Windows 9x and earlier: Monolithic (MS-DOS and VMM32)
Default user interface
Windows shell
License
Proprietary commercial software
Official website
windows.com
Microsoft Windows is a product line of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and sub-families that cater to particular sectors of the computing industry -- Windows (unqualified) for a consumer or corporate workstation, Windows Server for a server and Windows IoT for an embedded system. Defunct families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.
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).[12]
Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with a 70% market share as of March 2023[update], according to StatCounter.[13] However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android's massive growth.[14]
As of 2024[update], 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. Still supported are some editions of Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and later (and exceptionally with paid support down to Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded POSReady 7).
^"April 23, 2024—KB5036980 (OS Builds 22621.3527 and 22631.3527) Preview". Microsoft Support. Microsoft.
^"Releasing Windows 11 Builds 22621.3520 and 22631.3520 to the Release Preview Channel". Windows Insider Blog. April 11, 2024.
^"April 23, 2024—KB5036980 (OS Builds 22621.3527 and 22631.3527) Preview". Microsoft Support. Microsoft.
^"Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3566 (Beta Channel)". Windows Insider Blog. April 26, 2024.
^"Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100 (Canary and Dev Channels)". Windows Insider Blog. April 3, 2024.
^"Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200 (Canary Channel)". Windows Insider Blog. April 19, 2024.
^Su, Christy; Xu, Simonx (November 25, 2021). "FAQ about the Windows Installer .msp files - Dynamics GP". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
^dianmsft; Jenks, Alma; Coulter, David; Schofield, McLean; Vintzel, John; Satran, Michael; Donthini, Chaitanya; Kinsman, Mike (December 30, 2021). "What is MSIX?". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
^Jahiu, Dhurata; Jenks, Alma; v-chmccl; Power, Cory; Coulter, David; Schofield, McLean; Donthini, Chaitanya; Satran, Michael (April 13, 2022). "How to bundle MSIX packages". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
^Vera (June 26, 2023) [April 14, 2023]. "How to Install MSIXBundle on Windows 10/11? 2 Ways to Try!". MiniTool. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
^"App packages and deployment (Windows Store apps) (Windows)". Microsoft Learn. October 19, 2021 [October 6, 2015]. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
^Bellis, Mary (October 4, 2019). "The Unusual History of Microsoft Windows". Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
^"Desktop Operating System Market Share Worldwide". StatCounter Global Stats. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
^Keizer, Gregg (July 14, 2014). "Microsoft gets real, admits its device share is just 14%". Computerworld. IDG. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. [Microsoft's chief operating officer] Turner's 14% came from a new forecast released last week by Gartner, which estimated Windows' share of the shipped device market last year was 14%, and would decrease slightly to 13.7% in 2014. Android will dominate, Gartner said, with a 48% share this year
MicrosoftWindows is a product line of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and sub-families...
Windows 11 is the latest major release of Microsoft'sWindows NT operating system, released on October 5, 2021. It succeeded Windows 10 (2015) and is available...
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years...
MicrosoftWindows is a computer operating system developed by Microsoft. It was first launched in 1985 as a graphical operating system built on MS-DOS...
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally...
wallpaper and single window navigation in Windows Explorer. In 1998, Microsoft released Windows 98, which also included the Windows Desktop Update and Internet...
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft'sWindows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years...
Windows 10 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. Microsoft described Windows 10 as an "operating system as a service"...
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft'sWindows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October...
Windows 98 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of MicrosoftWindows operating systems. It...
release of Windows NT 3.51. Windows 95 is the first version of MicrosoftWindows to include the Modern Windows Feel (Taskbar, Start Menu.) Windows 95 merged...
desktop app, a mobile app for Windows Phone, iOS, Android, and Symbian, and a Metro-style app for Windows 8 or later. Microsoft Outlook (not to be confused...
9x. It was Microsoft's main operating system for home users until the introduction of its successor Windows XP on October 25, 2001. Windows Me was targeted...
The following is a list of MicrosoftWindows components. This list is not all-inclusive. Direct3D DirectDraw DirectInput DirectMusic DirectPlay DirectShow...
Windows Server (formerly Windows NT Server) is a group of server operating systems (OS) that has been developed by Microsoft since 1993. The first OS that...
Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, and was made...
version of Word for Windows was released in 1989. With the release of Windows 3.0 the following year, sales began to pick up and Microsoft soon became the...
Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and designed for businesses as the direct successor to Windows...
functionality of the XML specification which Microsoft's implementation doesn't. Only Windows XP to Windows 8 are supported. SharePoint's custom development...
been included with all versions of MicrosoftWindows. The program opens, modifies and saves image files in Windows bitmap (BMP), JPEG, GIF, PNG, and single-page...
as an app store for Windows 8 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform apps. With Windows 10 1803, Microsoft merged its other distribution...
Windows Azure in February 2010 and later renamed to Microsoft Azure on March 25, 2014. Microsoft Azure uses large-scale virtualization at Microsoft data...
program for Windows XP and was shipped with Windows Vista and Windows 7. It has evolved into a full antivirus program, replacing Microsoft Security Essentials...
rebranded as Windows Live Messenger, was a cross-platform instant-messaging client developed by Microsoft. It connected to the now-discontinued Microsoft Messenger...
and Windows Runtime platform support to create cross-platform apps between Windows PCs and Windows Phone. In 2015, Microsoft released Windows 10 Mobile...
Windows Update is a Microsoft service for the Windows 9x and Windows NT families of the MicrosoftWindows operating system, which automates downloading...
this component in the Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 as System Agent. Its core component is an eponymous Windows service. The Windows Task Scheduler infrastructure...
Global Information
