The Microsoft Windows versions history outlines the progression of the operating system from its inception in 1985 to the present day. It includes milestones such as Windows 95’s introduction of the Start menu, Windows XP’s stability enhancements, Windows 7’s refined user experience, and the ongoing updates and innovations of Windows 11. Each iteration has brought improvements in performance, security, and user interface, shaping Windows into one of the most widely used operating systems worldwide.
Windows 1.0
• Released on November 20, 1985
• Pure Operating Environment
• Used Graphical User Interface
Windows 2.0
• Released on December 9, 1987
• 16-bit Graphic User Interface (GUI) based operating environment
• Introduced Control Panel, and the first version of MS Word and Excel
• It was also the last Windows OS which did not require a hard disk
Windows 2.1x
• Released on May 27, 1988
• Is a historical version of Windows graphical user interface-based operating environments.
Windows 3.0
• Released on May 22, 1990
• It was better at multitasking
• Used 8086 microprocessors
• It has both, conventional and extendable memory
• First version of Windows to gather critical appreciation
Windows 3.1
• Released on April 6, 1992
• is a series of 16-bit GUI operating environments for MS-DOS
Windows NT 3.1
• Released on July 27, 1993.
• It could run on Intel x86, DEC Alpha, and MIPS R4000 CPUs
Windows 3.2
• Released on November 22, 1993
• Also known as Windows 3.2 Chinese Edition
Windows NT 3.5
• Released on September 21, 1994
• One of the primary goals during Windows NT 3.5’s development was to increase the speed of the operating system
Windows NT 3.51
• Released on May 30, 1995
• NT 3.51 was the first of a short-lived outing of Microsoft Windows on the PowerPC architecture
Windows 95
• Released on August 24, 1995
• It was the first complete Operating System
• It merged MS-DOS and Windows products
• It simplified plug and play features
• Taskbar and Start menu was introduced with this Windows OS
• Advanced from 16 bit GUI to 32 bit GUI
• Long file names could be saved
Windows NT 4.0
• Released July 31, 1996
• It is a preemptive 32-bit Windows system available in both workstation and server editions with a graphical environment
Windows 98
• Released on May 15, 1998
• It was a 16 bit and 32 bit product based on MS DOS
• It was not an entirely new version but just a tuned-up version to Windows 95
• Internet Explorer 4.01 was released along with this Windows version
• It did not support USB printers or mass storage devices
Windows 2000
• Released on February 17, 2000
• It was considered as one of the most secure OS ever
• A local disk manager was introduced with these Windows
• Multilingual User Interface – it supported many different languages
Windows ME
• Released on September 14, 2000
• It included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7, and the new Windows Movie Maker software
Windows XP
• Released on August 24, 2001
• Advanced portable PC support
• Automatic wireless connection support
• Fast start-up
• Better Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
• Released on April 25, 2005
• It is designed to use the expanded 64-bit memory address space provided by the AMD64 architecture; Intel refers to its implementation of the technology as EM64T
Windows Vista
• Released on January 30, 2007
• It had an upgraded version of Graphical User Interface
• It was the first operating system to use DVD-ROM for installation
Windows 7
• Released on October 22, 2009
• A large number of new features were introduced
• Redesigned Windows shell with an updated taskbar
• Incremental upgrade to the Windows line
• Libraries were added in the file management system
• A few features from the past Windows were removed
• Extended hardware support
Windows 8
• Released on October 26, 2012
• Optimisations for touch-based
• Increased integration with cloud services
• Windows Store service for software distribution
Windows 8.1
• Released on August 27, 2013
• It is an upgrade for Windows 8
• restoration of a visible Start button on the taskbar
Windows 10
• Released on July 29, 2015
• Addresses shortcomings in the user interface first introduced with Windows 8
• A virtual desktop system
• It had the ability to run windows store apps within windows on the desktop rather than in the full-screen mode
Windows 11
• Released on June 24, 2021
• Microsoft also announced plans to allow more flexibility in software that can be distributed via Microsoft Store, and to support Android apps on Windows 11
Windows 12
• Expected Release on 2025
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