Today, the most common and popular operating system in the Windows world will not surprise anyone. Our name has become almost a household word. But the majority of ordinary users do not think at all about what Windows systems are and how they work. And of course, few people have a complete understanding of the organizational structure of these operating systems.
What is Windows?
Most users are used to the fact that when the computer is turned on, the OS boots up, in the environment of which you can later work with various programs. But what is the role of the operating system itself?
A system on a computer, if not to talk about the present "iron" components, plays both a dominant and an intermediate role. An intermediate role is that it is the link between the installed software (software), the user and the hardware. In other words, it is through the Windows functional set that a user can run various applications that can interact with each other. But the calculations are already done by the central processor with parallel loading of the components of the currently active programs (not counting the own processes necessary for the system to work) in the RAM. That is, what is Windows? A bridge connecting the user and application applications with the "iron" components, which are entrusted with the functions of performing all processes (computational operations, outputting results and their subsequent processing).
On the other hand, speaking of what Windows is, the system can be compared with a kind of organization of human society. Windows is a kind of leader who gives instructions to other members of a lower rank, and also establishes rights or prohibits the execution of certain processes.
A bit of history
But the family of these OSs has not always been so popular. Previously, when DOS-like systems were mainly used on computers, and for interacting with a computer it was necessary to enter quite a lot of commands, there was no need to talk about any convenience.
Only in 1985, when the first version of Windows 1.01 was released, developed according to the latest principles of object-oriented programming, users were able to work with a computer through a graphical interface, which later became even more convenient, but did not undergo drastic changes.
Then modifications 2.0, 3.x followed, but finally the system, as we see it today, was formed only with the release of the revolutionary Windows 95 at that time. Next came desktop versions 98, 2000, Millennium (ME), XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 (the latest version of Windows), not counting the huge number of server modifications.
The main elements of the interface
But since the appearance of the system, windows have been and remain the main element (whence the name actually came from). They are used to display absolutely all programs, processes, information messages , etc.
In version 95, several more elements appeared, without which it is almost impossible to imagine a system today - the “Start” button (which, however, the developers tried to refuse in the eighth modification, but returned to their place in the tenth) and various kinds of panels, the main of which is "Taskbars."
A brief description of the Windows system and its competitors
But why exactly did Windows become one of the most common OSs, even though only until recently had all the modifications been paid? This is due not only to the convenience of work or the presence of hacked versions, most of which are accounted for by users of the post-Soviet space.
The fact is that the developers initially tried to create a universal system that could work with most well-known hardware devices (motherboards, processors, RAM, hard drives, etc.), and in which any program could be launched regardless of its developer or purpose.
Of course, today Windows systems are on the heels of both Linux (the system that was originally free) and Mac OS X. But the first one is quite specific and especially popular only among a narrow circle of users, while the second one can only function on special equipment ( not for nothing that Windows platforms are classified as PCs, and Mac systems are classified as Intel). But the most interesting thing is that competing operating systems are not affected by viruses, while Windows has a lot of security holes (this will be discussed separately).
How to find out the system version?
Now let’s dwell on how to look at the characteristics of Windows 7th version, for example, or any other. In each system, brief information can be obtained through the PCM menu on the computer icon with the choice of the properties item (almost everyone knows this).
But to clarify the system parameters or determine the exact build number, it is better to use the msinfo32 command, entered in the Run console, or the winver line, written in the same menu. For convenience, you can use the system section in the "Control Panel".
Why does the system fail?
Naturally, the possibilities of Windows are very wide, but not unlimited. Many users complain that this OS very often crashes and causes a huge number of errors.
Here it’s worth clarifying that in 99.9% of cases it’s “buggy” not the system, but the installed software or installed equipment does not meet the requirements of the OS itself. The same incorrectly installed drivers, different memory bars and much more can cause conflicts. Incidentally, one of the latest versions of Windows 10 Pro is less prone to crashing.
Security and update installation issues
The security system, despite the many protective equipment, is far from the highest level. It is only in Windows 10 Pro and other versions of the tenth group that a built-in antivirus appeared, and before that I had to use third-party developments. In addition, the firewall is quite problematic. And there are enough holes in the system through which viruses or malicious codes can penetrate.
That is why constant installation of Windows updates is required. In most cases, the release of such updates is precisely related to patching security holes, although you can install updates for other Microsoft software products, including office suites or specialized platforms like DirectX, .NET Framework, Visual C ++, etc., which It is essential for the correct operation of many modern programs that require system resources.
As a rule, in any version, the installation of Windows updates in automatic mode is activated by default. But if failures occur, you can find and install them yourself by setting a manual search in the "Update Center". But, unfortunately, some updates themselves can cause system errors due to their incorrect or incomplete installation, or even because they were originally performed incorrectly, but this is already the fault of Microsoft programmers.
Rollback and restore system health
Finally, many users are interested in the question of whether it is possible to restore Windows. Can. Starting with the ME version, the operating systems of this family have become smarter. This manifested itself in the fact that on the hard disk backup copies of the OS state were created (and are being created) at a certain point in time. In addition, in modern versions, you can not wait for the automation of these processes, but create a disk or flash drive for quick system recovery, not to mention the complete copying of hard drives.
Usually, after critical failures occur, the recovery starts automatically without user intervention. If this does not happen, you can always use the additional boot menu, which on all systems except Windows 10, is called by pressing the F8 key at startup, and choose to download the last successful configuration. True, the latest version of Windows (tenth) uses several other ways to enter such a menu, although if you wish, you can easily return to using F8.
If this does not help, when starting from removable media, you can run the command line and restore the OS, using a specialized set of tools (checking the disk or file system, online recovery, overwriting boot sectors or the bootloader, etc.) . In some cases, it is enough to use the Safe Start mode (Safe Mode), which allows you to fix many problems if the system cannot boot in normal mode (installing and uninstalling programs, including drivers, removing viruses, changing the OS settings, manually starting the “Recovery Center” etc.).
Brief conclusions
Here is a brief summary of everything about Windows. It did not touch on purely technical issues related to the operating principles of the OS, since the average user doesn’t really need this. But to summarize, we can say that Windows is a unified shell that allows you to manage all elements of the computer (hardware and software) and interact between the computer and the user. It is quite problematic to describe all the features of modern OSs, since it will take more than one page. But with confidence it can be argued that the development of the family of these OSs does not stand still, and in the future we can expect the appearance of a fairly large number of innovations.