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.

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

Usefull links

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