Windows/286[edit]

Windows/286 takes advantage of the HMA to increase the memory available to Windows programs. It introduced
theHIMEM.SYS DOS driver for this purpose. It also includes support for several EMS boards, although this support
is not related to the 80286 processor. The segmented nature of Windows programs is quite suited to the usage of
EMS, as portions of code and data can be made visible in the first megabyte of memory accessible to real-
mode programs only when the program using them is given control. Microsoft encouraged users to configure their
computers with only 256KB of main memory, leaving the address space from 256-640KB available for dynamic
mapping of EMS memory.[6]

Despite its name, Windows/286 was fully operational on an 8088 or 8086 processor. Windows/286 would simply not
use the high memory area since none exist on an 8086-class processor; however, EMS could still be used, if
present. A few PC vendors shipped Windows/286 with 8086 hardware; an example was IBM's PS/2 Model 25,
which had an option to ship with a "DOS 4.00 and Windows kit" for educational markets, which included word
processing and presentation software useful for students, which resulted in some confusion when purchasers of this
system received a box labeled Windows/286 with a machine that was definitely less than an 80286.[7]

Windows/386[edit]
Windows/386 was much more advanced than its predecessor. It introduced a protected mode kernel, above which
the GUI and applications run as a virtual 8086 mode task. It allowed several MS-DOS programs to run in parallel in
"virtual 8086" CPU mode, rather than always suspending background applications. (Windows applications could
already run in parallel through cooperative multitasking) With the exception of a few kilobytes of overhead, each
DOS application could use any available low memory before Windows was started.[8]

Windows/386 also provided EMS emulation, using the memory management features of the 80386 to make RAM
beyond 640k behave like the banked memory previously only supplied by add-in cards and used by popular DOS
applications. (By overwriting the WIN200.BIN file with COMMAND.COM, it is possible to use the EMS emulation in
DOS without starting the Windows GUI.) There was no support for disk-based virtual memory, so multiple DOS
programs had to fit inside the available physical memory; therefore, Microsoft suggested buying
additional memory and cards if necessary.[9]

Neither of these versions worked with DOS memory managers like CEMM or QEMM or with DOS extenders, which
have their own extended memory management and run in protected mode as well. This was remedied in version
3.0, which is compatible with Virtual Control Program Interface (VCPI) in "standard mode" and with DOS Protected
Mode Interface (DPMI) in "386 enhanced" mode (all versions of Windows from 3.0 to 98 exploit a loophole in
EMM386 to set up protected mode).[10][11] Windows 3.0 also had the capability of using the DWEMM Direct Write
Enhanced Memory Module. This is what enables the far faster and more sleek graphical user interface, as well as
true extended memory support.[12]

Windows 95

Windows 95 (codenamed Chicago) is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating

system developed byMicrosoft. It was released on August 24, 1995,[4][5] and was a significant progression from the
company's previous Windowsproducts. During development, it was referred to as Windows 4.0 or by the internal
codename Chicago.
Windows 95 integrated Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products. It featured significant
improvements over its predecessor, Windows 3.1, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its
relatively simplified "plug-n-play" features. There were also major changes made at lower levels of the operating
system, such as moving from a mainly 16-bit architecture to a pre-emptively multitasked 32-bit architecture.

Accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign,[6] Windows 95 was a major success in the marketplace at
launch and shortly became the most popular desktop operating system. It also introduced numerous functions and
features that were featured in later Windows versions, such as the taskbar, the 'Start' button, and the way the user
navigates. It was also suggested that Windows 95 had an effect of driving other major players (including OS/2) out
of business, something which would later be used in court against Microsoft

Windows 98

.
Windows 95 was followed up with the release of Windows 98 on June 25, 1998, which introduced the Windows
Driver Model, support for USB composite devices, support for ACPI,hibernation, and support for multi-
monitor configurations. Windows 98 also included integration with Internet Explorer 4 through Active Desktop and
other aspects of the Windows Desktop Update (a series of enhancements to the Explorer shell which were also
made available for Windows 95). In May 1999, Microsoft released Windows 98 Second Edition, an updated version
of Windows 98. Windows 98 SE added Internet Explorer 5.0 and Windows Media Player 6.2 amongst other
upgrades. Mainstream support for Windows 98 ended on June 30, 2002 and extended support for Windows 98
ended on July 11, 2006.[21]

2Windows me

On September 14, 2000, Microsoft released Windows ME (Millennium Edition), the last DOS-based version of
Windows. Windows ME incorporated visual interface enhancements from its Windows NT-based
counterpart Windows 2000, had faster boot times than previous versions (which however, required the removal of
the ability to access a real modeDOS environment, removing compatibility with some older
programs),[22] expanded multimedia functionality (including Windows Media Player 7, Windows Movie Maker, and
theWindows Image Acquisition framework for retrieving images from scanners and digital cameras), additional
system utilities such as System File Protection and System Restore, and updated home
networking tools.[23] However, Windows ME was faced with criticism for its speed and instability, along with hardware
compatibility issues and its removal of real mode DOS support. PC World considered Windows ME to be one of the
worst operating systems Microsoft had ever released, and the 4th worst tech product of all time.[10]

1Windows NT
Main article: Windows NT
The first release of the resulting operating system, Windows NT 3.1 (named to associate it with Windows 3.1) was
released in July 1993 with versions for desktop workstations andservers. Windows NT 3.5 was released in
September 1994, focusing on performance improvements and support for Novell's NetWare, and was followed up
by Windows NT 3.51 in May 1995, which included additional improvements and support for
the PowerPC architecture. Windows NT 4.0 was released in June 1996, introducing the redesigned interface
ofWindows 95 to the NT series. On February 17, 2000, Microsoft released Windows 2000, a successor to NT 4.0.
The Windows NT name was dropped at this point in order to put a greater focus on the Windows brand.[25]

Windows xp
The next major version of Windows, Windows XP, was released on October 25, 2001. The introduction of Windows
XP aimed to unify the consumer-oriented Windows 9x series with the architecture introduced by Windows NT, a
change which Microsoft promised would provide better performance over its DOS-based predecessors. Windows
XP would also introduce a redesigned user interface (including an updated Start menu and a "task-
oriented" Windows Explorer), streamlined multimedia and networking features, Internet Explorer 6, integration with
Microsoft's .NET Passport services, modes to help provide compatibility with software designed for previous
versions of Windows, and Remote Assistance functionality.[26]

At retail, Windows XP was now marketed in two main editions: the "Home" edition was targeted towards consumers,
while the "Professional" edition was targeted towards business environments and power users, and included
additional security and networking features. Home and Professional were later accompanied by the "Media Center"
edition (designed for home theater PCs, with an emphasis on support for DVD playback, TV tuner
cards, DVR functionality, and remote controls), and the "Tablet PC" edition (designed for mobile devices meeting
its specifications for a tablet computer, with support for stylus pen input and additional pen-enabled
applications).[27][28][29] Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009. Extended support ended on April
8, 2014.[30]

After Windows 2000, Microsoft also changed its release schedules for server operating systems; the server
counterpart of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, was released in April 2003.[25] It was followed in December 2005
by Windows Server 2003 R2

3Windows vista

After a lengthy development process, Windows Vista was released on November 30, 2006 for volume licensing and
January 30, 2007 for consumers. It contained a number of new features, from a redesigned shell and user interface
to significant technical changes, with a particular focus on security features. It was available in a number of different
editions, and has been subject to some criticism. Vista's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 was released in
early 2008

Windows 7

Windows 7 was intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being
compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista was already compatible.[31] Windows 7
has multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows shell with an updated taskbar, a home networking system
called HomeGroup,[32] and performance improvements

Windows 8

Windows 8, the successor to Windows 7, was released generally on October 26, 2012. A number of significant
changes were made on Windows 8, including the introduction of a user interface based around Microsoft's Metro
design language with optimizations for touch-based devices such as tablets and all-in-one PCs. These changes
include the Start screen, which uses large tiles that are more convenient for touch interactions and allow for the
display of continually updated information, and a new class of apps which are designed primarily for use on touch-
based devices. Other changes include increased integration with cloud services and other online platforms (such
as social networks and Microsoft's own SkyDrive and Xbox Live services), the Windows Store service for software
distribution, and a new variant known as Windows RT for use on devices that utilize theARM
architecture.[33][34][35][36][37][38]

Windows 8.1
An update to Windows 8, called Windows 8.1, was released on October 17, 2013, and includes features such as
new live tile sizes, deeperSkyDrive integration, and many other revisions.[39]

Windows 10

On September 30, 2014, Microsoft announced Windows 10 as the successor to Windows 8.1. It will be released in
late 2015 and addresses shortcomings in the user interface first introduced with Windows 8. Changes include the
return of the Start Menu, a virtual desktop system, and the ability to run Windows Store apps within windows on the
desktop rather than in full-screen mode.[40]