On August 24, 1996, Microsoft released Windows NT 4.0, marking the 30th anniversary of the operating system's launch.

Windows NT 4.0 combined the NT kernel with the Windows 95 Explorer user interface, a change internally referred to as the Shell Update Release. The system required a Pentium processor and 16 MB of RAM, with a price tag exceeding £5,000 at launch.

The release introduced a stable 32‑bit OS core, support for NTFS, and a modern graphical interface, while integrating the Graphics Device Interface directly into the kernel. It lacked native FAT32 and USB support, features that were added later to the Windows 95 OSR2 line.

At the time, Windows NT 4 offered stronger server functionality and reliability than contemporary DOS‑based Windows versions, helping to accelerate the decline of Novell NetWare. The operating system also preceded Apple’s acquisition of NeXT, which followed months after the release.

Microsoft continued to develop the NT line, culminating in Windows 2000, and the UI concepts from NT 4 influenced subsequent Windows designs.