Just how bad is Windows 95 on a minimum spec PC?

[Retro]

You know how one always laughs at the thought of running anything on a minimum spec PC whether it's Windows, a game or a productivity application as it will be a terrible experience? Well, NTG Technology tried it to see just how bad it was. For science.

That's Windows 95 on a 386, 4MB RAM, 85MB HDD and some incapable Trident ISA graphics card.

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[Alvin63]

I have never used Windows 95 but I have a bit of a thing for old Eee PC netbooks and installing things on them. Have quite a collection and boxes full of spare parts. The 7" ones won't run windows any more (not up to date windows anyway but they will run XP) and most have linux on them. That's the challenge - to see what you can fit on a small 8gb drive

However I do have Windows 10 installed on a 9" and 10" one. The 10" one isn't too bad when it's tuned a bit (uninstalling one drive, turning off background apps, turning off transparency etc). The web browser is the weak point - the internet is so heavy these days.

 

[Hitcore]

That's Windows 95 on a 386, 4MB RAM, 85MB HDD and some incapable Trident ISA graphics card.

Up until the early 2000s my uncle was sporting a computer with specs similar to that, except that it was running Windows 3.1. Even that felt sluggish on that system, so I can well imagine how dreadfully slow Windows 95 must be on hardware like that.

Very good video btw, that dude breaks down even a painful process well enough that the viewer can actually enjoy watching it.

old Eee PC netbooks and installing things on them. Have quite a collection and boxes full of spare parts. The 7" ones won't run windows any more (not up to date windows anyway but they will run XP)

I had an old Eee PC netbook once! A 7" model, in white. My sister gave it to me about a decade ago as she had no use for it anymore and she hated that thing. I could see why since it wasn't exactly optimized: the poor little device was running Windows Vista, barely. When it came into my possession I installed Windows XP on it. I actually made decent use of it up until 2021, when it began having power problems.

My use for it was offline: I installed a bunch of emulators (NES, SNES, Mega Drive) on it and on my daily 1 hour train commute of the time I would whip out a controller and just play classics like Super Mario World and Sonic The Hedgehog on it, with headphones on.
Too bad netbooks aren't really a thing anymore, I quite liked that form factor, they'd fit snuggly in just about any bag and were the right size for the flappy table thing on the train.