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Windows Me

2000 → 2006 · Windows

Released on 14 September 2000 for home users. It was the last Windows built on the code of Windows 95.1, 2

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Released
14 September 20001
Full name
Windows Millennium Edition1
Price in the US
About $209, or $109 to upgrade from Windows 951
Support ended
11 July 20064

Made for home

Microsoft designed Windows Me specifically with the home user in mind. It focused on PC health, digital media, home networking and the internet. System Restore could roll a PC's software back to a time when it was working properly, and System File Protection stopped important system files from being overwritten by accident.1

A Windows Me desktop in blue with icons for My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, Recycle Bin and Internet Explorer. A Search Results window is open: on the left, a Search pane looking for files that contain the text 'museum' on the local hard drives; on the right, a list of found files with their size and type. A WordPad window sits behind it. The taskbar shows the Start button, four Quick Launch icons, buttons for both windows and the clock.
Illustration · not a screenshot Our drawing of Windows Me. It was the last Windows built on the Windows 95 code,2 but adopted the slicker look of Windows 2000.3 See the real screen

Photos, music and movies

Windows Movie Maker let people edit, save and share home videos. Windows Media Player 7 was one place to find, organize and play digital media. A Home Networking Wizard helped people find shared things on the computers in a home and connect them.1

Close-up of the top left of the Windows Me screen: desktop icons for My Documents, My Computer and My Network Places on the blue desktop, next to the corners of the WordPad and Search Results windows.
Illustration · not a screenshot Close-up of our drawing of Windows Me: the desktop icons, including My Network Places. See the real screen

The end of a line

Windows Me was the last Microsoft operating system based on the code of Windows 95. Microsoft announced that all its future operating systems would be built on Windows NT and Windows 2000.2

A Windows XP desktop with a blue sky, white clouds and a green hill. The two-column Start menu is open: a white column with Internet, E-mail and recently used programs, and a light blue column with My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, My Computer and more. Behind it, a My Computer window with a blue task pane shows drives and folders. The blue taskbar has a green Start button and a clock.
Illustration · not a screenshot For comparison: our drawing of Windows XP, which came out after Windows Me, in October 2001.2 See the real screen

Key moments