Операционная система windows что это такое

Windows

Developer	Microsoft
Source model	Closed-source Source-available (through Shared Source Initiative)
Initial release	November 20, 1985; 37 years ago
Latest release	22H2 (10.0.22621.1194) (January 26, 2023; 10 days ago[1]) [±]
Latest preview	Release Preview Channel 22H2 (10.0.22621.1194) (January 26, 2023; 10 days ago[2][3]) [±] Beta Channel 22H2 (10.0.22623.1250) (February 2, 2023; 3 days ago[4]) [±] Dev Channel 10.0.25290.1000 (February 1, 2023; 4 days ago[5]) [±]
Marketing target	Personal computing
Available in	110 languages
Update method	Windows Update Microsoft Store Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
Package manager	Windows Installer (.msi, .msix, .msp), Microsoft Store (.appx, .appxbundle),[6] Windows Package Manager
Platforms	IA-32, x86-64, ARM, ARM64 Previously: 16-bit x86, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC, Itanium
Kernel type	Windows NT family: Hybrid Windows Embedded Compact/Windows CE: Hybrid Windows 9x and earlier: Monolithic (MS-DOS)
Default user interface	Windows shell
License	Proprietary commercial software
Official website	microsoft.com/windows

Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone.

The first version of Windows was released on November 20, 1985, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).^[7]

Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with 75% market share as of April 2022, according to StatCounter.^[8] However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android’s massive growth.^[9]

As of September 2022, the most recent version of Windows is Windows 11 for consumer PCs and tablets, Windows 11 Enterprise for corporations, and Windows Server 2022 for servers.

Genealogy

By marketing role

Microsoft, the developer of Windows, has registered several trademarks, each of which denotes a family of Windows operating systems that target a specific sector of the computing industry. As of 2014, the following Windows families were being actively developed:

• Windows NT: Started as a family of operating systems with Windows NT 3.1, an operating system for server computers and workstations. It now consists of three operating system subfamilies that are released almost at the same time and share the same kernel:
  • Windows: The operating system for mainstream personal computers and tablets. The latest version is Windows 11. The main competitor of this family is macOS by Apple for personal computers and iPadOS and Android for tablets (c.f. Usage share of operating systems § Market share by category).
  • Windows Server: The operating system for server computers. The latest version is Windows Server 2022. Unlike its client sibling, it has adopted a strong naming scheme. The main competitor of this family is Linux. (c.f. Usage share of operating systems § Market share by category)
  • Windows PE: A lightweight version of its Windows sibling, meant to operate as a live operating system, used for installing Windows on bare-metal computers (especially on many computers at once), recovery or troubleshooting purposes. The latest version is Windows PE 10.
• Windows IoT (previously Windows Embedded): Initially, Microsoft developed Windows CE as a general-purpose operating system for every device that was too resource-limited to be called a full-fledged computer. Eventually, however, Windows CE was renamed Windows Embedded Compact and was folded under Windows Compact trademark which also consists of Windows Embedded Industry, Windows Embedded Professional, Windows Embedded Standard, Windows Embedded Handheld and Windows Embedded Automotive.^[10]

The following Windows families are no longer being developed:

• Windows 9x: An operating system that targeted the consumer market. Discontinued because of suboptimal performance.^{[citation needed]} (PC World called its last version, Windows Me, one of the worst products of all time.^[11]) Microsoft now caters to the consumer market with Windows NT.
• Windows Mobile: The predecessor to Windows Phone, it was a mobile phone operating system. The first version was called Pocket PC 2000; the third version, Windows Mobile 2003 is the first version to adopt the Windows Mobile trademark. The last version is Windows Mobile 6.5.
• Windows Phone: An operating system sold only to manufacturers of smartphones. The first version was Windows Phone 7, followed by Windows Phone 8, and Windows Phone 8.1. It was succeeded by Windows 10 Mobile, which is now also discontinued.

Version history

The term Windows collectively describes any or all of several generations of Microsoft operating system products. These products are generally categorized as follows:

Early versions

The history of Windows dates back to 1981 when Microsoft started work on a program called «Interface Manager». It was announced in November 1983 (after the Apple Lisa, but before the Macintosh) under the name «Windows», but Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985.^[12] Windows 1.0 was to compete with Apple’s operating system, but achieved little popularity. Windows 1.0 is not a complete operating system; rather, it extends MS-DOS. The shell of Windows 1.0 is a program known as the MS-DOS Executive. Components included Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard Viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal and Write. Windows 1.0 does not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows are tiled. Only modal dialog boxes may appear over other windows. Microsoft sold as included Windows Development libraries with the C development environment, which included numerous windows samples.^[13]

Windows 2.0 was released in December 1987, and was more popular than its predecessor. It features several improvements to the user interface and memory management.^[14] Windows 2.03 changed the OS from tiled windows to overlapping windows. The result of this change led to Apple Computer filing a suit against Microsoft alleging infringement on Apple’s copyrights (eventually settled in court in Microsoft’s favor in 1993).^[15][16] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 use it for file system services.^[17] 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, 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.^[18] 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.^[19][20]

Windows 3.1, made generally available on March 1, 1992, featured a facelift. In August 1993, Windows for Workgroups, a special version with integrated peer-to-peer networking features and a version number of 3.11, was released. It was sold along with Windows 3.1. Support for Windows 3.1 ended on December 31, 2001.^[21]

Windows 3.2, released 1994, is an updated version of the Chinese version of Windows 3.1.^[22] The update was limited to this language version, as it fixed only issues related to the complex writing system of the Chinese language.^[23] 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.»^[24] 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.^[25] Mainstream support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2000, and extended support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2001.^[26]

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 were also made available for Windows 95). In May 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.^[27]

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),^[28] 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.^[29] 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.^[11]

Windows NT

Version history

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

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.^[30][31]

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.^[31]

Windows XP

The next major version of Windows NT, Windows XP, was released 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.^[32][33]

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).^[34][35][36] Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009. Extended support ended on April 8, 2014.^[37]

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.^[31] 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 as RTM (release to manufacturing) while the former was released to the public 3 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.^[38] 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,^[39] a home networking system called HomeGroup,^[40] and performance improvements.

Windows 8 and 8.1

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,^[41] 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.^{[42][43][44][45][46][47][48]} An update to Windows 8, called Windows 8.1,^[49] 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 removal of the Start menu.

Windows 10

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).^[50]

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.^[51] By May 2017, 90 percent of its engineering team was using Git, in about 8500 commits and 1760 Windows builds per day.^[51]

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.^[52][53]

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.^[54][55] As of May 2022, Windows 11 is a free upgrade to Windows 10 users who meet the system requirements.^[56]

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. It is not a standalone version of Windows, but a web service that provides access to Windows 10 and Windows 11 built on top of Azure Virtual Desktop. The new service will allow for cross-platform usage, aiming to make the operating system available for both Apple and Android users. 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.^{[57][58][59][60][61]}

Microsoft announced Windows 365 availability to business and enterprise customers on August 2, 2021.^[62]

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 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.

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 translates 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 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 introduces 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 Windows NT family still runs on IA-32 but the Windows Server line ceased supporting this platform with the release of Windows Server 2008 R2.

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, released in 2005, is the last Windows client operating systems 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. 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.^[63]

Windows 11 is the first version to drop support for 32-bit hardware.^[56]

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.^[64] 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.^[65]
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.^[66] It was originally based on NT 6.2 (Windows kernel, and the latest version runs on an NT 10.0 base. This system is sometimes referred to as «Windows 10 on Xbox One» or «OneCore».^[67][68]
Xbox One and Xbox Series operating systems also allow limited (due to licensing restrictions and testing resources) backward compatibility with previous generation hardware,^[69] and the Xbox 360’s system is backwards compatible with the original Xbox.^[70]

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.^[71] This system was used up until 2017 once the system couldn’t keep up with the size of Windows. Microsoft had begun to integrate Git into Team Foundation Server in 2013, but Windows continued to rely on Source Depot.^{[citation needed]} 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 has completed migration into the Git repository.^[72][73][51]

VFSForGit

Because of its large, decades-long history, however, the Windows codebase is not especially well suited to the decentralized nature of Linux development that Git was originally created to manage.^{[citation needed]} Each Git repository contains a complete history of all the files, which proved unworkable for Windows developers because cloning the whole repository takes several hours.^{[citation needed]} Microsoft has been working on a new project called the Virtual File System for Git (VFSForGit) to address these challenges.^[73]

In 2021 the VFS for Git has been superseded by Scalar.^[74]

Timeline of releases

Use of Windows 10 has exceeded Windows 7 globally since early 2018.^[81]

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^[82] and around 76% usage share according to StatCounter.^[83]

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^[84] 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.^[85]

Those statistics do not include servers (including so-called cloud computing, where Microsoft is known not to be a leader, with Linux used more than Windows), as Net Applications and StatCounter use web browsing as a proxy for all use.

Security

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2020)

Early versions of Windows were designed at a time where 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, 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.^[86]

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,^[87] 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.^[88][89]

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.^[90]

In a 2002 strategy memo entitled «Trustworthy computing» sent to every Microsoft employee, Bill Gates declared that security should become Microsoft’s highest priority.^[91][92]

Windows Vista introduced a privilege elevation system called User Account Control.^[93] 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.^[94]

Leaked documents published by WikiLeaks, codenamed Vault 7 and dated from 2013 to 2016, detail the capabilities of the CIA to perform electronic surveillance and cyber warfare,^[95] such as the ability to compromise operating systems such as Windows.^[96]

In August 2019, computer experts reported that the BlueKeep security vulnerability, CVE-2019-0708, that potentially affects older unpatched Windows versions via the program’s Remote Desktop Protocol, allowing for the possibility of remote code execution, may now include related flaws, collectively named DejaBlue, affecting newer Windows versions (i.e., Windows 7 and all recent versions) as well.^[97] In addition, experts reported a Microsoft security vulnerability, CVE-2019-1162, based on legacy code involving Microsoft CTF and ctfmon (ctfmon.exe), that affects all Windows versions from Windows XP to the then most recent Windows 10 versions; a patch to correct the flaw is currently available.^[98]

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.^[99] 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.^[100]

Today, Windows integrates the Windows Defender antivirus, which is seen as one of the best available.^[101] Windows also implements Secure Boot, Control Flow Guard, ransomware protection, BitLocker disk encryption, a firewall, and Windows SmartScreen.

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»^[102] 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 Steam to run Windows games on Linux and other Unix-like OS.
• ReactOS – an open-source OS intended to run the same software as Windows, originally designed to simulate Windows NT 4.0, now aiming at Windows 7 compatibility. It has been in the development stage since 1996.

See also

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Windows Blog
• Microsoft Developer Network
• Windows Developer Center
• Microsoft Windows History Timeline
• Pearson Education, InformIT – History of Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Business Software Solutions
• Windows 10 release Information

Windows

Developer	Microsoft
Source model	Closed-source Source-available (through Shared Source Initiative)
Initial release	November 20, 1985; 37 years ago
Latest release	22H2 (10.0.22621.1194) (January 26, 2023; 10 days ago[1]) [±]
Latest preview	Release Preview Channel 22H2 (10.0.22621.1194) (January 26, 2023; 10 days ago[2][3]) [±] Beta Channel 22H2 (10.0.22623.1250) (February 2, 2023; 3 days ago[4]) [±] Dev Channel 10.0.25290.1000 (February 1, 2023; 4 days ago[5]) [±]
Marketing target	Personal computing
Available in	110 languages
Update method	Windows Update Microsoft Store Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
Package manager	Windows Installer (.msi, .msix, .msp), Microsoft Store (.appx, .appxbundle),[6] Windows Package Manager
Platforms	IA-32, x86-64, ARM, ARM64 Previously: 16-bit x86, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC, Itanium
Kernel type	Windows NT family: Hybrid Windows Embedded Compact/Windows CE: Hybrid Windows 9x and earlier: Monolithic (MS-DOS)
Default user interface	Windows shell
License	Proprietary commercial software
Official website	microsoft.com/windows

Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone.

The first version of Windows was released on November 20, 1985, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).^[7]

Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with 75% market share as of April 2022, according to StatCounter.^[8] However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android’s massive growth.^[9]

As of September 2022, the most recent version of Windows is Windows 11 for consumer PCs and tablets, Windows 11 Enterprise for corporations, and Windows Server 2022 for servers.

Genealogy

By marketing role

Microsoft, the developer of Windows, has registered several trademarks, each of which denotes a family of Windows operating systems that target a specific sector of the computing industry. As of 2014, the following Windows families were being actively developed:

• Windows NT: Started as a family of operating systems with Windows NT 3.1, an operating system for server computers and workstations. It now consists of three operating system subfamilies that are released almost at the same time and share the same kernel:
  • Windows: The operating system for mainstream personal computers and tablets. The latest version is Windows 11. The main competitor of this family is macOS by Apple for personal computers and iPadOS and Android for tablets (c.f. Usage share of operating systems § Market share by category).
  • Windows Server: The operating system for server computers. The latest version is Windows Server 2022. Unlike its client sibling, it has adopted a strong naming scheme. The main competitor of this family is Linux. (c.f. Usage share of operating systems § Market share by category)
  • Windows PE: A lightweight version of its Windows sibling, meant to operate as a live operating system, used for installing Windows on bare-metal computers (especially on many computers at once), recovery or troubleshooting purposes. The latest version is Windows PE 10.
• Windows IoT (previously Windows Embedded): Initially, Microsoft developed Windows CE as a general-purpose operating system for every device that was too resource-limited to be called a full-fledged computer. Eventually, however, Windows CE was renamed Windows Embedded Compact and was folded under Windows Compact trademark which also consists of Windows Embedded Industry, Windows Embedded Professional, Windows Embedded Standard, Windows Embedded Handheld and Windows Embedded Automotive.^[10]

The following Windows families are no longer being developed:

• Windows 9x: An operating system that targeted the consumer market. Discontinued because of suboptimal performance.^{[citation needed]} (PC World called its last version, Windows Me, one of the worst products of all time.^[11]) Microsoft now caters to the consumer market with Windows NT.
• Windows Mobile: The predecessor to Windows Phone, it was a mobile phone operating system. The first version was called Pocket PC 2000; the third version, Windows Mobile 2003 is the first version to adopt the Windows Mobile trademark. The last version is Windows Mobile 6.5.
• Windows Phone: An operating system sold only to manufacturers of smartphones. The first version was Windows Phone 7, followed by Windows Phone 8, and Windows Phone 8.1. It was succeeded by Windows 10 Mobile, which is now also discontinued.

Version history

The term Windows collectively describes any or all of several generations of Microsoft operating system products. These products are generally categorized as follows:

Early versions

The history of Windows dates back to 1981 when Microsoft started work on a program called «Interface Manager». It was announced in November 1983 (after the Apple Lisa, but before the Macintosh) under the name «Windows», but Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985.^[12] Windows 1.0 was to compete with Apple’s operating system, but achieved little popularity. Windows 1.0 is not a complete operating system; rather, it extends MS-DOS. The shell of Windows 1.0 is a program known as the MS-DOS Executive. Components included Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard Viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal and Write. Windows 1.0 does not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows are tiled. Only modal dialog boxes may appear over other windows. Microsoft sold as included Windows Development libraries with the C development environment, which included numerous windows samples.^[13]

Windows 2.0 was released in December 1987, and was more popular than its predecessor. It features several improvements to the user interface and memory management.^[14] Windows 2.03 changed the OS from tiled windows to overlapping windows. The result of this change led to Apple Computer filing a suit against Microsoft alleging infringement on Apple’s copyrights (eventually settled in court in Microsoft’s favor in 1993).^[15][16] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 use it for file system services.^[17] 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, 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.^[18] 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.^[19][20]

Windows 3.1, made generally available on March 1, 1992, featured a facelift. In August 1993, Windows for Workgroups, a special version with integrated peer-to-peer networking features and a version number of 3.11, was released. It was sold along with Windows 3.1. Support for Windows 3.1 ended on December 31, 2001.^[21]

Windows 3.2, released 1994, is an updated version of the Chinese version of Windows 3.1.^[22] The update was limited to this language version, as it fixed only issues related to the complex writing system of the Chinese language.^[23] 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.»^[24] 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.^[25] Mainstream support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2000, and extended support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2001.^[26]

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 were also made available for Windows 95). In May 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.^[27]

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),^[28] 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.^[29] 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.^[11]

Windows NT

Version history

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

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.^[30][31]

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.^[31]

Windows XP

The next major version of Windows NT, Windows XP, was released 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.^[32][33]

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).^[34][35][36] Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009. Extended support ended on April 8, 2014.^[37]

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.^[31] 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 as RTM (release to manufacturing) while the former was released to the public 3 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.^[38] 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,^[39] a home networking system called HomeGroup,^[40] and performance improvements.

Windows 8 and 8.1

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,^[41] 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.^{[42][43][44][45][46][47][48]} An update to Windows 8, called Windows 8.1,^[49] 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 removal of the Start menu.

Windows 10

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).^[50]

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.^[51] By May 2017, 90 percent of its engineering team was using Git, in about 8500 commits and 1760 Windows builds per day.^[51]

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.^[52][53]

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.^[54][55] As of May 2022, Windows 11 is a free upgrade to Windows 10 users who meet the system requirements.^[56]

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. It is not a standalone version of Windows, but a web service that provides access to Windows 10 and Windows 11 built on top of Azure Virtual Desktop. The new service will allow for cross-platform usage, aiming to make the operating system available for both Apple and Android users. 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.^{[57][58][59][60][61]}

Microsoft announced Windows 365 availability to business and enterprise customers on August 2, 2021.^[62]

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 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.

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 translates 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 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 introduces 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 Windows NT family still runs on IA-32 but the Windows Server line ceased supporting this platform with the release of Windows Server 2008 R2.

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, released in 2005, is the last Windows client operating systems 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. 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.^[63]

Windows 11 is the first version to drop support for 32-bit hardware.^[56]

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.^[64] 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.^[65]
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.^[66] It was originally based on NT 6.2 (Windows kernel, and the latest version runs on an NT 10.0 base. This system is sometimes referred to as «Windows 10 on Xbox One» or «OneCore».^[67][68]
Xbox One and Xbox Series operating systems also allow limited (due to licensing restrictions and testing resources) backward compatibility with previous generation hardware,^[69] and the Xbox 360’s system is backwards compatible with the original Xbox.^[70]

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.^[71] This system was used up until 2017 once the system couldn’t keep up with the size of Windows. Microsoft had begun to integrate Git into Team Foundation Server in 2013, but Windows continued to rely on Source Depot.^{[citation needed]} 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 has completed migration into the Git repository.^[72][73][51]

VFSForGit

Because of its large, decades-long history, however, the Windows codebase is not especially well suited to the decentralized nature of Linux development that Git was originally created to manage.^{[citation needed]} Each Git repository contains a complete history of all the files, which proved unworkable for Windows developers because cloning the whole repository takes several hours.^{[citation needed]} Microsoft has been working on a new project called the Virtual File System for Git (VFSForGit) to address these challenges.^[73]

In 2021 the VFS for Git has been superseded by Scalar.^[74]

Timeline of releases

Use of Windows 10 has exceeded Windows 7 globally since early 2018.^[81]

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^[82] and around 76% usage share according to StatCounter.^[83]

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^[84] 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.^[85]

Those statistics do not include servers (including so-called cloud computing, where Microsoft is known not to be a leader, with Linux used more than Windows), as Net Applications and StatCounter use web browsing as a proxy for all use.

Security

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2020)

Early versions of Windows were designed at a time where 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, 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.^[86]

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,^[87] 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.^[88][89]

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.^[90]

In a 2002 strategy memo entitled «Trustworthy computing» sent to every Microsoft employee, Bill Gates declared that security should become Microsoft’s highest priority.^[91][92]

Windows Vista introduced a privilege elevation system called User Account Control.^[93] 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.^[94]

Leaked documents published by WikiLeaks, codenamed Vault 7 and dated from 2013 to 2016, detail the capabilities of the CIA to perform electronic surveillance and cyber warfare,^[95] such as the ability to compromise operating systems such as Windows.^[96]

In August 2019, computer experts reported that the BlueKeep security vulnerability, CVE-2019-0708, that potentially affects older unpatched Windows versions via the program’s Remote Desktop Protocol, allowing for the possibility of remote code execution, may now include related flaws, collectively named DejaBlue, affecting newer Windows versions (i.e., Windows 7 and all recent versions) as well.^[97] In addition, experts reported a Microsoft security vulnerability, CVE-2019-1162, based on legacy code involving Microsoft CTF and ctfmon (ctfmon.exe), that affects all Windows versions from Windows XP to the then most recent Windows 10 versions; a patch to correct the flaw is currently available.^[98]

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.^[99] 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.^[100]

Today, Windows integrates the Windows Defender antivirus, which is seen as one of the best available.^[101] Windows also implements Secure Boot, Control Flow Guard, ransomware protection, BitLocker disk encryption, a firewall, and Windows SmartScreen.

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»^[102] 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 Steam to run Windows games on Linux and other Unix-like OS.
• ReactOS – an open-source OS intended to run the same software as Windows, originally designed to simulate Windows NT 4.0, now aiming at Windows 7 compatibility. It has been in the development stage since 1996.

See also

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Windows Blog
• Microsoft Developer Network
• Windows Developer Center
• Microsoft Windows History Timeline
• Pearson Education, InformIT – History of Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Business Software Solutions
• Windows 10 release Information

Здравствуйте, начинающие пользователи компьютера! Вместе с вами постараемся разобраться в том, что такое Windows и зачем оно нам нужно.

Windows — это операционная система, сделанная корпорацией Microsoft (Майкрософт). Операционная система (ОС) — это главная программа, которая запускается при включении компьютера. Она позволяет пользователям компьютера работать с файлами, пользоваться Интернетом и запускать в окошках другие программы, игры, фильмы, музыку. Windows переводится как «окна».

Операционная система Windows платная. Если вы покупаете компьютер с уже установленной Windows, то часть денег вы платите за операционную систему. Для подтверждения того, что вы являетесь владельцем Windows, может потребоваться лицензионный ключ. Такое бывает, например, если вы переустановили Windows. Лицензионный ключ это набор символов вида «XXXXX-XXXXX-YYYYY-YYYYY-ZZZZZ». Он может быть указан в наклейке на корпусе вашего компьютера или на диске с Windows. Перепишите лицензионный ключ на листок и сохраните, может пригодиться. Наклейка выглядит примерно так:

Вместе с Windows на компьютер устанавливается набор программ, необходимых для повседневного использования:

• Калькулятор.
• Редактор Notepad (блокнот) для работы с текстовыми файлами.
• Редактор WordPad для работы с документами.
• Редактор картинок Paint.
• Браузер Edge или Internet Explorer для работы в Интернет.
• Проигрыватель видео и музыки.
• Антивирус от Microsoft (защитник).
• другие программы и даже игры.

Можно устанавливать другие программы и игры из Интернета или с дисков. Такие программы также могут быть платные.

История и разновидности Windows

Даты выхода ОС Windows для персональных компьютеров (ПК):

• Windows 1.0 (1985)
• Windows 2.0 — 2.1 (1987-1988)
• Windows 3.0 — 3.2 (1990-1994)
• Windows NT 3.1 — 3.51 (1993-1995)
• Windows 95 — Windows 4.0 (1995)
• Windows NT 4.0 (1996)
• Windows 98 — Windows 4.1 (1998)
• Windows 2000 — Windows NT 5.0 (1999)
• Windows ME — Windows 4.9 (2000)
• Windows XP — Windows NT 5.1 — 5.2 (2001-2005)
• Windows Vista — Windows NT 6.0 (2006)
• Windows 7 — Windows NT 6.1 (2009)
• Windows 8 — Windows NT 6.2 (2012)
• Windows 8.1 — Windows NT 6.3 (2013)
• Windows 10 — Windows NT 10.0 (2015)
• Windows 11 — Windows NT 10.0 (2021)

В последних версиях Windows есть сборки, отличающиеся функционалом и ценой:

• Home Edition — сборка для домашнего использования с простой конфигурацией. 
• Professional — сборка с дополнительным функционалом для более продвинутых пользователей.
• Enterprise — корпоративная версия для организаций.

Интерфейс Windows

Интерфейс — это внешний вид операционной системы. У отдельных частей интерфейса есть свои названия.

• Рабочий стол — основное место, занимает большую часть экрана. Здесь можно располагать ярлыки.
• Панель задач — здесь можно закреплять программы, с которыми вы чаще всего работаете. Здесь же показываются открытые в данный момент программы, выбранный язык, дата и время.
• Кнопка ПУСК — при нажатии открывается меню для быстрого доступа к программам.
• Ярлык — картинка, при нажатии на которые открывается соответствующая программа или документ.

Кнопка ПУСК может также находиться на вашей клавиатуре.

Внешний вид меню ПУСК:

Ссылки

Linux — что это такое?

Разновидности операционных систем

Рассмотрим какие ещё бывают операционные системы, кроме Windows. Речь пойдёт об операционных системах для персональных компьютеров. Не будем акцентировать внимание на операционных системах для серверов, мобильных телефонов и специализированной техники.

• MacOS — операционная система от компании Apple. Установлена как основная операционная система на продуктах компании. Платная.
• Linux — операционная система распространяется бесплатно. Сложна в освоении, поэтому мало распространена. Имеет несколько разновидностей (модификаций), которые поддерживаются различными компаниями и сообществами, например:
  • Ubuntu
  • Fedora
  • Elementary OS
  • Chrome OS
  • OpenSuse
  • Linux Mint
  • Mageia
  • PCLinuxOS
  • Manjaro
  • Arch
  • Puppy
  • и ещё много других
• FreeBSD — современная операционная система семейства UNIX, распространяется свободно.

Интересные факты об операционных системах

На одном компьютере может быть установлено одновременно несколько операционных систем. В этом случае при включении компьютера вас спросят, какую операционную систему нужно загрузить.

Microsoft Windows и ядро Linux могут быть запущены одновременно на одной и той же машине с помощью специального программного обеспечения CoLinux. В windows 10 уже появилась встроенная подсистема linux.

Для обучения пользователей обращению с мышкой в Microsoft разработали и внедрили в Windows компьютерную версию игры Reversi. Таким образом пользователи привыкали использовать мышь, кликая с её помощью на фишки. Задумайтесь, для чего сделана игра «сапёр»?

На рекламу Windows 95 было потрачено более 300 миллионов долларов.

В Windows нельзя создать папку с названиями con, prn, aux, nul. Это ограничение восходит относят к временам операционной системы MS-DOS. Некоторые слова были зарезервированы для обозначения устройств ввода-вывода, поэтому нельзя создать папки с такими именами.

Линус Торвальдс использовал операционную систему Minix, однако был недоволен многими ограничениями в ней и решил написать свою систему. Когда была выпущена более-менее стабильная версия, интерес Торвальдса к проекту угас, и он был готов его забросить. Но в тот же период он случайно испортил раздел на жёстком диске, где стояла Minix, и вместо её переустановки Торвальдс решил всё-таки закончить начатое. Так благодаря случайности появилось ядро Linux и впоследствии ОС GNU/Linux.

На данный момент более 75% серверов обеспечивающие надежную работу Интернет работают под управлением Linux.

MenuetOS — самая маленькая операционная система. Написана на ассемблере и помещается на дискету.

Основы
операционной системы Microsoft
Windows.
История развития, типы операционных
систем. Основные понятия Windows,
файловая структура. Справочная система
Windows.
Управление операционной системой
Windows.
Работа с документами. Универсальные
технологические операции в среде Windows

Операционная
система – это комплекс
программ, обеспечивающих управление
работой компьютера и его взаимодействие
с пользователем.

С
точки зрения человека операционная
система служит посредником между
человеком, электронными компонентами
компьютера и прикладными программами.
Она позволяет человеку запускать
программы, передавать им и получать от
них всевозможные данные, управлять
работой программ, изменять параметры
компьютера и подсоединённых к нему
устройств, перераспределять ресурсы.
Работа на компьютере фактически является
работой с его операционной системой.
При установке на компьютер только
операционной системы (ОС) ничего
содержательного на компьютере также
сделать не удастся. Для ввода и оформления
текстов, рисования графиков, расчёта
зарплаты или прослушивания лазерного
диска нужны специальные прикладные
программы. Но и без ОС ни одну прикладную
программу запустить невозможно.

Операционная
система решает задачи, которые можно
условно разделить на две категории:

·
во-первых, управление всеми ресурсами
компьютера;

·
во-вторых, обмен данными между устройствами
компьютера, между компьютером и человеком.

Кроме
того, именно ОС обеспечивает возможность
индивидуальной настройки компьютера:
ОС определяет, из каких компонентов
собран компьютер, на котором она
установлена, и настраивает сама себя
для работы именно с этими компонентами.

Ещё
не так давно работы по настройке
приходилось выполнять пользователю
вручную, а сегодня производители
компонентов компьютерной техники
разработали протокол
plug-and-play (включил —
заработало). Этот протокол позволяет
операционной системе в момент подключения
нового компонента получить информацию
о новом устройстве, достаточную для
настройки ОС на работу с ним.

Операционные
системы для ПК различаются по нескольким
параметрам. В частности, ОС бывают:

·
однозадачные и
многозадачные;

·
однопользовательские
и многопользовательские;

·
сетевые
и несетевые.

Кроме
того, операционная система может иметь
командный или графический многооконный
интерфейс (или оба сразу).

Однозадачные
операционные системы позволяют в каждый
момент времени решать только одну
задачу. Такие системы обычно позволяют
запустить одну программу в основном
режиме.

Многозадачные
системы позволяют запустить одновременно
несколько программ, которые будут
работать параллельно.

Главным
отличием многопользовательских
систем от однопользовательских
является наличие средств защиты
информации каждого пользователя от
несанкционированного доступа других
пользователей. Следует заметить, что
не всякая многозадачная система является
многопользовательской, и не всякая
однопользовательская ОС является
однозадачной.

В
последние годы фактическим стандартом
стал графический многооконный интерфейс,
где требуемые действия и описания
объектов не вводятся в виде текста, а
выбираются из меню, списков файлов и
т.д.

На
смену операционной системе MS DOS с ее
графическими оболочками Windows 3.1 и Windows
3.11 пришли полноценные операционные
системы семейства Windows (сначала Windows 95,
затем Windows 98, Windows Millennium, Windows 2000, Windows XP,
Windows Vista и Windows 7). На рисунке показаны
этапы развития персональных компьютеров
класса РС и операционной системы Windows:

Операционные
системы семейства
Windows представляет собой
32-разрядные операционные системы,
обеспечивающую многозадачную и
многопоточную обработку приложений.
Они поддерживает удобный графический
пользовательский интерфейс, возможность
работы в защищенном режиме, совместимость
с программами реального режима и сетевые
возможности. В Windows реализована технология
поддержки самонастраивающейся аппаратуры
Plug and Play, допускаются длинные имена
файлов и обеспечиваются повышенные
характеристики устойчивости.

32-разрядность
означает, что операции над 32-разрядными
данными здесь выполняются быстрее, чем
над 16-разрядными. 32-разрядные
Windows-приложения выполняются в собственном
адресном пространстве, доступ в которое
для других программ закрыт. Это защищает
приложения от ошибок друг друга. При
сбое в работе одного приложения другое
продолжает нормально функционировать.
Сбойное же приложение можно завершить.

Многозадачность
предоставляет возможность параллельной
работы с несколькими приложениями. Пока
одно из них занимается, например, печатью
документа на принтере или приемом
электронной почты из сети Internet, другое
может пересчитывать электронную таблицу
или выполнять другую полезную работу.

Многопоточность
позволяет определенным образом
разработанным приложениям одновременно
выполнять несколько своих собственных
процессов. Например, работая с многопоточной
электронной таблицей, пользователь
сможет делать перерасчет в одной таблице
в то время, как будет выполняться печать
другой и загрузка в память третьей. Пока
один поток находится в состоянии
ожидания, например, завершения операции
обмена данными с медленным периферийным
устройством, другой может продолжать
выполнять свою работу.

Отличительной
чертой Windows является объектно-ориентированный
подход к построению системы. На уровне
пользователя объектный подход выражается
в том, что интерфейс представляет собой
подобие реального мира, а работа с
машиной сводится к действиям с привычными
объектами. Так, папки можно открыть,
убрать в портфель, документы – просмотреть,
исправить, переложить с одного места
на другое, выбросить в корзину, факс или
письмо – отправить адресату и т. д.
Пользователь работает с задачами и
приложениями так же, как с документами
на своем письменном столе.
Обьектно-ориентированный подход
реализуется через модель рабочего
стола
– первичного объекта Windows. После загрузки
Windows он выводится на экран. На рабочем
столе могут быть расположены различные
объекты: программы, папки с документами
(текстами, рисунками, таблицами), ярлыки
программ или папок.

Ярлыки
обеспечивают доступ к программе или
документу из различных мест, не создавая
при этом нескольких физических копий
файла. На рабочий стол можно поместить
не только пиктограммы приложений и
отдельных документов, но и папок. Папки
— еще одно название каталогов.

Существенным
нововведением в Windows стала панель
задач.
Несмотря на небольшие функциональные
возможности, она делает наглядным
механизм многозадачности и намного
ускоряет процесс переключения между
приложениями. Внешне панель задач
представляет собой полосу, обычно
располагающуюся в нижней части экрана,
на которой размещены кнопки приложений
и кнопка “Пуск”. В правой ее части
обычно присутствуют часы и небольшие
пиктограммы программ, активных в данный
момент.

Windows
обеспечивает работу с аудио и видеофайлами
различных форматов. Значительным
достижением Windows стали встроенные в
систему программы для компьютерных
коммуникаций. Коммуникационные средства
Windows рассчитаны на обычных пользователей
и не требуют специальных знаний. Эти
средства включают в себя возможности
работы в локальных сетях и глобальных
сетях, настройку модемов, подключение
к электронной почте и многое другое.

В
операционной системе Windows при работе с
окнами и приложениями широко применяется
манипулятор мышь. Обычно мышь используется
для выделения фрагментов текста или
графических объектов, установки и снятия
флажков, выбора команд меню, кнопок
панелей инструментов, манипулирования
элементами управления в диалогах,
«прокручивания» документов в окнах.

В
Windows активно используется и правая
кнопка мыши. Поместив указатель над
интересующем объекте и сделав щелчок
правой кнопкой мыши, можно раскрыть
контекстное
меню,
содержащее наиболее употребительные
команды, применимые к данному объекту.

При
завершении работы нельзя просто выключить
компьютер, не завершив работу системы
по всем правилам — это может привести к
потере некоторых несохраненных данных.
Для правильного завершения работы
необходимо сохранить данные во всех
приложениях, с которыми работал
пользователь, завершить работу всех
ранее запущенных DOS-приложений, открыть
меню кнопки “Пуск” и выбрать команду
“Завершение работы”.

Справочная
система Windows

Современное
программное обеспечение отличается
высокой сложностью, поэтому и в
операционной системе, и в большинстве
ее приложений предусмотрено наличие
справочных систем. Справочная
система Windows
представляет собой не только набор
справочных файлов, но и мощное средство
для получения консультации и поддержки
по любым проблемам, которые могут
возникнуть в процессе работы с системой.

Способы
получения справки

Главное
меню

Вызов
основного справочника Windows
осуществляется из Главного меню командой
Пуск Справка
и поддержка.

Клавиша
F1

Клавиша
<F1> в Windows
зарезервирована для вызова справочной
информации по теме активного окна. Если
открыто программное окно, то при нажатии
клавиши <F1> появляется
основное окно справки с содержанием
разделов, в котором выделен (подсвечен)
раздел соответствующий данной программе.

Если
открыто диалоговое окно, то нажатие
клавиши <F1> вызовет
справку по теме запроса или текущего
поля диалогового окна.

Справка
в диалоговых окнах

При
работе с элементами управления диалоговых
окон часто возникает потребность в
быстрой и короткой справке. Эту возможность
предоставляет специальная кнопка
подсказки ,
расположенная в строке
заголовка рядом с закрывающей кнопкой.
После щелчка на кнопке подсказки нужно
навести указатель мыши на интересующий
элемент управления, и щелкнуть левой
кнопкой. Появится всплывающая подсказка,
в которой описано назначение данного
элемента.

Контекстная
подсказка

Пояснения
об элементах диалоговых окон можно
получить и другим способом. Нужно
щелкнуть на элементе правой
клавишей мыши. При этом либо сразу
появится всплывающая подсказка, либо
контекстное меню с единственным пунктом
«Что это такое?». Щелчок левой кнопкой
на этих словах вызовет контекстную
справку. Иногда достаточно указать на
элемент мышью, чтобы появилась всплывающая
подсказка.

Справка
в приложениях

В
строке меню почти всех Windows-программ
имеется пункт Справка
(иногда представленный просто знаком
вопроса). При помощи этого пункта можно
вызвать основное окно справки, а также
получить справочную информацию о
программе.

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Windows
Стартовый экран Windows 8
Разработчик	Microsoft Corporation
Семейство ОС	MS-DOS/9x-based Windows CE Windows NT
Поддерживаемые платформы	x86, x86-64, IA-64 (только серверный вариант), ARM
Лицензия	Microsoft EULA
Состояние	Актуально
Веб-сайт	windows.microsoft.com

Microsoft Windows (МФА: [ˈmaɪkɹəˌsɔft ˈwɪn.doʊz], произносится [ма́йкрософт ви́ндоус]) — семейство проприетарных операционных систем корпорации Майкрософт (Microsoft), ориентированных на применение графического интерфейса при управлении. Изначально были всего лишь графическими надстройками для MS-DOS.

В настоящее время под управлением операционных систем семейства Windows, по данным ресурса Netmarketshare (Net Applications) по состоянию на декабрь 2011 года, работает около 92 % персональных компьютеров^[1].

Операционные системы Windows работают на платформах x86, x86-64, IA-64, ARM. Существовали также версии для DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC и SPARC^[2].

Версии Microsoft Windows

Версии Windows делят на несколько «групп».

Список версий
Дата выхода	Название	Последняя версия	Дата прекращения поддержки[3]	Последняя совместимая версия Internet Explorer
20 ноября 1985	Windows 1.0	1.04 (апрель 1987)	31 декабря 2001
1 ноября 1987	Windows 2.0	2.11 (13 марта 1989)	31 декабря 2001
22 мая 1990	Windows 3.0	3.00a (31 октября 1990)	31 декабря 2001[4]
18 марта 1992	Windows 3.1	3.1	31 декабря 2001[5]	5
октябрь 1992	Windows for Workgroups 3.1	3.11 (31 декабря 1993)	31 декабря 2001[6]	5
27 июля 1993	Windows NT 3.1	3.10.528 SP3 (10 ноября 1994)	31 декабря 2000	2
21 сентября 1994	Windows NT 3.5	3.50.807 SP3 (21 июня 1995)	31 декабря 2001	3
30 мая 1995	Windows NT 3.51	3.51.1057 SP5 (19 сентября 1996)	31 декабря 2001	5
24 августа 1995	Windows 95	4.00.950C (4.03.1214) (26 ноября 1997)	31 декабря 2000 (осн.); 31 декабря 2001 (ext)	5.5
29 июля 1996	Windows NT 4.0	4.00.1381 / SP6a SRP (26 июля 2001)	20 июня 2002 (осн.); 30 июня 2003 (SBL); 31 декабря 2004 (ext)	6
25 июня 1998	Windows 98	4.10.1998 (25 июня 1998)	30 июня 2002 (осн.); 30 ноября 2003 (SBL); 11 июля 2006 (ext)	6
5 мая 1999	Windows 98 SE	4.10.2222A (5 мая 1999)	30 июня 2002 (осн.); 31 марта 2004 (SBL); 11 июля 2006 (ext)	6
17 февраля 2000	Windows 2000	5.0.2195 / 5.0 SP4 Rollup 1 v2 (13 сентября 2005)	31 марта 2004 (retail); 31 марта 2005 (SBL); 30 июня 2005 (осн); 13 июля 2010 (ext)	6
14 сентября 2000	Windows Me	4.90.9000 (14 сентября 2000)	31 декабря 2003 (осн.); 30 июня 2004 (SBL); 11 июля 2006 (ext)	6
24 августа 2001(RTM) 25 октября 2001 (продажи)	Windows XP	5.1.2600.5512 SP3 (21 апреля 2008)	30 сентября 2004 (RTM); 10 сентября 2006 (SP1/SP1a); 30 июня 2008 (retail); 14 апреля 2009 (SP2/SP3 осн.); 13 июля 2010 (SP2); 22 октября 2010 (SBL); 8 апреля 2014 (ext)	8[7]
28 марта 2003	Windows XP 64-bit Edition	5.2.3790	25 июля 2006	8[7]
24 апреля 2003	Windows Server 2003	5.2.3790.3959 SP2 (13 марта 2007)	30 июня 2009 (RTM); 13 июля 2010 (осн.); 14 июля 2015 (ext);	8[7]
25 апреля 2005	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition	5.2.3790.3959 SP2 (13 марта 2007)	30 июня 2008 (retail); 31 января 2009 (SBL)	8[7]
8 июля 2006	Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs	5.1.2600 RTM (8 июля 2006)	8 июля 2008(retail), 12 июля 2010(Service Pack)	8[7]
8 ноября 2006 (RTM) 30 января 2007 (продажи)	Windows Vista	6.0.6001 / SP2 Build 6002 (25 мая 2009)	13 апреля 2010(RTM); 22 октября 2010(retail); 12 июля 2011(SP1); 22 октября 2011(SBL); 10 апреля 2012(осн.); 11 апреля 2017(ext)	9[8]
16 июля 2007	Windows Home Server	5.2.1500 (16 июля 2007)	8 января 2013(осн.)
27 февраля 2008	Windows Server 2008	6.0.6002 / SP2 build 6002 (25 мая 2009)	9 июля 2015(осн.),10 июля 2018(ext), 12 июля 2011(SP1)	9[8]
13 июля 2009 (RTM) 22 октября 2009 (продажи)	Windows 7	6.1.7601 / SP1 Build 7601 (22 февраля 2011)	9 апреля 2013(RTM),13 января 2015(осн),14 января 2020(ext)	9[8]
13 июля 2009 (RTM) 22 октября 2009 (продажи)	Windows Server 2008 R2 (ранее известна как Windows Server 7)	6.1.7601 / SP1 Build 7601 (22 февраля 2011)	9 июля 2015(осн.),10 июля 2018(ext)	9[8]
6 апреля 2011	Windows Home Server 2011	6.1.8400	12 апреля 2016(осн.)	9[8]
1 августа 2012 (RTM) 4 сентября 2012 (продажи)	Windows Server 2012	6.2.9200	9 января 2018(осн),10 января 2023(ext)	10
1 августа 2012 (RTM) 26 октября 2012 (продажи)	Windows 8	6.2.9200	9 января 2018(осн),10 января 2023(ext)	10

Графические интерфейсы и расширения для DOS

Эти версии Windows не были полноценными операционными системами, а являлись надстройками к операционной системе MS-DOS и были по сути многофункциональным расширением, добавляя поддержку новых режимов работы процессора, поддержку многозадачности, обеспечивая стандартизацию интерфейсов аппаратного обеспечения и единообразие для пользовательских интерфейсов программ. Предоставляли встроенные средства (GDI и USER, первые версии Windows вообще состояли из трех модулей — KERNEL, GDI и USER, первый из них предоставлял вызовы управления памятью, запуском EXE-файлов и загрузкой DLL-файлов, второй — графику, третий — окна) для создания графического интерфейса пользователя. Они работали с процессорами начиная с Intel 8086.

1. Windows 1.0 (1985)
2. Windows 2.0 (1987)
3. Windows 2.1 (Windows 386) (1987) — в системе появилась возможность запуска DOS-приложений в графических окнах, причём каждому приложению предоставлялись полные 640 Кб памяти. Полная поддержка процессора 80286. Появилась поддержка процессоров 80386.
4. Windows 3.0 (1990) — улучшена поддержка процессоров 80386 и защищённого режима.
5. Windows 3.1 (1992) — серьёзно переработанная Windows 3.0; устранены UAE (Unrecoverable Application Errors — фатальные ошибки прикладных программ), добавлен механизм OLE, печать в режиме WYSIWYG («что видите, то и получите»), шрифты TrueType, изменён Проводник (диспетчер файлов), добавлены мультимедийные функции.
6. Windows для рабочих групп (Windows for Workgroups) 3.1/3.11 — первая версия ОС семейства с поддержкой локальных сетей. В WFWG 3.11 также испытывались отдельные усовершенствования ядра, применённые позднее в Windows 95.

Семейство Windows 9x

Включает в себя Windows 95, Windows 98 и Windows Me.

Windows 95 была выпущена в 1995 году. Её отличительными особенностями являются: новый пользовательский интерфейс, поддержка длинных имён файлов, автоматическое определение и конфигурация периферийных устройств Plug and Play, способность исполнять 32-битные приложения и наличие поддержки TCP/IP прямо в системе. Windows 95 использует вытесняющую многозадачность и выполняет каждое 32-битное приложение в своём адресном пространстве.

Операционные системы этого семейства не являлись безопасными многопользовательскими системами как Windows NT, поскольку из соображений совместимости вся подсистема пользовательского интерфейса и графики оставалась 16-битной и мало отличалась от той, что в Windows 3.x. Так как этот код не был thread-safe, все вызовы в подсистему оборачивались в мьютекс по имени Win16Lock, который, кроме того, еще и находился всегда в захваченном состоянии во время исполнения 16-битного приложения. Таким образом, «повисание» 16-битного приложения немедленно блокировало всю ОС.

Программный интерфейс был подмножеством Win32 API, поддерживаемым Windows NT, но имел поддержку юникода в очень ограниченном объёме^[9]. Также в нём не было должного обеспечения безопасности (списков доступа к объектам и понятия «администратор»).

В составе Windows 95 присутствовал MS-DOS 7.0, однако его роль сводилась к обеспечению процесса загрузки и исполнению 16-битных DOS приложений. Исследователи заметили, что ядро Windows 95 — VMM — обращается к DOS под собой, но таких обращений довольно мало, главнейшая функция ядра DOS — файловая система FAT — не использовалась. В целом же интерфейс между VMM и нижележащей DOS никогда не публиковался, и DOS была замечена (тем же Эндрю Шульманом) в наличии недокументированных вызовов только для поддержки VMM.

Семейство Windows NT

Операционные системы этого семейства в настоящее время работают на процессорах с архитектурами x86, x64, и Itanium,ARM. Ранние версии (до 4.0 включительно) также поддерживали некоторые RISC-процессоры: Alpha, MIPS, и Power PC. Все операционные системы этого семейства являются полностью 32- или 64- битными операционными системами, и не нуждаются в MS-DOS даже для загрузки.

Только в этом семействе представлены операционные системы для серверов. До версии Windows 2000 включительно они выпускались под тем же названием, что и аналогичная версия для рабочих станций, но с добавлением суффикса, например, «Windows NT 4.0 Server» и «Windows 2000 Datacenter Server». Начиная с Windows Server 2003 серверные операционные системы называются по-другому.

1. Windows NT 3.1 (1993)
2. Windows NT 3.5 (1994)
3. Windows NT 3.51 (1995)
4. Windows NT 4.0 (1996)
5. Windows 2000 (2000) — Windows NT 5.0
6. Windows XP (2001) — Windows NT 5.1
7. Windows XP 64-bit Edition (2003) — Windows NT 5.2
8. Windows Server 2003 (2003) — Windows NT 5.2
9. Windows Vista (2006) — Windows NT 6.0
10. Windows Home Server (2007) — Windows NT 5.2
11. Windows Server 2008 (2008) — Windows NT 6.0
12. Windows Small Business Server (2008) — Windows NT 6.0
13. Windows 7 — Windows NT 6.1 (2009)
14. Windows Server 2008 R2 — Windows NT 6.1 (2009)
15. Windows Home Server 2011 — Windows NT 6.1 (2011)
16. Windows 8 — Windows NT 6.2 (2012)
17. Windows Server 2012 — Windows NT 6.2 (2012)

В основу семейства Windows NT положено разделение адресных пространств между процессами. Каждый процесс имеет возможность работать с выделенной ему памятью. Однако он не имеет прав для записи в память других процессов, драйверов и системного кода.

Семейство Windows NT относится к операционным системам с вытесняющей многозадачностью. Разделение процессорного времени между потоками происходит по принципу «карусели». Ядро операционной системы выделяет квант времени (в Windows 2000 квант равен примерно 20 мс) каждому из потоков по очереди при условии, что все потоки имеют одинаковый приоритет. Поток может отказаться от выделенного ему кванта времени. В этом случае система перехватывает у него управление (даже если выделенный квант времени не закончен) и передаёт управление другому потоку. При передаче управления другому потоку система сохраняет состояние всех регистров процессора в особой структуре в оперативной памяти. Эта структура называется контекстом потока. Сохранение контекста потока достаточно для последующего возобновления его работы.

Семейство ОС для карманных компьютеров

Это семейство операционных систем реального времени было специально разработано для мобильных устройств. Поддерживаются процессоры ARM, MIPS, SuperH и x86. В отличие от остальных операционных систем Windows, операционные системы этого семейства продаются только в составе готовых устройств, таких как смартфоны, карманные компьютеры, GPS-навигаторы, MP3-проигрыватели и другие.

В настоящее время под термином «Windows CE» понимают только ядро операционной системы. Например, Windows Mobile 5.0 включает в себя ядро Windows CE 5.0, хотя в некоторых устройствах ядро Windows CE используется и без Windows Mobile.

• Windows CE
• Windows Mobile
• Windows Phone

Семейство встраиваемых ОС Windows Embedded

Windows Embedded — это семейство операционных систем реального времени, было специально разработано для применения в различных встраиваемых системах. Ядро системы имеет общее с семейством ОС Windows CE и поддерживает процессоры ARM, MIPS, SuperH и x86. Windows Embedded включает дополнительные функции по встраиванию, среди которых фильтр защиты от записи (EWF и FBWF), загрузка с флеш-памяти, CD-ROM, сети, использование собственной оболочки системы и т. п.

В отличие от операционных систем Windows, операционные системы этого семейства продаются только в составе готовых устройств, таких как: банкоматы, медицинские приборы, навигационное оборудование, «тонкие» клиенты, VoIP-терминалы, медиапроигрыватели, цифровые рамки (альбомы), кассовые терминалы, платёжные терминалы, роботы, игровые автоматы, музыкальные автоматы и другие.

В настоящее время выпускаются следующие варианты ОС Windows Embedded^[10]:

• Windows Embedded CE,
• Windows Embedded Standard,
• Windows Embedded POSReady,
• Windows Embedded Enterprise,
• Windows Embedded NavReady,
• Windows Embedded Server.

Microsoft Windows N

Microsoft Windows N — версии Microsoft Windows, из которых корпорацией Microsoft были удалены компоненты, не совместимые с законодательством стран Европейского союза.

История выпусков версий Microsoft Windows

Интегрированные программные продукты

В этом разделе не хватает ссылок на источники информации. Информация должна быть проверяема, иначе она может быть поставлена под сомнение и удалена. Вы можете отредактировать эту статью, добавив ссылки на авторитетные источники. Эта отметка установлена 1 сентября 2011.

Пакет Microsoft Windows включает в себя «стандартные» приложения, такие как браузер (Internet Explorer), почтовый клиент (Outlook Express или Windows Mail), музыкальный и видеопроигрыватель (Windows Media Player). С помощью технологий COM и OLE их компоненты могут быть использованы в приложениях сторонних производителей. Эти продукты бесплатны и могут быть свободно скачаны с официального сайта Microsoft, однако для установки некоторых из них необходимо иметь лицензионную версию Microsoft Windows (верно только для ранних версий до windows, начиная с windows 98 являются неотъемлемой частью системы). Запуск этих программ под другими операционными системами возможен только с помощью эмуляторов среды Windows (Wine).

Вокруг факта включения таких «стандартных» продуктов в ОС Windows разгорается много дискуссий и юридических споров, по мнению сторонних разработчиков, это ведёт к отсутствию конкуренции и создает препятствия для распространения конкурирующих продуктов, они же часто ставят под сомнение качество браузера Internet Explorer, объясняя его популярность вхождением в пакет Windows и плохой осведомленностью пользователей о наличии альтернатив.

В 1997 компания Sun Microsystems подала в суд на компанию за нарушение лицензии на использование технологий Java. В 2001 Microsoft выплатила штраф и исключила не совместимую с лицензированной виртуальную машину Java из состава своих продуктов.

Популярность

В настоящее время Microsoft Windows установлена более чем на 89 % персональных компьютеров и рабочих станций. По данным компании Net Applications, на июль 2011 года рыночная доля Windows составляла 87,60 %^[11] . Стоит отметить, что одним из основных клиентов NetApplications является корпорация Microsoft.

Среди различных версий Microsoft Windows по данным W3Schools с августа 2011 наиболее популярна Windows 7^[12].

Распространённость различных версий MS Windows

Источник	NetApplications	NetApplications	NetApplications	[NetApplications]	GoStats	GoStats
Дата	январь 2011	июнь 2011	сентябрь 2011	февраль 2012	январь 2012	сентябрь 2012
Все версии	89,67 %	88,29 %	86,57 %	91,92 %	94,07 %	92,84 %
Windows XP	55,27 %	51,14 %	47,29 %	45,39 %	60,17 %	48,08 %
Windows 7	22,31 %	27,14 %	30,36 %	38,12 %	20,79 %	38,31 %
Windows Vista	11,66 %	9,52 %	8,51 %	8,10 %	12,28 %	6,17 %
Windows 2000	0,27 %	0,19 %	0,16 %	0,15 %	0,57 %	0,26 %
Windows Server 2003	—	—	—	—	0,21 %	0,02 %
Windows 98	0,03 %	0,03 %	0,03 %	0,05 %	—	—
Windows ME	—	—	—	0,01 %	—	—
Windows NT	0,13 %	0,27 %	0,22 %	0,06 %	—	—
Windows CE	—	—	—	—	—	—

См. также

• Список операционных систем;
• Windows API;
• Проводник Windows;
• Windows Script Host
• Многозадачность;

Примечания

Литература

• Брайан Ливингстон, Пол Таррот. Секреты Microsoft Windows Vista = Windows Vista Secrets. — М.: «Диалектика», 2007. — С. 456. — ISBN 0-7645-7704-2
• Пол Мак-Федрис. Microsoft Windows XP SP2. Полное руководство = Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed. — М.: «Вильямс», 2006. — С. 880. — ISBN 0-672-32833-X

Ссылки

• Home page for the Windows family of products and technologies.
• Microsoft Windows Update
• Центр загрузки Майкрософт: Windows
• Как вернуть деньги за OEM-Windows, 3dnews.ru, 28 сентября 2009 г.

Компоненты Microsoft Windows
Основные	Aero • ClearType • Диспетчер рабочего стола • DirectX • Панель задач (Пуск • Область уведомлений) • Проводник (Пространство имён • Специальные папки • Ассоциации файлов) • Windows Search (Smart folders • iFilters) • GDI • WIM • SMB • .NET Framework • XPS • Active Scripting (WSH • VBScript • JScript) • COM (OLE • DCOM • ActiveX • Структурированное хранилище • Сервер транзакций) • Теневая копия • WDDM • UAA • Консоль Win32
Службы управления	Архивация и восстановление • COMMAND.COM • cmd.exe • Средство переноса данных • Просмотр событий • Установщик • netsh.exe • PowerShell • Отчёты о проблемах • rundll32.exe • Программа подготовки системы (Sysprep) • Настройка системы (MSConfig) • Проверка системных файлов • Индекс производительности • Центр обновления • Восстановление системы • Дефрагментация диска • Диспетчер задач • Диспетчер устройств • Консоль управления • Очистка диска • Панель управления (элементы)
Приложения	Контакты • DVD Maker • Факсы и сканирование • Internet Explorer • Журнал • Экранная лупа • Media Center • Проигрыватель Windows Media • Программа совместной работы • Центр устройств Windows Mobile • Центр мобильности • Экранный диктор • Paint • Редактор личных символов • Удалённый помощник • Распознавание речи • WordPad • Блокнот • Боковая панель • Звукозапись • Календарь • Калькулятор • Ножницы • Почта • Таблица символов • Исторические: Movie Maker • NetMeeting • Outlook Express • Диспетчер программ • Диспетчер файлов • Фотоальбом
Игры	Chess Titans • Mahjong Titans • Purble Place • Пасьянсы (Косынка • Паук • Солитер) • Сапёр • Пинбол • Червы
Ядро ОС	Ntoskrnl.exe • Слой аппаратных абстракций (hal.dll) • Бездействие системы • svchost.exe • Реестр • Службы • Диспетчер управления сервисами • DLL (формат модулей) • PE • NTLDR • Диспетчер загрузки • Программа входа в систему (winlogon.exe) • Консоль восстановления • Windows RE • Windows PE • Защита ядра от изменений
Службы	Autorun.inf • Фоновая интеллектуальная служба передачи • Файловая система стандартного журналирования • Отчёты об ошибках • Планировщик классов мультимедиа • Теневая копия • Планировщик задач • Беспроводная настройка
Файловые системы	Protogon • NTFS (Жёсткая ссылка • Точка соединения • Точка монтирования • Точка повторной обработки • Символьная ссылка • TxF • EFS) • WinFS • FAT • exFAT • CDFS • UDF • DFS • IFS
Сервер	Active Directory • Службы развёртывания • Служба репликации файлов • DNS • Домены • Перенаправление папок • Hyper-V • IIS • Media Services • MSMQ • Защита доступа к сети (NAP) • Службы печати для UNIX • Удалённое разностное сжатие • Службы удаленной установки • Служба управления правами • Перемещаемые профили пользователей • SharePoint • Диспетчер системных ресурсов • Удаленный рабочий стол • WSUS • Групповая политика • Координатор распределённых транзакций
Архитектура	NT • Диспетчер объектов • Пакеты запроса ввода/вывода • Диспетчер транзакций ядра • Диспетчер логических дисков • Диспетчер учетных записей безопасности • Защита ресурсов • lsass.exe • csrss.exe • smss.exe • spoolsv.exe • Запуск
Безопасность	BitLocker • Защитник • Предотвращение выполнения данных • Обязательный контроль целостности • Защищенный канал данных • UAC • UIPI • Брандмауэр • Центр обеспечения безопасности • Защита файлов
Совместимость	Подсистема UNIX (Interix) • Виртуальная машина DOS • Windows on Windows • WOW64

Microsoft Windows
Оболочки над MS-DOS: 1.0 • 2.x • 3.x • Windows 9x: 95 • 98 • ME • Windows NT: NT 3.1 • NT 3.5 • NT 3.51 • NT 4.0 • 2000 • XP • Vista • 7 • 8
Windows Server	2003 • Home (2011) • 2008 (HPC 2008 • R2) • Essential Business • MultiPoint • Small Business • 2012
Специализированные	Embedded (Automotive • POSReady) • PE • FLP
Мобильные	Windows CE (1.0 • 2.0 • 3.0 • 4.0 • 5.0 • 6.0 • 7.0) • Mobile • Phone • RT
Другие проекты	Xenix • OS/2 • Singularity • Midori • Закрытые: Neptune • Nashville • Odyssey • Cairo
Альтернативные реализации	ReactOS • Wine

Аспекты операционных систем (история • список)
Ядро	Гибридное • Микро • Модульное • Монолитное • Нано • Экзо • Драйвер • Пространство пользователя • Область пользователя
Управление процессами	Режимы (супервизора • реальный • защищённый) • Прерывание • Кольца защиты • Переключение контекста • Многозадачность (вытесняющая • кооперативная • мультипрограммирование) • Процесс • Управление процессом • Планировщик задач • Многопоточность
Управление памятью	Защита памяти • Сегментная адресация памяти • Страничная память • Менеджер виртуальной памяти • Ошибка сегментации • Общая ошибка защиты
Прочее	Загрузчик ОС • API • VFS • Компьютерная сеть • GUI • Слой аппаратных абстракций (HAL)