Windows Me introduced the "System Restore" logging and reversion system, which was meant to simplify troubleshooting and solving problems. It was intended to work as a "safety net" so that if the installation of an application or a driver adversely affected the system, the user could undo the install and return the system to a previously working state. It does this by monitoring changes to Windows system files and the registry (System Restore is not a backup program). System Restore can slow the computer's performance and compromise its stability if it chooses to checkpoint the system while a user is using it. Since its method of keeping track of changes is fairly simplistic, it sometimes ends up restoring a virus which the user had previously removed.Millennium" was the codename for a future version of Windows NT that was expected to be released in 2000 or 2001. In 1998, Microsoft stated that there would be no version of Windows 9x after Windows 98.[3] In 1999, however, Microsoft announced a new version of Windows 9x, that was later revealed to be codenamed Millennium. In 2000, this was released as Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me).[4]Millennium" was the codename for a future version of Windows NT that was expected to be released in 2000 or 2001. In 1998, Microsoft stated that there would be no version of Windows 9x after Windows 98.[3] In 1999, however, Microsoft announced a new version of Windows 9x, that was later revealed to be codenamed Millennium. In 2000, this was released as Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me).[4]Windows Me is a continuation of the Windows 9x model, but with access to real mode MS-DOS restricted in order to speed up system boot time. This was one of the most publicized changes in Windows Me, because applications that needed real mode DOS to run, such as older disk utilities, did not run under Windows Me.
Compared with other releases of Windows, Windows Me had a short shelf-life, of just over a year; it was soon replaced by the NT-based Windows XP, which was launched on October 25, 2001.