Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. Windows 4, 5 and 6?

Windows 4, 5 and 6?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
announcementcomsalesquestioncareer
66 Posts 47 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • C Christopher Duncan

    So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

    Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

    D Offline
    D Offline
    Dave Parker
    wrote on last edited by
    #24

    Win 2000 was NT 5 Win XP was NT 5.1 Win Vista was NT 6.0 and Win 7 is NT 6.1 bloody marketing.... Before 2000 well there was an NT 4 but guess you could also consider 95/98/ME as 4 as they came after 3.1, so I dunno.

    Q 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • C Christopher Duncan

      I prefer Vaporize, but surprisingly I don't get invited back to the same party twice... :)

      Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

      J Offline
      J Offline
      Jim Crafton
      wrote on last edited by
      #25

      Yeah, but at least you get the job done! Mission Accomplished indeed!

      ¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • P PIEBALDconsult

        From my WinXP system:

        C:\>ver

        Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

        From my wife's Vista system:

        C:\>ver

        Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]

        G Offline
        G Offline
        Gregory Gadow
        wrote on last edited by
        #26

        A check of our main servers running Server 2003 shows [Version 5.2.3790]. In case anyone is keeping track. ;P

        V 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • C Christopher Duncan

          So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

          Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

          G Offline
          G Offline
          Gregory Gadow
          wrote on last edited by
          #27

          A friend of mine at Microsoft (he works in the XBox division, but has other friends in OS dev) says that the original plan was to follow Vista with Vista 2009. That was scrapped when Marketing realized that anything named "Microsoft Vista" would likely mean financial ruin for the company.

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • T Todd Smith

            Deyan Georgiev wrote:

            LunaticFringe wrote: I leave it to you, gentle reader, to decide if I'm being ironic. So you think I’m stupid, do you?

            Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

            Todd Smith

            S Offline
            S Offline
            Single Step Debugger
            wrote on last edited by
            #28

            I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I guess you are trying to insult me.

            The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • G Gregory Gadow

              A check of our main servers running Server 2003 shows [Version 5.2.3790]. In case anyone is keeping track. ;P

              V Offline
              V Offline
              Vark111
              wrote on last edited by
              #29

              Well if we're gonna bark up this tree... 2008 R2 is 6.1.7600

              L 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • D Dave Parker

                Win 2000 was NT 5 Win XP was NT 5.1 Win Vista was NT 6.0 and Win 7 is NT 6.1 bloody marketing.... Before 2000 well there was an NT 4 but guess you could also consider 95/98/ME as 4 as they came after 3.1, so I dunno.

                Q Offline
                Q Offline
                QuiJohn
                wrote on last edited by
                #30

                Well, NT 3.1 should really be considered NT 1.0, but they already had "3.1" mindshare. Sigh. So really we have: NT 3.1 = 1.0 NT 4.0 = 2.0 2000 = 3.0 XP = 3.1 Vista = 4.0 7 = 4.1 There, I hope that clears things up.


                He said, "Boy I'm just old and lonely, But thank you for your concern, Here's wishing you a Happy New Year." I wished him one back in return.

                D 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • C Christopher Duncan

                  PIEBALDconsult wrote:

                  Add to that that the OP had no humor in it.

                  Really? :-D Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits...

                  Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                  P Offline
                  P Offline
                  PIEBALDconsult
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #31

                  Right.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • C Christopher Duncan

                    So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

                    Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                    G Offline
                    G Offline
                    Gary Kirkham
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #32

                    This[^] has a nice little chart that splains it.

                    Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit It's against my relationship to have a religion. Me blog, You read

                    S 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • S Single Step Debugger

                      My workstation XP shows: Microsoft Windows [Version 5.2.3790], hence my/obviously wrong/ conclusion that you are running SP2.

                      The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.

                      D Offline
                      D Offline
                      Daniel Grunwald
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #33

                      NT 5.2 is Windows Server 2003, not XP. The thing called "Windows XP 64-bit edition" is actually a client version of Win2003.

                      A 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • J John M Drescher

                        http://blog.aggregatedintelligence.com/2009/03/windows-version-numbers-and-why-windows.html[^]

                        John

                        S Offline
                        S Offline
                        stasukas
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #34

                        You a wrong. Correct data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows[^]

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • C Christopher Duncan

                          So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

                          Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                          B Offline
                          B Offline
                          BrowniePoints
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #35

                          From the release of NT3.51 all of the major numbers were tied to the NT kernel. (Before NT of course it was Windows, 1, 2, 3, 3.11) After 3.51 we have NT 4 (corresponded to Win 95) Windows 2000 NT 5 kernel XP/Server 2003 were NT 5.1 Vista/Server 2K8 were NT 6 Windows 7/Server 2K8 R2 officially NT 6.1 but named Win 7.

                          J 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • C Christopher Duncan

                            So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

                            Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                            C Offline
                            C Offline
                            CarlMCook
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #36

                            "Windows", which was DOS based, died with Windows 98. OS/2 was Windows 2.0 (as we now know Windows) NT 3.0 and NT 3.5.1 were Windows 3 NT 4.0 was Windows 4 XP was Windows 5 (NT 5) Vista was Windows 6 (NT 6) Windows 7 is internally Windows NT 6.1, as a convenience, so the rumor goes. So, really, we are all running OS/2's great-grandkids. My first experience with OS/2 was at IBM in Boca Raton running Plantworks on a 286 back in the mid-80's. It wasn't a pleasant experience. It took about 20 minutes to boot, particularly painful because it would crash constantly. Lots of coffee and smoke breaks. Not much got done. Thanks.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • B BrowniePoints

                              From the release of NT3.51 all of the major numbers were tied to the NT kernel. (Before NT of course it was Windows, 1, 2, 3, 3.11) After 3.51 we have NT 4 (corresponded to Win 95) Windows 2000 NT 5 kernel XP/Server 2003 were NT 5.1 Vista/Server 2K8 were NT 6 Windows 7/Server 2K8 R2 officially NT 6.1 but named Win 7.

                              J Offline
                              J Offline
                              Jonathan C Dickinson
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #37

                              I think you got it right - the most important bit is "Kernel." Windows 9x didn't come into the versioning scheme - considering they were all essentially the same (basically just explorer.exe tweaks ;P ) that makes sense. On top of that; that line was abandoned when XP came out so the versions are not important. The versioning for Win7/2008 is a compatibility hack. They are a new version because they are based on MinWin component model - but Microsoft decided to leave the 'internal' version the same for developers who don't know how to use the '&&' operator. So the last line should read: Windows 7/Server 2K8 R2 officially NT 7.0 (and probably 7.1, respectfully) but left at 6.1 for compatibility. Otherwise, spot on!

                              He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. [Chineese Proverb] Jonathan C Dickinson (C# Software Engineer)

                              B 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • G Gary Kirkham

                                This[^] has a nice little chart that splains it.

                                Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit It's against my relationship to have a religion. Me blog, You read

                                S Offline
                                S Offline
                                s kleinschmidt
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #38

                                Yep, this is the right one. One can't put the DOS based versions into a line with the NT based version. One can only understand the way how microsoft counts when you have in mind that there were two technically different strains of windows (the original NT wasn't even developed on X86 computers) and that "Windows 7" is just a name, not a version number. Good luck for the new year to everyone! Stefan P.S.: Nice signature...

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • C Christopher Duncan

                                  So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

                                  Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                                  N Offline
                                  N Offline
                                  neil095
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #39

                                  Go and have a forking drink ;P

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • C Christopher Duncan

                                    So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

                                    Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                                    V Offline
                                    V Offline
                                    Vahid Rassouli
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #40

                                    have you ever watch the "System Information" on windows 7??? It says: OS Name: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Version: 6.1.7600 Build 7600 ..... So, as I guess "Windows 7" is the NAME of windows 7, not the version number! because the version is still 6! :doh:

                                    -------------- Vahid Rassouli

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • C Christopher Duncan

                                      So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

                                      Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                                      M Offline
                                      M Offline
                                      MrZaggy
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #41

                                      Windows 3 Family : NT3.51 (as well as the Windows 3.x family) Windows 4 Family : NT4 (and the 95/98/Me family) Windows 5 Family : Windows 2000 (NT5) and our beloved Windows XP (NT5.1) Windows 6 Family : Vista... Need we say more, beyond pointing out what it says if you STUTTER it? (6-6-6) And lets face it, Vista stuttered a lot! Windows 7 Family : FINALLY we're back to the Logical, Numerical Versioning we lost with NT4 (despite the build indicator '6.1') Ah SH|T, now I see a bunch of ppl's answered before me... Stupid forum thing!

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • D Daniel Grunwald

                                        NT 5.2 is Windows Server 2003, not XP. The thing called "Windows XP 64-bit edition" is actually a client version of Win2003.

                                        A Offline
                                        A Offline
                                        Ath_TonHu
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #42

                                        And it is also XP 64 bit edition. (look it up in the references to Wikipedia, mentioned in earlier posts)

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • C Christopher Duncan

                                          So we now have Windows 7. That got me wondering what the previous numbers were. We all remember Windows 3.11 (either from actual use or from your history classes in school). But what about the others? I'm guessing Windows 95, 98 and ME are all lumped together into Windows 4. That would make XP Windows 5 and Vista Windows 6. Of course, that leaves a lot of forking questions about where NT fits into the numbering scheme, but I'm willing to give that a miss. Of course, if my guessing is correct, that would mean that Windows 95 was 4.0, 98 was 4.1 and ME was 4.2, for which we paid full boat "new version" prices. Say, it suddenly occurs to me that I have this all wrong. Maybe it's Windows 95/98/ME as 4, all that NT stuff as 5, XP as 6 and Vista as version 7. That would mean Windows 7 is really just Windows 7.1, which makes much more sense. Of course, we'll still be paying the full "new version" pricing for the dot release. But then, that precedent was already set in the Windows 9x stuff, so I guess it's okay. Now my head is spinning. Is it too early to have a drink?

                                          Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services

                                          D Offline
                                          D Offline
                                          dpminusa
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #43

                                          Versions[^] There are some details similar to your discussion there. I think you have a bead on the real reason for the musical chairs with the Windows Versions "Make sure each release can be charged for as a new product and not an update". If you need an algorithm to identify versions in your logic then they are there in an almost logical pattern. Some overlap.

                                          "Coding for fun and profit ... mostly fun"

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups