Windows is the most popular desktop operating system which is also used for other platforms like servers, tablets, smartphones, rugged devices, etc. Microsoft releases new Windows operating systems versions for about 4-5 years and publishes updates every month. If you as yourself “What version of Windows do I have?” please continue reading where we will show different methods to list Windows operating system versions. The version information provides the major version like Windows 10 etc. and minor version number which is related to updates to the major version. The windows version can be required to get a new license where different versions use different licenses with different license fees.
Windows Operating Systems
Windows operating system is created by Microsoft first in 1980 and later different versions of theWindows operating systems are released. The following list provides modern and actively used Windows Operating systems.
- Windows XP is a groundbreaking windows version that was used for 20 years. Currently, Windows XP is not supported by Microsoft.
- Windows Server 2003 shares the same kernel as Windows XP.
- Windows Vista is a transition version that is not popular and is used much.
- Windows 7 is the most popular version currently used.
- Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012 are the server versions of Windows 7.
- Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are previous versions of Windows 10.
- Windows 10 is the most popular version of the Windows operating system.
- Windows 11 is the latest version of the Windows operating system.
- Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 are server versions of Windows 10.
Also, Windows operating systems are provided 32-bit or 64-bit. But with the Windows 8 operating system, the 64-bit Windows version gained popularity and with the Windows 10 operating system, only the 64-bit version is provided.
Windows operating systems are provided with different features. These are called editions. Even this version naming changes with different Windows editions they are generally provided for a similar user base.
- Student
- Home
- Professional
- Ultimate
- Enterprise
Display Windows Version From Control Panel
The Control panel is used to manage the Windows operating systems. As a management GUI for Windows operating systems, basic Windows version information is provided via the System configuration of the Control Panel .
In the following screen, the windows version is printed under the Windows edition . Only the major version number is provided and there is no minor version number. This page provides basic version or edition information but also provides the processor, memory, architecture, computer name, and similar information.
Display Windows Version From Settings->About
Windows 8 and Windows 10 operating systems provide the Settings app in order to manage the operating system configuration. The About System screen provides detailed information about the Windows operating system like Edition, Version, Installation Date, OS Build, and Experience. Start Menu ->Settings -> System->About .
- The Edition provides the Windows edition which is mainly related to the Windows features. For this example, Windows provides the Pro or Professional Edition. The professional edition provides more features than Home Edition.
- Version is the version number of the current Windows operating system. The version is generally updated with the Windows updates and named YYMM. The YY is the year where 2020 is displayed as 20 and MM is the month which is currently 04.
- OS Build is mainly related to the developer’s more detailed build number.
Display Windows Version From Command Prompt
The windows version number and information can be displayed via the command prompt, command-line, or cmd.exe like below. Just type cmd or command prompt like below and open the command prompt.
When the command prompt is opened the major and minor version numbers will be displayed. you can see that following is a Windows 10 system with the 0.19041.508 minor number. This detailed version of information can be used to inform bugs easily.
Display Windows Version with winver Command
Windows operating systems also provide the command winver which is the short form of the Windows Version. This command-line tool will open a message box that provides information about the operating system with the major and minor version numbers.
> winver
This screen shows detailed information like OS Build. The OS Build number is 19041.508 which is the detailed number. Also, the more human-friendly number 2004 is displayed.
Display Windows Version Using PowerShell
All windows operating systems provide the wmic command which can be used to check the current windows operating system version. The os get version command is used to display the current windows operating system version in detail with major and minor version numbers.
PS> wmic os get version
Display Windows Version For Mobile Devices
In the old days, Windows CE (Compact Edition) was very popular for mobile and embedded devices. If you have this type of old-style device you can learn the operating system version from Start Menu -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Systems ->System Properties .