Hi!
Remember that there are 2 totaly different developments of Windows:
The DOS based systems: 16 Bit 3.1x, 32 Bit Win95, Win98, Win98SE, WinME.
That were the "one crash per hour" systems (except 16bit)
Then Windows was totaly rewritten, mostly by the VAX developers, which were then just fired by Digital Equipment. That was the "new" Windows: NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Win7, ....
Only the API stayed the same - ok, they tried.
Winni