Share Files and Printers between Windows 7 and XP

Share Files and Printers between Windows 7 and XP

If you have a home network and are running Windows 7 and have XP on other PC(s) you might want to share files between them.  Today we will look at the steps to share files and hardware devices like a printer.

Sharing Files In Windows 7 and XP

Sharing folders between two Windows 7 machines with the new HomeGroup feature is an easy process, but the HomeGroup feature is not compatible with Vista or XP.  For this tutorial we are using Windows 7 x64 RC1 and XP Professional SP3 connected through a basic Linksys home wireless router.

First make sure both machines are members of the same Workgroup which by default is named Workgroup.

On the Windows 7 machine go into Control Panel \ All Control Panel Items \ Network and Sharing Center then click on Change advanced sharing settings.

You will want to verify the following settings under Advanced Sharing Settings for the Home or Work and Public profile.

If you want any user to have access the public shares turn off password protection.  This is located in Advanced Sharing Settings toward the bottom of the list.

If you want to keep it enabled make sure there is a log in account for the other XP machines and they have a password.

Now if you go into Network in Windows 7 you should see your XP machine and the Windows 7 as well which in this case is Mysticgeek-PC.

To share the printer on the Windows 7 machine go into Devices and Printers from the Start menu and double click on the printer icon.

Next double click on “Customize your printer”.

In the Properties screen click on the Sharing Tab and check the box to share the printer and type in its share name.

If your XP machine is an x86 OS you can install Additional Drivers before setting up the XP machine.

To find the shared folders and devices double click on the Windows 7 machine icon under Network.  Here you can see the printer connected to my Windows 7 machine is shared and also the Users Folder.

Continue into the Users folder and Public to see the shared folders, here I also created a folder called XP Share just to keep everything in central location.

Over on your XP machine open up My Network Places to find the Windows 7 (mysticgeek-pc)shared folder.

Double click on the Share folder to find a list of shared folders in the Public folder on Windows 7.  If you have password protection enabled you will need to type in the username and password of the user account on the Windows 7 machine first.

Setup XP With Shared Printer

To set up the shared printer in XP you will need to go into Printers and Faxes from the Start menu and kick off the Add Printer Wizard.

Now select “A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer” then hit Next.

Next select “Connect to this printer…” and type in the path for the printer connected to the Windows 7 machine and click next.  

Now click Yes to the confirmation message.

Then click Finish the printer to install and complete the Wizard.

In some cases you will need to install the x86 XP drivers for the shared printer because the Windows 7 drivers are not compatible with XP.  When everything is installed open up Printers and Faxes to find the shared printer.

This should help you get started with sharing your files and other devices with your Windows 7 machine.  When I first started I was able to see the printer on XP right away because I had a HomeGroup set up, but once I deleted it I needed to share the printer like you would for a workgroup.  You might also have to do a couple restarts of the XP machine for it to see the shared resources on Windows 7.  If you have had any experiences with sharing between Windows 7 and XP leave us a comment!

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What Are Network Topologies?

Network Topology refers to layout of a network and how different nodes in a network are connected to each other and how they communicate. This slideshow describes five of the most common network topologies.

1. Mesh Topology: In a mesh network, devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between network nodes. In a true mesh topology every node has a connection to every other node in the network. There are two types of mesh topologies:

• Full mesh topology occurs when every node has a circuit connecting it to every other node in a network. Full mesh is very expensive to implement but yields the greatest amount of redundancy, so in the event that one of those nodes fails, network traffic can be directed to any of the other nodes. Full mesh is usually reserved for backbone networks.
• Partial mesh topology is less expensive to implement and yields less redundancy than full mesh topology. With partial mesh, some nodes are organized in a full mesh scheme but others are only connected to one or two in the network. Partial mesh topology is commonly found in peripheral networks connected to a full meshed backbone.
  
  

  Star Topology

  
  
  
  2. Star Topology:  In a star network devices are connected to a central computer, called a hub. Nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub.
  • Main Advantage: In a star network, one malfunctioning node doesn't affect the rest of the network.
  • Main Disadvantage:  If the central computer fails, the entire network becomes unusable.
  
  

  Bus Topology

  
  
  
  
  
  3. Bus Topology: In networking a bus is the central cable -- the main wire -- that connects all devices on a local-area network (LAN). It is also called the backbone. This is often used to describe the main network connections composing the Internet.  Bus networks are relatively inexpensive and easy to install for small networks. Ethernet systems use a bus topology.
  • Main Advantage:  It’s easy to connect a computer or device and typically it requires less cable than a star topology.
  • Main Disadvantage: The entire network shuts down if there is a break in the main wire and it can be difficult to identify the problem if the network shuts down.
  
  

  Ring Topology

  
  
  
  
  4. Ring Topology: A local-area network (LAN) whose topology is a ring. That is, all of the nodes are connected in a closed loop. Messages travel around the ring, with each node reading those messages addressed to it. One main advantage to a ring network is that it can span larger distances than other types of networks, such as bus networks, because each node regenerates messages as they pass through it.
  
  

  Tree Topology

  
  
  
  5. Tree Topology:  This is a "hybrid" topology that combines characteristics of linear bus and star topologies. In a tree network, groups of star-configured networks are connected to a linear bus backbone cable.
  • Main Advantage: A Tree topology is a good choice for large computer networks as the tree topology "divides" the whole network into parts that are more easily manageable.
  • Main Disadvantage: The entire network depends on a central hub and a failure of the central hub can cripple the whole network.
    
    
    

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What Is 64-bit Computing?

When reading about PCs and servers, you'll often see the CPU described by the number of bits (e.g., 32-bit or 64-bit), here is what that means.

32-bit refers to the number of bits (the smallest unit of information on a machine) that can be processed or transmitted in parallel, or the number of bits used for single element in a data format. The term when used in conjunction with amicroprocessor indicates the width of the registers; a special high-speed storagearea within the CPU. A 32-bit microprocessor can process data and memory addresses that are represented by 32 bits. 64-bit therefore refers to a processor with registers that store 64-bit numbers. A generalization would be to suggest that 64-bit architecture would double the amount of data a CPU can process per clock cycle. Users would note a performance increase because a 64-bit CPU can handle more memory and largerfiles. One of the most attractive features of 64-bit processors is the amount of memory the system can support. 64-bit architecture will allow systems to address up to 1 terabyte (1000GB) of memory. In today's 32-bit desktop systems, you can have up to 4GB of RAM (provided your motherboard that can handle that much RAM) which is split between the applications and the operating system (OS). The majority of  desktop computers today don't even have 4GB of memory installed, and most small business and home desktop computer software do not require that much memory either. As more complex software and 3D games become available however, we could actually see this become a limitation, but for the average home user that is very far down the road indeed.

Unfortunately, most benefits of a 64-bit CPU will go unnoticed without the key components of a 64-bit operating system and 64-bit software and drivers which are able to take advantage of 64-bit processor features. Additionally for the average home computer user, 32-bits is more than adequate computing power.

When making the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit desktop PCs, users won't actually see Web browsers and word processingprograms run faster. Benefits of 64-bit processors would be seen with more demanding applications such as video encoding, scientific research, searching massive databases; tasks where being able to load massive amounts of data into the system's memory is required.

While talk of 64-bit architecture may make one think this is a new technology, 64-bit computing has been used over the past ten years in supercomputing and database management systems. Many companies and organizations with the need to access huge amounts of data have already made the transition to using 64-bit servers, since a 64-bit server can support a greater number of larger files and could effectively load large enterprise databases to into memory allowing for faster searches and data retrieval. Additionally, using a 64-bit server means organizations can support more simultaneous users on each server potentially removing the need for extra hardware as one 64-bit server could replace the use of several 32-bit servers on a network.

It is in scientific and data management industries where the limitations of the 4GB memory of a 32-bit system have been reached and the need for 64-bit processing becomes apparent. Some of the major software developers in the database management systems business, such as Oracle and SQL Server, to name just two, offer 64-bit versions of their database management systems.

While 64-bit servers were once used only by those organizations with massive amounts of data and big budgets, we do see in the near future 64-bit enabled systems hitting the mainstream market. It is only a matter of time until 64-bit software and retail OS packages become available thereby making 64-bit computing an attractive solution for business and home computing needs.

DID YOU KNOW...
On 64-bit Windows systems you can get around 32-bit software compatibility issues by running the application in a 32-bit OS inside of Microsoft Virtual PC.

Advantage of osi layer

The OSI reference modelis the primary model for network communications. The early development of LANs, MANs, and WANs was confused in many ways. The early 1980s saw great increases in the number and sizes of networks. As companies realized that they could save money and gain productivity by using networking technology, they added networks and expanded existing networks as rapidly as new network technologies and products were introduced.

In 1984, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed the OSI Reference Model to describe how information is transferred from one networking component to another, from the point when a user enters information using a keyboard and mouse to when that information is converted to electrical or light signals transferred along a piece of wire (or radio waves transferred through the air).

ISO developed the seven-layer model to help vendors and network administrators gain a better understanding of how data is handled and transported between networking devices, as well as to provide a guideline for the implementation of new networking standards and technologies. To assist in this process, the OSI Reference Model separates the network communication process into seven simple layers.

Dividing the network into these seven layers provides these advantages:

Reduces complexity:

It breaks network communication into smaller, simpler parts. It divides the network communication process into smaller and simpler components, thus aiding component development, design, and troubleshooting.

Standardizes interfaces:

It standardizes network components to allow multiple vendor development and support.

Facilitates modular engineering:

It allows different types of network hardware and software to communicate with each other.

Interoperability between Vendors

It allows multiple-vendor development through standardization of network components. Defines the process for connecting two layers together, promoting interoperability between vendors It Allows vendors to compartmentalize their design efforts to fit a modular design, which eases implementations and simplifies troubleshooting

Ensures interoperable technology:

It prevents changes in one layer from affecting the other layers, allowing for quicker development.

Accelerates evolution:

It provides for effective updates and improvements to individual components without affecting other components or having to rewrite the entire protocol.

Simplifies teaching and learning:

It breaks network communication into smaller components to make learning easier. Provides a teaching tool to help network administrators understand the communication process used between networking components

osi model

The OSI Reference Model

• The OSI reference model consists of seven layers: physical, data-link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application.
• The OSI model layers usually do not correspond exactly to the protocol stack running on an actual system.
• The data-link layer protocols often include physical layer specifications.
• The network and transport layer protocols work together to provide a cumulative end-to-end communication service.
• The functions of the session, presentation, and application layers are often combined into a single application layer protocol.
  
  
  Each OSI layer contains a set of functions performed by programs to enable data to travel from a source to a destination on a network.
  In this article I will provide brief descriptions of each layer in the OSI reference model.

  Application Layer

  The application layer is the OSI layer that is closest to the user. This layer provides network services to the user's applications. It differs from the other layers in that it does not provide services to any other OSI layer, but only to applications outside the OSI reference model. Applications layer provide a platform to access the data of remote computer.
  The application layer protocols that you should know are as follows:
  • SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)— Communicates status and allows control of networked devices.
  • TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol)— Simple, lightweight file transfer.
  • DNS (Domain Naming System)— Translates a website name (easy for people) to an IP address (easy for computers).
  • DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)— Assigns IP, mask, and DNS server (plus a bunch of other stuff) to hosts.
  • Telnet— Provides a remote terminal connection to manage devices to which you are not close enough to use a console cable.
  • HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)— Browses web pages.
  • FTP (File Transfer Protocol)— Reliably sends/retrieves all file types.
  • SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)— Sends email.
  • POP3 (Post Office Protocol v.3)— Retrieves email.
  • NTP (Network Time Protocol)— Synchronizes networked device clocks.

  presentation layer

  The presentation layer is responsible for formatting data so that application-layer protocols (and then the users) can recognize and work with it. Presentation layer format the file extensions—such as .doc, .jpg, .txt, .avi, and so on. you realize that each of these file types is formatted for use by a particular type of application. The presentation layer taking the application layer data and marking it with the formatting codes so that it can be viewed reliably when accessed later. If necessary, the presentation layer might be able to translate between multiple data formats by using a common format.

  The Session Layer

  The session layer establishes, manages, and terminates sessions between two communicating hosts. It provides its services to the presentation layer. The session layer also synchronizes dialogue between the presentation layers of the two hosts and manages their data exchange. For example, web servers have many users, so many communication processes are open at a given time. Therefore, keeping track of which user communicates on which path is important.

  Transport Layer

  
  
  The transport layer is possibly the most important layer for exam study purposes. A lot is going on here, and it is heavily tested.
  The transport layer's main jobs
  • It sets up and maintains a session connection between two devices.
  • It can provide for the reliable or unreliable delivery of data across this connection.
  • It multiplexes connections, allowing multiple applications to simultaneously send and receive data. When
  • Implementing a reliable connection, sequence numbers and acknowledgments (ACKs) are used.
  • Flow control (through the use of windowing or acknowledgements)
  • Reliable connections (through the use of sequence numbers and Acknowledgement )
  Transport layer use two protocols for sending data TCP and UDP.
  TCP
  TCP is connection oriented protocols. Connection-oriented transmission is said to be reliable. Thinks TCP as registry AD facility available in Indian post office. For this level of service, you have to buy extra ticket and put a bunch of extra labels on it to track where it is going and where it has been. But, you get a receipt when it is delivered, you are guaranteed delivery, and you can keep track of whether your shipment got to its destination. All of this costs you more—but it is reliable!
  UDP
  UDP is connection less protocols. Connection-less transmission is said to be unreliable. Now, don't get too wrapped up in the term "unreliable" this doesn't mean that the data isn't going to get there; it only means that it isn't guaranteed to get there. Think of your options when you are sending a postcard, put it in the mailbox, and chances are good that it will get where it's supposed to go—but there is no guarantee, and stuff does go missing once in a while. On the other hand, it's cheap.
  The transport layer can use two basic flow control methods:
  • Ready/not ready signals
  • Windowing
  There are two problems with the use of ready/not ready signals to implement flow control. 
  First, the destination may respond to the source with a not ready signal when its buffer fills up. While this message is on its way to the source, the source is still sending information to the destination, which the destination will probably have to drop because its buffer space is full.
  The second problem with the use of these signals is that once the destination is ready to receive more information, it must first send a ready signal to the source, which must receive it before more information can be sent.In many implementations, the window size is dynamically negotiated up front and can be renegotiated during the lifetime of the connection.
  In windowing a window size is defined between two host engaged in data transmission. And sender host will wait for an acknowledgement signal after sending the segments equal to window size. If any packet lost in way receiver will respond with acknowledgement for lost packet. And sender will send lost packet again.

  Reliability

  When reliability is necessary, it should cover these four items:
  • recognizing lost packets and having them re-sent
  • recognizing packets that arrive out of order and reordering them
  • detecting duplicate packets and dropping the extra ones
  • Avoiding congestion

  Connection Multiplexing/Application Mapping

  Transport layer assigns a unique set of numbers for each connection. These numbers are called port or socket numbers. TCP, and UDP, provide a multiplexing function for a device: This allows multiple applications to simultaneously send and receive data.
  Imagine a server that performs a number of functions—for example email, web pages, FTP, and DNS. The server has a single IP address, but can perform all these different functions for all the hosts that want to connect to it. The transport layer (layer 4) uses port numbers to distinguish between different types of traffic that might be headed for the same IP address.
  Port numbers are divided into ranges by the IANA. Following are the current port ranges:

  Port number	descriptions
  0–1023	Well-Known—For common TCP/IP functions and applications
  1024–49151	Registered—For applications built by companies
  49152–65535	Dynamic/Private—For dynamic connections or unregistered applications

  Common TCP and UDP Port Numbers

  TCP		UDP
  FTP	20, 21	DNS	53
  Telnet	23	DHCP	67,68
  SMTP	25	TFTP	69
  DNS	53	NTP	123
  HTTP	80	SNMP	161
  POP	110
  NNTP	119
  HTTPS	443

  Network Layer

  The network layer provides a logical topology and layer-3 addresses. Routers function at the network layer. This layer is responsible for three main functions:
  • Defines logical addresses used at layer-3
  • Finds paths, based on the network numbers of logical addresses, to reach destination devices
  • Connects different data link types together, such as Ethernet, FDDI, Serial, and Token Ring
  IP packet
  Where the transport layer uses segments to transfer information between machines, the Internet layer uses datagram's. Datagram is just another word for packet.
  The IP protocol is mainly responsible for these functions:
  • Connectionless data delivery: best effort delivery with no data recovery capabilities
  • Hierarchical logical addressing to provide for highly scalable internetworks
  IP addresses are broken into two components:
  • Network component Defines on what segment, in the network, a device is located
  • Host component defines the specific device on a particular network segment
  Two types of packets are used at the Network layer: data and route updates.
  Data packets
  Used to transport user data through the internetwork. Protocols used to support data traffic are called routed protocols; examples of routed protocols are IP and IPv6.
  Route update packets
  Used to update neighboring routers about the networks connected to all routers within the internetwork. Protocols that send route update packets are called routing protocols; examples of some common ones are RIP, RIPv2, EIGRP, and OSPF. Route update packets are used to help build and maintain routing tables on each router.

  IP Classes

   Class A addresses range from 1-126: 00000001-01111111.
  • Class B addresses range from 128-191: 10000000-10111111.
  • Class C addresses range from 192-223: 11000000-11011111.
  • Class D addresses range from 224-239: 11100000-11101111.
  • Class E addresses range from 240-254:
  1. 0 is reserved and represents all IP addresses;
  2. 127 is a reserved address and is used for testing, like a loop back on an interface:
  3. 255 is a reserved address and is used for broadcasting purposes.
  Public addresses are Class A, B, and C addresses that can be used to access devices in other public networks, such as the Internet. Public IP address assign authority The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is ultimately responsible for handing out and managing public addresses. Normally you get public addresses directly from your ISP, which, in turn, requests them from one of five upstream address registries:
  • American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)
  • Reseaux IP Europeans Network Coordination Center (RIPE NCC)
  • Asia Pacific Registry for Internet Numbers (APNIC)
  • Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC)
  • African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC)

  Private IP and ISP

  
  
  Private ip address can be used to configure private network. You can use private ip to build your network without paying a single rupees. But one biggest problem with private ip is that with private you can not access the internet. This is the point where ISP comes from. ISP purchase a bulk of public ip address and provide them on rent. Whatever you pay to ISP for accessing internet is actually the charge of using public ip address.
  Private ip address:- Not route able in public network
  • Class A: 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255 (1 Class A network)
  • Class B: 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255 (16 Class B networks)
  • Class C: 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255 (256 Class C networks)

  Protocol	Description
  IP	IP of TCP/IP, featuring routable 32-bit addressing.
  IPX	The equivalent of IP in Novell Netware.
  ICMP	Internet Connection Management Protocol. Incorporates Ping and Traceroute, which are layer 3 link-testing utilities.
  OSPF, IGRP, EIGRP, RIP, ISIS	Dynamic routing protocols that learn about remote networks and the best paths to them from other routers running the same protocol.
  ARP, RARP	Address Resolution Protocol (and Reverse ARP). ARP learns what MAC address is associated with a given IP address. Reverse ARP learns an IP address given a MAC address.

  Data link layer

  Main functions of data link layer is
  • Defining the Media Access Control (MAC) or hardware addresses
  • Defining the physical or hardware topology for connections
  • Defining how the network layer protocol is encapsulated in the data link layer frame
  • Providing both connectionless and connection-oriented services
  • Defines hardware (MAC) addresses as well as the communication process that occurs within a media.
  • The first six hexadecimal digits of a MAC address form the OUI.
  • MAC addresses only need to be unique in a broadcast domain,
  • You can have the same MAC address in different broadcast domains (virtual LANs).
  There are two specifications of Ethernet frame Ethernet II and 802
  802.2 use a SAP or SNAP field to differentiate between encapsulatedlayer-3 payloads.
  With a SNAP frame, the SAP fields are set to 0xAA and the type field is used to indicate the layer-3 protocol. One of the issues of the original SAP field in the 802.2 SAP frame is that even though it is eight bits (one byte) in length, only the first six bits are used for identifying upper-layer protocols, which allows up to 64 protocols.
  802.2 SNAP frame support of up to 65,536 protocols
  Ethernet II's Version of Ethernet
  • Ethernet II does not have any sub layers, while IEEE 802.2/3 has two: LLC and MAC.
  • Ethernet II has a type field instead of a length field (used in 802.3). IEEE 802.2 defines the type for IEEE Ethernet

  Physical Layer

  The Physical layer communicates directly with the various types of actual communication media. Different kinds of media represent these bit values in different ways. Some use audio tones, while others utilize state transitions—changes in voltage from high to low and low to high. Specific protocols are needed for each type of media to explain the proper bit patterns to be used, how data is encoded into media signals, and the various qualities of the physical media’s attachment interface.

  Fiber Cabling

  Two types of fiber are used for connections: multimode and single-mode.
  Multimode fiber
  has a fiber thickness of either 850 or 1300 nanometers (nm), and the light signal is typically provided by an LED. When transmitting a signal, the light source is bounced off of the inner cladding (shielding) surrounding the fiber. Multimode fiber can achieve speeds in the hundreds of Mbps range, and many signals can be generated per fiber.
  Single-mode fiber
  has a fiber thickness of 1300 or 1550 nm and uses a laser as the light source. Because lasers provide a higher output than LEDs, single-mode fiber can span over 10 kilometers and have speeds up to 100Gbps. With single-mode fiber, only one signal is used per fiber.
  • Loss factor is used to describe any signal loss in the fiber before the light source gets to the end of the fiber.
  • Connector loss is a loss that occurs when a connector joins two pieces of fibers: a slight signal loss is expected.
  • Attenuation describe the signal loose due to distance
  • Microbending is when a wrinkle in the fiber, typically where the cable is slightly bent, causes a distortion in the light source.
  • Macrobending is when there is leakage of the light source from the fiber, typically from a bend in the fiber cable. to overcome this problem over long distances, optical amplifiers can be used.
  Two main standards are used to describe the transmission of signals across a fiber:
  SONET is defined by the Exchange Carriers Standards Association (ECSA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is typically used in North America.
  SDH is an international standard used throughout most of the world (with the exception of North America). Both of these standards define the physical layer framing used to transmit light sources, which also includes overhead for the transmission.

  Cisco's three-layer hierarchical model

  
  

  Core Layer

  The core provides a high-speed layer-2 switching infrastructure and typically does not manipulate packet contents.

  Distribution Layer

  The distribution layer provides a boundary between the access and core layers. It contains routers and switches. Routers are used to provide the logical boundary--broadcasts are contained within the access layer and Filtering policies can be implemented to restrict traffic flows.

  Access Layer

  The access layer provides the user's initial access to the network, which is typically via switches or hubs.

  TCP/IP protocol

  The TCP/IP protocol stack has four layers. Note that although some of the layers in the TCP/IP protocol stack have the same names as layers in the OSI reference model, the layers have different functions in each model, as is described in the following list:

  Application layer:

  The application layer handles high-level protocols, including issues of representation, encoding, and dialog control. The TCP/IP model combines all application-related issues into one layer and ensures that this data is properly packaged for the next layer.

  Transport layer:

  The transport layer deals with QoS issues of reliability, flow control, and error correction. One of its protocols, TCP, provides for reliable network communications.

  Internet layer:

  The purpose of the Internet layer is to send source datagrams from any network on the internetwork and have them arrive at the destination, regardless of the path they took to get there.

  Network access layer:

  The name of this layer is broad and somewhat confusing. It is also called the host-to-network layer. It includes the LAN and WAN protocols and all the details in the OSI physical and data link layers.

Window

Microsoft Windows is a series of graphical interface operating systems developed, marketed, and sold  by Microsoft.

Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).

The most recent client version of Windows is Windows 7; the most recent server version is Windows Server 2008 R2; the most recent mobile version is Windows Phone 7.5.

Windows 1.0, the first version, released in 1985.

Windows 1.0 did not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows were tiled. Only dialog boxes could appear over other windows.

Windows 2.0 was released in October 1987 and featured several improvements to the user interface and memory management.[3] Windows 2.0 allowed application windows to overlap each other and also introduced more sophisticated keyboard shortcuts.

The early versions of Windows were often thought of as simply graphical user interfaces, mostly because they ran on top of MS-DOS and used it for file system services.
Windows 3.0, released in 1990. Windows 3.0 (1990) and Windows 3.1 (1992) improved the design, mostly because of virtual memory and loadable virtual device drivers (VxDs) that allowed them to share arbitrary devices between multitasked DOS windows.

Windows 95 was released in August 1995, featuring a new user interface, support for long file names of up to 255 characters, and the ability to automatically detect and configure installed hardware (plug and play).

Microsoft's next release was Windows 98 in June 1998. Microsoft released a second version of Windows 98 in May 1999, named Windows 98 Second Edition (often shortened to Windows 98 SE).

In February 2000, Windows 2000 (in the NT family) was released, followed by Windows Me in September 2000 (Me standing for Millennium Edition). Windows Me updated the core from Windows 98, but adopted some aspects of Windows 2000 and removed the "boot in DOS mode" option. It also added a new feature called System Restore, allowing the user to set the computer's settings back to an earlier date.

In October 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, a version built on the Windows NT kernel that also retained the consumer-oriented usability of Windows 95 and its successors.

On January 30, 2007, Microsoft released Windows Vista. It contains a number of new features, from a redesigned shell and user interface to significant technical changes, with a particular focus on security features. It is available in a number of different editions, and has been subject to some criticism.

On October 22, 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7. Unlike its predecessor, Windows Vista, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 was intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being compatible with applications and hardware which Windows Vista was not at the time.[18] Windows 7 has multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows shell with a new taskbar, referred to as the Superbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup,[19] and performance improvements.

On 29 February 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the beta version of Windows 8, build 8250. For the first time since Windows 95, the Start button is no longer available on the taskbar, though the Start screen is still triggered by clicking the bottom-left corner of the screen and by clicking Start in the Charm. Windows president Steven Sinofsky said more than 100,000 changes had been made since the developer version went public. In the first day of its release, Windows 8 Consumer Preview was downloaded over one million times. Like the Developer Preview, the Consumer Preview is set to expire on the 15 January 2013.