Microsoft Windows 95 Update: Windows Socket Kernel 32 Update

Microsoft Windows 95 Update: Windows Socket Kernel 32 Update brings an advanced and complete update to resolve a very small memory leak which occurs when opening and closing a connection using the Windows Sockets API. (A memory leak prevents a program from freeing up memory that it no longer needs.) This is an update and component that has been released since the Microsoft Windows 95 Service Pack 1 (Sept 10, 1996).

Without this update, running an application which opens and closes a large number of "winsock" connections over a long period of time may result a significant resource drain. This can cause the Windows swapfile to grow very large, overall deterioration of performance, and over time, possible system instability. This update resolves these issues.

Most applications that use "winsock" connections (such as a Web browser) open the connection once at the beginning of a session and maintain that connection, and do not require this update. Applications that tend to open and close winsock connections are more like Web servers that may open a connection for each page served. If you need to run these types of applications continuously over long periods of time, you will benefit from this update.

Important: Do not install the Kernel32 Update on the English Pan European version of Microsoft® Windows® 95 or any other non-English version of Windows 95. Important: Do not install the Kernel Update on a machine with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR 2) installed. To determine if you are running OSR 2, go to the System applet of the Control Panel. If the version number reported is 4.00.950 B, do not install the Service Pack 1 Update. Your system already contains the appropriate fix.