Evolution of Windows Operating System from

windows 1.0 to windows 7.

TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Introduction
2. Windows 1.0
3. Windows 2.0
4. Windows 3.0
5. Windows 3.1X
6. Windows 3.11NT
7. Windows 95
8. Windows 98
9. Windows 2000
10. Windows Millennium Edition
11. Windows XP
12. Windows Vista
13. #1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.4.Windows 7|outline

INTRODUCTION
Windows was the first commercially available GUI Operating System from Microsoft founded by Bill
Gates. In 1983 Microsoft announced the development of Windows, a graphical user interface (GUI) for
its own operating system (MS-DOS), which had shipped for IBM PC and compatible computers since
1981. After 4 years in 1985 Microsoft released Windows 1.0 Since then, Microsoft has shipped many
versions of Windows, and the product line has changed from a GUI product to a modern operating
system. The most successful operating system from the house of Microsoft was windows XP. The latest
buzz is Windows 7 which is in Beta testing now. Lets take a look at Microsoft Windows from version
1.0 to windows 7. The information & Pictures are collected from various sources like Wikipedia,
Microsoft, Google etc.
Windows 1.0
Windows 1.0 was a 16-bit graphical operating environment that was released on 20 November 1985.
Windows 1.0 was the first ever commercially available GUI Operating System. Windows 1.0 was only
available on floppy disks. The user had to have DOS to install. Windows 1.0 offers limited multitasking
of existing MS-DOS programs and concentrates. The system requirements for Windows 1.0 constituted
CGA/Hercules/EGA (listed as “Monochrome or color monitor”), MS-DOS 3.1, 384K RAM (512KB
recommended), and 2 double-sided disk drives or a hard drive. Windows 1.0 runs a shell program
known as MS-DOS Executive. Other supplied programs are Calculator, Calendar, Card-file, Clipboard
viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint,Reversi, Terminal, and Write. Below is the background
for Windows 1.0.

Windows 2.0
Windows 2.0 was a 16-bit Microsoft Windows graphical user interface-based operating environment
that superseded Windows 1.0. Windows 2.0 was supplemented by Windows/286 and Windows/386 in
1988.Windows 2.0 was packaged with AT&T Computers as test software for many educational
institutions. This variation of Windows 2.0 has “plug ‘n’ play” capabilities. Windows 2.0 allowed
application windows to overlap each other, unlike its predecessor Windows 1.0, which could only
display tiled windows. Windows 2.0 also introduced more sophisticated keyboard-shortcuts and the
terminology of “Minimize” and “Maximize”, as opposed to “Iconize” and “Zoom” in Windows 1.0.
Below is the background for Windows 2.0.

Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0 is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It
became the first widely successful version of Windows and a powerful rival to Apple Macintosh and
the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front. It was succeeded by Windows 3.1.Windows 3.0 includes a
Protected/Enhanced mode which allows Windows applications to use more memory in a more painless
manner than their DOS counterparts could. It can run in any of Real, Standard, or 386 Enhanced
modes, and is compatible with any Intel processor from the 8086/8088 up to 80286 and 80386. Below
is the background for Windows 3.0.
Windows 3.1X
Windows 3.1X series was the successor of windows 3.0,
Windows 3.1 was released in March 1992.
Windows 3.1x contains a color scheme named Hotdog Stand.
This color scheme contains bright hues of red, yellow and black.
The color scheme was designed to help people with some degree of color blindness see text/graphics on
the screen easier.
Windows for Work-groups 3.1 (originally codenamed Win-ball and later Sparta), released in October
1992, features native networking support.
Windows for Work-groups 3.1 is an extended version of Windows 3.1 which comes with SMB file
sharing support via the Net BIOS based NBF and/or IPX network transport protocols. Below is the
background for Windows 3.1X.

Windows 3.11 NT
Windows NT 3.1 is the first release of Microsoft’s Windows NT line of server and business desktop
operating systems, and was released to manufacturing on 27 July 1993. Two editions of NT 3.1 were
made available, Windows NT 3.1 and Windows NT Advanced Server. Windows NT provided a 16-bit
compatibility subsystem, called “Windows on Windows” (aka WOW), which allowed most Windows
3.x applications to run unmodified on NT. Applications which made direct access to hardware, or
depended on DOS-level drivers, were not supported.NT also introduced Win32, a 32-bit
implementation of the Windows API. This permitted many 16-bit Windows applications to be
recompiled for the system with minimal changes. Win32 also allowed the growing body of 16-bit
Windows programmers to leverage their skills on the new system. Below is the background for
Windows 3.11NT.
Windows 95
Windows 95 was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft. Windows 95 was intended to integrate
Microsoft’s formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products and includes an enhanced version of
DOS, often referred to as MS-DOS 7.0. It features significant improvements over its predecessor,
Windows 3.1, most visibly in the graphical user interface (GUI).The basic elements of the interface
introduced in Windows 95 — including the task-bar, Start button and menu, and the Windows Explorer
file manager. Windows 95 included support for 255-character mixed-case long file names and
preemptively multitasked pseudo-protected-mode 32-bit applications. Whereas earlier versions of
Windows are optional “operating environments” requiring the MS-DOS operating system (usually
available separately). Below is the background for Windows 95.

Windows 98
Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) was a graphical operating system released on 25 June 1998 by
Microsoft and the successor to Windows 95.Windows 98 Second Edition (often shortened to SE) is an
updated release of Windows 98, released on 5 May 1999.It includes fixes for many minor issues,
improved USB support, and the replacement of Internet Explorer 4.0 with the significantly faster and
lighter Internet Explorer 5.0.

The release of Windows 98 was preceded by a notable press demonstration at Comdex in April 1998.
Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was highlighting the operating system’s ease of use and enhanced support
for Plug and Play (PnP). However, when presentation assistant Chris Capossela plugged a scanner in
and attempted to install it, the operating system crashed, displaying a Blue Screen of Death. Below is
the background for Windows 98.
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on business desktops,
notebook computers, and servers. Released on 17 February, 2000.Four editions of Windows 2000 were
released: Professional, Server, Advanced Server, and Data-center Server. Additionally, Microsoft sold
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition and Windows 2000 Data-center Server Limited
Edition, which were released in 2001 and run on 64-bit Intel Itanium microprocessors. Microsoft
marketed Windows 2000 as the most secure Windows version ever, but it became the target of a
number of high-profile virus attacks such as Code Red and Nimda. Almost nine years after its release,
it continues to receive patches for security vulnerabilities nearly every month. Below is the background
for Windows 2000.

Windows Millennium Edition

Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me was a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical operating system
released on 14 September 2000 by Microsoft. ME stands for Millennium. It included Internet Explorer
5.5, Windows Media Player 7, and the new Windows Movie Maker software, which provided basic
video editing and was designed to be easy for home users. Microsoft also updated the graphical user
interface and the shell features and Windows Explorer in Windows Me with some of those first
introduced in Windows 2000.n 1997, “Millennium” was the codename for a future version of Windows
NT that was expected to be released in 2000 or 2001. In 1998, Microsoft stated that there would be no
version of Windows 9x after Windows 98. Below is the background for Windows ME.
Windows XP
Windows XP was first released on 25 October 2001, and over 400 million copies were in use in
January 2006, according to an estimate in that month by an IDC analyst. Windows XP is a line of
operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business
desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. The name “XP” is short for “experience”.Windows
XP is the successor to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-
oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel and
architecture. The most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which
is targeted at home users, and Windows XP Professional, which offers additional features such as
support for Windows Server domains and two physical processors, and is targeted at power users.
Below is the background for Windows XP.

Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers,
including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media center PCs. Prior to its
announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename “Longhorn.”
Development was completed on November 8, 2006. Windows Vista contains many changes and new
features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero,
improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and
redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Windows Vista includes version 3.0 of
the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for software developers to write
applications than with the traditional Windows API. Below is the background for Windows Vista.
Windows 7
Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Black comb and Vienna) is the next release of Microsoft Windows,
an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and
business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, net-books and media center PCs. Microsoft released beta
version of Windows 7 which gets a very heavy response. Unlike its predecessor, Windows 7 is intended
to be an incremental upgrade to Vista, with the goal of being fully compatible with device drivers,
applications, and hardware which Windows Vista is already compatible with. Presentations given by
the company in 2008 have focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows Shell with a new
task-bar, a home networking system called Home Group,and performance improvements. Some
applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, most notably Windows
Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are no longer included with the operating system; they are
instead offered separately (free of charge) as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite. Below is the
background for Windows 7.

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