Windows Millennium Edition (ME) introduced improved USB support, faster driver handling, and System Restore. Although known for stability issues, Windows ME runs most Windows 98 software and supports updated multimedia tools.
Archive Utilities (Windows ME)
7-Zip (Windows ME) — ver. 3.22, ver. 3.23, ver. 3.24
Notes: Works similarly to Windows 98 SE. Requires updated system files for best compatibility.
WinRAR (Windows ME) — ver. 2.71, ver. 2.80, ver. 3.00
Notes: Stable RAR/ZIP support. Version 3.00 is the last fully compatible release.
PKZIP (Windows ME) — ver. 2.70
Notes: GUI version recommended. Long filename support fully functional.
Info-ZIP (Windows ME) — UnZip ver. 5.40, Zip ver. 2.3, WiZ ver. 4.1
Notes: Works well with ME’s updated system libraries.
ARJ (Windows ME) — ver. 2.70
Notes: DOS-based but fully compatible with ME’s DOS subsystem.
LHA / LHArc (Windows ME) — ver. 2.78
Notes: Required for many Japanese PC titles.
Graphics & Multimedia (Windows ME)
IrfanView (Windows ME) — ver. 3.75, ver. 3.80
Notes: More plugins supported compared to Windows 98.
QuickTime (Windows ME) — ver. 4.0, ver. 5.0
Notes: QuickTime 5 works well. QuickTime 6 requires Windows 2000/XP.
RealPlayer (Windows ME) — ver. 7.0, ver. 8.0
Notes: Early streaming formats. RealPlayer 9 requires Windows 98 SE or newer.
Windows Media Player (Windows ME) — ver. 7.1
Notes: Major upgrade from WMP 6.4. Supports more codecs and skins.
Internet & Networking (Windows ME)
Internet Explorer (Windows ME) — ver. 5.5, ver. 6.0
Notes: IE 6.0 is the last version supported on Windows ME.
Netscape Navigator (Windows ME) — ver. 4.8
Notes: Classic browser. Limited modern compatibility.
Opera (Windows ME) — ver. 7.0
Notes: Lightweight alternative. Opera 7 is the last version supporting Windows ME.