating systems after Microsoft ends support. It finds that 80% of surveyed companies still have at least one Windows 95/98 system, accounting for 39% of total systems on average. While larger companies were just as likely to have Windows 95/98 systems as smaller ones, the percentage of outdated systems tended to decrease slightly with increasing company size. Factors contributing to the retention of Windows 95/98 included cost-cutting measures during an economic slowdown in 2001 that extended the lifecycles of older PCs, as well as hardware limitations that made upgrading difficult. The document recommends companies immediately evaluate strategies to retire all Windows 98 installations once support ends.

1. AssetLabs
The following document is authored by Steve O’Halloran – the co-founder of AssetMetrix (now owned by
Microsoft Corporation).mailto:steve@Assetlabs.com?subject=Windows 95/98 documentThis docuem
Re-distribution rights have been allowed via a legal arrangement between Mr. O’Halloran and AssetMetrix.
AssetMetrix – now owned by Microsoft Corporation - remains the holder of Copyright of the following
document. Other AssetMetrix ‘Research Labs’ documents can be found at www.AssetLabs.com

2. Usage Analysis & Risks
of unsupported Operating Systems:
Microsoft® Windows® 95 & Windows® 98
Executive Summary:
On January 16th, 2004, Microsoft® Windows® 98 enters the ‘non-support’ portion of its support
lifecycle. Windows 98 is considered obsolete, and security based hotfixes will not be generally
available for users of Windows 98 or Windows 98-SE.
With the high trend of security exploits (viruses, worms, trojans, etc.) against Microsoft Windows
and associated applications, and with Microsoft’s increased efforts to patch security exploits via
monthly hotfixes, companies with ‘Internet-facing’ PCs installed with Windows 95 or
Windows 98 face an ever-increasing risk of security breach for their entire network
throughout 2004 and beyond.
Analysis indicates that a high level of Windows 98 (and Windows 95) retention is most likely an
artifact of attempts to extend the lifecycle of ‘pre-Y2K’ PCs during the 2001 economic slow-down,
and that this decision to continue to use PCs with 1999-based components restrained
corporations from migrating away from a Win9X environment.
Companies with a significant investment in Windows 98 – and who did not purchase an extended
hotfix support contract in summer 2003 - should immediately evaluate strategies to retire all
installations of Windows 98.
Statistical Synopsis
AssetMetrix Research Labs conducted a statistical analysis of Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows
98 operating systems from 670 corporations ranging in size from 10 to 49,000 employees,
representing a total of 372,129 PCs.
80.2% (538 of the 670) of the companies had at least one instance of Windows 95 or
98, with no correlation between company size and Win95/98 presence (referred to from here on
as ‘Win9X’).

3. Of the 538 companies, Win9X accounted for 39.2% of the operating systems found,
with a standard deviation of 31.3%. Such a high standard deviation suggests a wide variance of
Win9X, from as low as 10% to as high as 70% (as can be seen in the statistics sections).
Index
Understanding the risks associated with Windows 9X ..................................................................................4
Other risks associated to loss of Windows 98 support
Even for Windows 98 PCs that are completely protected from the Internet, the cost of support rises –
both in time and money - as the Windows 98 knowledgebase of support personnel diminishes over time.
Any mission critical application or job function that is running on/through a Windows 98 PC is at an
increased risk of returning to ‘uptime’ - and an increased chance of data loss - as Windows 98 skill set
diminishes over time.
..........................................................................................................................................................................4
Understanding Microsoft’s Lifecycle Support Policy....................................................................................4
Dataset Parameters..........................................................................................................................................7
Data Privacy....................................................................................................................................................7
Data Analysis:..................................................................................................................................................8
Overall Operating System popularity.......................................................................................................8
Distribution of Win9X across Company Size...........................................................................................8
Trends Analysis...........................................................................................................................................8
Factors leading to Win9X ‘retention’ ............................................................................................................9
1. Fiscal measures to reduce costs in 2001 cause retention of ‘Pre-Y2K’ Hardware..........................9
2. Win9X maintained on older PCs due to hardware component constraints.....................................9
3. Win9X retained due to hardware form factor constraints..............................................................10
Commentary ..................................................................................................................................................11
Suggestions....................................................................................................................................................11
Addendum 1:
Microsoft Products ending Extended Support for
Dec 2003 - Jan 2004
........................................................................................................................................................................12
Addendum 2:
Microsoft Products ending Mainstream Support for
Dec 2003 - Jan 2004
........................................................................................................................................................................14
Disclaimer......................................................................................................................................................17
About AssetMetrix.........................................................................................................................................18
About AssetMetrix Research Labs................................................................................................................18

4. Understanding the risks associated with Windows 9X
The largest potential risk to corporations using Windows95 and Windows98 is the probability of an
Internet-based security exploit being discovered after January 2004 that can affect a Windows 9X PC.
Typically, security exploits –due to a code issue within the Operating System and/or the Internet Browser
– are reviewed and remedied by Microsoft via their monthly hotfix releases. After January 2004, Microsoft
is no longer obligated to supply any security based Hotfixes for Windows 98 users.
Thus, Windows 98 users become increasingly prone to any new security exploits, as security patches may
not be supplied. Virus authors & hackers will certainly view any Windows 98 PC as a more vulnerable
entry-point into the network infrastructure, being able to exploit security holes that have been
subsequently ‘patched’ on PCs with Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.
As time progresses – and the number of security exploits increases – any Internet-facing Windows 98 PC
increases its vulnerability –and opportunity - to attack.
Other risks associated to loss of Windows 98 support
Even for Windows 98 PCs that are completely protected from the Internet, the cost of support rises – both
in time and money - as the Windows 98 knowledgebase of support personnel diminishes over time. Any
mission critical application or job function that is running on/through a Windows 98 PC is at an increased
risk of returning to ‘uptime’ - and an increased chance of data loss - as Windows 98 skill set diminishes
over time.
Understanding Microsoft’s Lifecycle Support Policy
For Business software, Microsoft has three distinct phases for support.1
(1) Mainstream support includes all the support options and
programs that customers receive today, such as no-
charge incident support, paid incident support, support
charged on an hourly basis, support for warranty claims,
and hotfix support. After Mainstream support ends,
Extended support will be offered for Business and
Development software.
(2) Extended support includes all paid support options,
as well as security-related hotfix support which is
provided at no charge. Non-security related hotfix
support requires a separate Extended Hotfix Support
contract to be purchased within 90 days after Mainstream support ends. Microsoft will not accept
requests for warranty support, design changes, or new features during the Extended support
phase.
3) Self-help online support is available for minimum of eight years after the product is released.
By using Microsoft’s online Knowledge Base articles, FAQs, troubleshooting tools, and other
resources, many customers can quickly resolve their issues without contacting Microsoft directly.
1
Microsoft Website: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];lifecycle

6. The Lifecycle of Microsoft Windows 98 vs. other ‘Windows’
Windows 98 was introduced on June 30th, 1998 (Windows 98-SE introduced one year later) and is based
upon the ‘Win32’ architecture of Windows 95 (originating from DOS & Windows 3.X), whereas Windows
2000 and Windows XP are based upon the WinNT architecture (with origins from OS/2 development; see
chart below).
As such, Windows 98 is the last business-based ‘Win32’ OS remaining on the market (Windows ME is a
consumer based OS).
Originally, Windows 98 end of Extended Support was slated for June 30th, 2003, but was extended by
Microsoft – in June 2003 – to January 16th, 2004, most probably in response to large corporate customers
who had yet to retire their Windows 98 platforms.
Rather than offering Extended Support for Windows 98 from June 2003 to June 2005 (two years after
Mainstream support phase, Microsoft is terminating the extended support phase for both Windows 98 and
Windows 98 SE on January 2004, and will consider those products as obsolete.

7. Dataset Parameters
AssetMetrix Research Labs conducted a statistical analysis of the Microsoft Windows 95 and
Windows98 operating systems sample size of 670 corporations ranging in size from 10 to 49,000
employees.
Inventories of the 670-company sample were conducted within the last 14 months, and represent
372,129 PCs from companies in almost every market sector including:
• Financial
• Communications
• Government
• Healthcare
• Services
• Transportation
• Utilities
80.2% (538 of the 670) of the companies had at least one instance of Windows 95 or
Windows 98, with no correlation between company size and Win95/98 presence (referred to
from here on as ‘Win9X’).
Of the 538 companies, Win9X accounted for 39.2 % of the operating systems found,
with a standard deviation of 31.3%. Such a high standard deviation is not from a small sampling
but rather from a truly wide variance of Win9X, from as low as 10% to as high as 70% (as can be
seen in the statistics sections).
Data Privacy
Corporate participants in this survey are protected by AssetMetrix’s strict privacy and
confidentiality policy. Data used by AssetMetrix Research Labs was blindly aggregated to prevent
any identification of a company and/or any end-user identifiers.

8. Data Analysis:
Overall Operating System popularity
OS Popularity
From the entire dataset, Windows 98 and
Windows 95 accounted for more than 27% of
Win NT4
the OS type, including companies that had no 13.3%
Win XP
6.6%
Windows 98 installations at all
Win 95
Windows 2000 was the dominant Operating Win 9X
14.7%
System, consisting of 54.6% of the OS type. In 27.2%
Win 98
2nd place was the Win9X category, exceeding 12.5%
Win 2000
27%. 52.6% Win ME
0.2%
Surprisingly, there are more installations of
either Windows 95 or Windows 98 than
Windows XP.
Windows XP – introduced by Microsoft in Dec 2001 – accounted for less than 7% of the install base. This
data may suggest that corporations are currently tending to upgrade to Windows 2000 rather than
Windows XP.
Conclusion: The popularity of Win9X (27.2%) is second only to Windows 2000 (52.6%)
Distribution of Win9X across Company Size
AssetMetrix Research Lab analyses Win9X installations vs. Company Size
determined no apparent correlation between
company size and Win9X usage; larger 100.0%
companies tended to have the same
80.0%
distribution range of Win9X as smaller
% of Win9X
companies. 60.0%
40.0%
As seen on the X-Y scatter plot on the right,
20.0%
larger companies are just as apt to have a
significant Win9X install base as smaller 0.0%
companies. 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000
Company Size
Conclusion: There is no significant correlation to company size and the magnitude of Win9X;
larger companies can have significant installations of Win9X
Trends Analysis Average Win9X install vs. Company Size
By placing the company data into quantile
ranges of 100’s (i.e. 100 to 200, 200 to 300, 70.0%
etc.), Win9X averages were produced from
60.0%
each subset. Overall, there was a slight trend
50.0%
Win9X install (%)
of the average Win9X install to decrease from
30% towards 20% as the company size 40.0% Avg
increased (as noted in the black linear trend- 30.0% Linear (Avg)
line). 20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Com pany Size

9. Conclusion: Smaller companies tended to have an average Win9X population size of 30%, with
larger companies tending to have an average Win9X population size of 20%
Factors leading to Win9X ‘retention’
On first approach, the existence of Windows 95 and Windows 98 in corporate environments is not
expected for the following reasons:
1. Any company who has entered into an OS-based Microsoft VLA (Volume License Agreement) after
December 2001 has the rights to install Windows XP on all PCs with a previous operating system.
2. A 3-year lifecycle would assume that PCs purchased in 2000 would be replaced with PCs pre-
installed with Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
3. Customers have been aware of Microsoft’s intention to ‘retire’ Windows 98.
However, with over 80% of the companies having Win9X present, and at a rate approaching 40%, there
are other factors that supercede the initial logic of retiring Win9X in corporate environments.
1. Fiscal measures to reduce costs in 2001 cause retention of ‘Pre-Y2K’ Hardware
2001 saw a severe impact almost all sectors of the
corporate marketplace; US GDP sank to –1.6%, and GDP Growth
US PC sales decreased by 12% from the previous 6%
year. In short, companies were tending not replacing
their ‘old’ Win9X PCs with newer ones. 5%
4%
From a suggested 3 year lifecycle perspective, the 3%
economic depression in 2001 affected PCs purchased
)
M
F
O
T
P
D
S
U
:
E
C
R
(
2%
in 1998 and early 1999. Not knowing the extent of
this economic slowdown, many companies had opted 1%
to extend the life of their ‘pre-Y2K’ PCs well into 2002. 0%
-1%
This fiscal restraint caused PC lifecycles to be
extended to 4 or 5 years. Since the older PCs -2%
offsetting the purchase of more powerful PCs that 00 01 01 02 02
00
Q4 0
00
02
02
03
03
01
01
-20 -20 -20 -20 -20
0
-20
-20
-20
-20
-20
-20
-20
-20
-20
Q2 Q1 Q4 Q1 Q4
would come pre-installed with Windows 2000 or
Q1
Q3
Q2
Q3
Q2
Q3
Q1
Q2
Windows XP
2. Win9X maintained on older PCs due to hardware component constraints.
In the data analysis, Win9X based PCs had a high correlation to ‘legacy’ PC hardware components
(CPU, RAM and Hard Drive). PCs with Windows 9X tended to have components that were as old
as Windows 95 or Windows 98.
Component Win 95 Win 98 Win9X
(blended)
Avg CPU Speed 334 Mhz 1179 Mhz 723
Avg RAM 86 Mb 231 Mb 153
Avg Hard Drive 5548 Mb 11314 Mb 8199
330 Mhz CPUs were generally introduced by Intel Corporation between April 1998 and January
1999 (accounting for different product lines with the same CPU speed). Intel Corporation later
introduced 1Ghz Desktop CPU’s in November, 2000.
Thus the average age of the Win9X PCs lies between late 1998 and late 2000 (before the
introduction of Windows XP). This indicates that the ‘pre-Y2K’ PC typically retained its original
configuration, and thus was limited to maintaining the original Windows 95/98 rather than
upgrading to Windows 2000 or XP.

10. 3. Win9X retained due to hardware form factor constraints
Until the introduction of Windows XP in
December 2001, Windows 98 was considered OS & Form factor # %
the OS of choice for mobile PCs; both NT4 and Win95 Desktops 25438 84.9%
Windows2000 had many ‘mobile’
incompatibility issues that weren’t addressed in
Win95 Mobile 4523 15.1%
the “NT” architecture.
Win98 Desktops 33484 78.2%
Win98 Mobile 9321 21.8%
As such, migrating a mobile over to Windows 2000 or Windows NT was typically avoided, and
many of those mobiles aren’t effectively powerful enough to use Windows XP today.
Mobile Popularity (% of all PC sales)
Being relatively ‘fixed’ in their component
26.0%
structure, Mobile PCs are less flexible in
25.0% 25.0%
accommodating future Operating 24.0% 23.8%
Systems. The combination of the 23.0%
increasing popularity of Mobiles (see 22.0%
22.3%
21.8%
chart on right) along with resistance to 21.0%
%
use Windows 2000, resulted in another 20.0% 20.0%
factor to have ‘pre-Y2K’ mobiles retain 19.0%
18.2%
their original Win9X operating system. 18.0%
17.6%
17.0%
16.0%
Q2-1998
Q1-2000
Q4-2001
Q1-1998
Q3-1998
Q4-1998
Q1-1999
Q2-1999
Q3-1999
Q4-1999
Q2-2000
Q3-2000
Q4-2000
Q1-2001
Q2-2001
Q3-2001
Q1-2002
Q2-2002
Q3-2002
Q4-2002
Q1-2003

11. Commentary
The pervasiveness of Windows 9X appears to be an artifact of companies retaining their hardware (both
desktops and mobiles) purchased for the Y2K-migration in 1999 and early 2000. The significant presence
of Windows 95 and Windows 98 is a sign that companies have been holding onto original hardware
purchased during ‘pre-Y2K’ and thus have also been holding onto the original Operating System.
The retention of older PCs has prevented most companies from replacing their Win9X operating systems
with more robust Operating systems (Windows 2000, Windows XP).
The seamless interoperability between WIN9X and WINNT based operating systems – both at a desktop
and at a network management level – has led to the ‘acceptance’ of Windows98 in a corporate
environment. From an internal network management perspective, the ability to manage both Win9X PCs
and WINNT-based PCs (Windows NT, 2000 & XP) is effectively seamless. Also seamless is the
interoperability of Office applications between Win9X and WinNT Operating systems, as all editions of
Microsoft Office (except Office 2003) can operate on Windows98.
Windows 98 has not been a management issue with respect to application functionality or network
management. As of January 2004, security should become the dominant determination to the
continuation of Windows 98 in the corporate environment.
Suggestions
1.) Ensure that all PCs – regardless of the OS - have the latest Microsoft Security Hotfixes
2.) Identify the magnitude of Windows95 and Windows98 in your corporation via a PC inventory
3.) Any Windows9X based PC with access to the Internet (including mobiles that leave the company
network) should be candidates for migrating to Windows XP or Windows 2000.
4.) Determine if installations of Windows 2000 or Windows XP is covered under a Microsoft VLA
5.) Determine if any PC candidates require any RAM or HD upgrades, or requiring a new PC
altogether.
6.) Based upon the age of your non-Win9X PCs and the number of new PCs required, determine if
new PCs should be leased or purchased in order to synchronize the new PCs with your existing
population.

12. Addendum 1:
Microsoft Products ending Extended Support for
Dec 2003 - Jan 2004
General Extended
Mainstream
Product Name Availability Support
Support Retired
Date Retired
Access 97 16-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Content Replication Service Replication Service 30-Jun-1998 31-Dec-2002 1-Jan-2004
DFS 4.1 09-Oct-1997 31-Jan-2003 31-Dec-2003
Excel 97 16-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Fax Services for NTW 27-Jan-1997 31-Dec-2002 31-Dec-2003
Office 97 30-Dec-1996 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Office 97 Developer 05-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Office 97 Professional 16-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Office 97 Small Business 16-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Office 97 Standard 16-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Outlook 98 21-Jun-1998 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
PowerPoint 97 16-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Proxy Server 2.0 25-Dec-1997 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2003
Routing and Remote Access Service 25-Aug-1997 31-Dec-2002 31-Dec-2003
Services for Netware 4.0 14-Nov-1996 31-Dec-2002 31-Dec-2003
SMS 1.2 23-Oct-1996 31-Dec-2001 31-Dec-2003
Visual SourceSafe 5.0 31-Mar-1997 31-Dec-2001 31-Dec-2003
Windows Media Encoder 7.1 on Windows Millennium Edition Not Available 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2003
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows XP Home Edition Not Available 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2003
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows Millennium Edition Not Available 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2003
Windows Media Player 7.1 on Windows Millennium Edition Not Available 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2003
Windows Media Player 9 on Windows Millennium Edition Not Available 7-Jan-2003 31-Dec-2003
WMF SDK 7.1 on Windows Millennium Edition Not Available 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2003
Word 97 16-Jan-1997 31-Aug- 2001 16-Jan-2004
Zero Admin for NT4 21-Sep-1997 31-Dec-2002 31-Dec-2003

14. Addendum 2:
Microsoft Products ending Mainstream Support for
Dec 2003 - Jan 2004

15. Product Name
General Availability Date
Mainstream Support
Retired
Extended Support Retired
CD Photo Viewer V1 for
Windows Millennium
01-Feb-2003
31-Dec-2003
31-Dec-2004
Exchange Server 5.0
23-May-1997
31-Dec-2003
31-Dec-2005
Exchange Server 5.0
Enterprise Edition
23-May-1997
31-Dec-2003
31-Dec-2005
Exchange Server 5.5
03-Feb-1998
31-Dec-2003
31-Dec-2005
Review note 1 below
Exchange Server 5.5
Enterprise Edition
03-Feb-1998
31-Dec-2003
31-Dec-2005
Proxy Server 2.0
25-Dec-1997
31-Dec-2003
Not Applicable
Windows Media Encoder 7.1
for Windows 2000
Professional
01-May-2001
31-Dec-2003
Not Applicable
Windows Millennium Edition
31-Dec-2000
31-Dec-2003
31-Dec-2004
Windows Media Player 6.4 on
Windows XP Professional
Not Available
31-Dec-2003
31-Dec-2004
Windows 98 Plus! Pack
30-Sep-1997
16-Jan-2004
Not Applicable
1. Extended Hotfix support contract
fees have been waived for the first

17. Disclaimer
The information contained in this document represents the current view of AssetMetrix, Inc.
(“AssetMetrix”) on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because AssetMetrix must respond to
changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of AssetMetrix
and AssetMetrix cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented. This document is for
informational purposes only. ASSETMETRIX MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
DOCUMENT. THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD NOT BE VIEWED AS LEGAL ADVICE.
AssetMetrix may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual
property rights covering subject matter in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give
you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights.
AssetMetrix does not make any representation or warranty regarding specifications in this document or
any product or item developed based on these specifications. AssetMetrix disclaims all express and
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particular purpose, and freedom from infringement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
AssetMetrix does not make any warranty of any kind that any item developed based on these
specifications, or any portion of a specification, will not infringe any copyright, patent, trade secret, or
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AssetMetrix, AssetAgent, AssetPulse, ServicePage, P2P-Tracker are either registered trademarks or
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Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Usage
and/or reference of other product and/company names should not necessarily be construed as an
endorsement by AssetMetrix.
© 2000-2003 AssetMetrix Inc. All rights reserved.

18. About AssetMetrix
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, AssetMetrix is the industry’s first
managed service for PC inventory and IT asset analysis. AssetMetrix gives IT managers the
power to discover, analyze, and manage their MS Windows & Linux desktop and server
environment at the rate of 1,000 PCs per minute, regardless of location or connection.
AssetMetrix discovers over 250 hardware elements, identifies and categorizes 220,000+ software
titles, and reports these findings in over 150 reports, making it the most comprehensive PC
inventory and asset analysis solution available today.
To date, AssetMetrix is deployed in over 4,000 customer sites, and is used in the management of
hundreds of thousands of seats for international resellers and service providers. For more
information, please visit www.assetmetrix.com.
About AssetMetrix Research Labs
AssetMetrix Research Labs is the research division of AssetMetrix, and is responsible for the
algorithms used within the many ’asset analysis’ reports found within AssetMetrix (i.e. Windows
Migration analysis, PC Population Replacement Forecasting, License Calculators, etc.)
AssetMetrix Research Labs focuses on assisting AssetMetrix clientele (and channel partners) with
strategic IT Asset Management advice and solutions, and also with monitoring industry events
and trends on behalf of AssetMetrix to help partners and clients keep abreast of the most
pressing IT Asset Management issues.
Commentary on this document is welcome.
Phone: 613-244-0235
Fax: 613-236-6336
Email: ResearchLabs@AssetMetrix.com