Windows family of operating systems. Windows operating system family Microsoft Windows versions

Some users do this: by purchasing new computer with a pre-installed starter or home version of Windows 7, without even starting to use it, they remove the “defective” system in their opinion and install the maximum one in its place. Or professional, without really understanding why it is better than what it was.

For some reason, many people believe that Ultimate (maximum), Enterprise (corporate) and Professional (professional) Windows versions 7 is better because “they have more opportunities.” Although 90% of these features are not needed by home users, and the word “professional” in the name of the operating system release has not yet turned anyone into a professional.

So is Windows 7 maximum really better than Home Basic?

But no. And there are several reasons for this:

• the distribution of the starter and home editions of the seven takes up less space on the hard drive;
• the variety of functions in “uncut” versions of Windows 7 is a temptation to experiment with their settings, which without proper knowledge leads to a decrease in the level of security and often leads to system crash and loss of user data;
• missing functions of the initial editions, such as the Windows Aero or Windows Media Center interface, are easily compensated for by installing third-party themes and applications (“Personalization Pack”, multimedia software, etc.);
• many of the “bells and whistles” of full-fledged sevens are often not supported by the computer hardware on which the light version was installed by the manufacturer, and therefore are useless;
• for those who “choose the real thing” (licensed, not pirated) - the cost of full-featured editions is more than 4 times higher than stripped-down editions.

Minimal release, which contains only basic functions that provide solutions to basic problems when working on a computer. Manufacturers install Windows 7 Starter on netbooks and laptops entry level with limited hardware resources. The Windows launch edition is not available for retail sale - it is distributed only under OEM licenses.

Among the shortcomings of this version, the most significant, from the point of view of users, are the following:

• 32-bit architecture only;
• support for RAM no more than 2 GB;
• inability to change the wallpaper on the desktop using the system;
• lack of support for a desktop manager with Windows Aero functionality (3D effects and transparency) and other personalization gadgets;
• inability to create a home group and virtual access point without the help of third-party tools;
• lack of a number of applications, such as Windows Media Center, “Scissors”, “Sticky Notes”, selected games.
• There is no support for gestures in touchpad control.

How to compensate for what is missing?

• Use 32-bit programs, which, fortunately, are no less numerous than 64-bit ones.
• Install a third-party application to change wallpaper and show slideshows on your desktop.
• To be able to admire the multi-color translucent window frames, install the personalization package.
• Use third-party hardware or software to create access points.
• Create a homegroup on another computer and join it.
• Use a mouse instead of a touchpad.

As for restrictions on the use of RAM, Windows 7 Starter is not installed on devices with more than 2 GB of RAM.

Windows 7 Home Basic and Premium

The basic and extended home versions have richer functionality than Windows 7 Starter. The extended edition, it can be argued, is capable of satisfying almost all the needs of a home user. Unlike Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic supports up to 8 GB of RAM and comes in 64-bit and 32-bit versions. The extended 64-bit home version supports up to 16 GB of RAM.

Home Basic still lacks:

• support for Windows Aero and a personalization panel (there is only a basic theme);
• Windows Media Center, Sticky Notes, Scissors, selected games;
• ability to create a home group.

But in it you can already change the wallpaper on your desktop and use your computer to provide Internet access to other devices (create a hosted network).

Windows 7 Home Premium has:

• desktop manager and Windows Aero interface with a full personalization package;
• support for up to 2 physical processors (Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic support one each);
• Windows Media Center and all types of standard applications provided;
• home group creation function;
• DVD playback and TV tuner support.

That is, the extended home version contains everything that Windows 7 Starter users lack.

Windows 7 Professional

Windows 7 Professional edition is designed for work and business. It has more developed data protection functionality and implements the possibility of use in large corporate networks. The 64-bit version of this system supports addressing up to 192 GB of RAM.

Windows 7 Professional also supports:

• data backup via the network with the ability to quickly restore;
• EFS – Encrypting File System;
• connecting to a domain (Windows 7 Starter and Home editions only support the creation of workgroups);
• Windows XP emulator (XP Mode) – a mode that provides the ability to run legacy applications in the built-in virtual machine (some types and types of business programs cannot be run in the Windows 7 environment);
• remote connection to a computer via RDP (Remote Desktop Connection);
• group policy editor (light versions of seven - from Windows 7 Starter to Home Advanced, also support group policy management, but only through direct entries to the registry);
• choosing the most convenient network printer;
• possibility of downgrading (rollback) to Windows Vista or XP (valid until 2020).

The professional edition of the seven may be a justified choice for those who use the computer as a tool for making money. Thus, manufacturers of business-class laptops often install Windows 7 Professional on them.

Windows 7 corporate (Enterprise) and maximum (Ultimate)

The maximum and corporate editions have the same set of functions and differ only in the licensing scheme. Thus, Windows 7 Enterprise is not sold at retail and is not distributed under OEM licenses. Unlike the maximum, only corporate consumers can buy it.

In addition to what it has professional Windows 7, implemented here:

• disk encryption technologies (Microsoft BitLocker and Microsoft BitLocker To Go) to protect data on any type of drive;
• expanded search capabilities in corporate networks (federal search);
• Microsoft AppLocker technology, which helps protect enterprise computers and networks from unauthorized launch and spread of malware;
• multilingual user environment (MUI), including 35 languages ​​- for large transnational companies;
• ability to boot from virtual disk– Microsoft Virtual PC;
• subsystem for launching UNIX applications;
• DirectAccess technology, which provides secure connections to corporate networks through the Internet;
• BranchCache technology to speed up data access on corporate file servers.

64-bit versions of Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate, like Professional, support addressing up to 192 GB of RAM. All 32-bit editions, starting with Home Basic, allow you to use only 4 GB of RAM, regardless of how much is installed on the computer. This limitation is due to the capabilities of the x86 architecture.

As you can see, the maximum editions of the seven implement technologies and solutions that are absolutely not needed by most home users. And the purpose of much of what is present here is understandable only to specialists. Therefore, if Windows 7 Starter is installed on your not-so-sophisticated netbook, think three times about whether it’s worth replacing it with a heavy, clumsy “tank”, most of the “bells and whistles” of which you will never need.

All editions, types and types of Windows 7 are equally worthy of being chosen. There are no good or bad ones among them - just each version has its own purpose.

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows (/ˈwɪndoʊz/) is a family of proprietary operating systems Microsoft company. Windows operating systems run on x86, x86-64, IA-64, ARM platforms. There were also versions for DEC Alpha, MIPS and PowerPC.

Microsoft Windows Versions

The following versions of Microsoft Windows exist:

1. Windows 1.0 (1985)

2. Windows 2.0 (1987)

3. Windows 3.0 (1990)

4. Windows 3.1 (1992)

5. Windows For Workgroups 3.1 (1992)

6. Windows NT 3.1 (1993)

7. Windows NT 3.5 (1994)

8. Windows NT 3.51 (1995)

9. Windows 95 (1995)

10. Windows NT 4.0 (1996)

11. Windows 98 (1998)

12. Windows 98 SE (1999)

13. Windows 2000 (2000)

14. Windows Me (2000)

15. Windows XP (2001)

16. Windows XP 64-bit Edition (2003)

17. Windows Server 2003 (2003)

18. Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (2006)

19. Windows Vista (2007)

20. Windows Home Server (2007)

21. Windows Server 2008 (2008)

23. Windows Server 2008 R2 (formerly known as Windows Server 7) (release date scheduled for late 2009 early 2010)

24. Windows 8 (release date scheduled for 2012)

Let's take a closer look at each of the listed operating systems.

Windows 1.x

Windows 1.01, released on November 20, 1985, was Microsoft's first attempt to implement a multitasking operating environment for the IBM PC with a graphical interface.

Unlike subsequent versions, Windows 1.0 provided only limited multitasking support for existing MS-DOS programs, concentrating primarily on creating a paradigm environment for application execution and interaction, as well as a stable API for future Windows programs. Today, twenty-three years after the release of Windows 1.0, you can not only run many of the programs created for that version, but also modern system Windows XP, but also compile them source into fully functional "modern" applications (with minor modifications).

Windows 1.0 is often considered a "shell" for the MS-DOS operating system (this definition is often applied to later versions of Windows as well). In fact, Windows 1.0 ran from MS-DOS, its programs could call MS-DOS functions, and GUI programs ran from the same executable EXE files as regular MS-DOS programs. However, executable Windows files had a different format (NE - new executable), which could only be processed by Windows and which, for example, allowed loading code and data upon request. Applications were required to manage memory only using Windows' native memory management system, which allowed the use of virtual memory.

The definition of Windows 1.0 as a "shell for DOS" comes from the fact that it was created only as a graphical environment for running applications, and not as a full-featured OS. However, Windows 1.0 included its own drivers for video cards, mice, keyboards, printers, and serial ports. Applications were expected to only call APIs built on top of these drivers. Given that graphics and peripheral support in MS-DOS is extremely limited, applications had to go directly to the hardware (or, in some cases, the BIOS) to perform the necessary actions. Thus, Windows 1.0 was not just a shell for MS-DOS, but complemented and partially replaced features not provided in MS-DOS. The level of replacement for MS-DOS increased in subsequent versions of Windows.

The first version of Windows released was version 1.01. Version 1.0 was not released due to a serious bug that prevented this version from being released.

Version 1.02, released in May 1986, was international and had localizations for various European languages.

Version 1.03, released in August 1986, was a US-only release and contained improvements that made it more similar to an international release. It included drivers for European keyboards and additional drivers for screens and printers.

Version 1.04, released in April 1987, added support for VGA graphics adapters introduced in IBM's new PS/2 series computers. At the same time, Microsoft, together with IBM, announced the OS/2 operating system with a graphical interface - Presentation Manager, which, according to the companies' plans, was supposed to eventually replace both MS-DOS and Windows.

Windows 1.0 was replaced by Windows 2.0, released in November 1987.

Windows 2.x

Instead of the tiling of windows that was in Windows 1.x, Windows 2.x implements a system of overlapping windows. In addition, the advantages of the protected mode of the 80286 and higher processors are used, which allows programs to go beyond the DOS main memory capacity of 640 KB. In June 1988, version 2.1 was released, renamed Windows 286. Also on December 9, 1987, Windows 386 was released - an edition of Windows 2.0 optimized for the latest Intel CPU. It has some impact on the market, but mainly due to the ability to run multiple DOS programs in<виртуальных машинах>CPU 386; it lays the foundation for most future Windows functions 3.0.

Windows 3.x

Windows 3.x is the generic name for a family of Microsoft operating systems released from 1990 to 1994. The first widely used version of Microsoft Windows was 3.0, allowing Microsoft to compete with the Macintosh and Commodore Amiga in the field of graphical user interface operating systems.

Windows 3.0 was released on May 22, 1990, and featured a significantly updated user interface as well as technical improvements to take advantage of the memory management capabilities of the Intel 80286 and 80386 processors. Text programs created for MS-DOS could be launched in a window (this feature was previously available in a more limited form in Windows/386 2.1). This made the system suitable for use as a simple multitasking base for older programs; however, for home computers this feature was of little importance, since most games and entertainment applications still required direct access to DOS.

The MS-DOS Executive tool, previously used to launch programs and manage files, has been replaced by the Program Manager and File Manager tools, which have simplified these actions. However, MS-DOS Executive still came with the system as an alternative user interface. The Control Panel, previously an ordinary applet, has been redesigned and began to look more like its counterpart in the Mac OS operating system. It was centralized system settings, including limited control color scheme interface. Several simple applications were included in the delivery, e.g. text editor Notepad and the Write word processor (both of which were inherited from previous versions of Windows), a macro recorder ( new opportunity Windows 3.0; was subsequently removed), and a calculator (also from previous versions). More old game Reversi was complemented by the solitaire card game "Klondike".

Windows 3.0 was the last version of Windows that Microsoft stated supported full compatibility with older Windows applications.

Media extensions were released in the fall of 1991 to support CD drives and sound cards as they became more common. These extensions were released to OEMs, primarily CD drive and sound card manufacturers. They added simple audio I/O and an audio CD player to Windows 3.0. New media extension capabilities were not available when running in real mode. Subsequently, many of the features of these extensions were included in Windows 3.1.

Windows 3.1 (originally codenamed Janus), released on March 18, 1992, was an extension of Windows 3.0. It included the TrueType font system (and a pre-installed set of pretty good fonts), making Windows a serious desktop publishing platform for the first time. Similar capabilities could be obtained in Windows 3.0 using Adobe applications Type Manager. This version of Windows also included a simple antivirus program, Microsoft Anti-Virus for Windows, which later became famous for identifying Windows 95 Setup as containing a computer virus. Starting with this version, Windows systems support 32-bit hard disk access.

Windows 3.1 was designed to have the maximum level of backward compatibility with older Windows platforms. Like version 3.0, Windows 3.1 had a File Manager and Program Manager.

A special version was also released, called Windows 3.1 for Central and Eastern Europe, which supported the Cyrillic alphabet and had fonts with diacritics.

Built-in networking support was introduced in Windows for Workgroups 3.1, an enhanced version of Windows 3.1. It included SMB support for public access to files via the NetBEUI and/or IPX protocols, and also contained computer game"Hearts" and VSHARE.386, a virtual device driver for the SHARE.EXE program. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 supported 32-bit file access, full 32-bit network redirectors, and the VCACHE.386 file cache. In addition, in version 3.11 support was removed standard mode and the game "Reversi". Support for TCP/IP protocols in Windows 3.x relied on separate packages from third parties (for example, Winsock). An add-on from Microsoft (codenamed Snowball) also provided TCP/IP support in Windows for Workgroups, but this package did not become widely available.

Limited compatibility with the new 32-bit Win32 API used in Windows NT was provided by the Win32s add-on package.

Windows 3.2 was a Chinese-only version.

Over time, Windows 3.x was replaced by Windows 95, Windows 98 and later versions, which integrated MS-DOS and Windows components into a single product.

Later, Windows 3.x found application in embedded systems. On November 1, 2008, Microsoft stopped issuing licenses for its use.

Windows NT

Windows NT (colloquially simply NT) is a line of operating systems (OS) produced by Microsoft Corporation and the name of the first versions of the OS.

Windows NT was developed from scratch, developed separately from other operating systems of the Windows family (Windows 3.x and Windows 9x) and, unlike them, was positioned as a reliable solution for workstations (Windows NT Workstation) and servers (Windows NT Server ). Windows NT gave rise to a family of operating systems that includes Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7.

Development of Windows NT, under the working title NT OS/2, began in November 1988 by a group of specialists led by David Cutler, who moved to Microsoft from DEC, where they developed VAX and VMS. The work proceeded in parallel with IBM's development of its own OS, OS/2 2.0, which was finally released only in April 1992. At the same time, Microsoft continued to develop its operating systems of the DOS and Windows families, which have lower requirements for computer resources than IBM OS/2. After Windows 3.0 was released in May 1990, Microsoft decided to add a Windows API compatible programming interface (API) to NT OS/2. This decision caused serious friction between Microsoft and IBM, which ended in a break in their collaboration. IBM continued to develop OS/2 on its own, while Microsoft began working on the system that was eventually released under the name Windows NT. Although it did not achieve immediate popularity like DOS or Windows, Windows NT was significantly more successful than OS/2.

It should be noted that as software interfaces NT was originally designed with OS/2 and then POSIX APIs, with Windows API support added last. In addition, Intel i860 and then MIPS were initially planned as the hardware platform for NT, support for Intel x86 was also added later. Then, as the OS evolved, support for both originally planned software interfaces and both originally planned hardware platforms disappeared. There was not even a single release version of this OS for the i860, although the name of the NT OS itself comes from the code name of this processor, N10. Microsoft now deciphers the abbreviation NT as New Technology. And as an alternative to the POSIX subsystem, Microsoft began to offer the Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX package.

Portability of NT was one of her top priorities. That is why the development of this OS was initially carried out for the i860 processor, although binary compatibility with OS/2, which was one of the conditions of the NT OS/2 project, in any case would have required the creation of a version of NT for x86, or the inclusion of emulation of this platform in it. The number of platforms for which there were release versions of the Windows NT family of operating systems is impressive: in addition to the aforementioned MIPS and Intel x86, this includes PowerPC, DEC Alpha, Itanium and AMD x86-64. Independent manufacturers computer systems versions of Windows NT were also developed for the Clipper and SPARC architectures; however, these versions were not released as standalone software products. Unix and Mach operating systems were taken as examples for highly portable operating systems during the development of NT.

To develop the NT OS, Microsoft invited a group of specialists from DEC, led by David Cutler, with experience in creating multitasking operating systems such as VAX/VMS and RSX-11. Some similarities noted between internal architectures Windows NT and the VMS family OS gave grounds for accusing newly hired Microsoft employees of stealing DEC intellectual property. The resulting conflict was resolved peacefully: DEC recognized Microsoft's ownership of the technologies underlying Windows NT, and Microsoft created and supported a version of Windows NT for the DEC Alpha architecture.

Despite common roots, Windows compatibility NT and OS/2 decreased with each new release of this OS. OS/2 2.0 API support, although planned for NT, was never completed; Windows NT 4.0 removed support for the HPFS file system, and Windows XP removed the program support subsystem for OS/2 1.x.

The user interface subsystem in Windows NT implements a window interface similar to that of previous versions of Windows. Two types of objects in this subsystem that were not present in 16-bit versions of Windows and Windows 9x are window stations and desktops. A window station corresponds to one Windows NT user session - for example, when connecting via the Remote Desktop Service, a new window station is created. Every running process belongs to one of the window stations; Services other than those marked as being able to interact with the desktop run in separate, invisible window stations.

Each window station has its own clipboard, a set of global atoms (used for DDE operations), and a set of desktops. The desktop is the context for all global UI subsystem operations, such as installing hooks and broadcasting messages. Each running thread belongs to one of the desktops - the one where the windows it serves are located; in particular, one thread cannot create multiple windows belonging to different desktops. One of the desktops can be active (visible to the user and able to respond to his actions), the remaining desktops are hidden. The ability to create several desktops for one work session and switch between them has not been provided until now standard means custom Windows interface, although there are third party programs that provide access to this functionality.

Window stations and desktops are the only Windows NT user interface subsystem objects that can be assigned access rights. The remaining types of objects - windows and menus - provide full access to any process that is in the same window station with them. That's why Windows services NT by default runs in separate window stations: they run with elevated privileges, and allowing user processes to manipulate service windows indefinitely could lead to crashes and/or security issues.

Windows NT provides several sets of APIs for application programs. The most basic of them is the so-called “native” API (NT Native API), implemented in the dynamically linked library ntdll and consisting of two parts: NT kernel system calls (functions with the Nt and Zw prefixes, transferring execution to ntoskrnl kernel functions with the same names ) and functions implemented in user mode (prefixed with Rtl). Some of the functions of the second group use system calls internally; the rest consist entirely of unprivileged code, and can be called not only from user-mode code, but also from drivers. In addition to the Native API functions, ntdll also includes functions of the C standard library.

Official documentation for the Native API is very sparse, but communities of enthusiasts have managed to gather quite a lot of information about this interface through trial and error. In particular, in February 2000, Gary Nebbett's book “A Guide to Basic Windows NT/2000 API Functions” () was published; in 2002 it was translated into Russian (). The source of information about the Native API can be the Windows DDK, which describes some of the kernel functions available through the Native API, as well as studying Windows code(reverse engineering) - through disassembly, or using the original Windows texts 2000, which became available as a result of a leak, or using the Windows 2003 source code available through the Windows Research Kernel program.

Programs that run before loading the subsystems that provide the rest of the Windows NT APIs are limited to using the Native API. For example, the autochk program, which checks disks when loading the OS after an incorrect shutdown, uses only the Native API.

Most often, application programs for Windows NT use the Win32 API - an interface created on the basis of the Windows 3.1 OS API, which allows you to recompile existing programs for 16-bit versions of Windows with minimal changes to the source code. The compatibility of the Win32 API and the 16-bit Windows API is so great that 32-bit and 16-bit applications can freely exchange messages, work with each other's windows, etc. In addition to supporting the functions of the existing Windows API, a number of new features, including support for console programs, multithreading, and synchronization objects such as mutexes and semaphores. Documentation for the Win32 API is included in the Microsoft Platform SDK and is available on the website.

The Win32 API support libraries are basically named the same as the Windows 3.x system libraries, with the addition of a 32 suffix: these are the kernel32, advapi32, gdi32, user32, comctl32, comdlg32, shell32 and a number of others. Win32 API functions can either independently implement the required functionality in user mode, or call the Native API functions described above, or access the csrss subsystem via the LPC mechanism, or make a system call to the win32k library, which implements the necessary mode support for the Win32 API kernels. The four options listed can also be combined in any combination: for example, the Win32 API WriteFile function calls the Native API NtWriteFile function to write to a disk file, and calls the corresponding csrss function to output to the console.

Win32 API support is included in the Windows 9x family of operating systems; in addition, it can be added to Windows 3.1x by installing the Win32s package. To make it easier to port existing Windows applications that use MBCS encodings to represent strings, all Win32 API functions that accept string parameters have been created in two versions: functions with the A (ANSI) suffix accept MBCS strings, and functions with the W (wide) suffix ) accept Unicode strings. In Win32s and Windows 9x, only A-functions are supported, whereas in Windows NT, where all strings within the OS are stored exclusively in Unicode, each A-function simply converts its string parameters to Unicode and calls the W version of the same function. When a function name is specified without a suffix in a program's source code, whether the A or W version of that function is used is determined by the compilation options. It is important to note that most of the new features introduced in Windows 2000 or later Windows NT operating systems exist only in the Unicode version, because the task of ensuring compatibility with older programs and with Windows 9x is no longer as pressing as before

Unlike most "free" Unix-like operating systems, Windows NT is certified by NIST to be compliant with the POSIX.1 standard, and even with the more stringent FIPS 151-2 standard. The psxdll library exports standard POSIX functions, as well as some Native API functions that have no analogues in POSIX - for example, for working with the heap, with structural exceptions, with Unicode encoding. These functions use both the Native API and LPC calls to the psxss subsystem, which is a regular Win32 process. The posix console shell program is used to load this subsystem and execute the POSIX program. The POSIX support included in Windows NT does not include extensions for graphics or multithreaded applications.

To run 16-bit programs written for OS/2 1.x, Windows NT includes two OS/2 system libraries (doscalls and netapi) and an os2 console emulator program that loads and uses the os2srv and subsystems via LPC calls. os2ss. The rest of the OS/2 system libraries, except for the two mentioned (kbdcalls, mailslot, moncalls, nampipes, quecalls, viocalls and a dozen more), are not stored as separate files, but are emulated. Programs written for OS/2 2.0 and higher, as well as window programs and programs that directly work with computer devices, including drivers, are not supported by Windows NT.

Both of these subsystems, which are optional for most applications, were removed in Windows XP and subsequent releases of Windows. Using registry manipulations, they could be disabled in previous versions of Windows NT, which was recommended by computer security experts in order to reduce the attack surface of a computer system.

To ensure binary compatibility with existing programs For previous families of Microsoft operating systems, Windows NT added the ntvdm emulator program, which implements a VDM (virtual DOS machine) within which a DOS program can run. Each DOS program executed has its own VDM, while several 16-bit Windows programs can be executed in separate threads within a single VDM, which in this case plays the role of a subsystem. In order for Windows programs to be executed inside the VDM, the wowexec program must first be loaded into it, which establishes a connection between the VDM and the WOW platform (“Windows on Win32”), which allows the use of 16-bit Windows applications along with 32-bit ones. The ntvdm emulator program itself runs inside the Win32 subsystem, which allows Win32 programs to access DOS program windows as regular console windows, and Win16 program windows as regular graphical windows.

Another binary compatibility technology implemented in Windows NT is thunks, which allow 32-bit programs to use 16-bit DLLs (for Windows or OS/2), and vice versa. Thunks for Win16 are implemented in the wow32 (32-bit entry points) and krnl386 (16-bit entry points) libraries; thunks for OS/2 - in the doscalls library (16-bit entry points). The 16-bit system libraries included in Windows NT for use by WOW technology include krnl386, gdi, user, commctrl, commdlg, shell, etc. Support for DOS programs by the Windows NT virtual DOS machine is not limited to emulating the real mode of the x86 processor : DPMI interface is supported, allowing DOS programs to access extended memory. However, support for programs for DOS and Win16 in Windows NT is limited by security requirements: programs that directly work with computer devices, including drivers, are not supported.

Due to hardware limitations of 64-bit platforms, support for VDM and WOW has been removed from 64-bit versions of Windows, and it is not possible to run 16-bit programs on them. The main API of these versions of Windows NT is the 64-bit version of the Win32 API; To run 32-bit programs, WOW64 technology is used, similar to traditional WOW.

As already noted, the creation of an x86 version of NT was required to ensure compatibility with OS/2, but in order to ensure the portability of the generated code, NT development began with versions for RISC architectures, and only then x86 support was added. The x86 version of Windows NT was originally designed for the 80486 processor, but by the time Windows NT 3.1 was released, support for the 80386 was also added. Latest version The version that supported i386 was Windows NT 3.51, and starting with Windows 2000, support for i486 was also discontinued.

The i860 processor, for which the NT OS was initially developed, did not receive the support from computer manufacturers that Intel and Microsoft were counting on by the time work on Windows NT was completed. As a result, the three platforms that were included in Windows NT 3.1 were x86, Alpha, and MIPS. In the releases of Windows NT 3.x, support for these platforms was retained, and in Windows NT 3.51 it was also supplemented with the PReP architecture based on the PowerPC processor. However, Windows NT 3.51 was not compatible with Macintosh computers with the same processor; in fact, only IBM PC clones with a PowerPC processor instead of an x86 were supported. Such computers were produced mainly by the creators of PowerPC - IBM and Motorola.

The first release of Windows NT 4 supported four platforms (x86, Alpha, MIPS and PowerPC), but support for less common platforms was reduced as service packs were released: MIPS support was removed from SP1, and PowerPC support from SP3. The latest releases of Windows NT 4 supported only x86 and Alpha; although Alpha support was planned for inclusion in Windows 2000, it was removed from the RC2 release.

Windows 95

Windows 95 (codename Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit and 32-bit graphical operating system released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft Corporation. The Russian version went on sale on November 10, 1995.

This is the first system of the Windows family, the interface of which is used in all subsequent versions of Windows: it was in it that graphical interface elements such as the desktop with icons, the taskbar and the Start menu appeared.

Windows 95 is the result of the merger of MS-DOS and Windows products, which were previously distributed separately. Windows 95 is the third (after Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT) Windows system that lacks support for standard and real mode x86 processors and requires an Intel 80386-level processor or higher in protected mode. Windows 95 contains significant improvements to the graphical interface and system internals, including the desktop and Start menu, support for long (up to 256 characters) file names, and a plug and play system.

The main innovation in Windows 95 was the ability to run 32-bit applications based on the Win32 API. This feature first appeared in Windows NT, but systems of this family had higher hardware requirements and therefore could not compare in popularity with the “regular” one. Windows series(which, before the release of Windows 95, was represented by the Windows 3.x family).

Windows 95 provided only a fraction of the Win32 capabilities available in Windows NT. However, this was enough to ensure that many applications developed based on the Win32 API could run on both Windows NT (which was positioned as a system for business applications) and Windows 95 (targeted for the consumer market). This contributed to the popularity of Windows 95.

The introduction of 32-bit file access in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 meant that MS-DOS 16-bit real mode was no longer used for file access during Windows execution, and the introduction of 32-bit disk access in Windows 3.1 avoided the need to use the BIOS to manage hard drives. As a result, the role of MS-DOS was essentially reduced to loading the Windows kernel, which runs in protected mode. DOS could still be used to run older device drivers for compatibility purposes, but Microsoft recommended against using them as it interfered with proper multitasking and reduced system stability. Using the Control Panel, the user could determine which MS-DOS components were still in use on their system; optimal performance was achieved if there were none. The Windows kernel still used the old "MS-DOS-style" calls in what was known as failsafe mode, but this mode was only used to correct problems loading native protected mode drivers.

32-bit file access was required for long file names, a feature available in Windows 95 through the use of the VFAT file system (a variant of FAT16). This feature was available as Windows programs, as well as MS-DOS programs running from Windows (they needed a little tweaking, since accessing files with long names required using a larger buffer for the path and, as a result, other system calls). Other DOS-compatible operating systems required an update to take advantage of long file names. Using older versions of DOS file management utilities could corrupt long file names when copying and moving them. In progress automatic update Windows 3.1 through Windows 95 DOS and third party utilities that could corrupt long filenames were detected and disabled. For those cases when there was a need to use old disk utilities, which did not accept long file names (for example, the defrag program from the MS-DOS 6.22 package), a program LFNBACK was provided to save and restore long names. The program is located in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\LFNBACK directory on the Windows 95 CD.

The graphical interface of Windows 95 became much more powerful and easier to use, resulting in the competition in the desktop operating system market ending in victory for Microsoft. Windows 95 was an undoubted success on the market, and within a year or two of its release, it became the most successful operating system ever created. Windows 95 made GUI features such as the Start button and taskbar available to the masses (although similar features had been implemented earlier - in the Arthur and RISC OS operating systems - the market for these systems was extremely limited). These functions became a permanent feature of all subsequent versions of Windows, and were subsequently copied in other graphical interfaces.

The “plug and play” system implemented in Windows 95 automatically installs device drivers, assigns interrupt numbers to them, etc. - previously this had to be done manually. In its turn, emergence of Windows 95 led to devices specifically designed to be "plug and play" - for example, they are inactive until the system assigns addresses and interrupts to them. At the early stage of implementation, numerous equipment recognition errors occurred, so “plug and play” was often jokingly called “plug and pray.”

The release of Windows 95 was accompanied by a massive advertising campaign(by many estimates - the largest in software history), including a commercial with the song "Start Me Up" (a reference to the Start button) performed by the Rolling Stones. The campaign also included stories from people queuing outside stores to purchase a copy of the system; there were even tales of people who didn't own computers buying Windows 95 simply because of all the hype, without even knowing what Windows even was.

Initially, Windows 95 was sold on 13 floppy disks in a special DMF format (Distribution Media Format, capacity 1.68 MB) or on CDs (the CD version included many useful additional files). Some developments that could not be completed by the time Windows 95 was officially released were later included in Microsoft Plus! (For example, Internet Explorer).

The first versions of Windows 95 did not have built-in support for working with the Internet, but there was a “Microsoft Network” icon on the desktop - it was later removed.

Windows 95 was replaced by other operating systems in the Windows 9x line - Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME. The Windows NT kernel, used in Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, is much more stable and functional than its predecessors used in the Windows 9x line, but does not support older MS-DOS games and applications well. To date, all operating systems in the Windows 9x line, especially Windows 95, are almost obsolete. On December 31, 2002, Microsoft ended support for Windows 95.

Windows 98

Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is a graphical operating system released by Microsoft on June 25, 1998.

Essentially, this operating system is an updated version of Windows 95, which is still a hybrid 16/32-bit product based on MS-DOS. AGP support has been improved, USB drivers, added support for working with multiple monitors and support for WebTV. As in Windows 95 OSR 2.5, Internet Explorer 4 (Active Desktop function) is integrated into the system interface.

The internal number of the "first edition" of Windows 98 is 10/4/1998, SE - 10/4/2222.

System requirements for Windows 98: 486DX/66 MHz processor or better, 16 MB of RAM and at least 195 MB of free disk space with a standard installation.

Windows 98 Second Edition (Windows 98 SE) was released on May 5, 1999. The updated version includes many fixes, Internet Explorer 4 has been replaced by the much faster and lighter Internet Explorer 5, and a new feature has been added: Internet Connection Sharing. MS NetMeeting 3 and support for DVD playback have also been added.

System requirements for RAM for Windows 98 SE have increased to 24 MB.

Microsoft planned to end support for Windows 98 on July 16, 2004. However, due to the incredible popularity of this operating system, support was extended until July 30, 2006.

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 (also called Win2k, W2k or Windows NT 5.0, codenamed Cairo) is an operating system in the Windows NT family Microsoft, designed to work on computers with 32-bit processors (with architecture compatible with Intel IA-32).

The first beta version of the system was released on September 27, 1997. The system was originally called Windows NT 5.0 because it was the next major version of Windows NT after Windows NT 4.0. However, on October 27, 1998, it received its own name, Windows 2000. The final version of the system was released to the general public on February 17, 2000.

Windows 2000 comes in four editions: Professional (for workstations and power users), Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server (for use on servers). In addition, there is a "Limited Edition" of Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Limited Edition, designed to run on 64-bit Intel Itanium processors.

Some of the most significant improvements in Windows 2000 over Windows NT 4.0 are: Directory service support Active Directory. The Active Directory server side comes with Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server editions, while full client-side service support is provided by the Professional edition. Internet Information Services version 5.0. Compared to IIS 4.0, this version includes, among other things, version 3.0 of the ASP web programming system. File system NTFS version 3.0 (also called NTFS 5.0 in the internal version of Windows 2000 - NT 5.0). In this version of NTFS, support for quotas appeared for the first time, that is, restrictions on maximum volume stored files for each user. Updated user interface, including Active Desktop based on Internet Explorer version 5 and thus similar to the interface of Windows 98. Language integration: previous versions of Windows were released in three versions - for European languages ​​​​(single-byte characters, writing only from left to right), for Far Eastern languages (multi-byte characters) and for Middle Eastern languages ​​(right-to-left writing with contextual letter variations). Windows 2000 combines these capabilities; all its localized versions are made on a single basis.

Windows 2000 was subsequently replaced by Windows XP (client side) and Windows Server 2003 (server side). However, Windows 2000 remains popular, especially in large companies, where updating operating systems on a large number of computers involves serious technical and financial difficulties. As of early 2005, Windows 2000 had more than 50% share of Windows workstation operating systems in companies with more than 250 computers, according to research from Assetmetrix. At the same time, in companies with less than 250 Windows computers XP is more popular. Microsoft ended mainstream support for the Windows 2000 operating system on June 30, 2005. Extended support will continue until June 30, 2010.

Windows ME

Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME; also abbreviated as Windows Me) is a mixed 16/32-bit operating system released by Microsoft Corporation on September 14, 2000. It was named so in honor of the new III millennium (Latin millennium - millennium).

It differs from its predecessors - Windows 95 and Windows 98 - in relatively minor updates, such as the new Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Media Player 7. Windows Movie Maker also appeared with basic functions digital video editing. The system interface has changed - features that first appeared in Windows 2000 have been added to it.

One of the most noticeable changes in Windows ME is that in the standard system configuration, the real MS-DOS mode is blocked, which is why you cannot use programs that require this mode. However, with the help of special utilities this function can be unlocked. Booting Windows ME is no different from the same process in Windows 95 and 98.

Windows XP

Windows XP (code name during development - Whistler; internal version - Windows NT 5.1) is an operating system of the Windows NT family from Microsoft Corporation. It was released on October 25, 2001 and is development of Windows 2000 Professional. The name XP comes from the English. experience. The name came into use as a professional version.

Unlike previous system Windows 2000, which came in both server and client versions, Windows XP is a client-only system. Its server version is the later released Windows Server 2003. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are built on the same operating system kernel, as a result of which their development and updating proceed more or less in parallel.

Microsoft stopped providing free support for the Windows XP operating system (OS) on April 14, 2009. Windows users XP users will not be able to contact Microsoft for free technical support in case of incidents, design changes, or other situations. Now they will have to use “extended support” services for this - this means that all calls will become paid. Extended support will continue until April 8, 2014.

In addition, free support for the Office 2003 office suite, as well as Windows Server 2003, has ceased.

Windows XP analyzes system performance with certain visual effects and, depending on this, activates them or not, taking into account a possible drop or increase in performance. Users can also change these settings using settings dialogs, and they can either flexibly select which activities to use. visual effects, either give it to the system to manage, or choose maximum performance, or best view graphical interface. Some effects, such as alpha blending, etc., require a powerful graphics subsystem; on older video cards, performance may drop significantly and Microsoft recommends disabling these features in this case.

In Windows XP, it became possible to use “Visual Styles” to change the graphical user interface. Luna is a new GUI style included with XP and is the default interface for PCs with more than 64 megabytes of RAM. It is possible to use other “Visual Styles”, but they must be signed digital signature Microsoft (as they are important in the functioning of the system).

To bypass this limitation, some users use special software such as TGTSoft's StyleXP, and sometimes a modified version of the uxtheme.dll library.

There is also a "Classic" style that replicates the Windows 2000 interface style (which uses 4 MB less memory than Luna), as well as numerous styles created by third-party developers. For the Media Center version, Microsoft developed the "Royale" visual style, which is included in this version of Windows XP and is available for installation in other versions of XP.

Over 100 icons have been created for Windows XP by The Iconfactory, known for its selection of free operating system icons. Mac systems OS X

Windows XP also has an interface command line(CLI, "console"), cmd.exe, to control the system with console commands or run scripts called " batch files"(with cmd extensions) based on MS-DOS batch files. Windows syntax The XP CLI is not very well documented in the built-in help system. More detailed general information can be obtained by typing "help" at the command line to obtain general information about available commands and "command name /?". The command line interface is available in both window and full-screen views (switch between them by pressing Alt+Enter), the preferred view can be specified in the corresponding settings dialog, along with parameters such as font size and type, etc. When When working in this mode, the user can call previous commands (for example, the “up” key returns the previous command), use auto-completion of file and directory names, as well as commands.

Microsoft periodically releases service packs for its operating systems that fix identified problems and add new features. On this moment there are three of them.

Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows XP was released on September 9, 2002. The most important innovations were USB support 2.0, a utility that allows you to select default programs for web browsing, mail, instant messaging, and various implementations virtual machine Java. Starting with SP1, the EFS encryption file system was able to use the AES encryption algorithm with a 256-bit key.

Starting with SP1, LBA-48 is supported, which allows the operating system to work with HDDs with a capacity of more than 137 GB, activated by default.

Service Pack 2 (SP2) (codenamed "Springboard") was released on August 6, 2004. SP2 added new features to Windows XP, including an improved firewall; support for Wi-Fi with a setup wizard and Bluetooth, as well as improvements in IE6 - for example, the ability to block “pop-up” windows. This service pack has made significant changes to the security of Windows XP. Thus, the built-in firewall has undergone significant changes, which has been renamed Windows Firewall and is now activated for all created connections by default. Expanded memory protection has appeared, in particular, against buffer overflow attacks using NX-bit technology and a number of other techniques. The changes also affected services - services such as telnet and the messaging service are disabled by default, a number of services are launched with reduced rights, etc. Changes in the security area also affected mail Outlook program Express and IE browser. Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes Windows Security Center, which makes it easier to monitor system security by monitoring and reminding the user to install or update an antivirus and its databases, activate a built-in or third-party firewall, update the operating system or change web browser settings. Third party antiviruses and firewalls have the ability to interact with it using an API. Autorun functions have also been improved when loading a CD or connecting flash drives and similar devices.

In early August 2007, Microsoft began beta testing SP3 with a limited group of beta testers. Despite the fact that the beta version was distributed only to a select few, its distribution appeared on peer-to-peer networks. Since December 12, 2007, version RC1 SP3 is available for download and testing to everyone.

The final version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released on April 21, 2008, but only to business customers such as OEMs and MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Other users were able to obtain the third service pack from the Windows Update online service or through the Microsoft Download Center on May 6, as well as using the automatic update service in early summer. Initially, the RTM version of Windows XP SP3 was released in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. [source not specified 72 days] And only on May 5 the remaining 18 localizations were released.

The package includes all updates released since Windows XP Service Pack 2 was released in 2004, as well as a number of other new items. Among them is the Network Access Protection function and a new activation model borrowed from Windows Vista, in addition, there is an improved function for detecting so-called “black hole” routers, etc.

On July 1, 2008, Microsoft stopped selling Windows XP SP2 to its suppliers. At the moment, Windows XP SP3 is supplied in OEM and BOX deliveries; downgrade is possible within the framework of corporate licensing. Also on sale is Get Genuine Kit Windows XP SP3, intended for licensing installed pirated software, as part of corporate licensing, the Get Genuine Solution Windows XP package.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 will also be distributed as part of the Windows 7 "Windows XP Mode" component

Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 (code name during development - Whistler Server, internal version - Windows NT 5.2) is an operating system of the Windows NT family from Microsoft, designed to work on servers. It was released on April 24, 2003.

Windows Server 2003 is a development of Windows 2000 Server and a server version of the Windows XP operating system. Microsoft originally planned to call this product "Windows .NET Server" to promote its new Microsoft .NET platform. However, this name was later dropped to avoid causing misconceptions about .NET in the market software.

Windows Server 2008 is the next server version of Windows NT, which will replace Windows Server 2003.

Windows Server 2003 mainly develops the functions contained in the previous version of the system - Windows 2000 Server. This was also indicated by the NT 5.2 version of the system kernel (NT 5.0 for Windows 2000). Below are some of the most notable changes compared to Windows 2000 Server.

Windows Server 2003 is the first Microsoft operating system to come with the .NET Framework pre-installed. This allows this system to act as an application server for the Microsoft .NET platform without installing any additional software.

Windows Server 2003 ships with version 6.0 of Internet Information Services, which has a significantly different architecture than IIS 5.0 available in Windows 2000. In particular, to improve stability, it is now possible to isolate applications from each other in separate processes without impacting performance. A new HTTP.sys driver has also been created to handle HTTP requests. This driver runs in kernel mode, resulting in faster request processing.

According to Microsoft, Windows Server 2003 placed a lot of emphasis on system security. In particular, the system is now installed in the most limited form, without any additional services, which reduces the attack surface. Windows Server 2003 also includes a software firewall called Internet Connection Firewall. Subsequently, a service pack was released for the system, which is entirely focused on improving the security of the system and includes several additional functions to protect against attacks. According to the American security standard Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC), Windows Server 2003 belongs to security class C2 - Controlled Access Protection

Windows Server 2003 debuted the Volume Shadow Copy Service, which automatically saves old versions of user files, allowing you to return to a previous version of a document if necessary. Working with shadow copies is only possible if a “shadow copy client” is installed on the user’s PC whose documents need to be restored.

Also in this version of the system, the set of administration utilities called from the command line has been expanded, which simplifies the automation of system management.

A new concept has been introduced - “roles”; server management is based on them. Simply put, to get a file server, you need to add a role - “file server”.

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

Windows FLP or Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (Code Name: Eiger) is a version of Microsoft Windows released on July 8, 2006. - Compact OS from Microsoft for older PCs, based on Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2. Intended for use with terminal servers (Microsoft, Citrix). It is also possible to run a small number of local applications.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system in the Microsoft Windows NT family, a line of operating systems used on consumer personal computers. At the development stage, this operating system was codenamed “Longhorn”.

In the Windows NT product line, Windows Vista is version 6.0 (Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2). The abbreviation "WinVI" is sometimes used to refer to "Windows Vista", which combines the name "Vista" and the version number written in Roman numerals.

Windows Vista, like Windows XP, is a client-only system. Microsoft also released a server version of Windows Vista - Windows Server 2008.

On November 30, 2006, Microsoft officially released Windows Vista and Office 2007 for corporate clients. On January 30, 2007, sales of the system began for ordinary users.

Early in development, the system was known by the code name Longhorn (named after the Longhorn Saloon near the Whistler ski resort in British Columbia). The name "Vista" was announced on July 22, 2005. A few months later, Microsoft also renamed Windows Longhorn Server to Windows Server 2008. Since November 8, 2006, a full version of Windows Vista has been available to hardware manufacturers. The public release to end users took place on January 30, 2007.

It's worth noting that many of the features planned for Windows Vista were dropped by Microsoft due to public outcry. For example, it was assumed that OpenGL would be implemented as an add-on to Direct3D. This would lead to a serious drop in OpenGL performance compared to Direct3D and would result in the OpenGL version being fixed. The fears were not justified; OpenGL support remained in Windows Vista. The WinFS file system was also not included in Windows Vista - this time due to performance problems.

Among Windows features Wista should be highlighted:

1. According to Microsoft itself, the system boot time is less than in Windows XP and on most computers it is less than a minute. Reduced the time to enter and exit sleep mode to 6 seconds. But with the advent of the user interface, you have to wait much longer to begin full-fledged work while the background processes making work very difficult third party programs There is an opinion that Windows Vista is the worst operating system released by Microsoft. Windows Vista also took first place in the “Failure of the Year” competition held by the Pwnie award website, created in 2007. Moreover, according to the website The Inquirer.net, based on a number of unprecedented promotions related to the promotion of WV on the market, it can be concluded that Microsoft management recognized Windows Vista as a failure

2. Thanks to technology " Windows ReadyBoost» it became possible to use the capacity of external USB flash drives as RAM, which in some cases increases performance by 40%.

3. The logical model of interaction with graphic devices has been completely redesigned.

4. User Account Control (UAC) - control system accounts users, which requires explicit permission from the user when performing any action that requires administrative powers, regardless of the rights of the current user account. If the user is not an administrator, a prompt will be displayed in which you can select an administrative account and perform the operation with its rights by entering a password - this allows you to configure the system and install applications from a limited user account without explicitly using the runas mechanism and without having to switch to another account (which was required in XP, for example, in case of changing TCP/IP parameters). If the user is a member of the “Administrators” group, then he will need (with default settings) to confirm the use of rights by responding to the system prompt. UAC requests data in Secure Desktop mode, which protects against data interception and control of the input window by third-party programs (approximately the same mode was used when entering an NT domain with the requirement to press Ctrl-Alt-Del twice). UAC can be disabled for certain categories of accounts and reconfigured using a local (or group when used in a domain) security policy: for example, you can set a password to be required for all users (including administrators) to use administrative rights, prohibit these actions for users of limited accounts, and etc.

5. Bitlocker Drive Encryption - Provides encryption capability system disk using the command line interface and other sections. This uses a USB key or Trusted Platform Module to store encryption keys. To encrypt partitions, by default, the AES algorithm is used with a key length of 128 bits in CBC encryption mode. This opportunity present in Vista Enterprise or Ultimate editions.

6. EFS file encryption system. This system, which first appeared in Windows 2000, works in Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate editions and provides the ability to transparently encrypt files at the file system level using AES (with a 256-bit key) or 3-DES algorithms. For each file, an encryption key is randomly generated, which, in turn, is encrypted with the public key to users (default 2048 bits). In Vista, using policies, it became possible to set different lengths of the user's public key (1024, 2048, 4096,...), save the key on smart cards (by default, the key is stored locally, protected by the user's password) and encrypt the page file, as well as require mandatory encryption of a user folder with documents.

7. Preventing virus infection from retrievable media. By default, Windows Vista disables autorun of programs from flash cards and USB devices. This prevents your computer from being infected by viruses that spread through flash cards. There are also policies that control access to external media (including USB), which also helps protect confidential data.

8. Blocking direct recording to disk. Windows Vista prevents direct writing to the disk (\\.\PhysicalDriveX) if the disk has a mounted file system.

There is an opinion that Windows Vista is the worst operating system released by Microsoft. Windows Vista also took first place in the “Failure of the Year” competition held by the Pwnie award website, created in 2007. Moreover, according to the website The Inquirer.net, based on a number of unprecedented promotions related to the promotion of WV on the market, it can be concluded that Microsoft management recognized Windows Vista as a failure.

Windows Home Server

Windows Home Server is a server operating system from Microsoft, which is built on the basis of Windows Server 2003 SP2 and is aimed at home users (as the name suggests - home) for use in home networks.

Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (codename "Longhorn Server") is a new version of the server operating system from Microsoft. This version should be replacement for Windows Server 2003 as a representative of operating systems of the Vista generation (NT 6.x).

Windows Server 2008 includes an installation option called Server Core. Server Core is a significantly lightweight Windows installation Server 2008 which does not include the Windows Explorer shell. All configuration and maintenance is performed using the command interface Windows strings, or connecting to the server remotely using the Management Console. Notepad and some control panel elements are available, for example, Regional Settings.

Windows Server 2008 has a significant update to Terminal Services. Terminal Services now supports Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0. The most notable improvement, called Terminal Services RemoteApp, lets you publish one specific application instead of your entire desktop.

Another important feature added to Terminal Services is Terminal Services Gateway and Terminal Services Web Access (now entirely web-based). Terminal Services Gateway allows authorized computers to securely connect to Terminal Services or Remote Desktop from the Internet using RDP over HTTPS without using a VPN. This does not require opening an additional port on the firewall; RDP traffic is tunneled over HTTPS. Terminal Services Web Access allows administrators to provide access to terminal services through a Web interface. When using TS Gateway and TS RemoteApp, data transfer occurs via HTTP(S) and remote applications appear to the user as if they were running locally. Multiple applications run in a single session to ensure no additional user licenses are required.

With Terminal Services Easy Print, administrators no longer need to install any printer drivers on the server. In this case, Easy Print Driver redirects the user interface and all the features of the original printer. In addition, it improves performance when submitting print jobs by converting jobs to XPS format before sending them to the client.

Windows Server 2008 is the first Windows operating system released with built-in Windows PowerShell, an extensible command-line shell and accompanying scripting language developed by Microsoft. The PowerShell scripting language was designed specifically for administrative tasks and can replace the need for cmd.exe and Windows Script Host.

Self-healing NTFS

If in previous versions Windows operating system the system detected errors in file system NTFS volumes, it marked the volume as “dirty”; Error correction on the volume could not be performed immediately. With self-healing NTFS, instead of locking the entire volume, only the damaged files/folders are locked and remain inaccessible during the repair. Thanks to this, there is no longer a need to reboot the server to correct file system errors.

Also, the operating system now displays S.M.A.R.T. information. hard drives to help identify possible failures hard drive. This feature first appeared in Windows Vista.

Server Manager is a new, role-based management tool for Windows Server 2008. It is a combination of Server Management and the Security Configuration Wizard from Windows Server 2003. Server Manager is an enhancement of the Server Configuration Wizard dialog that launched by default in Windows Server 2003 upon logon. Now it allows you not only to add new roles, but also combines all the operations that users can perform on the server, and also provides a consolidated display made in the form of a single portal current state each role.

It is currently not possible to use Server Manager remotely, but a client version is planned.

Windows 7

Windows 7 (formerly known by the codenames Blackcomb and Vienna) is a version of the Windows NT family of computer operating systems that follows Windows Vista. In the Windows NT line, the system has version number 6.1 (Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 - 6.0). The server version is Windows Server 2008 R2.

Microsoft announced that the operating system would go on sale on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of the previous operating system, Windows Vista. Partners and clients with a Volume Licensing license were granted access to RTM on July 24, 2009.

Windows 7 includes some developments excluded from Windows Vista, as well as innovations in the interface and built-in programs.

Windows 7 will have an option to disable or enable Internet Explorer.

Windows 7 will have support for multitouch monitors. This capability was demonstrated by Microsoft at its annual TechEd'08 conference in Orlando. During the demonstration, build 6.1.6856 was used, as well as a prototype laptop model with a multitouch screen. According to some reports, Windows 7 will partially implement the functionality planned in Windows Vista (codenamed “Longhorn”). Closer integration with programs and Windows services Live.

Windows 7 implements a more flexible setting for User Account Control (UAC), which, unlike Windows Vista, has two more intermediate states between the “Enable” and “Disable” modes.

Changes have been made to the BitLocker encryption technology, and the BitLocker to go removable media encryption function has been added, allowing you to encrypt removable media, even in the absence of a TPM module.

The improvements also affected Windows Firewall- the function of notifying the user that a program is blocked when trying to access the network has returned.

Windows 7 will not be able to play licensed Blu-Ray discs with video, but will be able to read and write information to them.

Using Group Policy and AppLocker, you can prevent certain applications from running.

The Branch Cache feature will reduce latency for users working with their computer remotely. For example, a file accessible over the network is cached locally, so it is no longer downloaded from remote server, but from the local computer. This feature can work in two modes - Hosted Cache and Distributed Cache. In the first case, the file is stored on a dedicated local server under Windows control Server 2008 R2, in the second - on the client’s computer.

The DirectAccess feature allows you to establish a secure connection to the server in background, unlike a VPN, which requires user participation. DirectAccess can also use group policies before the user logs in.

Remote Desktop Host allows a user to connect to a remote computer with administrator rights.

Microsoft is also considering the possibility of releasing Windows 7 not only in optical disks, but also on flash media, which should simplify the process of installing the platform on netbooks that do not have a built-in drive for optical media.

Windows 7 will also use sandbox mode, the implementation of which was discussed during alpha and beta testing (during the development stage of Longhorn). All unmanaged code will run in an environment (sandbox) in which the operating system will restrict the program's access to the computer hardware and network. Access to low-level sockets, as well as direct access to the file system, hardware abstraction layer (HAL), and full access to a memory address, will be prohibited. All access to external applications, files and protocols will be regulated by the operating system and immediately stopped (in theory). If this approach turns out to be successful, then it promises almost complete safety, since with this approach malware it is theoretically impossible to cause any damage to a system if it is locked inside a metaphorical "glass box". This approach evokes associations with Virtual PC. If everything is correct, this environment will be able to adapt to the code base that was written in its language. This will alleviate most of the problems that arise as a result of backward compatibility when moving to a new operating system.

When using applications in Beta 1, memory leaks were discovered in some applications that resulted in complete freezes, despite the sandbox mode. Theoretically, if the regime does not become more effective, this could lead to a surge in the development of programs that deliberately exploit these vulnerabilities for their own purposes.

Bill Gates mentioned the ubiquitous instant search bar (similar to Spotlight). The Content Indexing service has been evolving since Windows XP, and a similar search bar was included in Windows Vista. Windows 7 also uses DirectX 11.

Will Windows 7 get a new kernel?

No. Although it must be said that similar developments were carried out. At least that's what one Microsoft engineer said back in October last year. According to him, 200 of the company's programmers worked on reducing the kernel for Windows 7. The kernel even received its own name MinWin and was supposed to take up six times less memory than the Vista kernel.

However, Flores and Sinofsky said that Windows 7 will not receive a new kernel. "Contrary to some speculation, Microsoft is not creating a new kernel for Windows 7," Flores said. However, Sinofsky said a little differently, “...the kernel in Windows Server 2008 is an evolution of the Windows Vista kernel, and the Windows 7 kernel will be a further evolution of this kernel.”

Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server version of Windows 7 in development. It will be released on October 22, 2009. Like Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 will use the Windows NT 6.1 kernel. New features include improved virtualization, a new version of Active Directory, Internet Information Services 7.5 and support for up to 256 processors. The system will be released only in 64-bit version. Support has also been removed Windows boot from partitions containing MBR.

Microsoft announced Windows Server 2008 R2 at the Professional Developers Conference as a server Windows option 7. On January 7, 2009, the beta version of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 was made available to Microsoft TechNet and MSDN subscribers who participated in the Windows 7 Insider Program. On January 9, the beta version became publicly available for download on the Microsoft Download Center. April 30, 2009 - the release candidate (RC) became available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. May 5, 2009 - Windows Server 2008 R2 RC is available from the Microsoft Download Center June 2, 2009 - Microsoft announced that the RTM version will be available to Microsoft partners in the second half of July 2009. The release will take place on October 22, 2009.

Microsoft Windows is currently installed at approximately 88% personal computers and workstations. In addition, its competitor, Mac OS X, is also gaining momentum (about 10%). Despite the competition, Microsoft and Apple cooperate, constantly increasing the compatibility of the two systems.

The newer the software installed on a computer, tablet or laptop, the better, at least that’s what Microsoft thinks, and that’s why it imposes on users its new-generation branded software, such as Windows 10 and the Office suite, by all available means and methods. 365. However, the world is full of people who use electronic devices running Windows 7, Windows XP and even Windows ME. Alas, the developers of these platforms do not care about this, because, in their opinion, these platforms are already too outdated, and all those who use them are a real burden.

That is why Microsoft resorted to yet another meanness, deciding to strike at all users of its own operating systems. Its representatives justified such actions by the fact that in this way the company would be able to save large sums of money on an ongoing basis, however, in fact, this is a lie, users say. The fact is that the company spends several tens of thousands of dollars a month on maintaining those servers that were disabled, which by the standards of its income is a drop in the ocean. In this regard, it is obvious that the real reason is to actively lure users to the modern Windows 10 platform.

So, in particular, on all computers, tablets and laptops on which the Windows 7, Windows XP and even Windows ME operating systems are installed, any standard games now do not work if played in multiplayer. All such servers have been disabled, and therefore it is now impossible to play with real opponents, for example, in “Checkers” or “Chess”. If Microsoft really cared so much about its money when optimizing its business, it could have simply published the source code of its servers and games so that everyone could support their work, but nothing of the kind was done, and this is certainly not the best characterizes the company.

All this cannot be regarded as anything other than the last nail in the coffin of Windows 7 and other popular operating systems from Microsoft, which it is trying in every possible way to ruin in order to make sure that users of any electronic devices experienced any inconvenience under their control. All this, of course, upsets many people, because not everyone likes it new Windows 10, especially since its basic Home edition costs as much as $200 (13,500 rubles), that is, a lot, a lot. Most likely, in the near future, the American corporation will come up with something else to “undermine” the spirit of users of outdated operating systems, giving them another reason to upgrade.

The next build of the gaming Windows 7 x64 professional sp1 by cuta 2.7 torrent download has appeared for stable operation in heavy games and applications. A gaming Windows Seven Professional x64 torrent download was compiled especially for gamers and is offered along with the author's changes and additions, which were introduced to improve the operation of the OS. There is also an update package. The basis was the licensed Win7 Pro from the Microsoft developer. The system takes up only 20 GB and can be installed on an SSD or a regular hard drive.

Update date: 17-09-2019 UpdatePack7 R2
Version: Windows 7 64bit SP1 Professional
Interface language: RUS Russian
Tablet: included
Original source: www.microsoft.com
Author of the build: by Cuta 2.7
Folder size: 4.63 Gb

Download gaming Windows 7 x64 professional sp1 by cuta 2.7 torrent

Computer requirements
20 free gigabytes for installation;
Direct X 9 support;
Processor frequency from 1 gigahertz;
2 gigabytes of RAM.

Screenshots Gaming Windows Seven Professional x64

Useful additions
After installation, applications that users do not use are disabled in the classic system, thus saving space.
UpdatePack7R2 has been installed with OS updates valid until September 17, 2019. It contains drivers for NVMe and the new USB.
The standard file and disk icons have changed, the background image at OS startup has changed, and a gaming theme has appeared.
Boot.wim Sevens was replaced with a file extracted from Tens. We also installed IE 11, improving Windows performance and ease of use.

Changes from CUTA
For convenience, the gaming Windows Seven Professional x64 can be downloaded torrent image on this page, installed with removed applications, new tweaks.
What was turned off
The author turned off Super fetch, File Indexing, diagnostic policy, as well as a number of services unnecessary for users: input tablet computer, Compatibility Assistant and System Error Logging Form.
Audio auto-leveling settings, hibernation mode, animation effects in windows, HDD shutdown settings, UAC, browser and system auto-updates, network core parking.
What's been added
Actions to optimize Windows startup, demonstrate file extensions. Added calculation of the device power plan, fixing the weight of the paging file. There are new icons, separate folders for the PC and the user.
Set of settings
Tweaks have been introduced that help achieve high performance for Windows, Direct X 3D and NTFS. Active processes have a higher priority. USB enabled devices stop working when the media is removed.
What is extracted from the assembly

A number of software and services:
Autochk;
Defender;
MemoryDiagnostic;
RAC;
Diagnosis;
ErrorReporting;
MobilePC;
Media Center;
WDI;
Customer and Application Experience;
PowerEfficiency Diagnostics.

What's different about 2.7 from previous versions?
This is another build of CUTA – gaming Windows Seven Professional x64 download torrent new version possible with updated ASMedia driver, without forced function DVD checks during installation, and also with a pack for updates.

A little about the game mode
Gamers have been introduced to a special mode that can be launched while completing games. GameMode.exe is responsible for it; you can find the utility in shortcuts unpacked on the desktop.

Drivers included in the system
For NVMe, we integrated a driver package for IntelStorage, Micron, SamsungController, OCZ, Open Fabrics Alliance.
For the latest USB: Texas, AMD, FrescoLogic, AS Media, VIA, IntelMod, Cypress, Renesas, Etron.

Tips for work
Stabilize work gaming Windows Seven Professional x64 torrent download ISO will not be enough; you also need to install frameworks and a number of libraries (Visual C++, Direct X 9).
Disk defragmentation is enabled in their properties - there is no way to set the mode automatically, you can only manually start and stop it each time.

Installing UEFI flash media on GPT
You can make a bootable flash drive using portable software: for example, Rufus. In the first window that opens, files are selected ISO image Game Sevens, which were downloaded by torrent.
Next, you need to specify the media and set the settings according to which the original image will be recorded.
Starting work (program start button) means that the flash drive will be formatted and cleared of unnecessary information, then an ISO with Windows 7 will be written to a blank medium. At the end, the flash card with UEFI mode will be ready.
Attention! Some builds already have default settings for Chrome browser, the start page leads to search engine go.mail.ru. Everyone has the opportunity to change the search engine to any other.

Windows 7 version differences and which Windows 7 is better? This question worries everyone who wants to reinstall or install an operating system on their laptop or computer. Windows system 7.

Which windows 7 is better?

Why do we need different versions of Windows 7?

The main differences between the starter and home versions
It’s worth mentioning right away that the Starter Edition of the OS is supplied only under an OEM license. That is, only with equipment. For example, when buying a new laptop. It has high performance, which is ensured by minimizing the tools used. Opportunities include working in home group and good service and application compatibility. However, it is impossible to buy it at retail - this license is not for sale.
The Home Basic version is only available for sale in developing countries. Its cost is about 100 US dollars. It has a modest interface without additional visual effects, and good performance even on “weak” computers and laptops. But the premium version of Home Premium for home use has become the best option for many users - efficiency and speed are successfully combined with a friendly, designer-designed interactive Aero Glass interface, a built-in media center, ample networking capabilities and multi-touch technology for touch panels and touchpads.
Purchasing the Home Premium version will cost about $150. It's important to note that both home variants support 64-bit platforms, unlike the launch one, which is only available for 32-bit devices.

Benefits of Windows 7 Professional Edition
“Business class” version - allows you to join a domain, increase the reliability of data storage by creating backup copies, configure the operation of a computer or laptop for both work and home network. Also, the professional version allows you to do backups not only individual files, but the entire operating system as a whole.
Also, this OS already provides the ability to encrypt data, which significantly increases the reliability of data protection. If the software used for work is not supported by Windows 7, then the user will be offered a compatibility mode that will allow him to work using familiar software. But the cost of such a system will vary between 200-230 dollars.

Windows 7 Ultimate - everything to the maximum
The name speaks for itself - everything that could be provided in the Windows 7 release is present here. Multilingual support erases any boundaries. Computer optimization functions allow you to get the most out of your equipment, using its full power. With such a system, you don’t have to worry about data security - data encryption and the BitLocker data protection feature will take care of this. If you use a connection to corporate networks, the data will be protected by DirectAccess technology. With Microsoft AppLocker technology, computers can be protected from running unauthorized programs. For corporate work, Windows 7 Ultimate makes it easy to search for data on your work intranet. Of course, such a list of benefits comes with a corresponding price tag—approximately $300.

Windows 7 Enterprise – for corporations only
In fact, this version The Windows 7 operating system is completely identical to Ultimate, but offers a special licensing scheme for corporate users. System administrators can successfully use the data protection capabilities of BitLocker and DirectAccess security. A Microsoft tools AppLocker will allow you to control your workflow and the use of third-party software.

How to choose the best version of Windows 7?

Why are builds based on Windows 7 so popular?
Assemblies are special collections of tools and software that allow you to configure and prepare a computer, laptop or netbook from scratch. Such a kit usually includes tools for working with hard drives and equipment testing. The kit also includes one or even several versions of the Windows family of operating systems. They are often supplemented by a set of application software, which is most often installed: office packages, players, image editors, programs for working on the network. These software collections are really very popular because they allow you to completely automate the process of installing the operating system, software, execution basic settings. To use them, it is enough to have general cultural knowledge about the operating features of the OS. Simply select the version, indicate necessary programs and wait an hour and a half maximum. In addition, they allow you to have everything “at hand”, on one or two flash drives.