Windows OS versions overview in years
When installing old hardware or old games, it is good to know, what OS was in the year of manufacturing of hardware or games.
- Usually old OS contains all drivers for hardware in same year
- Popular Windows worth to install are Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 10
- You can emulate enviroment for all old games in Windows XP
- For really old games 1980-2000 use emulation in DosBox
OS name | First release | End of support | End of extended support | Notes |
Windows 95 | 1995 | 2001 | ||
Windows 98 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | |
Windows 2000 | 2000 | 2009 | 2009 | Almost market failure. Use XP |
Windows XP | 2001 | 2009 | 2014 | Best 32bit Windows |
Windows Vista | 2007 | 2010 | 2014 | Market failure, don't install. Use XP or 7 |
Windows 7 | 2009 | 2015 | 2020 | First good 64bit Windows |
Windows 8 and 8.1 | 2012 | 2015 | 2023 | Market failure, don't install. Use 7 or 10 |
Windows 10 | 2015 | 2025 | Not known | Very popular Windows |
Windows 11 | 2021 | Not known | Not known | Last release of Windows |
Some server editions of Windows
Server OS name | First release | Notes | ||
Windows Server 2003 | 2003 | Derived from Windows XP | ||
Windows Server 2008 | 2008 | Derived from Windows Vista | ||
Windows Server 2012 | 2012 | Derived from Windows 7 |
Link to Windows server list on wikipedia