Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows, commonly known as Windows, is a proprietary graphical operating system

developed and marketed by Microsoft.

It is grouped into families that cater to particular sectors of the computing industry – Windows for
personal computers, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems.
Windows itself is further grouped into editions that cater to different users – Home for home users,
Professional for advanced users, Education for schools, and Enterprise for corporations. Windows is
sold both as a consumer retail product and to computer manufacturers, who bundle and distribute it
with their systems.

The first version of Windows, Windows 1.0, was released on November 20, 1985 as a graphical
operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to growing interest in graphical user interfaces
(GUIs).[11] The name Windows is a reference to the windowing system in GUIs.[12] The 1990 release
of Windows 3.0 catapulted its market success and led to various other product families, including
the (now-defunct) Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows CE/Embedded Compact.

Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with a 72% market share as of
October 2025,[13] and the second-most popular operating system overall, behind Android.[14] As of
August 2025, Windows 11 is the most used desktop version of Windows, with a market share of
53%.[15]

Product line

As of 2025, the only active top-level family is Windows NT. The first version, Windows NT 3.1, was
intended for server computing and corporate workstations. It grew into a product line of its own and
now consists of four sub-families that tend to be released almost simultaneously and share the
same kernel.

Windows (unqualified): For a consumer or corporate workstation or tablet. The latest version is
Windows 11. Its main competitors are macOS by Apple and Linux for personal computers and
iPadOS and Android for tablets (cf. Usage share of operating systems § Market share by
category).
Of note: "Windows" refers to both the overall product line and this sub-family of it.
 Windows Server: For a server computer. The
Microsoft Windows
latest version is Windows Server 2025. Unlike
its client sibling, it has adopted a strong
naming scheme. The main competitor of this
family is Linux. (cf. Usage share of operating
Developer Microsoft
systems § Market share by category)
Source model Closed-source
Windows PE: A lightweight version of its
Source-available
Windows sibling, meant to operate as a live
(through Shared
operating system, used for installing Windows
Source Initiative)
on bare-metal computers (especially on many
computers at once), recovery, or Initial release November 20, 1985

troubleshooting purposes. The latest version is

Latest release 25H2
Windows PE 10. (10.0.26200.7019)
(October 28, 2025[1])
Windows IoT (previously Windows Embedded):
[±] ([Link]
For IoT and embedded computers. The latest
[Link]/w/[Link]?ti
version is Windows 11 IoT Enterprise.[16] Like
tle=Template:Latest_
Windows Server, the main competitor of this
stable_software_rele
family is Linux. (cf. Usage share of operating ase/Windows_11&ac
systems § Market share by category) tion=edit)

These top-level Windows families are no longer Latest preview Release Preview
actively developed: Channel: 25H2

MS-DOS based versions of Windows, including (10.0.26200.7019)

(October 28,
Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.x, and
2025[2][3]) [±] (http
Windows 9x: Intended exclusively for the
s://[Link]
consumer market. The last version of this
g/w/[Link]?title
family was Windows Me. These versions of =Template:Latest_
Windows had a monolithic kernel that uses MS- preview_software_r
DOS as a foundation, with Windows 95 and elease/Windows_1
above having its own kernel. Starting with 1&action=edit)
Windows 2000, Microsoft based its consumer Beta Channel: 25H2

operating systems on the NT kernel and (10.0.26220.7052)

(November 5,
removed MS-DOS.
2025[4]) [±] (https://
Windows Mobile: Windows Mobile was a [Link]/
mobile phone and PDA operating system and w/[Link]?title=
the predecessor to Windows Phone. The first Template:Latest_pr
 version was Pocket PC 2000; the third version, eview_software_rel
Windows Mobile 2003, was the first version to ease/Windows_11

adopt the Windows Mobile trademark. The last &action=edit)

Dev Channel: 25H2
published version was Windows Mobile 6.5.
(10.0.26220.7052)
Windows Phone: Sold only to smartphone (November 5,
manufacturers. The first version was Windows 2025[4]) [±] (https://
Phone 7, followed by Windows Phone 8 and [Link]/

Windows Phone 8.1. It was succeeded by w/[Link]?title=

Template:Latest_pr
Windows 10 Mobile, which is also defunct.
eview_software_rel
Windows Embedded Compact: Most commonly ease/Windows_11
known by its former name, Windows CE, it is a &action=edit)
hybrid kernel operating system optimized for Canary Channel:

low power and memory systems, with OEMs 10.0.27982.1

(November 4,
able to modify the UI to suit their needs. The
2025[5]) [±] (https://
final version was Windows Embedded Compact
[Link]/
2013, and it is succeeded by Windows IoT.
w/[Link]?title=
Template:Latest_pr
History
eview_software_rel
ease/Windows_11
The term Windows collectively describes any or
&action=edit)
all of several generations of Microsoft operating
system products. These products are generally Marketing target Personal computing

categorized as follows: Available in 110 languages

Update method Windows Update

Early versions Microsoft Store
Windows Server
The history of Windows dates back to 1981 when Update Services
Microsoft started work on a program called (WSUS)

"Interface Manager". The name "Windows" comes

Package manager Windows Installer
from the fact that the system was one of the first (.msi, .msp),[6] App
to use graphical boxes to represent programs; in Installer (.msix,.[7]
the industry, at the time, these were called msixbundle[8][9]),
"windows" and the underlying software was Microsoft Store
called "windowing software."[12] It was announced (.appx,

in November 1983 (after the Apple Lisa, but .appxbundle),[10]

before the Macintosh) under the name

"Windows", but Windows 1.0 was not released Windows Package
until November 1985.[17] Windows 1.0 was to Manager

compete with Apple's operating system, but

Supported platforms IA-32, x86-64, ARM,
achieved little popularity. Windows 1.0 is not a ARM64
complete operating system; rather, it extends MS- Previously: 16-bit x86,
DOS. The shell of Windows 1.0 is a program DEC Alpha, MIPS,
known as the MS-DOS Executive. Components PowerPC, Itanium

included Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard

Kernel type Windows NT family:
Viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Hybrid
Reversi, Terminal and Write. Windows 1.0 does Windows Embedded
not allow overlapping windows. Instead, all Compact/Windows
windows are tiled. Only modal dialog boxes may CE: Hybrid or
appear over other windows. Microsoft sold as Monolithic

included Windows Development libraries with the Windows 9x and

earlier: Monolithic
C development environment, which included
(MS-DOS and
numerous windows samples.[18]
VMM32)

Windows 2.0 was released in December 1987,

Default Windows shell
and was more popular than its predecessor. It user interface
features several improvements to the user
interface and memory management.[19] Windows License Proprietary
commercial software
2.03 changed the OS from tiled windows to
overlapping windows. The result of this change Official website [Link] (http
led to Apple Computer filing a suit against s://[Link])
Microsoft alleging infringement on Apple's
copyrights (eventually settled in court in Microsoft's favor in 1993).[20][21] Windows 2.0 also
introduced more sophisticated keyboard shortcuts and could make use of expanded memory.

Windows 2.1 was released in two different versions: Windows/286 and Windows/386.
Windows/386 uses the virtual 8086 mode of the Intel 80386 to multitask several DOS programs and
the paged memory model to emulate expanded memory using available extended memory.
Windows/286, in spite of its name, runs on both Intel 8086 and Intel 80286 processors. It runs in
real mode but can make use of the high memory area.[22]

In addition to full Windows packages, there were runtime-only versions that shipped with early
Windows software from third parties and made it possible to run their Windows software on MS-
DOS and without the full Windows feature set.
The early versions of Windows are often thought of as graphical shells, mostly because they ran on
top of MS-DOS and used it for file system services.[23] However, even the earliest Windows versions
already assumed many typical operating system functions; notably, having their own executable file
format and providing their own device drivers (timer, graphics, printer, mouse, keyboard and sound).
Unlike MS-DOS, Windows allowed users to execute multiple graphical applications at the same time,
through cooperative multitasking. Windows implemented an elaborate, segment-based, software
virtual memory scheme, which allows it to run applications larger than available memory: code
segments and resources are swapped in and thrown away when memory became scarce; data
segments moved in memory when a given application had relinquished processor control.

Windows 3.x

Windows 3.0, released in 1990

Windows 3.0, released in 1990, improved the design, mostly because of virtual memory and
loadable virtual device drivers (VxDs) that allow Windows to share arbitrary devices between multi-
tasked DOS applications. Windows 3.0 applications can run in protected mode, which gives them
access to several megabytes of memory without the obligation to participate in the software virtual
memory scheme. They run inside the same address space, where the segmented memory provides
a degree of protection. Windows 3.0 also featured improvements to the user interface. Microsoft
rewrote critical operations from C into assembly. Windows 3.0 was the first version of Windows to
achieve broad commercial success, selling 2 million copies in the first six months.[24][25]
 Versions before Windows 95 had to be
installed from floppy disks by end users (or
in professional environments with a
network installation); here Windows for
Workgroups with nine 3.5-inch-disks to be
inserted sequentially.

Windows 3.1, made generally available on March 1, 1992, featured a facelift. In October 1992,
Windows for Workgroups, a special version with integrated peer-to-peer networking features, was
released. It was sold along with Windows 3.1. Support for Windows 3.1 ended on December 31,
2001.[26]

Windows 3.2, released in 1994, is an updated version of the Chinese version of Windows 3.1.[27] The
update was limited to this language version, as it fixed only issues related to the complex writing
system of the Chinese language.[28] Windows 3.2 was generally sold by computer manufacturers
with a ten-disk version of MS-DOS that also had Simplified Chinese characters in basic output and
some translated utilities.

Windows 9x

The next major consumer-oriented release of Windows, Windows 95, was released on August 24,
1995. While still remaining MS-DOS-based, Windows 95 introduced support for native 32-bit
applications, plug and play hardware, preemptive multitasking, long file names of up to 255
characters, and provided increased stability over its predecessors. Windows 95 also introduced a
redesigned, object oriented user interface, replacing the previous Program Manager with the Start
menu, taskbar, and Windows Explorer shell. Windows 95 was a major commercial success for
Microsoft; Ina Fried of CNET remarked that "by the time Windows 95 was finally ushered off the
market in 2001, it had become a fixture on computer desktops around the world."[29] Microsoft
published four OEM Service Releases (OSR) of Windows 95, each of which was roughly equivalent
to a service pack. The first OSR of Windows 95 was also the first version of Windows to be bundled
with Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer.[30] Mainstream support for Windows 95 ended on
December 31, 2000, and extended support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2001.[31]

Windows 95 was followed up with the release of Windows 98 on June 25, 1998, which introduced
the Windows Driver Model, support for USB composite devices, support for ACPI, hibernation, and
support for multi-monitor configurations. Windows 98 also included integration with Internet
Explorer 4 through Active Desktop and other aspects of the Windows Desktop Update (a series of
enhancements to the Explorer shell which was also made available for Windows 95). In June 1999,
Microsoft released Windows 98 Second Edition, an updated version of Windows 98. Windows 98 SE
added Internet Explorer 5.0 and Windows Media Player 6.2 amongst other upgrades. Mainstream
support for Windows 98 ended on June 30, 2002, and extended support for Windows 98 ended on
July 11, 2006.[32]

On September 14, 2000, Microsoft released Windows Me (Millennium Edition), the last DOS-based
version of Windows. Windows Me incorporated visual interface enhancements from its Windows
NT-based counterpart Windows 2000, had faster boot times than previous versions (which however,
required the removal of the ability to access a real mode DOS environment, removing compatibility
with some older programs),[33] expanded multimedia functionality (including Windows Media Player
7, Windows Movie Maker, and the Windows Image Acquisition framework for retrieving images from
scanners and digital cameras), additional system utilities such as System File Protection and
System Restore, and updated home networking tools.[34] However, Windows Me was faced with
criticism for its speed and instability, along with hardware compatibility issues and its removal of
real mode DOS support. PC World considered Windows Me to be one of the worst operating
systems Microsoft had ever released, and the fourth worst tech product of all time.[35]
Windows NT

Version history

Early versions (Windows NT 3.1/3.5/3.51/4.0/2000)

Windows logo (1995–2001)

In November 1988, a new development team within Microsoft (which included former Digital
Equipment Corporation developers Dave Cutler and Mark Lucovsky) began work on a revamped
version of IBM and Microsoft's OS/2 operating system known as "NT OS/2". NT OS/2 was intended
to be a secure, multi-user operating system with POSIX compatibility and a modular, portable kernel
with preemptive multitasking and support for multiple processor architectures. However, following
the successful release of Windows 3.0, the NT development team decided to rework the project to
use an extended 32-bit port of the Windows API known as Win32 instead of those of OS/2. Win32
maintained a similar structure to the Windows APIs (allowing existing Windows applications to
easily be ported to the platform), but also supported the capabilities of the existing NT kernel.
Following its approval by Microsoft's staff, development continued on what was now Windows NT,
the first 32-bit version of Windows. However, IBM objected to the changes, and ultimately continued
OS/2 development on its own.[36][37]

Windows NT was the first Windows operating system based on a hybrid kernel. The hybrid kernel
was designed as a modified microkernel, influenced by the Mach microkernel developed by Richard
Rashid at Carnegie Mellon University, but without meeting all of the criteria of a pure microkernel.

The first release of the resulting operating system, Windows NT 3.1 (named to associate it with
Windows 3.1) was released in July 1993, with versions for desktop workstations and servers.
Windows NT 3.5 was released in September 1994, focusing on performance improvements and
support for Novell's NetWare, and was followed up by Windows NT 3.51 in May 1995, which
included additional improvements and support for the PowerPC architecture. Windows NT 4.0 was
released in June 1996, introducing the redesigned interface of Windows 95 to the NT series. On
February 17, 2000, Microsoft released Windows 2000, a successor to NT 4.0. The Windows NT
name was dropped at this point in order to put a greater focus on the Windows brand.[37]

Windows XP

A variation of the 2001–2006 Windows

logo from 2003 using the Segoe typeface
instead of the Franklin Gothic typeface.
This variation was mainly used for
branding purposes.

The next major version of Windows NT, Windows XP, was released to manufacturing (RTM) on
August 24, 2001, and to the general public on October 25, 2001. The introduction of Windows XP
aimed to unify the consumer-oriented Windows 9x series with the architecture introduced by
Windows NT, a change which Microsoft promised would provide better performance over its DOS-
based predecessors. Windows XP would also introduce a redesigned user interface (including an
updated Start menu and a "task-oriented" Windows Explorer), streamlined multimedia and
networking features, Internet Explorer 6, integration with Microsoft's .NET Passport services, a
"compatibility mode" to help provide backwards compatibility with software designed for previous
versions of Windows, and Remote Assistance functionality.[38][39]

At retail, Windows XP was marketed in two main editions: the "Home" edition was targeted towards
consumers, while the "Professional" edition was targeted towards business environments and
power users, and included additional security and networking features. Home and Professional were
later accompanied by the "Media Center" edition (designed for home theater PCs, with an emphasis
on support for DVD playback, TV tuner cards, DVR functionality, and remote controls), and the
"Tablet PC" edition (designed for mobile devices meeting its specifications for a tablet computer,
with support for stylus pen input and additional pen-enabled applications).[40][41][42] Mainstream
support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009. Extended support ended on April 8, 2014.[43]

After Windows 2000, Microsoft also changed its release schedules for server operating systems;
the server counterpart of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, was released in April 2003.[37] It was
followed in December 2005, by Windows Server 2003 R2.
Windows Vista

After a lengthy development process, Windows Vista was released on November 30, 2006, for
volume licensing and January 30, 2007, for consumers. It contained a number of new features, from
a redesigned shell and user interface to significant technical changes, with a particular focus on
security features. It was available in a number of different editions, and has been subject to some
criticism, such as drop of performance, longer boot time, criticism of new UAC, and stricter license
agreement. Vista's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 was released in early 2008.

Windows 7

On July 22, 2009, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 were released to manufacturing (RTM)
and released to the public three months later on October 22, 2009. Unlike its predecessor, Windows
Vista, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 was intended to be a more
focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being compatible with
applications and hardware with which Windows Vista was already compatible.[44] Windows 7 has
multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows shell with an updated taskbar with revealable jump lists
that contain shortcuts to files frequently used with specific applications and shortcuts to tasks
within the application,[45] a home networking system called HomeGroup,[46] and performance
improvements.

Windows 8 and 8.1

Windows logo (2012–2015)

Windows 8, the successor to Windows 7, was released generally on October 26, 2012. A number of
significant changes were made on Windows 8, including the introduction of a user interface based
around Microsoft's Metro design language with optimizations for touch-based devices such as
tablets and all-in-one PCs. These changes include the Start screen, which uses large tiles that are
more convenient for touch interactions and allow for the display of continually updated information,
and a new class of apps which are designed primarily for use on touch-based devices. The new
Windows version required a minimum resolution of 1024×768 pixels,[47] effectively making it unfit
for netbooks with 800×600-pixel screens.

Other changes include increased integration with cloud services and other online platforms (such as
social networks and Microsoft's own OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) and Xbox Live services), the
Windows Store service for software distribution, and a new variant known as Windows RT for use on
devices that utilize the ARM architecture, and a new keyboard shortcut for
screenshots.[48][49][50][51][52][53][54] An update to Windows 8, called Windows 8.1,[55] was released on
October 17, 2013, and includes features such as new live tile sizes, deeper OneDrive integration, and
many other revisions. Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have been subject to some criticism, such as the
removal of the Start menu.

Windows 10

Windows logo (2015–2021)

On September 30, 2014, Microsoft announced Windows 10 as the successor to Windows 8.1. It was
released on July 29, 2015, and addresses shortcomings in the user interface first introduced with
Windows 8. Changes on PC include the return of the Start Menu, a virtual desktop system, and the
ability to run Windows Store apps within windows on the desktop rather than in full-screen mode.
Windows 10 is said to be available to update from qualified Windows 7 with SP1, Windows 8.1 and
Windows Phone 8.1 devices from the Get Windows 10 Application (for Windows 7, Windows 8.1) or
Windows Update (Windows 7).[56]

In February 2017, Microsoft announced the migration of its Windows source code repository from
Perforce to Git. This migration involved 3.5 million separate files in a 300-gigabyte repository.[57] By
May 2017, 90 percent of its engineering team was using Git, in about 8500 commits and 1760
Windows builds per day.[57]

In June 2021, shortly before Microsoft's announcement of Windows 11, Microsoft updated their
lifecycle policy pages for Windows 10, revealing that support for their last release of Windows 10
will end on October 14, 2025.[58][59] On April 27, 2023, Microsoft announced that version 22H2 would
be the last of Windows 10.[60][61]

Windows logo (2021–present)

Windows 11

On June 24, 2021, Windows 11 was announced as the successor to Windows 10 during a
livestream. The new operating system was designed to be more user-friendly and understandable. It
was released on October 5, 2021.[62][63] As of May 2022, Windows 11 is a free upgrade to Windows
10 users who meet the system requirements.[64]
Windows 365

In July 2021, Microsoft announced it will start selling subscriptions to virtualized Windows desktops
as part of a new Windows 365 service in the following month. The new service will allow for cross-
platform usage, aiming to make the operating system available for both Apple and Android users. It
is a separate service and offers several variations including Windows 365 Frontline, Windows 365
Boot, and the Windows 365 app.[65] The subscription service will be accessible through any
operating system with a web browser. The new service is an attempt at capitalizing on the growing
trend, fostered during the COVID-19 pandemic, for businesses to adopt a hybrid remote work
environment, in which "employees split their time between the office and home". As the service will
be accessible through web browsers, Microsoft will be able to bypass the need to publish the
service through Google Play or the Apple App Store.[66][67][68][69][70]

Microsoft announced Windows 365 availability to business and enterprise customers on August 2,
2021.[71]

Multilingual support

Multilingual support has been built into Windows since Windows 3.0. The language for both the
keyboard and the interface can be changed through the Region and Language Control Panel.
Components for all supported input languages, such as Input Method Editors, are automatically
installed during Windows installation (in Windows XP and earlier, files for East Asian languages,
such as Chinese, and files for right-to-left scripts, such as Arabic, may need to be installed
separately, also from the said Control Panel). Third-party IMEs may also be installed if a user feels
that the provided one is insufficient for their needs. Since Windows 2000, English editions of
Windows NT have East Asian IMEs (such as Microsoft Pinyin IME and Microsoft Japanese IME)
bundled, but files for East Asian languages may be manually installed on Control Panel.

Interface languages for the operating system are free for download, but some languages are limited
to certain editions of Windows. Language Interface Packs (LIPs) are redistributable and may be
downloaded from Microsoft's Download Center and installed for any edition of Windows (XP or
later) – they translate most, but not all, of the Windows interface, and require a certain base
language (the language which Windows originally shipped with). This is used for most languages in
emerging markets. Full Language Packs, which translate the complete operating system, are only
available for specific editions of Windows (Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Windows Vista and 7,
and all editions of Windows 8, 8.1 and RT except Single Language). They do not require a specific
base language and are commonly used for more popular languages such as French or Chinese.
These languages cannot be downloaded through the Download Center, but are available as optional
updates through the Windows Update service (except Windows 8).

The interface language of installed applications is not affected by changes in the Windows interface
language. The availability of languages depends on the application developers themselves.

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 introduce a new Language Control Panel where both the
interface and input languages can be simultaneously changed, and language packs, regardless of
type, can be downloaded from a central location. The PC Settings app in Windows 8.1 and Windows
Server 2012 R2 also includes a counterpart settings page for this. Changing the interface language
also changes the language of preinstalled Windows Store apps (such as Mail, Maps and News) and
certain other Microsoft-developed apps (such as Remote Desktop). The above limitations for
language packs are however still in effect, except that full language packs can be installed for any
edition except Single Language, which caters to emerging markets.

Platform support

Windows NT included support for several platforms before the x86-based personal computer
became dominant in the professional world. Windows NT 4.0 and its predecessors supported
PowerPC, DEC Alpha and MIPS R4000 (although some of the platforms implement 64-bit
computing, the OS treated them as 32-bit). Windows 2000 dropped support for all platforms, except
the third generation x86 (known as IA-32) or newer in 32-bit mode. The client line of the Windows
NT family still ran on IA-32 up to Windows 10[64] (the server line of the Windows NT family still ran
on IA-32 up to Windows Server 2008).

With the introduction of the Intel Itanium architecture (IA-64), Microsoft released new versions of
Windows to support it. Itanium versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 were released at
the same time as their mainstream x86 counterparts. Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (Version 2003),
released in 2003, is the last Windows client operating system to support Itanium. Windows Server
line continues to support this platform until Windows Server 2012; Windows Server 2008 R2 is the
last Windows operating system to support Itanium architecture.

On April 25, 2005, Microsoft released Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server
2003 x64 editions to support x86-64 (or simply x64), the 64-bit version of x86 architecture. Windows
Vista was the first client version of Windows NT to be released simultaneously in IA-32 and x64
editions. As of 2024, x64 is still supported.

An edition of Windows 8 known as Windows RT was specifically created for computers with ARM
architecture, and while ARM is still used for Windows smartphones with Windows 10, tablets with
Windows RT will not be updated. Starting from Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709) and
later includes support for ARM-based PCs.[72]

Windows CE

Windows CE (officially known as Windows Embedded Compact), is an edition of Windows that runs
on minimalistic computers, like satellite navigation systems and some mobile phones. Windows
Embedded Compact is based on its own dedicated kernel, dubbed Windows CE kernel. Microsoft
licenses Windows CE to OEMs and device makers. The OEMs and device makers can modify and
create their own user interfaces and experiences, while Windows CE provides the technical
foundation to do so.

Windows CE was used in the Dreamcast along with Sega's own proprietary OS for the console.
Windows CE was the core from which Windows Mobile was derived. Its successor, Windows Phone
7, was based on components from both Windows CE 6.0 R3 and Windows CE 7.0. Windows Phone 8
however, is based on the same NT-kernel as Windows 8.

Windows Embedded Compact is not to be confused with Windows XP Embedded or Windows NT

4.0 Embedded, modular editions of Windows based on Windows NT kernel.

Xbox OS

Xbox OS is an unofficial name given to the version of Windows that runs on Xbox consoles.[73] From
Xbox One onwards it is an implementation with an emphasis on virtualization (using Hyper-V) as it
is three operating systems running at once, consisting of the core operating system, a second
implemented for games and a more Windows-like environment for applications.[74] Microsoft
updates Xbox One's OS every month, and these updates can be downloaded from the Xbox Live
service to the Xbox and subsequently installed, or by using offline recovery images downloaded via
a PC.[75] It was originally based on NT 6.2 (Windows 8) kernel, and the latest version runs on an NT
10.0 base. This system is sometimes referred to as "Windows 10 on Xbox One".[76][77] Xbox One and
Xbox Series operating systems also allow limited (due to licensing restrictions and testing
resources) backward compatibility with previous generation hardware,[78] and the Xbox 360's
system is backwards compatible with the original Xbox.[79]
Version control system

Up to and including every version before Windows 2000, Microsoft used an in-house version control
system named Source Library Manager (SLM). Shortly after Windows 2000 was released, Microsoft
switched to a fork of Perforce named Source Depot.[80] This system was used up until 2017 once
the system could not keep up with the size of Windows. Microsoft had begun to integrate Git into
Team Foundation Server in 2013,[81] but Windows (and Office) continued to rely on Source Depot.[82]
The Windows code was divided among 65 different repositories with a kind of virtualization layer to
produce unified view of all of the code.

In 2017 Microsoft announced that it would start using Git, an open source version control system
created by Linus Torvalds, and in May 2017 they reported that the migration into a new Git
repository was complete.[57][83][84]

VFSForGit

Each Git repository contains a complete history of all the files, which tends to be very large for
Windows.[85] Microsoft has been working on a new project called the Virtual File System for Git
(VFSForGit) to address these challenges.[84]

In 2021 the VFS for Git was superseded by Scalar.[86]

Timeline of releases

Table of Windows versions

Latest Release Support until[87] Latest version of

Product name Codename
version date Mainstream Extended IE DirectX Edge

November Interface —
Windows 1.0 1.04
20, 1985 Manager

December 9,
Windows 2.0 2.03 —
1987
—
May 27,
Windows 2.1 2.11 —
1988 December 31, 2001
May 22,
Windows 3.0 3.0 —
1990

Windows 3.1 3.1 April 6, 1992 —

Windows For October 27, Sparta, 5

3.1
Workgroups 3.1 1992 Winball —

July 27,
Windows NT 3.1 NT 3.1.528 — December 31, 2000 2
1993

Windows For August 11,

3.11 Snowball
Workgroups 3.11 1993
5
November
Windows 3.2 3.2 —
22, 1993
December 31, 2001
September
Windows NT 3.5 NT 3.5.807 Daytona 3
21, 1994

NT May 30,
Windows NT 3.51 — 5
3.51.1057 1995

August 24, December 31, December

Windows 95 4.0.950 Chicago, 4.0 5.5 8.0a
1995 2000 31, 2001

NT July 31, June 30, 6

Windows NT 4.0 Cairo 3.0a
4.0.1381 1996 2004

June 25, Memphis, June 30, 9.0c

Windows 98 4.10.1998
1998 97, 4.1 2002 July 11,
June 10, 2006
Windows 98 SE 4.10.2222 —
1999

NT February 17, June 30, July 13,

Windows 2000 —
5.0.2195 2000 2005 2010
 September Millennium, December 31, July 11,
Windows Me 4.90.3000
14, 2000 4.9 2003 2006

NT October 25,
Windows XP Whistler
5.1.2600 2001 April 8,
April 14, 2009
Windows XP 64-bit March 28, 2014
—
Edition 2003

Windows Server April 24, Whistler July 14,

NT July 13, 2010
2003 2003 Server 2015
5.2.3790 8
Windows XP
April 25,
Professional x64 —
2005
Edition April 8,
April 14, 2009
Windows 2014
NT
Fundamentals for July 8, 2006 Eiger, Mönch
5.1.2600
Legacy PCs

NT January 30, April 11,

Windows Vista Longhorn April 10, 2012 9 11
6.0.6003 2007 2017

Windows Home NT November 4,

Quattro January 8, 2013 8 9.0c
Server 5.2.4500 2007

Windows Server NT February 27, Longhorn

9
2008 6.0.6003 2008 Server

Windows January 13, January 14,

Windows 7 [88]
NT October 22, 7 2015 2020
11
Windows Server 6.1.7601 2009 Windows
2008 R2 Server 7
11
Windows Home NT
April 6, 2011 Vail April 12, 2016
Server 2011 6.1.8400

Windows Server September October 9, October 10,

Server 8 109
2012 NT 4, 2012 2018 2023
11.1
6.2.9200 October 26,
Windows 8 — January 12, 2016 10
2012

October 17, January 9, January 10, 11

Windows 8.1 Blue
NT 2013 2018 2023
11.2
Windows Server 6.3.9600 October 18, October 9, October 10,
Server Blue
2012 R2 2013 2018 2023

NT July 29, 12 142

Windows 10 Various October 14, 2025[58][59]
10.0.19045 2015

Windows Server NT October 12, January 11, January 12,

—
2016 10.0.14393 2016 2022 2027
Windows Server NT October 2, January 9, January 9,
—
2019 10.0.17763 2018 2024 2029

Windows Server NT August 18, October 13, October 14,

—
2022 10.0.20348 2021 2026 2031

NT October 5,
Windows 11 Various October 10, 2028[89]
10.0.26200 2021
—
Windows Server NT November 1, November November
—
2025 10.0.26100 2024 13, 2029 14, 2034

Legend: Unsupported Supported Latest version Preview version

Timeline of Windows versions[show]

The Windows family tree

Usage share and device sales

Version market share

As a percentage of desktop and laptop systems using Microsoft Windows,[90] according to
StatCounter data as of November 2025[91]:
 Desktop OS StatCounter

Other versions 0.02%

Windows XP 0.27%

Windows 7 3.02%

Windows 8 0.07%

Windows 8.1 0.16%

Windows 10 41.11%

Windows 11 55.36%

Use of Windows 10 has exceeded Windows 7 globally since early 2018.[92]

For desktop and laptop computers, according to Net Applications and StatCounter (which track the
use of operating systems in devices that are active on the Web), Windows was the most used
operating-system family in August 2021, with around 91% usage share according to Net
Applications[93] and around 76% usage share according to StatCounter.[94]

Including personal computers of all kinds (e.g., desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and game
consoles), Windows OSes accounted for 32.67% of usage share in August 2021, compared to
Android (highest, at 46.03%), iOS's 13.76%, iPadOS's 2.81%, and macOS's 2.51%, according to Net
Applications[95] and 30.73% of usage share in August 2021, compared to Android (highest, at
42.56%), iOS/iPadOS's 16.53%, and macOS's 6.51%, according to StatCounter.[96]

Those statistics do not include servers (including cloud computing, where Linux has significantly
more market share than Windows) as Net Applications and StatCounter use web browsing as a
proxy for all use.

Security

Early versions of Windows were designed at a time when malware and networking were less
common, and had few built-in security features; they did not provide access privileges to allow a
user to prevent other users from accessing their files, and they did not provide memory protection to
prevent one process from reading or writing another process's address space or to prevent a
process from code or data used by privileged-mode code.

While the Windows 9x series offered the option of having profiles for multiple users with separate
profiles and home folders, it had no concept of access privileges, allowing any user to edit others'
files. In addition, while it ran separate 32-bit applications in separate address spaces, protecting an
application's code and data from being read or written by another application, it did not protect the
first megabyte of memory from userland applications for compatibility reasons. This area of
memory contains code critical to the functioning of the operating system, and by writing into this
area of memory an application can crash or freeze the operating system. This was a source of
instability as faulty applications could accidentally write into this region, potentially corrupting
important operating system memory, which usually resulted in some form of system error and
halt.[97]

Windows NT was far more secure, implementing access privileges and full memory protection, and,
while 32-bit programs meeting the DoD's C2 security rating,[98] yet these advantages were nullified
by the fact that, prior to Windows Vista, the default user account created during the setup process
was an administrator account; the user, and any program the user launched, had full access to the
machine. Though Windows XP did offer an option of turning administrator accounts into limited
accounts, the majority of home users did not do so, partially due to the number of programs which
required administrator rights to function properly. As a result, most home users still ran as
administrator all the time. These architectural flaws, combined with Windows's very high popularity,
made Windows a frequent target of computer worm and virus writers.[99][100][101]

Furthermore, although Windows NT and its successors are designed for security (including on a
network) and multi-user PCs, they were not initially designed with Internet security in mind as much,
since, when it was first developed in the early 1990s, Internet use was less prevalent.[102]

In a 2002 strategy memo entitled "Trustworthy computing" sent to every Microsoft employee, Bill
Gates declared that security should become Microsoft's highest priority.[103][104]

Windows Vista introduced a privilege elevation system called User Account Control.[105] When
logging in as a standard user, a logon session is created and a token containing only the most basic
privileges is assigned. In this way, the new logon session is incapable of making changes that would
affect the entire system. When logging in as a user in the Administrators group, two separate tokens
are assigned. The first token contains all privileges typically awarded to an administrator, and the
second is a restricted token similar to what a standard user would receive. User applications,
including the Windows shell, are then started with the restricted token, resulting in a reduced
privilege environment even under an Administrator account. When an application requests higher
privileges or "Run as administrator" is clicked, UAC will prompt for confirmation and, if consent is
given (including administrator credentials if the account requesting the elevation is not a member of
the administrators group), start the process using the unrestricted token.[106]

Leaked documents from 2013 to 2016 codenamed Vault 7 detail the capabilities of the CIA to
perform electronic surveillance and cyber warfare,[107] such as the ability to compromise operating
systems such as Windows.[108]

In August 2019, computer experts reported that the BlueKeep security vulnerability, CVE-2019-0708
([Link] , that potentially affects older unpatched
Windows versions via the program's Remote Desktop Protocol, allowing for the possibility of remote
code execution, may include related flaws, collectively named DejaBlue, affecting newer Windows
versions (i.e., Windows 7 and all recent versions) as well.[109] In addition, experts reported a
Microsoft security vulnerability, CVE-2019-1162 ([Link] ,
based on legacy code involving Microsoft CTF and ctfmon ([Link]), that affects all Windows
versions from Windows XP to the then most recent Windows 10 versions; a patch to correct the flaw
is available.[110]

Microsoft releases security patches through its Windows Update service approximately once a
month (usually the second Tuesday of the month), although critical updates are made available at
shorter intervals when necessary.[111] Versions subsequent to Windows 2000 SP3 and Windows XP
implemented automatic download and installation of updates, substantially increasing the number
of users installing security updates.[112]

Windows integrates the Windows Defender antivirus, which is seen as one of the best available.[113]
Windows also implements Secure Boot, Control Flow Guard, ransomware protection, BitLocker disk
encryption, a firewall, and Windows SmartScreen.

In July 2024, Microsoft signalled an intention to limit kernel access and improve overall security,
following a highly publicised CrowdStrike update that caused 8.5 million Windows PCs to crash.[114]
Part of that initiative is to rewrite parts of Windows in Rust, a memory-safe language.[115]

File permissions

All Windows versions from Windows NT 3 have been based on a file system permission system
referred to as AGDLP (Accounts, Global, Domain Local, Permissions) in which file permissions are
applied to the file/folder in the form of a 'local group' which then has other 'global groups' as
members. These global groups then hold other groups or users depending on different Windows
versions used. This system varies from other vendor products such as Linux and NetWare due to
the 'static' allocation of permission being applied directly to the file or folder. However using this
process of AGLP/AGDLP/AGUDLP allows a small number of static permissions to be applied and
allows for easy changes to the account groups without reapplying the file permissions on the files
and folders.
Alternative implementations

Owing to the operating system's popularity, a number of applications have been released that aim to
provide compatibility with Windows applications, either as a compatibility layer for another
operating system, or as a standalone system that can run software written for Windows out of the
box. These include:

Wine – a free and open-source implementation of the Windows API, allowing one to run many
Windows applications on x86-based platforms, including UNIX, Linux and macOS. Wine
developers refer to it as a "compatibility layer"[116] and use Windows-style APIs to emulate
Windows environment.
CrossOver – a Wine package with licensed fonts. Its developers are regular contributors to
Wine.

Proton – A fork of Wine by Valve to run Windows games on Linux and other Unix-based
operating systems.

ReactOS – an open-source OS intended to run the same software as Windows, originally designed
to simulate Windows NT 4.0, later aiming at Windows 7 compatibility. It has been in the
development stage since 1996.

Freedows OS – an open-source attempt at creating a Windows clone for x86 platforms, intended
to be released under the GNU General Public License. Started in 1996 by Reece K. Sellin, the
project was never completed, getting only to the stage of design discussions which featured a
number of novel concepts until it was suspended in 2002.[117][118][119]

See also

Wintel

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