In this article, we will be covering MS Windows notes for Competitive Exams. This is one of the most important topics that will be needed to prepare before appearing for the exam. These point-wise notes will help you recollect the topics more easily.

Microsoft Windows Operating System 

• All computers and computer-like devices including your laptop, tablet, desktop, smartphone, smartwatch, router, etc have operating systems.
• Windows is an operating system from Microsoft Inc.
• It is a system program that manipulates, controls, and coordinates all the desktop o
• It serves as a link between the hardware and other software on the computer system.
• It allocates memory to data and programs.
• It manages computer resources like files and programs, input/output devices, computer memories, etc. during data processing operations.
• It also detects faults and errors by performing hardware and software diagnoses.

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Versions of Windows Operating System

Let us have a look at the different versions of WOS or Windows Operating System along with the features of each of them.

Windows 1.0

• It was released on November 20, 1985.
• Pure Operating Environment.
• Used Graphical User Interface.
• Simple Graphics.
• Provided limited multi-tasking was expected to have a better potential in the future.

Windows 2.0 

• It was released on December 9, 1987.
• 16-bit GUI or Graphic User Interface-based operating environment.
• Control Panel and the first version of MS Word and Excel were introduced.
• It had the capacity to allow applications to overlap Unlike Windows 1.0.
• It was also the last Windows OS that didn’t require a hard disk.
• Hardware played an important role.

Windows 3.0

• It was released in 1990.
• It was better at multitasking.
• Used 8086 microprocessors.
• It has both, conventional and extendable memory.
• Initial version of Windows to gather critical appreciation.
• Better memory/ storage.

Note* – Any of the above mentioned Windows was not an Operating system. They all came under Windows, working based on a graphical operating environment. Windows 95,  was the first OS released by Microsoft.

Window 95

• It was the first complete Operating System.
• It was released on August 15, 1995.
• It merged MS-DOS and Windows products.
• It simplified plug-and-play features.
• Start menu and taskbar were introduced with this OS.
• GUI was Upgraded from 16 bit to 32 bit.
• Long file names could be saved.

Earlier, computers with Windows 95 did not have Internet Explorer installed but by the release date of Windows 95, the first version of Internet Explorer was installed in the software,

When Windows declared this version of OS outdated it ended its support for the same.

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Windows 98

• It was released on 15/05/1998.
• It was MS-DOS-based 16 bit and 32-bit product.
• It was not a totally new version but just an improved version of Windows 95
• Internet Explorer 4.01 was let out along with this Windows version.
• It did not support mass storage devices or USB printers.
• A better version of “Windows SE” was released in 1999.

Windows 2000

• It was officially released on February 17, 2000. But, its manufacturing actually started in late 1999.
• A basic set of features was followed for fabricating Windows 2000 but 4 unique editions, targeting different sectors of the market were released.
• It was one of the most secure Operating Systems ever.
• A local disk manager was established with these Windows.
• Multilingual User Interface – it supported many different languages.

Windows XP

• While the manufacturing started on 24/08/2001, the official product was released on 25/20/2001.
• Advanced portable PC support.
• Automatic wireless connection support.
• Fast start-up.
• Better Graphical User Interface (GUI).
• Help and support centre.

Windows Vista

• It was released on January 30, 2007.
• Upgraded version of GUI or Graphical User Interface.
• It was the first OS to use DVD-ROM for installation.

Windows 7

• It was released on October 22, 2009.
• New features were introduced in large numbers.
• Redesigned Windows shell with an updated taskbar.
• Incremental upgrade to the Windows line.
• New libraries were introduced to the file management system.
• A few features from the earlier version of Windows were removed.
• Extended hardware support.

Windows 8

• It was released for retail on 26/10/2012.
• Optimizations for touch-based.
• It was installed on new devices like Laptops, Mobile phones, tablets, etc.
• Increased integration with cloud services.
• Windows Store service for software distribution.
• Task manager had been redesigned.
• New security features were introduced.
• Online Applications could be directly downloaded.

Windows 10

• It was released on July 29, 2015.
• Takes care of shortcomings in the UI first introduced with Windows 8.
• A virtual desktop system.
• It could run windows store apps within windows on the desktop instead of the full-screen mode.
• Included new icons.
• In order to reduce storage shortcomings, Windows 10 automatically compresses the size of the files.

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