A post published by Vintage Everyday revisits one of the more memorable aspects of mid-1990s personal computing: installing Microsoft Windows 95 using a large set of floppy disks.The article explains that some editions of Windows 95 were distributed on as many as 28 separate 3.5-inch floppy disks, with each disk capable of storing only 1.44 MB of data.

At the time, this represented a practical solution for users whose computers did not yet include CD-ROM drives, even though CD-based software distribution was already becoming common.The article describes how installing the operating system was a slow and repetitive process.Users had to insert and remove disks one after another while following prompts from the installer.

Because the installation depended on every disk functioning correctly, a single damaged or unreadable floppy could interrupt the process and force users to start over or replace the faulty disk.The experience became a defining memory for many early PC users.

The piece also highlights the technological limitations of the era and contrasts them with modern software installation methods, where operating systems can be downloaded digitally in minutes.

Although Windows 95 eventually became more commonly distributed on CD-ROM, floppy disk versions remained important for compatibility with older hardware.

A comment included beneath the article criticizes the wording of the post, arguing that describing the release as belonging to a “pre-CD-ROM era” is misleading because Windows 95 was widely available on CD from launch.

Despite that criticism, the article mainly serves as a nostalgic look back at an older method of software distribution and the challenges faced by computer users in the 1990s.