Timeline of Microsoft Windows
Encyclopedia
This article presents a timeline
of events in the history of Microsoft Windows
operating system
s from 1985 to present.
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
of events in the history of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s from 1985 to present.
Desktop/Server
| Date | 16-bit | 32-bit | 64-bit | Codename |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 November 1985 | Windows 1.0 Windows 1.0 Windows 1.0 is a 16-bit graphical operating environment, developed by Microsoft and released on 20 November 1985. It was Microsoft's first attempt to implement a multi-tasking graphical user interface-based operating environment on the PC platform. Windows 1.0 was the first version of Windows... |
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| 9 December 1987 | Windows 2.0 Windows 2.0 Windows 2.0 is a 16-bit Microsoft Windows GUI-based operating environment that was released on December 9, 1987 and is the successor to Windows 1.0. With Windows 2.1x in 1988, Windows 2.0 was supplemented by Windows/286 and Windows/386... |
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| 27 May 1988 | Windows 2.10 Windows 2.1x Windows 2.1x is a family of Microsoft Windows graphical user interface-based operating environments.Windows/286 2.10 and Windows/386 2.10 were released on May 27, 1988, less than a year after the release of Windows 2.0... |
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| 13 March 1989 | Windows 2.11 Windows 2.1x Windows 2.1x is a family of Microsoft Windows graphical user interface-based operating environments.Windows/286 2.10 and Windows/386 2.10 were released on May 27, 1988, less than a year after the release of Windows 2.0... |
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| 22 May 1990 | Windows 3.0 Windows 3.0 Windows 3.0, a graphical environment, 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 rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front... |
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| 6 April 1992 | Windows 3.1 Windows 3.1x Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0... |
Janus | ||
| 27 October 1992 | Windows for Workgroups 3.1 Windows 3.1x Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0... |
Kato, Sparta | ||
| 27 July 1993 | Windows NT 3.1 Windows NT 3.1 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. The version number was chosen to match the one of Windows 3.1, the then-latest operating environment from Microsoft, on account of... |
NT OS/2 | ||
| 8 November 1993 | Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Windows 3.1x Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0... |
Snowball (LB) | ||
| 21 September 1994 | Windows NT 3.5 Windows NT 3.5 Windows NT 3.5 is the second release of the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. It was released on 21 September 1994.One of the primary goals during Windows NT 3.5's development was to increase the speed of the operating system; as a result, the project was given the codename "Daytona" in... |
Daytona | ||
| 30 May 1995 | Windows NT 3.51 Windows NT 3.51 Windows NT 3.51 is the third release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems. It was released on 30 May 1995, nine months after Windows NT 3.5. The release provided two notable feature improvements; firstly NT 3.51 was the first of a short-lived outing of Microsoft Windows on the... |
Daytona | ||
| 24 August 1995 | Windows 95 Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products... |
Chicago | ||
| 24 August 1996 | Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on 31 July 1996... |
SUR, Cairo | ||
| 25 June 1998 | Windows 98 Windows 98 Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid... |
Memphis | ||
| 5 May 1999 | Windows 98 SE | |||
| 17 February 2000 | Windows 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
For SP1 Asteroid | ||
| 14 September 2000 | Windows Me Windows Me Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006.... |
Millenium | ||
| 29 August 2001 | Windows 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... Advanced Server Limited Edition Windows 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... Datacenter Server Limited Edition |
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| 25 October 2001 | Windows XP Windows XP Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base... |
Whistler | ||
| 31 October 2002 | Windows XP Media Center Edition Windows XP Media Center Edition Windows XP Media Center Edition is a version of the Windows XP operating system designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub. The last version, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, was released in October 2004.-Versions:... |
Freestyle | ||
| 24 April 2003 | Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005... |
Whistler Server | ||
| 30 September 2003 | Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 | Harmony | ||
| 12 October 2004 | Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 | Symphony | ||
| 25 April 2005 | Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition released on April 25, 2005 is an edition of Windows XP for x86-64 personal computers. It is designed to use the expanded 64-bit memory address space provided by the x86-64 architecture.... |
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| 8 July 2006 | Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is a thin client operating system from Microsoft, based on Windows XP Embedded, but optimized for older, less powerful hardware. It was released on 8 July 2006... |
Eiger | ||
| 30 November 2006 | Windows Vista 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... for Business use |
Longhorn | ||
| 30 January 2007 | Windows Vista 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... for Home use; released in fifty countries |
Longhorn | ||
| 7 November 2007 | Windows Home Server Windows Home Server Windows Home Server, code-named Quattro, is a home server operating system from Microsoft. Announced on 7 January 2007, at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups,... |
Quattro | ||
| 27 February 2008 | Windows Server 2008 | Longhorn Server | ||
| 22 October 2009 | Windows 7 | 7(Vienna) | ||
| 22 October 2009 | Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009 and launched on October 22, 2009. According to the Windows Server Team blog, the retail availability was September 14, 2009. It is built on Windows NT 6.1, the same core... |
Windows Server 7 | ||
| 6 April 2011 | Windows Home Server 2011 | Vail | ||
Mobile
| Date | Release | Codename | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 16, 1996 | Windows CE 1.0 | Pegasus | |
| June 25, 1997 | Windows CE 1.01 | ||
| September 29, 1997 | Windows CE 2.0 | Alder | |
| November 1, 1997 | Windows CE 2.0 | Mercury | Handheld PC (H/PC) |
| January 8, 1998 | Windows CE 2.01 | Gryphon | Palm-sized PC, Pocket PC (P/PC) and Smartphone |
| Windows CE 2.01 | Apollo | Auto PC | |
| March 1, 1998 | Windows CE 2.10 | Alder EP | |
| July 1, 1998 | Windows CE 2.11 | Birch | |
| September 28, 1999 | Windows CE 2.12 | Birch SP2 | |
| April 19, 2000 | Windows CE 3.0 Windows CE 3.0 Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 is an operating system designed for embedded systems including PDAs and mobile phones, working within the constraints of the slow processors and reduced amount of memory available on these devices... |
Cedar | |
| Pocket PC 2000 | Rapier | Palm-sized PC, Pocket PC (P/PC) and Smartphone | |
| September 25, 2000 | Windows CE 3.0 Core Add-on Pack | ||
| October 4, 2001 | Pocket PC 2002 | Merlin | Palm-sized PC, Pocket PC (P/PC) and Smartphone |
| January 7, 2002 | Windows CE 4.0 | Talisker | |
| June 1, 2002 | Windows CE 4.1 .NET Core | Jameson | |
| April 23, 2003 | Windows CE 4.2 .NET Core | McKendric | |
| June 23, 2003 | Windows Mobile 2003 | Ozone | |
| March 24, 2004 | Windows Mobile 2003 SE | Ozone update | |
| July 9, 2004 | Windows CE 5.0 Windows CE 5.0 Windows CE 5.0 is a successor to Windows CE 4.2, the third release in the Windows CE .NET family.It was first released on July 09, 2004. Like its predecessors, Windows CE 5.0 is marketed towards the embedded device market and independent device vendors... |
Macallan | |
| May 9, 2005 | Windows Mobile Windows Mobile Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is... 5 |
Magneto | |
| September 15, 2006 | Windows CE 6.0 Windows CE 6.0 Windows Embedded CE 6.0 is the sixth major release of Windows Embedded Operating System targeted to enterprise specific tools such as industrial controllers and consumer electronics devices like digital cameras. CE 6.0 features a kernel which supports 32,768 processes, up from the 32 process... |
Yamazaki | |
| February 12, 2007 | Windows Mobile 6 | Crossbow | |
| April 1, 2008 | Windows Mobile 6.1 | ||
| May 11, 2009 | Windows Mobile 6.5 | ||
| November 8, 2010 | Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market... |
Photon |
See also
- History of Microsoft WindowsHistory of Microsoft WindowsIn 1983, Microsoft announced the development of Windows, a graphical user interface for its own operating system , which had shipped for IBM PC and compatible computers since 1981...
- Comparison of Microsoft Windows versionsComparison of Microsoft Windows versionsMicrosoft Windows is the name of several families of computer software operating systems by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces .-DOS-based :-NT...
- Timeline of x86 DOS operating systemsTimeline of x86 DOS operating systemsThis article presents a timeline of events in the history of x86 DOS operating systems from 1973 to 2006.-Important Events in DOS History:-See also:*Comparison of x86 DOS operating systems*Timeline of Microsoft Windows*Timeline of OpenBSD...
- Timeline of OpenBSD
- History of operating systemsHistory of operating systemsThe history of computer operating systems recapitulates to a degree the recent history of computer hardware.Operating systems provide a set of functions needed and used by most application programs on a computer, and the linkages needed to control and synchronize computer hardware...
- Comparison of operating systemsComparison of operating systemsThese tables compare general and technical information for a number of widely used and currently available operating systems.Because of the large number and variety of available Linux distributions, they are all grouped under a single entry; see comparison of Linux distributions for a detailed...
- List of operating systems
- Microsoft Version NumberMicrosoft Version NumberMicrosoft's version numbering identifies the specific release and revision of Microsoft software products. If you are running Microsoft's Internet Explorer you can view this number by selecting "Help" and "About" from the menu. This version number is composed of 4 parts separated by periods and may...
- Microsoft codenames