Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems and the successor to Windows 95. It was released to manufacturing on May 15, 1998 and to retail on June 25, 1998. Like its predecessor, Windows 98 is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit monolithic product with an MS-DOS based boot stage.