Windows (operating system)

Windows is a series of operating systems produced and maintained by the Microsoft Corporation. It was estimated that as of December 2007[1] Microsoft Windows accounted for nearly 90% of operating system usage, with 3 out of 4 being Windows XP. Windows is used for desktop, and server computers,[2] and more recently also for cellular phones and tablet computers. It is intended for use with the Intel x86-64 family of processors.

Early versions of Windows (98 and earlier) were notoriously unreliable, despite (or maybe because of?) Microsoft's near-monopoly share of the desktop operating system market. They crashed so often that the term "blue screen of death" entered the vocabulary.

Initially Windows was a text-based system (MS-DOS). Then a Graphical User Interface extension was added onto this MS-DOS core[3] It became a full GUI operating system free of the MS-DOS core beginning with the release of Windows NT.

## Contents

* 1 Windows Major Release Versions
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## Windows Major Release Versions[edit]

Name  |  Version Number  |  Public Release  |  Notes  |  Editions  |  Minimum RAM required  |  Minimum drive space

|
|
|
|
|
|

Windows 1.0 |  1.0  |  November 20, 1985[4] |  Sold 500,000 copies [5] |  |  |
Windows 1.02  |  1.02  |  May 1986  |  Multilingual (international) release of 1.0  |  |  |
Windows 1.03  |  1.03  |  August 1986  |  Further upgrades for international use, including more drivers and European keyboard support  |  |  |
Windows 1.04 |  1.04  |  April 1987  |  Further functionality additions, including support for IBM PS/2 computers  |  |  |
Windows 2.0 |  2.11  |  March 13, 1989  |

* Last Windows version to run a GUI as a shell over a base of MS-DOS[6]
* Sold 1 million copies

|  |  |
Windows 3.0 |  NT 3.0  |  May 22, 1990  |

* First Windows version to run without an MS-DOS base[6]
* Sold 4 million copies

|  |  |
Windows 3.1  |  3.1  |  April 1992  |  First MS operating system on CD-ROM |

* Windows 3.1
* Windows for Workgroups 3.1 (October 1992)

|  1MB  |  i286 15MB
Windows 3.2  |  |  November 22, 1993  |  Chinese version of Windows 3.1 |  |  |
Windows NT 3.5 |  3.5.807  |  September 21, 1994  |  |

* Workstation
* Server

|  |
Windows NT 3.51  |  3.51.1057  |  May 30, 1995  |

* An operating system design that led to the elimination of Novell Networks leading market share.
* This New Technologies (NT) kernel became the basis for all future Windows versions through Windows 10.

* Workstation
* Server

|  |
Windows 95 |  NT 4.0.950  |  August 24, 1995  |  Uses the same skin as 98, 2000, and ME |  |  4MB[7] |  40.8-76.2MB[8] |
Windows NT 4.0  |  NT 4.0  |  July 29, 1996  |  |

* Workstation
* Server
* Server Enterprise
* Terminal Server

|  |
Windows CE Alder[9] |  CE 1.0  |  November 16, 1996[9] |  |  |  2MB  |
Windows CE Birch[9] |  CE 2.0  |  November 1997[9] |  Auto PC platform introduced[10] |  |  |
Windows 98 |  NT 4.1.1998  |  June 25, 1998  |  Uses the same skin as 95, 2000, and ME  |  |  16MB  |  500MB
Windows 98 Second Edition |  NT 4.1.2222  |  April 23, 1999  |  Uses the same skin as 95, 2000, and ME  |  |  |
Windows CE 2.1  |  |  |  |  |  |
Windows 2000 |  NT 5.0.2195  |  February 17, 2000  |

* Uses the same skin as 95, 98, and ME
* Last dedicated operating system for business use

* Professional
* Server
* Advanced Server
* Datacenter Server
* Xbox
* Xbox 360

|  |

Professional: 650MB
Server and Advanced Server: 1GB[11]

Windows CE Cedar  |  CE 3.0  |  April 2000  |  Windows CE for Automotive  |  |  |
Windows ME |  NT 4.90.3000  |  September 14, 2000  |

* Uses the same skin as 95, 98, and 2000
* Last dedicated operating system for personal use

|  |  |
Windows XP |  5.1.2600  |  October 25, 2001  |

* Last major version to use this layout, which was introduced with Windows 95
* XP was the beginning of one unified O/S for both personal and business use.
* Only one version is still supported by Microsoft, XP Embedded until January 2019.
* Sold 400 million copies

* Starter
* Home
* Professional
* Professional x64
* Media Center 2002
* Media Center 2004
* Media Center 2005
* Tablet PC
* Embedded

| x32/x86: 64MB[12]
x64: 256MB | 1.5GB
Windows CE Talisker[9] |  CE 4.0  |  January 7, 2002  |  |  |  |
Windows CE Jameson[9] |  CE 4.1  |  June 2002[9] |  Windows Automotive  |  |  |
Windows CE McKendric[9] |  CE 4.2  |  April 2003[9] |  Windows Automotive 4.2  |  |  |
Windows Server 2003 |  NT 5.2  |  2003  |  |  |  |
Windows CE Macallan[9] |  CE 5.0  |  August 2004[9] |  Windows Automotive 5.0  |  |  6MB[13] |
Windows Server 2003 R2 |  |  2006  |  |  |  |
Windows CE Yamazaki[9] |  CE 6.0  |  September 2006[9] |

* Microsoft Auto 3.0
* Zune HD

|  |  |
Windows Vista |  NT 6.0.6000  |  January 30, 2007  |

* System uses new layout, but started out with some problems
* Sold 180 million copies
* Extended support ends April 11, 2017 [14]

* Starter
* Home Basic
* Home Premium
* Business
* Ultimate
* Enterprise

| Home Basic: 512MB,
All Others: 1GB[15] |  20GB
Windows Server 2008 |  |  February 27, 2008  |  |  |  512 MB  |  Foundation: 10GB,
other x32/86: 20GB,
other x64: 32GB
Windows 7 |  NT 6.1.7600  |  October 22, 2009  |

* Uses the same basic layout as Vista, but system is more stable
* Sold 600 million copies
* Extended support ends January 14, 2020

* Starter
* Home Basic
* Home Premium
* Professional
* Enterprise
* Ultimate
* Thin PC

|  x32/x86: 1GB, x64: 2GB[12] |  x32/x86: 16GB,
x64: 20GB
Windows Server 2008 R2 |  |  2010  |  |

* HPC
* Standard
* Enterprise
* Itanium

|  512 MB  |  Foundation: 10GB,
others: 32GB
Windows Embedded Compact 7  |  CE 6.0 R3  |  2011  |

* Windows Embedded Automotive 7
* Windows Phone 7

|  |  |
Windows Server 2012 |  NT 6.2  |  2012  |  |

* Foundation
* Essentials
* Standard
* Datacenter

|  512MB  |  32GB
Windows 8 |  NT 6.2  |  October 26, 2012  |

* Designed to serve as an OS for all kinds of devices, including smartphones
* Also did away with the Start menu
* Sold surprisingly poorly
* Extended support ends January 10, 2023

* Standard
* Professional
* Enterprise
* Embedded

| x32/x86: 1GB,
x64: 2GB[16] |  x32/x86: 16GB,
x64: 20GB
Windows RT  |  NT 6.3  |  October 30, 2012  |

* Designed exclusively for ARMv7 processors
* Based on Windows 8 without an upgrade path to Windows 10
* Support already phasing out

* Embedded

| 32-Bit: 2GB [16] |  32-Bit: 20GB, 32GB
Windows Server 2012 R2 |  NT 6.3  |  2013  |  |

* Foundation
* Essentials
* Standard
* Datacenter

|  512MB  |  32GB
Windows 8.1 |  NT 6.3  |  October 17, 2013  |  Slight update from 8.0 which brings back the Start button  |

* Standard
* Professional
* Enterprise
* Embedded

| x32/x86: 1GB,
x64: 2GB[16] |
Windows 10 |  NT 6.4[17]

or "NT 10"

|  July 29, 2015  |

* Designed to collect personal information and customize itself based on preferences
* 270 million copies of version 10 are in use as of March 2016.[18]
* Extended support ends October 14, 2025
* Some installs of Windows 10 support "S mode"[19], which includes many functionality restrictions, for user protection.

* Home
* Professional
* Enterprise
* Education
* Mobile
* Mobile Enterprise
* IoT Core
* Xbox One

| x32/x86: 1GB,
x64: 2GB[20] |  x32/x86: 16GB,
x64: 20GB[21][22]
Windows Server 2016  |  |  October 12, 2016
(RTM: September 26, 2016) |  |

* Essentials
* Standard
* Datacenter

|  |
Windows 11 |  NT 10  |  October 5, 2021  |

* Officially Requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
* Unofficially, some users have reported running the OS without TPM 2.0 support[23][24]
* Some installs of Windows 11 support "S mode"[25], which includes many functionality restrictions, for user protection.

* Home[26]
* Pro[26]
* Enterprise[27]

|  4GB[28][29] |  64GB[28][29] |
Name  |  Version Number  |  Public Release  |  Notes  |  Editions  |  Minimum RAM required  |  Minimum drive space

(Some popular NT releases are listed in bold and special server releases are listed in italic.) [30][31][32][33]

## See also[edit]

* What happened to Windows 9?
* Linux
* Tails Secure Anonymous Operating System
* Mac OS and iOS
* Unix
* Android

## References[edit]

1. ↑ OS Statistics. Refsnes Data. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
2. ↑ Windows Server 2003 R2 Home. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
3. ↑ Windows History: Windows Desktop Timeline. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
4. ↑ http://www.networkworld.com/article/2193906/windows/windows-1-0-turning-25--first-experiences-recalled.html
5. ↑ A brief history of Windowss sales figures 1985-present, Time, May 7, 2013
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.howtogeek.com/132488/does-windows-still-rely-on-ms-dos
7. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/138349
8. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/138349
9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/mikehall/2006/09/20/ce-6-0-why-the-codename-yamazaki
10. ↑ Auto PC: Windows CE hits the road, EETimes, July 14, 1999
11. ↑ http://windowsitpro.com/windows/windows-2000-hardware-requirements
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-windows_install/how-much-ram-is-required-by-windows-xp-to-operate/6e341e7e-4656-4bcb-94e8-d7efc35d3b56?auth=1
13. ↑ https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms927515.aspx
14. ↑ Windows lifecycle fact sheet
15. ↑ http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/how-much-ram-do-i-need-721332
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/system-requirements
17. ↑ http://windowsitpro.com/windows-10/windows-10s-inventoried-version-number
18. ↑ Microsoft's Windows 10 reaches 270 million users, no mobile numbers, Reuters, March 30, 2016
19. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-and-windows-11-in-s-mode-faq-851057d6-1ee9-b9e5-c30b-93baebeebc85#WindowsVersion=Windows_10
20. ↑ http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/how-much-ram-will-windows-10-use/769c6a0e-82de-4254-ae65-59a84c6a5886
21. ↑ https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/2257/windows-10-minimum-hardware-requirements-for-pc
22. ↑ https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn915086(v=vs.85).aspx
23. ↑ https://windowsreport.com/install-windows-11-without-tpm/
24. ↑ https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-upgrade-to-windows-11-without-tpm-20-and-why-you-shouldnt
25. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-and-windows-11-in-s-mode-faq-851057d6-1ee9-b9e5-c30b-93baebeebc85#WindowsVersion=Windows_11
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compare-windows-11-home-vs-pro-versions
27. ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-11-enterprise
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-system-requirements-86c11283-ea52-4782-9efd-7674389a7ba3
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-11-system-requirements
30. ↑ http://www.nextofwindows.com/a-list-of-windows-operating-system-version-number
31. ↑ http://www.computerhope.com/whow.htm
32. ↑ http://www.carrona.org/winreldt.html#31
33. ↑ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/history#T1=era0

## External links[edit]

* Microsoft Windows Home Page
* Fun satire: Matrix Runs on Windows XP