Development of Windows 98 was done by Microsoft in the 1990s, initially using the codename "Memphis" to refer to the product. Many builds were released or leaked, starting with build 1351 on 15 December 1996 and ending with Windows 98 Second Edition.

December 1996

As with most software, Windows 98 development involved the creation of many builds of the software, some of which were released for testing or leaked.

Build 1351, the first leaked build of Memphis, was released on 15 December 1996. At that time, it was referred to as "Windows 97" or "Windows 9x".

February 1997

Build 1387 (Beta 1), was released on 7 February 1997.

Build 1400 (Beta 1), was released on 25 February 1997.

April 1997

Build 1423, a developer's release, was released on 8 April 1997.

Build 1488 was released on 26 April 1997.

June 1997

Build 1525 was released 26 June 1997.

Build 1532 was released 26 June 1997.

July 1997

Build 1546 (Beta 2), was released on 31 July 1997 and expired on 31 January 1998.

October 1997

Build 1602 (Beta 2.1), the first build by the name Windows 98, was released on 3 October 1997 and expired on 31 March 1998. It was the first build to be able to upgrade from Windows 3.1x

Windows 3.1x

Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0...

, a feature not seen in Beta 2.

December 1997

Build 1629 (Beta 3), was released on 12 December 1997 and expired on 24 August 1998.

February 1998

Build 1691 (Release Candidate 0), was released on 16 February 1998 and expired on 31 December 1998.

April 1998

Build 1723.4 (Release Candidate 2), was released on 10 April 1998 and expired on 1 April 2001.

Build 1900.6 (Release Candidate 4), was released on 28 April 1998 and expired on 1 April 2001.

Windows 98 Second Edition

After the first retail release of Windows 98, a second edition was developed.

April 1999

Build 2183 (Release Candidate 1), was released on 7 April 1999 and expired on 30 January 2000.

May 1999

Build 2222a, the finished version of Windows 98 Second Edition, was released on 5 May 1999. It sold more copies than Windows 98, and offered improved reliability and compatibility with newer devices.

See also

• History of Microsoft Windows
  History of Microsoft Windows
  In 1983, Microsoft announced the development of Windows, a graphical user interface for its own operating system , which had shipped for IBM PC and compatible computers since 1981...
  
  
• Development of Windows XP
  Development of Windows XP
  Development of Windows XP started in 1999 in the form of Windows Neptune. Windows XP was developed for 18 months, from December 1999 to August 2001, and was released on October 25, 2001.-Neptune and Odyssey:...
  
  
• Development of Windows Vista
  Development of Windows Vista
  Development of Windows Vista occurred over the span of five and a half years, starting in earnest in May 2001, prior to the release of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, and continuing until November 2006....
  
  
• Development of Windows 7
  Development of Windows 7
  Development of Windows 7 began when Windows Vista was released. Milestone 1, Milestone 2, and Milestone 3 were sent to Microsoft's partners in 2008...
  
  

External links

• Windows 98 Builds List – A complete list of every known build of Windows 98, including build date, leak/release date, and which lab compiled it.