Info Tech Guide

Microsoft Windows is a family of proprietary operating systems most commonly used on personal computers. It is the most common family of operating systems for the personal computer, with about 90% of the market share.Currently, the most widely used version of the Windows family is Windows XP, released on October 25, 2001. The newest version is Windows 7 for personal computers and Windows Server 2008 R2 for servers.

Windows is a personal computer operating system from Microsoft that, together with some commonly used business applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel, has become a de facto "standard" for individual users in most corporations as well as in most homes. Windows contains built-in networking, which allows users to share files and applications with each other if their PCs are connected to a network. In large enterprises, Windows clients are often connected to a network of UNIX and NetWare servers. The server versions of Windows NT and Windows 2000 are gaining market share, providing a Windows-only solution for both the client and server. Windows is supported by Microsoft, the largest software company in the world, as well as the Windows industry at large, which includes tens of thousands of software developers.

It originated in 1981 as an add-on to the older MS-DOS operating system for the IBM PC. Released in 1985, Microsoft came to dominate the business world of personal computers, and went on to set a number of industry standards and commonplace applications. Beginning with Windows XP, all modern versions are based on the Windows NT kernel. Current versions of Windows run on IA-32 and x86-64 processors, although older versions sometimes supported other architectures.

This network effect is the reason Windows became successful in the first place. However, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows,  and Windows XP are complicated operating environments. Certain combinations of hardware and software running together can cause problems, and troubleshooting can be daunting. Each new version of Windows has interface changes that constantly confuse users and keep support people busy, and Installing Windows applications is problematic too. Microsoft has worked hard to make Windows 2000 and Windows XP more resilient to installation problems and crashes in general.

Microsoft Windows Versions

• Windows 3.1 and NT
• Windows 95
• Windows NT 4.0
• Windows 98
• Windows 2000
• Windows Millennium Edition (Me)
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows 7