Windows

Windows
Developer	Microsoft
Publisher	Microsoft
Platforms	x86 16-bit, IA-32, x86-64, ARM, Itanium, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC
Released	1985-present
Added to Museum	Windows 10: July 15, 2015 NT Workstation 4.0: May 15, 2020

Windows is the name of a series of operating systems created by Microsoft.

History

Windows 1.0, Windows 1.01, Windows 1.02, Windows 1.03, Windows 1.04, 2.0, 2.1, and 2.11 had 16-bit file access. Windows 3.0, 3.1, 3.11, Windows for Workgroups 3.1, and the Simplified Chinese-exclusive Windows 3.2 also had 16-bit file access but weren't compatible with Windows 1.0 and 2.x due to the use of protected mode. All of these versions relied on the DOS operating system for essential functions, and thus in most cases were restricted to the 16-bit architecture of DOS. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 also relied on DOS but had a 32-bit protected mode driver instead of the standard 16-bit driver to allow for 32-bit disk access.

Windows NT 3.1 was the first version that was a complete 32-bit operating system. It ran DOS programs through a DOS-based Virtual DOS Machine. This VDM was also present in Windows/386 2.10, Windows 3.0, 3.1, and Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and 3.11. 16-bit Windows applications were run through a compatibility layer known as Windows on Windows. This DOS-based VDM and WoW compatibility layer for backwards compatibility continued in Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, and Windows ME. Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 dropped the DOS-based VDM but 16-bit the Windows on Windows compatibility layer still exists on 32-bit versions of Windows. 64-bit versions, however, do not have any 16-bit compatibility layer.

Versions of Windows

Title	Released	Date Added to the Museum	Notes
Windows 1.0 Windows 1.01 Windows 1.02 Windows 1.03 Windows 1.04	1985 1985 1986 1986 1987	Not yet.	1.0 was labeled the "Premiere Edition". It wasn't for sale, but was released to review and retail outlets to demo. 1.01 was the original retail release. 1.02 was an international release. 1.03 synced the drivers in the American version with the international version. 1.04 added support for PS/2 computers. IBM included a PS/2 mouse driver in its "IBM PS2 Collegiate Kit".
Windows 2.0 Windows 2.01 Windows 2.03 Windows 2.1	1987 1987 1987 1988	Not yet.	2.0 added overlapping windows, more keyboard shortcuts, and the control panel. 2.1 was split into 286 and 386 versions and required a hard drive. Windows/286 included a himem.sys file that allowed access to the high memory area freeing up conventional memory. Windows/386 had himem.sys, and used the virtual 8086 mode of the 80386 to allow for multi-tasking of DOS applications.
Windows 3.0 Windows 3.0a Windows 3.1 Windows for Workgroups 3.1 Windows NT 3.1 Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Windows 3.11 Windows 3.2 Windows NT 3.5 Windows NT 3.51	1990 1990 1992 1992 1993 1993 1993 1993 1994 1995	Not yet
Windows 95 Windows NT 4.0 Windows 98 Windows 98SE Windows ME	1995 1996 1998 1999 1999	NT Workstation 4.0: May 15, 2020	Installed on the 133Mhz Pentium owned by WEC Museum. Windows NT 4.0 introduced the Windows 9x interface to the NT line.
Windows 2000	1999	Not yet.	Windows 2000 had the 5.0 version of the NT kernel, bringing the Windows and NT line together into a single product.
Windows XP Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 R2 Windows Home Server	2001 2003 2005 2007	Not yet.	The 32-bit version had the 5.1 version of the NT kernel. The 64-bit and server versions had the 5.2 version of the NT kernel.
Windows Vista Windows Server 2008	2007 2008	Not yet.	Had the 6.0 version of the NT kernel.
Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Home Server 2011	2009 2009 2011	Not yet.	Had the 6.1 version of the NT kernel.
Windows 8 Windows Server 2012 Windows 8.1 Windows Server 2012 R2	2012 2012 2013 2013	Not yet.	Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 had the 6.2 version of the NT kernel. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 had the 6.3 version of the NT kernel.
Windows 10 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2019	2015 2016 2018	Windows 10: July 15, 2015	Windows 10 is installed on the Bootcamp partition on the Mac Mini. Had version 10.0 of the NT kernel.
Windows 11 Windows Server 2022	2021 2021	Not yet.	Still had version 10.0 of the NT kernel.