Microsoft Windows is a computer operating system developed by Microsoft. It was first launched in 1985 as a graphical operating system built on MS-DOS. The initial version was followed by several subsequent releases, and by the early 1990s, the Windows line had split into two separate lines of releases: Windows 9x for consumers and Windows NT for businesses and enterprises. In the following years, several further variants of Windows would be released: Windows CE in 1996 for embedded systems; Pocket PC in 2000 (renamed to Windows Mobile in 2003 and Windows Phone in 2010) for personal digital assistants and, later, smartphones; Windows Holographic in 2016 for AR/VR headsets; and several other editions.
A "personal computer" version of Windows is considered to be a version that end-users or OEMs can install on personal computers, including desktop computers, laptops, and workstations.
The first five versions of Windows– Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows 2.1, Windows 3.0, and Windows 3.1 –were all based on MS-DOS, and were aimed at both consumers and businesses. However, Windows 3.1 had two separate successors, splitting the Windows line in two: the consumer-focused "Windows 9x" line, consisting of Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me; and the professional Windows NT line, comprising Windows NT 3.1, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000. These two lines were reunited into a single line with the NT-based Windows XP; this Windows release succeeded both Windows Me and Windows 2000 and had separate editions for consumer and professional use. Since Windows XP, multiple further versions of Windows have been released, the most recent of which is Windows 11. Since Windows 10, Microsoft has effectively turned to the "Windows as a service" servicing model, most likely to ensure it competes with mobile operating systems.
Name | Codename | Release date | Version | Editions | Build number | Architecture | End of support |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows 1.01 | Interface Manager | November 20, 1985 | 1.01 | — | — | x86-16 | December 31, 2001 |
Windows 1.02 | — | May 14, 1986 | 1.02 | — | — | ||
Windows 1.03 | — | August 21, 1986 | 1.03 | — | — | ||
Windows 1.04 | — | April 10, 1987 | 1.04 | — | — | ||
Windows 2.01 | — | December 9, 1987 | 2.01 | — | — | x86-16, IA-32 | |
Windows 2.03 | — | December 9, 1987 | 2.03 | — | — | ||
Windows 2.1 | — | May 27, 1988 | 2.10 | — | — | ||
Windows 2.11 | — | March 13, 1989 | 2.11 | — | — | ||
Windows 3.0 | — | May 22, 1990 | 3.00 |
| — | ||
Windows 3.1 | Janus | April 6, 1992 | 3.10 |
| 103 | ||
Sparta [a] | October 31, 1992 |
| 102 | IA-32 | |||
Windows NT 3.1 | Razzle [1] | July 27, 1993 | NT 3.1 |
| 528 | IA-32, Alpha, MIPS | December 31, 2000 |
Windows 3.11 | — | November 8, 1993 | 3.11 |
| ? | x86-16, IA-32 | December 31, 2001 |
Snowball | 300 | IA-32 | |||||
Windows 3.2 | — | November 22, 1993 | 3.2 |
| 153 | x86-16, IA-32 | |
Windows NT 3.5 | Daytona | September 21, 1994 | NT 3.5 |
| 807 | IA-32, Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC | |
Windows NT 3.51 | May 30, 1995 | NT 3.51 |
| 1057 | |||
Windows 95 | Chicago | August 24, 1995 | 4.00 |
| 950 | IA-32 | |
Windows NT 4.0 | Shell Update Release (Tukwila) | August 24, 1996 | NT 4.0 |
| 1381 | IA-32, Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC | June 30, 2004 |
Windows 98 | Memphis [b] | June 25, 1998 | 4.10 |
| 1998 | IA-32 | July 11, 2006 |
Windows 98 Second Edition | — | June 10, 1999 |
| 2222A | |||
Windows 2000 | Windows NT 5.0 | February 17, 2000 | NT 5.0 |
| 2195 | IA-32 | July 13, 2010 |
Windows Me | Millennium | September 14, 2000 | 4.90 |
| 3000 | IA-32 | July 11, 2006 |
Windows XP | Whistler | October 25, 2001 | NT 5.1 | 2600 | IA-32 | April 8, 2014 | |
Itanium | |||||||
Freestyle | October 29, 2002 | IA-32 | |||||
Harmony | September 30, 2003 | ||||||
Symphony | October 12, 2004 | 2700 | |||||
Emerald | October 14, 2005 | 2710 | |||||
Anvil | April 25, 2005 | NT 5.2 | 3790 | x86-64 | |||
Windows Vista | Longhorn [3] | January 30, 2007 | NT 6.0 | 6002 [c] | IA-32, x86-64 | April 11, 2017 | |
Windows 7 | Windows 7 [4] | October 22, 2009 | NT 6.1 | 7601 [d] | IA-32, x86-64 | January 14, 2020 | |
Windows 8 | Windows 8 | October 26, 2012 | NT 6.2 |
| 9200 | IA-32, x86-64 | January 12, 2016 |
Windows 8.1 | Blue [5] | October 17, 2013 | NT 6.3 |
| 9600 | IA-32, x86-64 | January 10, 2023 |
May 23, 2014 [e] | |||||||
Windows 10 | Threshold [6] [f] | July 29, 2015 | NT 10.0 1507 (retroactively) |
| 10240 | IA-32, x86-64, ARM64 | May 9, 2017 |
Windows 10 version 1511 | Threshold 2 | November 10, 2015 | 1511 | 10586 | October 10, 2017 | ||
Windows 10 version 1607 | Redstone 1 | August 2, 2016 | 1607 | 14393 | April 10, 2018 | ||
Windows 10 version 1703 | Redstone 2 | April 5, 2017 | 1703 | 15063 | October 9, 2018 | ||
Windows 10 version 1709 | Redstone 3 | October 17, 2017 | 1709 | 16299 | April 9, 2019 | ||
Windows 10 version 1803 | Redstone 4 | April 30, 2018 | 1803 | 17134 | November 12, 2019 | ||
Windows 10 version 1809 | Redstone 5 | November 13, 2018 | 1809 | 17763 | November 10, 2020 | ||
Windows 10 version 1903 | 19H1 | May 21, 2019 | 1903 | 18362 | December 8, 2020 | ||
Windows 10 version 1909 | Vanadium | November 12, 2019 | 1909 | 18363 | May 11, 2021 | ||
Windows 10 version 2004 | Vibranium | May 27, 2020 | 2004 | 19041 | December 14, 2021 | ||
Windows 10 version 20H2 | October 20, 2020 | 20H2 | 19042 | August 9, 2022 | |||
Windows 10 version 21H1 | May 18, 2021 | 21H1 | 19043 | December 13, 2022 | |||
Windows 10 version 21H2 | November 16, 2021 | 21H2 | 19044 | June 13, 2023 | |||
Windows 10 version 22H2 | October 18, 2022 | 22H2 | 19045 | October 14, 2025 | |||
Windows 11 | Cobalt [g] | October 4, 2021 | 21H2 |
| 22000 | x86-64, ARM64 | October 10, 2023 [h] |
Windows 11 version 22H2 | Nickel [i] | September 20, 2022 | 22H2 | 22621 | October 8, 2024 [h] | ||
Windows 11 version 23H2 | October 31, 2023 | 23H2 | 22631 | November 11, 2025 [h] | |||
Windows 11 version 24H2 | Germanium | October 1, 2024 | 24H2 | 26100 | October 13, 2026 [h] |
Mobile versions refer to versions of Windows that can run on smartphones or personal digital assistants.
Name | Codename | Architecture | Release date | Version Number |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pocket PC 2000 | Rapier | ARMv4, MIPS, SH-3 | April 19, 2000 | CE 3.0 |
Pocket PC 2002 | Merlin | ARMv4 | October 4, 2001 | |
Windows Mobile 2003 | Ozone | ARMv5 | June 23, 2003 | CE 4.x |
Windows Mobile 2003 SE | March 24, 2004 | |||
Windows Mobile 5.0 | Magneto | May 9, 2005 | CE 5.0 | |
Windows Mobile 6.0 | Crossbow | February 12, 2007 | ||
Windows Mobile 6.1 | April 1, 2008 | CE 5.2 | ||
Windows Mobile 6.1.4 | 6 on 6 | November 11, 2008 [8] | ||
Windows Mobile 6.5 | Titanium | May 11, 2009 | CE 6.0 | |
Windows Phone 7 [j] | Metro | ARMv7 | October 29, 2010 | |
Windows Phone 7.5 | Mango | September 27, 2011 | ||
Windows Phone 7.8 | Tango | February 1, 2013 | ||
Windows Phone 8 | Apollo | October 29, 2012 | NT 6.2 | |
Windows Phone 8.1 | Blue | April 14, 2014 | NT 6.3 | |
Windows 10 Mobile, version 1511 | Threshold 2 | November 12, 2015 | 1511 | |
Windows 10 Mobile, version 1607 | Redstone 1 | August 16, 2016 | 1607 | |
Windows 10 Mobile, version 1703 | Redstone 2 | April 24, 2017 | 1703 | |
Windows 10 Mobile, version 1709 | feature2 [9] | October 24, 2017 | 1709 |
Name | Codename | Release date | Version number | Editions | Build number | Architecture | End of support |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows NT 3.1 | Razzle | July 27, 1993 | NT 3.1 |
| 528 | IA-32, Alpha, MIPS | December 31, 2000 |
Windows NT 3.5 | Daytona | September 21, 1994 | NT 3.5 |
| 807 | IA-32, Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC | December 31, 2001 |
Windows NT 3.51 | May 29, 1995 | NT 3.51 |
| 1057 | December 31, 2001 | ||
Windows NT 4.0 | Shell Update Release | July 29, 1996 | NT 4.0 |
| 1381 | December 31, 2004 | |
Windows 2000 | NT 5.0 | February 17, 2000 | NT 5.0 |
| 2195 | IA-32 | July 13, 2010 |
Windows Server 2003 | Whistler Server | April 24, 2003 | NT 5.2 |
| 3790 | IA-32, x86-64, Itanium | July 14, 2015 |
Windows Server 2003 R2 | December 6, 2005 | July 14, 2015 | |||||
Windows Server 2008 | Longhorn Server | February 27, 2008 | NT 6.0 |
| 6003 [c] | IA-32, x86-64, Itanium | January 14, 2020 |
Windows Server 2008 R2 | Windows Server 7 | October 22, 2009 | NT 6.1 | 7601 [d] | x86-64, Itanium | January 14, 2020 | |
Windows Server 2012 | Windows Server 8 | September 4, 2012 | NT 6.2 |
| 9200 | x86-64 | October 10, 2023 |
Windows Server 2012 R2 | Windows Server Blue | October 17, 2013 | NT 6.3 | 9600 | October 10, 2023 | ||
Windows Server 2016 | Redstone | October 12, 2016 | 1607 [10] |
| 14393 | January 12, 2027 | |
Windows Server, version 1709 [11] | Redstone 3 | October 17, 2017 | 1709 | 16299 | April 9, 2019 | ||
Windows Server, version 1803 [12] | Redstone 4 | April 30, 2018 | 1803 | 17134 | November 12, 2019 | ||
Windows Server, version 1809 | Redstone 5 | November 13, 2018 [13] | 1809 | 17763 | November 10, 2020 | ||
Windows Server 2019 [10] | Redstone 5 | January 9, 2029 [10] | |||||
Windows Server, version 1903 [10] | Redstone 5 | May 21, 2019 | 1903 | 18362 | December 8, 2020 [10] | ||
Windows Server, version 1909 [10] | Vanadium | November 12, 2019 | 1909 | 18363 | May 11, 2021 [10] | ||
Windows Server, version 2004 [14] | Vibranium | June 26, 2020 | 2004 | 19041 | December 14, 2021 [10] | ||
Windows Server, version 20H2 [14] | Iron | October 20, 2020 | 20H2 | 19042 | August 9, 2022 [10] | ||
Windows Server 2022 | Vibranium | August 18, 2021 | 21H2 [15] | 20348 | October 14, 2031 [10] | ||
Windows Server, version 23H2 | Zinc | October 14, 2023 | 23H2 | 25398 | AMD64 | October 24, 2025 | |
Windows Server 2025 | Germanium | November 1, 2024 | 24H2 | 26100 | AMD64, ARM64 | October 10, 2034 |
Name | Codename | Release date | Based on |
---|---|---|---|
Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 | — | June 9, 2006 | Windows Server 2003 R2 |
Windows HPC Server 2008 | Socrates | September 22, 2008 | Windows Server 2008 |
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 | — | September 20, 2010 | Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Name | Codename | Release date | End-of-support date | Build number | Based on |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Essential Business Server 2008 | Centro | September 15, 2008 | January 14, 2020 | 5700 | Windows Server 2008 |
Name | Codename | Release date | End-of-support date | Based on |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Home Server | Quattro | November 4, 2007 | January 8, 2013 | Windows Server 2003 R2 |
Windows Home Server 2011 | Vail | April 6, 2011 | April 12, 2016 | Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Windows MultiPoint Server was an operating system based on Windows Server. It was succeeded by the MultiPoint Services role in Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server version 1709. It was no longer being developed in Windows Server version 1803 and later versions.
Name | Codename | Release date | End-of-support date | Version number | Build number | Based on |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 | Solution Server | February 24, 2010 | July 14, 2020 | NT 6.1 | 537 | Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 | WMS 2 | May 12, 2011 | July 13, 2021 | 1600 | Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 | |
Windows MultiPoint Server 2012 | WMS 3 | October 30, 2012 | October 10, 2023 | NT 6.2 | 2506 | Windows Server 2012 |
Name | Codename | Release date | End-of-support date | Build number | Based on |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Small Business Server 2000 | — | February 21, 2001 | July 13, 2010 | 1343 | Windows 2000 Server |
Windows Small Business Server 2003 | Bobcat | October 9, 2003 | July 14, 2015 | 2893 | Windows Server 2003 |
Windows Small Business Server 2008 | Cougar | August 21, 2008 | January 14, 2020 | 5601 | Windows Server 2008 |
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard | Windows Small Business Server 7 | December 13, 2010 | January 14, 2020 | 7900 | Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials | Colorado | June 28, 2011 | January 5, 2013 | 8800 |
In 2012 and 2013, Microsoft released versions of Windows specially designed to run on ARM-based tablets; these versions of Windows, named "Windows RT" and "Windows RT 8.1," were based on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, respectively. Upon the release of Windows 10 in 2015, the ARM-specific version for large tablets was discontinued; large tablets (such as the Surface Pro 4) were only released with x86 processors and could run the full version of Windows 10. Windows 10 Mobile had the ability to be installed on smaller tablets (up to nine inches); [16] however, very few such tablets were released, and Windows 10 Mobile primarily ended up only running on smartphones until its discontinuation. In 2017, the full version of Windows 10 gained the ability to run on ARM, thus rendering a specific version of Windows for ARM-based tablets unnecessary.
Name | Release date | Version number | Build number | Based on |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows RT | October 26, 2012 | NT 6.2 | 9200 | Windows 8 |
Windows RT 8.1 | October 18, 2013 | NT 6.3 | 9600 | Windows 8.1 |
Name | Build number |
---|---|
Windows 10 Holographic, version 1607 [17] | 14393 |
Windows 10 Holographic, version 1803 [17] | 17134 |
Windows 10 Holographic, version 1809 [17] | 17763 |
Windows Holographic, version 1903 [18] | 18362 |
Windows Holographic, version 2004 [18] | 19041 |
Windows Holographic, version 20H2 [18] | 19041 |
Windows Holographic, version 21H1 [18] | 20346 |
Windows Holographic, version 21H2 [18] | 20348 |
Windows Holographic, version 22H1 [18] | 20348 |
Microsoft originally announced the Surface Hub, an interactive whiteboard, in January 2015. The Surface Hub family of devices runs a custom variant of Windows 10 known as Windows 10 Team.
Name | Build number |
---|---|
Windows 10 Team, version 1511 [19] | 10586 |
Windows 10 Team, version 1607 [19] | 14393 |
Windows 10 Team, version 1703 [19] | 15063 |
Windows 10 Team, version 20H2 [19] | 19042 |
Two versions of Windows XP were released that were optimized for tablets. Beginning with Windows Vista, all tablet-specific components were included in the main version of the operating system.
Name | Codename | Release date | Version number | Build number | Based on |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition | — | November 7, 2002 | NT 5.1 | 2600 | Windows XP |
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 | Lonestar | August 2004 | NT 5.1 | 2600 | Windows XP |
Name | Codename(s) | Release date |
---|---|---|
Windows CE 1.0 | Pegasus; Alder | November 16, 1996 |
Windows CE 2.0 | Jupiter; Birch | September 29, 1997 |
Windows CE 2.1 | — | July 1998 |
Windows CE 2.11 | — | October 1998 |
Windows CE 2.12 | — | 1999 |
Windows CE 3.0 | Cedar; Galileo | 2000 |
Windows CE 4.0 | Talisker | January 7, 2002 |
Windows CE 4.1 | Jameson | July 30, 2002 |
Windows CE 4.2 | McKendric | April 23, 2003 |
Windows CE 5.0 | Macallan | July 9, 2004 |
Windows Embedded CE 6.0 | Yamakazi | November 1, 2006 |
Windows Embedded Compact 7 | Chelan | March 1, 2011 |
Windows Embedded Compact 2013 | — | June 13, 2013 |
Name | Codename | Release date | Based on |
---|---|---|---|
Windows NT Embedded 4.0 | Impala | August 30, 1999 | Windows NT 4.0 Workstation |
Windows XP Embedded | Mantis | November 28, 2001 | Windows XP Professional |
Windows Embedded Standard 2009 | — | December 14, 2008 | Windows XP Service Pack 3 |
Windows Embedded Standard 7 | Quebec | 2010 | Windows 7 |
Windows Embedded 8 | — | 2013 | Windows 8 |
Windows Embedded 8.1 | — | 2013 | Windows 8.1 |
Codename | Intended name | Discontinuation | Version | Latest known build number | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cairo | — | 1996 | NT 4.0 | 1175 | Originally announced at the 1991 Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, Cairo was the codename of a project whose charter was to build technologies for a next-generation operating system that would fulfill Bill Gates's vision of "information at your fingertips". [20] Cairo never shipped, although portions of its technologies have since appeared in other products. |
Nashville [l] | Windows 96 | 1996 | 4.1 | 999 | Nashville was an operating system planned to have been released between Windows 95 and Windows 98, presumably under the "Windows 96" moniker. |
Neptune | — | Early 2000 | NT 5.50 | 5111 | Neptune, based on the Windows 2000 codebase, was planned to be the first version of Microsoft Windows NT to have a consumer edition variant. A version was sent out to testers but was never released. [21] [22] The teams working on Neptune and Odyssey eventually combined to work on Windows XP. |
Odyssey | — | Early 2000 | NT 6.0 [23] | — | Odyssey was planned to be the successor of Windows 2000. The teams working on Neptune and Odyssey eventually combined to work on Windows XP. |
Triton | — | Early 2000 | — | — | Triton was planned to be the successor of Windows Neptune and had been scheduled to be released in March 2001. |
Blackcomb | — | January 2006 | — | — | Blackcomb was originally planned to be a release of Windows following Windows XP. However, due to the large feature scope planned for Blackcomb, a smaller release codenamed "Longhorn" was planned first, and Blackcomb was delayed to 2003/2004. Both projects faced delays; Longhorn would go on to be released to consumers as "Windows Vista" in January 2007, while development on Blackcomb continued until the Blackcomb project was renamed "Vienna" in early 2006. |
Vienna | — | July 2007 [m] | — | — | Vienna replaced Blackcomb and was intended as Windows Vista's successor. Vienna was eventually cancelled in favor of a new project codenamed "Windows 7" (which went on to be released in 2009 with the same name). |
Polaris | — | 2018 | — | 16299 | Cancelled in favor of Santorini |
Santorini [n] | Windows 10X | May 18, 2021 [o] [25] | 21H1 | 20279 | Microsoft had been reported as working on a new "lite" version of Windows as early as December 2018. [26] Such a version was officially announced under the name "Windows 10X" at an event in October 2019; the operating system was intended to first launch on dual-screen devices. In May 2020, Microsoft announced that Windows 10X would instead be launching on single-screen PCs, such as laptops and 2-in-1 devices, first. [27] However, on May 18, 2021, Microsoft announced that Windows 10X would not be launching (at least not in 2021); many of its features were instead rolled into Windows 11. |
Codename | Intended name | Discontinuation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Photon | Windows Mobile 7 | September 2008 [28] | Originally a successor of Windows Mobile, it had been scrapped for Windows Phone 7 [29] [30] |
Phoenix | — | Early 2017 | Cancelled when Microsoft "wound down" its phone efforts. [31] |
Andromeda | — | Mid-2018 | Much of the work that was put into Andromeda was migrated into Santorini. The Surface Duo, a dual-screen Android-powered smartphone launched by Microsoft in 2020, was loosely based on the prototype hardware that had been used to test Andromeda. [32] |
Codename | Intended name | Discontinuation | Latest known build number |
---|---|---|---|
Cascades | Windows Essential Business Server 2008 R2 | April 7, 2010 [o] | 7224 |
Microsoft Corp. has announced the official name for its upcoming operating system, previously known under the code name Longhorn. The operating system, now due out in 2006, will be called Windows Vista
The code name for Windows 7 was… Windows 7.
One of the worst kept secrets rattling around Microsoft's campus is Windows Blue, the forthcoming update to Windows 8 that addresses users' bugbears about the OS. Now, Microsoft is officially rechristening the platform, and with a more staid name: Windows 8.1.
Windows 11 version 21H2 (shipping on October 5)=Cobalt (Co).
The new IE 6 bits were released on November 11 as part of the Windows Mobile 6.1.4 release from Microsoft's Download Center Web site.
Windows 10 feature2 ended up being version 1709, and it was the final feature update for Windows 10 Mobile.
Knowing that Neptune is 5.50, it's only logical to conclude Odyssey was to be 6.0
Checking reports against each other provides the grounds to assume Microsoft kept working on Photon till September 2008.
Microsoft had originally planned to ship CShell on Windows 10 Mobile under the codename Pheonix[ sic ], but that plan very quickly went away once the company decided to wind down its existing phone efforts in early 2017.