How to Install Windows 95 on Windows 10/11!

install windows 95 windows 11

In this guide, we will show you two different methods through which you can install Windows 95 on your Windows 10/11 PC. Whether you are looking to dive deep into the history of the OS and check out the earliest releases of the OS that the Redmond giant has to offer, jump onto the nostalgic bandwagon, want to try out one of the games of the yesteryears such as Doom, Wolf 3D, Prince or Persia, or simply want to rekindle your memories, well, in all these scenarios, you may consider installing Windows 95 onto your Windows 10/11 PC. And in this guide, we will show you two different methods through which you could get this job done.

In the first method, we will simply be installing the basic Windows 95 without any additional functionalities whereas in the second method, we will install Windows 95 along with the Microsoft Plus extension pack which will give you a few additional goodies as well. While the latter is a tad bit complicated and lengthier than the first time, but if you have adequate time in hand, we would recommend you try out the second one as it will let you know the OG version of Windows in its full form and glory. With that said, the choice is all yours! NOTE: This guide and the associated video are just for educational purposes and should not be used for any illegal or wrongful means.

Table of Contents

How to Install Windows 95 on Windows 10/11

Download the Windows 95 ISO file and serial key.
Now download and install Virtual Box on your PC.
Then launch it and click on New at the top right.
Type in Windows 95 under the Name field, leave other fields untouched and hit Next.
Under Memory, leave it as 64MB and click Next [increasing it will give you an insufficient memory error!].
Then select Create a Virtual Hard Disk Now and hit Create.
Now select VDI [Virtual Disk Image] and hit Next.
Then select Dynamically Allocated and click Next.
Under Hard Disk, leave the default 2GB and click Create.
The Virtual Machine will now be created. Access it from the left-hand side of VirtualBox and hit Start.
Now click on the Folder icon at the bottom and click on Add to choose the start-up disk.
Then select the Windows 95 ISO file and hit Choose. Finally, click Start.
The virtual machine will now boot up. Hit Enter to start the installation process.
Click on Configure the unallocated disk space (recommended) and select Yes, enable large disk support.
Now enter the Windows 95 product key you have downloaded: 34698-OEM-0039682-72135.
Then check Network Adapter and Sound, MIDI, or Video Capture Card, and click Next.
Select No, I do not want a start disk, and click Next.
Once the installation is done, click on Devices > Optical Drives > Win95 OSR2.ISO and deselect it.
Finally, hit Finish. VM will now restart and it should boot with Windows 95!

How to Install Windows 95 With Microsoft Plus on Windows 10/11

Download Windows 95 with Microsoft Plus ISO, Windows 95 Boot Disk, Fix95CPU, and 256 Colors ISO,
Now download and install Virtual Box on your PC.
Then launch it and click on New at the top right.
Type in Windows 95 under the Name field, leave other fields untouched and hit Next.
Under Memory, leave it as 64MB and click Next [increasing it will give you an insufficient memory error!].
Then select Create a Virtual Hard Disk Now and hit Create.
Now select VDI [Virtual Disk Image] and hit Next.
Then select Dynamically Allocated and click Next.
Under Hard Disk, leave the default 2GB and click Create.
The Virtual Machine will now be created. Access it from the left-hand side of VirtualBox and go to its Settings.
Under Storage, go to Controller Floppy and select Empty. Then select the disk01.img Windows 95 Boot Disk file, and hit Open.
Then go to Controller: IDE and select Empty. Now select the Disk01.img Windows 95 ISO file, and click Open. Finally, hit OK.
Now hit Start at the top right. Windows 95 Startup menu should now appear. Type in 1 [NEC IDE CDROM Driver] and hit Enter.
Now type in fdisk and hit Enter. Then type in Y under Enable Large Disk Support.
Under FDISK Options, type in 1 [Create DOS Partition….] and hit Enter. Again type in Y and hit Enter in the Confirm screen.
It will now ask you to restart. So go to Machine from the Virtual Box menu and select Reset.
Again, type in 1 for NEC IDE CDROM Driver and hit Enter. Now type the below command, type in Y, and hit Enter to confirm.
```
format C:
```
Now give this drive a name and hit Enter. Then go to C Drive by typing in
```
C:
```
Now make a directory where we’ll be copying the Windows 95 setup file. So type in the below command:
```
mkdir WIN95
```
Now navigate to that directory via the below command:
```
cd WIN95
```
Then type in the below command to initiate the file copy:
```
copy D:\WIN95
```
Once done, we may start with the setup process. So type in the below command and hit Enter
```
setup
```
Then click Continue > YES > Next. Choose C:\ Windows and hit Next. Choose Typical and hit Next.
Now type in the below serial key and hit Next:
```
12095 OEM 0004226 12233
```
Type in Name and Company and hit Next.
Then check the Network Adapter and Sound, MIDI, or Video Capture Card, and click Next.
Once done, select Install the most common components and click Next.
Then select No I don’t want a startup disk and click Next. Once done, hit Finish.
It will now ask you to remove the floppy disk from Drive. So right-click on the floppy icon at the bottom right corner [similar to the Save icon in today’s terminology] and select Remove Disk from Virtual Drive.
Once removed, click OK in the prompt and it will restart Windows 95. You will now get a Windows Protection Error. To fix it, right-click on the disk at the bottom right and select Choose a Disk file.
Then select the FIX95CPU.iso and hit Open. Windows 95 will restart. Type in N under the Readme file and hit Enter. FIX95CPU will now be installed.
Once done, right-click on the disk at the bottom right and select Remove Disk from Virtual Drive.
Then go to Machine > Reset at the top right. Windows 95 will now restart. Under the Start Up menu, select Normal.
Under Network, type in the desired Name, and Workgroup and hit Close. It will start copying the file, if you get a version conflict, hit YES.
The process will now start and could take a while. Once done, hit OK in the prompt and Windows 95 will now restart.
It will now bring up a login screen. Type in the desired username and password [remember it!] and hit OK. Confirm password if required and hit OK. And you should now be taken to the desktop!
Likewise, you’ll now get a Windows 95 setup screen. Click Next > Click Next under Internet Explorer Browser > The process will now get stuck at 78%. So go to Start > Shutdown > Restart the Computer > YES.
Then log in via the ID password and you’ll be taken to the desktop. With this, the Windows 95 installation is now complete on your Windows 10/11PC.

We’ll now proceed ahead and install the Microsoft Plus expansion pack to get some additional goodies, though it is completely optional, and you skip it if you don’t want them.

Right-click on the Disk icon at the bottom right and load the Windows 95 ISO [Disk01.iso].
Then open My Computer and open the Windows 95 Disk.
Now go to the Plus folder and launch Setup.
Click Continue > Type in ID and password > OK > OK. Type in the same serial key we used earlier:
```
12095 OEM 0004226 12233
```
Then click OK > OK. Let the installation directory be the default one and hit OK.
Now click Typical. You’ll get a warning, hit OK. Then click No under System Maintainance.
Wait for the process to complete. Once done, hit OK. You’ll now get the option to change the Desktop theme.
If you do change the theme, make sure to select All Settings in the subsequent prompt that appears. Finally. click Restart Windows.
Once it boots up, right-click on the Disk icon at the bottom right and load the 256 Colors ISO file.
Then go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced Properties > Adapter Properties tab > Click Change.
Then click on Have Disk > Browse > Change the Drive to the CD Drive. Then under Folders, select vbe9x > uni.
You should now see the vbemp.inf under Filename, so hit OK > OK. Then hit OK > Apply > OK. if you see Rundll32 error, then just hit Close > Close.
Now click on the Windows icon > Shutdown > Restart. If it hangs up, then go to Machine > Reset.
Once it boots up, right-click on the Desktop and select Properties. Then go to the Settings tab and select 256 Color under Color Pallete. You may also increase the Desktop Area if required.
Then click Apply > YES. Now choose Plug and Play Monitor and hit OK. Finally, hit Restart.
If you get a Guru Meditation error, then click OK. It will close Windows 95. Not an issue, just select your Windows 95 Virtual Machine from the left and hit Start. It will restart Windows 95.
If you get any color-related issues, then restart Windows 95 a couple of times and the issue will be rectified.

That’s it. These were the two different methods to install Windows 95 on Windows 10/11. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, drop them in the comments section below!