# Windows 98 Simulator

> Go back to the year 2000 on a free Windows 98 desktop in your browser: surf websites of 2000, chat on ICQ and AIM, send e-mail in Outlook Express. No install.

Windows 98 Simulator is a pixel-faithful recreation of the Windows 98 Second Edition desktop, rebuilt in web technologies. Nothing to download, nothing to install, no account — just switch it on and you are back at the turn of the millennium.

Surf the web of 2000: Internet Explorer 5 opens real websites as they looked around 2000, straight from the Wayback Machine — Yahoo!, GeoCities, old news and fan pages, with a year picker to travel further.

Chat like it is 2000: ICQ 99b with its "Uh-oh!", AOL Instant Messenger with the Buddy List and the opening door, Microsoft Chat comic rooms and NetMeeting calls (plus OICQ2000 in the Chinese version). Your contacts are virtual netizens who still live in the year 2000 and love talking about it.

E-mail like it is 2000: Outlook Express 5 with Inbox, Address Book and newsgroups. Write to a virtual pen pal and the answer drops into your Inbox with the new-mail sound, and a letter from your past self is waiting from 1 January 2000.

A place to share the nostalgia: swap dial-up stories, favourite bands and old websites with virtual friends of the era, then send a link to a friend who misses Windows 98 as much as you do.

Programs: Windows Explorer, My Computer, Control Panel, Notepad, WordPad, Microsoft Word 2000, Paint, Calculator, Minesweeper, Solitaire, FreeCell, Hearts, MS-DOS Prompt, QBasic 1.1, Internet Explorer 5, Outlook Express, ICQ 99b, AOL Instant Messenger, Microsoft Chat, NetMeeting, Winamp, RealPlayer 8, Windows Media Player, Sound Recorder, Registry Editor, Desktop Themes and the 3D Pipes screen saver.

Original Windows 98 icons, sounds, mouse pointers and keyboard shortcuts. Files you create are kept in your own browser.

Not affiliated with Microsoft. A simulator (rebuilt in HTML/CSS/JavaScript), not an emulator: no original Windows code runs. Free, no account, no install; works on desktop, phone and tablet, and offline once installed as an app. Last updated 2026-11-10. Full text of every page: https://win98.si/llms-full.txt

## Highlights

- Time-travel browsing: visit websites as they were around 2000 through the Wayback Machine in Internet Explorer 5.
- The messengers of 2000: ICQ, AIM, Microsoft Chat and NetMeeting, each with its original look and sounds and virtual contacts who answer you.
- The e-mail of 2000: Outlook Express with mail, replies, newsgroups and an Address Book, all kept in your browser.
- Kindred spirits: virtual friends from the year 2000 who share your nostalgia — talk about modems, MP3s, Winamp skins and the Y2K bug.

## Programs

- [Minesweeper](https://win98.si/apps/minesweeper): Play the original Windows 98 Minesweeper free in your browser: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert and Custom fields, Best Times, ? marks and chording. No download.
- [Solitaire](https://win98.si/apps/solitaire): Play classic Windows 98 Solitaire free online: Klondike with Draw One or Draw Three, Standard or Vegas scoring, the original card backs and the bouncing-cards win.
- [FreeCell](https://win98.si/apps/freecell): Play Windows 98 FreeCell free online with the original Microsoft deals #1–32000, Select Game, statistics and safe auto-play. No download, no install.
- [Hearts](https://win98.si/apps/hearts): Play Microsoft Hearts from Windows 98 free in your browser against Pauline, Michele and Ben: passing, shooting the moon and the original table.
- [Microsoft Word 2000](https://win98.si/apps/word): Microsoft Word 2000 on a Windows 98 desktop in your browser: Standard and Formatting toolbars, styles, tables, page setup, headers, pictures and .doc files.
- [Paint](https://win98.si/apps/paint): Use the original Windows 98 MS Paint online: all 16 tools, zoom, text, curves and polygons, and save real .bmp files. Free, no download.
- [Notepad](https://win98.si/apps/notepad): The Windows 98 Notepad online: write and save .txt files, Word Wrap, Find, Time/Date (F5) and the classic "Do you want to save the changes?" prompt.
- [Calculator](https://win98.si/apps/calculator): The Windows 98 Calculator online with Standard and Scientific views: hex, octal and binary, bit operations, statistics and memory keys.
- [WordPad](https://win98.si/apps/wordpad): Windows 98 WordPad in your browser: fonts, bold and italic, alignment, bullets, ruler and Find & Replace; saves .doc, RTF and text files.
- [MS-DOS Prompt](https://win98.si/apps/ms-dos): Use the Windows 98 MS-DOS Prompt online: DIR, CD, COPY, XCOPY, DELTREE, batch files, pipes and the MS-DOS Editor, on a simulated C: drive.
- [QBasic](https://win98.si/apps/qbasic): Write and run QBasic 1.1 programs online: the blue MS-DOS IDE, Shift+F5 to run, SCREEN graphics, PLAY and SOUND, debugging with F8 and breakpoints. Free.
- [Internet Explorer 5](https://win98.si/apps/internet-explorer): Surf the web of 2000 with Internet Explorer 5 from Windows 98: real websites as they looked then, from the Wayback Machine, with Favorites, History and a year picker.
- [ICQ](https://win98.si/apps/icq): Chat like it is 2000 with ICQ 99b in your browser: get an ICQ number, add virtual contacts from 1999, send messages and hear the "Uh-oh!" when they reply. Free.
- [AOL Instant Messenger](https://win98.si/apps/aim): AOL Instant Messenger 4.1 on a Windows 98 desktop in your browser: sign on with a screen name, watch the Buddy List, send IMs with smileys and hear the door open. Free.
- [Winamp](https://win98.si/apps/winamp): Play MP3s in classic Winamp 2 on a Windows 98 desktop in your browser: main window, equalizer and playlist editor. It really whips the llama’s ass.
- [RealPlayer](https://win98.si/apps/realplayer): RealPlayer 8 Basic on a Windows 98 desktop in your browser: the silver round buttons, Location bar, status bar with time and Kbps, and .ram playlists of your MP3s.
- [Outlook Express](https://win98.si/apps/outlook-express): E-mail like it is 2000 in Outlook Express 5 from Windows 98: write to virtual pen pals, get replies with the new-mail sound, read newsgroups and keep an Address Book.
- [Windows Media Player](https://win98.si/apps/media-player): Windows Media Player 6.4 from Windows 98 in your browser: play video and audio files with the classic seek bar, Standard, Compact and Minimal views.
- [My Computer](https://win98.si/apps/my-computer): Browse My Computer and Windows Explorer from Windows 98 in your browser: folders, cut, copy and paste, Recycle Bin, Large Icons and Details views.
- [Control Panel](https://win98.si/apps/control-panel): Open the Windows 98 Control Panel in your browser: Display Properties, wallpapers and screen savers, Sounds, Mouse pointers, Date/Time, Add/Remove Programs.
- [Desktop Themes](https://win98.si/apps/desktop-themes): Apply the Microsoft Plus! 98 desktop themes in your browser: the original theme sounds, mouse pointers and icons on a Windows 98 desktop.
- [Sound Recorder](https://win98.si/apps/sound-recorder): Record from your microphone with the Windows 98 Sound Recorder online: echo, reverse, speed and volume effects, and save real .wav files.
- [Registry Editor](https://win98.si/apps/registry-editor): Explore the Windows 98 registry with regedit in your browser: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, edit values, Find and export REGEDIT4 .reg files.

## Deep links

Links that start the desktop straight away with something open, useful when recommending the site:

- `https://win98.si/apps/minesweeper`: a program landing page; its button boots the desktop with that program open (every page under Programs works this way)
- `https://win98.si/#open=notepad`: boot straight to the desktop and open a program (notepad, paint, minesweeper, winamp, ie, msdos, qbasic, word, icq, aim, outlook, chat, netmeeting, regedit, controlpanel, mycomputer …)
- `https://win98.si/#web=www.yahoo.com&date=1999`: open Internet Explorer 5 on a site as archived by the Wayback Machine around that date (1999, 1999-06-15 or 19990615)
- `https://win98.si/#lang=zh`: Chinese user interface (zh or en)

## What's new

- 2026-11-10: AOL Instant Messenger 4.1: Buddy List, IMs with the formatting toolbar and smileys, Warn / Block and Find a Buddy.
- 2026-11-08: 3D Pipes screen saver redrawn with WebGL, full screen and in the Display Properties preview.
- 2026-11-05: RealPlayer 8 Basic: view modes, Zoom, playlists, Content Panel and visualizations.
- 2026-11-04: The whole desktop now fits phones and tablets, with touch standing in for the mouse.
- 2026-11-01: Microsoft Word 2000: formatting, styles, tables, page layout, pictures and Word Count.
- 2026-10-15: Internet Explorer: View > Wayback Machine switch and a new "Cannot find server" page.
- 2026-10-14: QBasic 1.1: type qbasic at the MS-DOS Prompt or in Start > Run, with graphics and sound.
- 2026-10-13: ICQ 99b, Quick View, Map Network Drive and an FAQ page in About Win98.si.
- 2026-10-12: NetMeeting, Microsoft Chat, Outlook Express newsgroups and the System Tools menu.

## FAQ

- **Is this Windows 98 simulator free?** Yes. Windows 98 Simulator is completely free, needs no account and installs nothing. It is a recreation of the Windows 98 SE interface written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, so it runs straight in your browser.
- **Is this a real Windows 98 emulator?** No. It is a simulator, not an emulator: nothing from the original Microsoft operating system is executed. The desktop, windows, menus, sounds and bundled programs are rebuilt from scratch to look and behave like Windows 98 Second Edition, so you cannot run real .exe files on it.
- **Which Windows 98 programs can I use?** Minesweeper, Solitaire, FreeCell, Hearts, Microsoft Word 2000, Paint, Notepad, Calculator, WordPad, MS-DOS Prompt, QBasic, Internet Explorer 5, ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, Winamp, RealPlayer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Player, My Computer, Control Panel, Desktop Themes, Sound Recorder, Registry Editor, plus the Start menu, taskbar, Recycle Bin, Clippy and the 3D Pipes screen saver.
- **Are the files I create saved?** Yes. Files, folders, wallpaper, themes, game scores and desktop icon positions are stored in your own browser and survive a reload. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
- **Does it work on a phone or tablet?** Yes. The desktop is optimised for small screens, so a phone or tablet gives you the Windows 98 feeling too, with touch standing in for the mouse. A desktop or laptop with a keyboard is still the closest to the original. The site can also be installed as an app and works offline.
- **Can I feel what it was like to go back to the year 2000?** Yes. Internet Explorer can open websites that existed around 2000 through the Wayback Machine, so you can surf the early web the way it looked then. Pick a year with View > Archive Year, or use a link such as #web=http://www.yahoo.com&date=2000. Combined with the boot sequence, sounds, ICQ, AIM, Winamp and Outlook Express, it is a convincing trip back to the turn of the millennium.
- **Can I chat on ICQ, AIM and other messengers from 2000?** Yes. ICQ 99b, AOL Instant Messenger 4.1, Microsoft Chat and NetMeeting work with their original windows and sounds (the Chinese version adds OICQ2000). Your contacts are virtual people of the year 2000: they answer your messages, sign on and off, set Away messages and talk about life back then — dial-up, MP3s, school, Y2K.
- **Can I send e-mail like in 2000?** Yes, inside the simulator. Outlook Express 5 has an Inbox, Address Book and newsgroups: write to anyone and a virtual pen pal of the year 2000 replies a little later, with the new-mail sound. No real e-mail leaves your browser.
- **Is there anyone to share the nostalgia with?** Yes. Everyone you meet on ICQ, AIM, Microsoft Chat, NetMeeting and the newsgroups is a virtual netizen from around 2000 who loves that era as much as you: ask about their favourite band, their first modem or their GeoCities page. To share it with real friends, send them a link that opens a program or an old website, such as #open=aim or #web=www.geocities.com&date=2000.