Microsoft Agent 2.0

Microsoft Agent

Screenshot of the Properties menu in Microsoft Agent 2.0.
Name	Microsoft Agent
Developer(s)	Microsoft
Initial release	October 12th, 1998 (25 years ago)
Latest version	6.1.7600.16426
Latest version release date	September 21st, 2009 (14 years ago)
Written in	C++
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Discontinued?	Yes

Microsoft Agent 2.0 is the latest version and current release of Microsoft Agent. It is an upgrade to Microsoft Agent 1.5, its predecessor. It featured many changes and also revamped the Microsoft Agent API to the point where most code made for Microsoft Agent 1.5 specifically would not run properly or not run at all if Microsoft Agent 2.0 is installed over Microsoft Agent 1.5. This is also the first public release of Microsoft Agent to install itself in the WINDOWS/WINNT directory instead of the Program Files/Program Files (x86) directory. It is also the first public release to use "CHARS" as the name of the folder ACS files go in, as Microsoft Agent 1.5 used a folder named "Characters".

Development

The first available build of Microsoft Agent 2.0 is in Windows 2000 build 1723. In Windows 2000 build 1701, Microsoft Agent 1.7 was included, which means Microsoft may have skipped 1.8 and 1.9 or they were in the in-between and undiscovered builds. The version of Microsoft Agent 2.0 inside of Windows 2000 Build 1723 is version 2.0.0.1114. This build has a mention of Microsoft Agent 1.6 inside of it and also has the taskbar icon that comes up when AgentSvr.exe is running removed. This build also faces the same issues as Microsoft Agent 1.7 and will cause MASH, BonziBuddy, and other Microsoft Agent programs to crash.

Builds

Build Number	Compilation Date	Source	Notes/Issues
Microsoft Agent 2.0.0.1114	December 11th, 1997	Windows 2000 Build 1723.1	Mentions Microsoft Agent 1.6, removed 1.x taskbar icon, causes Microsoft Agent 1.5 and 2.0 programs to crash
Microsoft Agent 2.00.0.2202	October 2nd, 1998	Microsoft Agent 2.0 setup	The most common release of Microsoft Agent, formerly hosted on Microsoft's MS Agent download page, included with most 2.0 applciations
Microsoft Agent 5.2.3790.1241	January 18th, 2008	Windows Vista build 6001.18000 (Windows Vista SP1 RTM)	Uses SAPI5 and supports Aero
Microsoft Agent 2.00.3427	April 13th, 2008	Windows XP build 2600.5512 (Windows XP SP3 RTM)	Most up-to-date non-SAPI 5 version of Microsoft Agent.
Microsoft Agent 6.1.7600.16426	September 21st, 2009	Microsoft Agent Hotfix for Windows 7	Latest version of Microsoft Agent, previously available on Microsoft's website

Trivia

• Microsoft Agent 2.0 is the default Microsoft Agent installed on old Windows versions.
  • The only known exception to this is Microsoft Agent 1.7, which was in a beta release of Windows 2000.
• For some unknown reason, Microsoft Agent 2.0 Build 1114 uses 2.0.0 at the beginning of its version while Microsoft Agent Build 2202 uses 2.00.0 at the beginning of its version number.