Installing Microsoft Bob on the $5 Windows 98 PC

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#MichaelMJD #MicrosoftBob #Windows95

[@winstroyer6391]

My grandma did actually use bob. She still thinks to this day that the computer was easier to use it.

[@MegAmi24]

Michael ranting about being able to move a door is so hilarious to me

[@rogehmarbi]

"this install of XP is so messed up." Looks like the regedit at 5:20 fully agree with that statement.

[@meligarcia]

Thanks for documenting the Letter Writer bug I discovered!

[@supahsta2]

Nice find!

[@meligarcia]

@@supahsta2 :)

[@meligarcia]

@james marshall I just use Bob for curiosity's sake and I discovered it when writing on the Letter Writer.

[@sonicfon]

@james marshall but will it blow?

[@vram1974]

You should report it on the Windows 10 feedback hub :)

[@eastfrisianguy]

I worked in technical support for a German Internet provider 10 years ago. An older customer called and said "I click on the lamp, but my mail program doesn't open!" and I was totally confused. We were able to connect via VPN (today, by the way, the service costs a lot of money and privacy-wise....well, those were different times) and that's when I first got to know Microsoft Bob, which the customer actually had installed and connected to the mail client! But I was amazed. 😂😂

[@wordart_guian]

you skipped the "plan your divorce" feature

[@markusTegelane]

jokes aside, financial guide actually has a divorce planning feature

[@nogodcansaveyou]

@@markusTegelane wait what lol

[@markusTegelane]

@@nogodcansaveyou not kidding

[@insanitylol]

Hi I use ur bsod simulator will you make new versions

[@Piano_Board]

​@@insanitylolyou know that you could've just replied to them directly?

[@ihavenoballs]

Video: posted 3 minutes ago Comments: *posted 17 minutes ago*

[@TheMeowthTeamV2]

what

[@sonicfon]

comment speedrun.

[@emirvmendoza]

Maybe the video was unlisted before?

[@nostalgia5031]

KZbin has officially been broken

[@mjdxp5688]

Bob had a lot of potential. I've sat down and spent some time playing with it and it was kind of fun setting up your home and customizing things. There's definitely a lot of problems though, for example it would have been really cool if you could link programs to any furniture you want, other than just a few you could chose from. It also would have been really cool to be able to import your own images as furniture into the program. It also should have held your hand a lot less, having an "advanced mode" which treats you like less of a novice would have been great as well. It's also a lot better as a launcher than it's own platform. Bob apps feel a lot clunkier than regular Windows apps to actually try and use.

[@SupaPhly0]

I can't believe michael is 120 years old

[@huleeyaxerssius7]

That's what you call a "joke", in-case you didn't know.

[@rly907]

WhiteAnimate r/wooooosh (he set his birthdate to 1900)

[@grenretard7036]

@@rly907 r/ihavereddit

[@lucaplayz8476]

He is actually 69420 years old

[@ignassidaras]

@@lucaplayz8476 yes

[@rcmero]

Fun fact, Microsoft Bob was included as filler on Windows XP, literally. The CD had some free space left, someone over at the dev team realised that the files for Microsoft Bob are enough to get the disk full, so they encrypted the data for Bob to get the install disk up to fill up a single CD-ROM.

[@LG1ikLx]

I remember bob being installed on the computers when I was at school. We never used it in any lessons but I remember going into it towards the end of lessons when we had finished our work and were allowed a bit of time to play around on the computers. It was probably bundled in with a list of programs they installed onto the PCs and never removed.

[@Sominemo]

Gotta mention, "Microsoft Bob Setup" sign is not in Comic Sans. The font was never used in the software actually, just distributed with it.

[@SSand4]

My very first PC was a Gateway 2000 running Windows 95, and it did indeed come with Bob Gateway Edition. To answer your question, no it wasn't the default environment, it was something you had to go into from the start menu. I was 10 and loved playing around with it, checking out the different assistant characters, decorating all the rooms differently.... This video has been a massive nostalgia trip for me, and now I'm kinda tempted to set it up in a VM, just to relive some of those memories.

[@MichaelMJD]

That’s awesome, thanks for sharing! Good to know that it wasn’t the default environment lol. Glad you enjoyed the video! : )

[@Mod_headgear2]

Hey I wish I will get a copy but I can't find one but it's fine have a good day!😄

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

@@MichaelMJD MJD E-Banking Logon username: mjd password: mjd

[@RysieQu]

Hello from Windows XP on VirtualBox!

[@Otto1871]

Lol

[@GuyPaddock]

I loved Bob. I even bought it on eBay after playing with it at school; it was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the characters. As you mentioned, the format of the characters from Bob is compatible with Microsoft Agent 2.0 (which came out years later), so you can actually copy the ACT files into Office 2003 and use them as additional Office Assistants. The descriptions of the characters don't appear correctly in Office 2003, but the characters animate and play sound effects, as expected.

[@mjdxp5688]

I sure do love the Bank of Bill Gates

[@rycedj3319]

MaddieMJD how do I sign up for it?

[@justsomerandompersononthei2595]

@@rycedj3319 You pay

[@blainepalmerza]

Keep up the great content, Michael!

[@TeganCantEven]

I had this on my first computer as a kid and it was a lot of fun. I got a ridiculous amount of enjoyment out of just rearranging the rooms and stuff.

[@alexithink_smo]

I love how IE is called Netscape on the desktop

[@DNick5001]

I remember the old Packard Bell computer my family got in the early 90s coming with something very similar called Navigator.

[@StevenSmyth]

Font nerd: The font MS used for Bob's word mark was Dom Casual, not Comic Sans. Comic Sans was GOING to be used in Bob, but the designer delivered it to MS too late to be included. It did end up being used in MS Comic Chat which was a completely awesome chat app that used comic strips as the interface. Also, adoption rates for PCs were not great when Bob was released so they were throwing just about anything at the wall to see what stuck. It didn't, it took the internet to make home computing relevant to the average person.

[@addiesworld1855]

love the msn 4 ever icon on the desktop lol

[@MajorStu]

I like it unscripted! Nice remake!

[@MichaelMJD]

Glad you liked it!

[@feni_1553]

Did you know Bob also had a floppy disk version? It was made to match the floppy-only version of Great Greetings, which you install through Bob.

[@retrocomputinggrotto]

They were all at it at the time producing their own version of this sort of thing - I remember selling Packard Bell desktops with this sort of thing on it, you were greeted by a house and each room represented a type of program/application as 'back in the day' Packard Bell computers came with literally dozens of applications, programs and games.

[@gd-ludlulu]

Please MSN Browser on Windows 10!!! PLEASE!

[@emirvmendoza]

MSN Browser or MSN Explorer? MSN Explorer requires an MSN subscription.

[@handlesrtwitterdontbelivethem]

bypass

[@codesavage3763]

well this is really interesting! the "household" is really cool!

[@vandrvekn7382]

I think that MS Bob was made at the request of other manufacturers to compete with the Packard Bell Navigator as a demo for selling computers to new tech-phobic customers. Immediately after its release, Bob was pre-installed to a lot of new PCs. Retailer used these programs to show how easy it was for beginners. After you bought the computer and used them for a few days, they got old really fast. They weren't completely useless, though. Removing the Packard Bell Navigator was how I learned how to edit the Autoexec.bat file!

[@kristiantodorov5080]

Nice video! I really want to mess around with Microsoft Bob.

[@xXBlueSheepXx]

Interesting to see a Y2K bug in action.

[@jargon343]

Hi Michael great video! Can you do the history of Ubuntu? Thanks! Love you.

[@beeswithchainsaws]

I told myself to stop watching these for months, and now it feels like I'm checking back with an old friend after 4 years...

[@GuyPaddock]

Random passing thought -- Microsoft Bob was an early predecessor to the Sims for many people like me. It's like a virtual dollhouse (like the Sims), and you interact with objects by clicking on them (just like in the Sims).

[@masterofdisguise101]

Brilliant video michael!!! I used microsoft bob in day!!

[@mjdxp5688]

Back when it released? What was the experience like?

[@Galaxy.Windows]

2:55 it was for NT 3.5 as NT 3.5 came in September 21 1994 while Windows 3.1 was released in 1992. Microsoft bob came in march 10 1995

Ahhh Bob ! Simple times...

[@thescreemregular5168]

Hello and welcome back and today we have messy $5 win 98 PC

[@Ronnocbot]

Is the native resolution of your silver dell monitor 800x600? Or do you just keep the resolution low intentionally. Nothing against it, just curious.

[@suli687]

looks like 1024 by 720. But i think it's more like a driver thing since the win installation is broken.

[@VectraQS]

I just upgraded my own Gateway PC just like this. Got a 533 MHz Celeron out of a donor PC at work. The case will soon house my old FX-8350.

[@ganondalf8090]

does microsoft bob have any exploits that allow you to escape it if you start with a fresh install?

[@yy6u]

have you considered that ntuser.dat is suffering from permissions issues or profsvc might not be started or something like that?

[@fiverZ]

Has anyone figured out what causes them small title bars and buttons on the title bar? I've only ever seen it happen one time before Michael mentioned it in a previous video.

[@win_ini]

it's a setting that was removed.

[@crysiscrysis720]

Nice desktop icons

[@captainretro373]

I have a toshiba satellite running XP sp2 and I’ve been trying to change the registry so it’ll run TLS 1.1/.2

[@sburton015]

I think Bob was created even before Windows 95 was released to basically help Windows 3.1 users navigate to their programs easier rather than having to deal with file manager.

[@codesavage3763]

he literally explained everything u explained in the video

[@Madness832]

If I remember right, one has the same date issue in a fresh install of Win 3.x.

[@silvy7394]

"Gateway 2000 edition" lol about 5 days ago I just got a working gateway 2000 system running 98 and then this video comes out.

[@jd31068]

Microsoft was way ahead of the game with virtual assistants. Office had Clippy way back in the early 90s. They also had widgets in Vista which everyone hated but so many use these days, via mobile. They just brought these things to the public too soon for the hardware of the time.

[@swtchs.]

if vista was made today it would be really good but in 2006 it was wayy to ahead

[@gone3528]

I liked how he put earth as he's hometown

[@GuyPaddock]

BTW Yes, it was bundled with Gateway 2000 computers. My school had a lot of copies of it but it was optional.

[@annapurnalolla8185]

Nice job michael

[@nicodatechboi]

What sound library do you use

[@himanis_x]

Can you please make the development video of Windows 8.1? It's the only thing that is left.

[@UmbraeNacht]

That’s a fine looking house... (turns around) Why doesn’t mine look like that?!

[@AlejandroFerrariMc]

"msn 4 ever"

[@Thefloppaguy]

You said it’s 98 it has xp on or did you upgrade

[@WaffleTM420]

The OS after Microsoft Bob: Microsft Michael

[@TommyCunningham123]

I think this video has more infomation. I think you need to do a video on mac os maybe if so please make sure to find out by looking online at your database

[@gunship03]

Clippy in MS Office 95 was a pain in the ass!

[@cappaculla]

And why didn't you turn it off?

[@Sophia-zx2np]

I remember installing Bob on an old Vista Computer. that was years ago and i still don't understand it-

[@oliviadrinkwine1411]

and did you know that windows came with a version of Microsoft bob. It was used to fill up bytes for product activation. Also it birthed comic sands the font everyone loves to hate.

[@onfire4Jesus2]

I've never used Microsoft Bob before but after watching this video, I can see why it was a failure. It would be interesting to try it though just to explore the rooms and try out some of the programs. It wouldn't be any good for everyday use but something to play around with and probably uninstall later.

[@cannabine413]

The Y2k computer scare 😨lol they thought computer would malfunction if it would have 00 so I see what they did now to avoid the issue just add a 1 in front of the two 00

[@lucaplayz8476]

what is the secret video projects, bonzi.exe, the windows 95-98 email, subscribe, msn 4 life and other stuff, like u renamed internet explorer as netscape at 1:28

[@davinp]

Maybe because you haven't activated Windows XP. I see the keys in the system tray

[@maxifire32]

14:40 did anyone notice that guy on the left side of the screen with the microsoft hat?

[@avi12]

This is basically the predecessor of Microsoft Hololens

[@HungarianMapping]

Me: *looks monitor* Me: BONZI.EXE

[@switchmaster_dg]

get it michalsoft binbows meme

[@bgrcomputersltd]

How did your desktop got so messed up?

[@bgrcomputersltd]

And how to get this secret theme also?

[@lifeanimation5951]

14:28 the dummy at the left cause the trouble

[@schucklerwand]

this video was recorded a day b4 my b`day! hey why ya watching down 'ere?

[@DemeDemetre]

that eyesore unaligned icons on the desktop in the beginning..............

[@JuvStudios]

Microsoft should release an updated version of Microsoft Bob that's less annoying.

[@JCtechwizard]

No.

[@mastergenius0039]

Make a video of installing bob on windows 10

[@BloominFleury29]

9:19 not to be that dude but that’s my bday :)

[@tailsdoll4193]

MICROSOFT BOB YESSSSSSSSS

[@meligarcia]

Bill for Bill

[@crissyt2229]

Windows longhorn on $5 windows 98 pc please

[@athe52]

Microsoft BOB on Windows 10 (or 7?)

[@sparksfly13]

I believe that Michael has already tried this, I'm not that sure about it, but I remember him doing something like that

[@catte118]

Even though the PCS is now currently running Windows XP

[@heatherbloom-ellis5879]

Can you do A Video on Sonic’s Schoolhouse

[@bigblackbadger1]

Why does the purple book look like someone out of deltarune

[@Yasser_1245]

If you want to change the wallpaper and the theme etc just creat a new user an administrator not a simple user an administrator one

[@MCBETAWATCHER]

I still use hotmail :)

[@ltux90]

Ｒｏｖｅｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｏｇ　カタマ

[@Otto1871]

Rip bob

[@uselessDM]

Making computers easier to use by making them harder to use. Can't see any flaws here

[@Spimstasius]

Is that nerd emoji's great grandfather 💀

[@goldoreo747]

Lol

[@switchmaster_dg]

mjd it is michalsoft bob

[@BethTheCat]

Michael: "Oh, here it is, Comic Sans." Me, knowing a lot of fonts from graphic design: "...that doesn't even look like Comic Sans, though..."

[@bigpierogi]

whats inside the "inside jokes" folder?

[@jsubuntuxp]

Jokes, what else could it be?

[@grg-productions]

henlo!!!!1!1

[@Jake1702]

Bob on Windows 10? :P

[@MichaelMJD]

I did that a couple of years ago actually! : )

[@rafheey5551]

Also clippy is the best.

[@aldeywahyuputra5719]

This is what torture looks like, personified.

[@davinp]

Hotmail was launched in 1996 and sold to Microsoft at the end of 1997.

[@winksplorer]

"lol this install is so messed up" - Bill Gates

[@odjdjdjf9648]

Windows isn't activated

[@TyTytheCat2004]

you should try microsoft bob on wine on linux (preferably ubuntu or lubuntu)

[@hueblitzz]

linux isnt made by windows, whoch means it wont work.

[@TyTytheCat2004]

@@hueblitzz Yes, I know this, but WineHQ will make it work, because WineHQ is a compatibility layer for Linux, which allows people to run Windows applications on Linux. Further more, an operating system cannot make another operating system. Therefore, your argument is invalid.