Differences in the system registries and hardware device support preclude a software upgrade path from Windows 95 to Windows NT Workstation 4.0. Microsoft plans to provide a Windows 95–to–Windows NT Workstation upgrade path in the release following Windows NT Workstation 4.0.
To install Windows NT Workstation on a computer that is currently running Windows 95, you must perform a fresh installation, rather than upgrading Windows 95 with system settings intact. Applications will also need to be re-installed.
Customers planning to upgrade Windows 95 must use the following manual upgrade path:
1. Check to see if all Windows 95 devices and applications are supported by Windows NT Workstation 4.0.
2. Install Windows NT Workstation 4.0 into a separate directory on your hard drive. This will create a "dual boot" system.
3. Re-install all applications.
4. (Optional) Manually delete the Windows 95 directory.
You can upgrade to Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 from any of the following operating systems, keeping applications and system settings as you do so: