WINDOWS SERIES OF OPERATING SYSTEM

By Dr.Ummara khan(Pharm-D)

OPERATING SYSTEM Intermediary between the user and

hardware.

Common Operating Systems

MS-DOS Windows 95 Windows 98 Windows ME (Windows Millennium) Windows NT Windows 2000 Windows XP

Windows Vista

Windows CE PALM OS SYMBIAN Apple Macintosh Mac OS X OS/2

UNIX Linux

DOS

Disk operating system Single-user Os from Microsoft for the Pc First OS for the PC Still the underlying control program for

windows 3.1 Windows 95/98 and Windows NT build in

their own version of DOS to support existing DOS application.

Windows

The most widely used OS for personal computers

Windows provides graphical user interface (GUI, is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices using images rather than text commands. 

Applications are displayed in re-sizeable, movable windows on screen

The idea came from Xerox.

Windows 1.0

• 16-bit graphical operating environment,• Original version of Microsoft Windows• intoduces in late 1985• often regarded as a "front-end  MS-DOS 

operating system",user-friendly interface.• Displayed tiled windows(side by side)• supplied programs are  calculator, 

calendar, cardfile,clipboard viewer, clock, notepad, paint, reversi, terminal, write.• It never become popular

Windows 2.0

• Upgrade to Windows 1.0• 16-bit Microsoft Windows GUI-based 

operating environment• introduces in 1988• supported overlapping and tiled windows• introduced keyboard-shortcuts and the terminology of

"Minimize" and "Maximize", as opposed to "Iconize" and "Zoom" in Windows 1.0

• renamed windows/286• require dos• the last version of Windows that could run on a floppy-

only system and did not require a hard disk.

• never become popular

Windows 3.0

• Introduced in 1990• Improved interface• Manage large amount of memory• Runs 16-bit windows and dos application on

286s and above• Introduced Program Manager and File Manager • Introducees  notepad and the word processor

write, a macro recorder, the paint program paintbrush , a calculator and card game solitaire

• Still require DOS

Windows 3.1

• First major upgrade to 3.0• Into in 1992• Added support for

Multimedia True type fonts Icons could be dragged and dropped 

• Supposedly more stable

Windows 3.11

Upgrade to windows 3.121 It was the final release of 3.1 Released on August 11, 1993 not a standalone version of Windows, but

rather a software update like modern Windows service packs

Windows 95• Designed to replace

•

• Relesed in august 1995• 32-bit,self contained operating system• Includes a built-in and enhanced versuion of DOS• Intro 'Start' button,  taskbar• formed by a large number of virtual device drivers (VxDs)

responsible for handling physical devices (such as video and network cards), emulating virtual devices used by the virtual machines, or providing various system services. 

• Plug and Play capabilities• Memory limitaions were expanded• shipped with Microsoft's own dial-up online service called

The Microsoft Network.

MS-DOS Windows 3.1Windows for

workgroup 3.11

Windows 97

Windows 98 was to be named 98 if had been released on time

Windows 98 Major upgrade to windows 95 Intro in June 1998 enhancements from 

Windows Desktop Update, an Internet Explorer 4 component, such as the• Quick Launch toolbar• Active Desktop, Channels• ability to minimize foreground windows

by clicking their button on the taskbar• single click launching,• Back and Forward navigation buttons,

favorites• address bar in Windows Explorer,

image thumbnails, folder info tips and web view in folders, and folder customization through HTML-based templates.

• Dialog boxes now show up in the Alt-Tab sequence.

• 3D Pinball is included

Windows Me

Windows Me Millennium Edition graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000

by Microsoft was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x

 series. for home PC users. It included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7,

and the new Windows Movie Maker software Faster boot times Improved power management and suspend/resume

operations. Includes  drivers for USB mass storage devices and USB

printers Windows Me had a short shelf-life of just over a year; it was

often criticized for being buggy and unstable.

Windows NT

• Windows NEW TECHNOLOGY• Intro in 1993• Advanced 32-bit "flat" virtual  OS.• Works with Intel x86 and Alpha CPUs• Support for power PC has been dropped• Does not use DOS• Self contained OS that runs 16-bit and

32-bit windows application as well as DOS.

Windows NT 3.1

Windows NT 3.1 and Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server were released on July 26, 1993.

 including the operating system core written in the C programming language  higher memory consumption More reliability run applications designed for various

operating systems, such as Windows, MS-DOS and OS/2 applications

Windows NT 3.5

• second release of the Microsoft Windows NT operating system

• released on September 21, 1994

• This is the first Windows NT version to adopt the names Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server for its editions

Windows 2000

• Windows 2000 professional desktop version• Windows 2000 server (server version)• Support multiprocessors• Was originally known as NT 5.0• introduces layered windows that allow for transparency,

translucency and various transition effects like shadows, gradient fills and alpha blended GUI elements to top-level windows

•  Start Menu in Windows 2000 introduces personalized menus, expandable special folders and the ability to launch multiple programs without closing the menu by holding down the SHIFT key.

• intro  version 7.0 of the DirectX API, used by game developers• introduced the Multilingual User Interface (MUI)• introduced the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), which is

used to create, save, and open administrative tools• Provide Support for distributed file systems,  Active Directory.

Windows 2003 server Built on the proven code base of Windows

NT and Windows 2000 32-bit computing architecture A fully protected memory model

Windows XP Professional• Same as in Windows 2003• XP" is short for "EXPERIENCE", highlighting the enhanced 

user experience.• was released worldwide for retail sale on October 25, 2001,• Eliminates most reboot problems that were in

Windows NT 4.0 Windows 95/98/Me

• Improved task panes, tiles and filmstrip views, improved sorting and grouping, searching by document categories, customizable info tips, built-in CD burning, AutoPlay, Simple File Sharing and Web DAV mini-redirector.

• Faster start-up• Windows Picture and Fax Viewer• improved System Restore, Automated System ,Recovery, Windows

Error Reporting and driver reliability.• Clear Type font mechanism for improve text readability on 

liquid crystal display (LCD) and similar monitors, especially laptops• Updated accessories and games.

Windows Vista• Windows Vista is an operating system released

in several variations 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.“

• On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide, and was made available for purchase and download from Microsoft's website

• Memory 512 MB-1 GB• Graphics memory 32 MB-128 MB• HDD capacity20 GB-40 GB• The new graphical user interface is

named Windows Aero

Continue……

• "Favorite links-enabling one-click access.• A transparent panel at the side of the screen where a

user can place Desktop Gadgets.• Page Zoom, Quick Tabs Anti-Phishing filter, a number of

new security protection features, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), and improved web standards support. 

• Intro Windows Media Player 11, Backup and Restore Center, Windows Mail, Windows Calendar, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Ultimate Extras

• Shadow Copy automatically creates daily backup copies of files and folders. 

• Parental controls , Speech recognition .