Today, the most common and popular operating system in the world of Windows is no surprise. Our name has become almost a household name. But most 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 OS.
What is Windows?
Most users are used to the fact that when the computer is turned on, the OS is loaded, in the environment of which you can then work with various programs. But what is the role of the operating system itself?
The system on the computer, apart from the "iron" components present, plays both a dominant and an intermediate role. The intermediate role is that it is a link between the installed software (software), the user and the hardware. In other words, it is through the functional set of Windows that the usercan run various applications that can interact with each other. But the calculations are already performed by the central processor with parallel loading of the components of currently active programs (not counting their own processes necessary for the operation of the system itself) into RAM. So what is Windows? A bridge that connects the user and application applications with "iron" components, which are entrusted with the functions of performing all processes (computing operations, issuing results and their subsequent processing).
On the other hand, speaking of what Windows is, the system can be compared to a kind of organization of human society. "Windows" is a kind of leader that gives instructions to other members below the rank, and also sets the rights or prohibits the execution of certain processes.
A bit of history
But the OS family hasn't always been so popular. Previously, when computers were mainly used in DOS-like systems, and to interact with a computer it was necessary to enter a lot of commands, there was no need to talk about any convenience of work.
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 the computer through a graphical interface, which later became even more convenient, but did not undergo fundamental changes.
Then followed by modifications 2.0, 3.x, but finallythe system as we see it today was formed only with the release of the then revolutionary Windows 95. This was followed by desktop versions 98, 2000, Millennium (ME), XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 (the last version of Windows), not counting the huge number of server modifications.
Main interface elements
But the main element since the advent of the system were and remain windows (where, in fact, the name came from). They are used to display absolutely all programs, processes, informational messages, etc.
In version 95, several more elements appeared, without which it is almost impossible to imagine the system today - the "Start" button (which, however, the developers tried to abandon in the eighth modification, but returned to its place in the tenth) and various panels, the main one being the Taskbar.
A brief description of Windows and its competitors
But why did Windows become one of the most common operating systems, even if only until recently all modifications were paid? This is due not only to the convenience of work or the presence of hacked versions, most of which fall on the share of users of the post-Soviet space.
The fact is that the developers initially tried to create a universal system that could work with most known hardware devices (motherboards, processors, RAM, hard drives, etc.), and in which you can would run any program regardless of its developeror destination.
Of course, both Linux (a system that was originally free) and Mac OS X are stepping on the heels of Windows systems today. But the first is quite specific and is especially popular only among a narrow circle of users, but the second can function only on special equipment (it’s 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 do I know the system version?
Now let's focus on how to look at the characteristics of "Windows" version 7, for example, or any other. In each system, you can get brief information through the RMB 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 also use the system section in the Control Panel.
Why is the system crashing?
Of course, the possibilities of Windows are very wide, but not unlimited. Many users complain that this particular OS crashes very often and causes a huge number of errors.
Here it is worth clarifying what is "buggy" in almost 99.9% of casesnot the system, but the installed software, or the installed hardware does not meet the requirements of the OS itself. The same incorrectly installed drivers, different memory strips and much more can cause conflicts. By the way, one of the latest modifications of Windows 10 Pro is the least prone to failures.
Security and installation issues for updates
The security system, despite the many protective equipment, is far from top notch. It was only in Windows 10 Pro and other versions of the tenth group that a built-in antivirus appeared, and before that it was necessary 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.
This is why you need to constantly install Windows updates. In most cases, the release of such updates is just related to patching holes in the security system, although you can install updates for other Microsoft software products, including office suites or specialized platforms like DirectX,. NET Framework, Visual C ++, etc., which is essential for the correct operation of many modern programs that are demanding on system resources.
As a rule, in any version, installing 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 cancause system errors to appear due to their incorrect or incomplete installation, or even because they were originally not executed as they should, but this is already the fault of Microsoft programmers.
Rollback and system recovery
Finally, many users are interested in the question of whether Windows can be restored. Can. Starting with the ME version, the operating systems of this family have become smarter. This was expressed in the fact that backup copies of the OS state at a certain point in time were created (and are being created) on the hard disk. In addition, in modern modifications, you can not wait for the automation of these processes, but create a disk or flash drive for quick system recovery, not to mention full copying of hard drives.
Usually, after the occurrence of critical failures, recovery starts automatically without user intervention. If this does not happen, you can always use the additional boot menu, which in all systems except Windows 10, is called by pressing the F8 key at startup, and choose to boot the last known good configuration. True, the latest version of Windows (the tenth) uses slightly different ways to enter such a menu, although you can easily return the use of F8 if you wish.
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 for this (checking the disk or file system, online recovery,overwriting boot sectors or the bootloader itself, 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 removing programs, including drivers, removing viruses, changing the settings of the OS itself, manually starting the Recovery Center) etc.).
Summary of conclusions
That's it in a nutshell and everything about Windows systems. Here, purely technical issues related to the principles of operation of the OS were not touched upon, since this is not particularly necessary for the average user. But to summarize, we can say that Windows is a unified shell that allows you to manage all the elements of the computer (hardware and software) and to interact between the computer and the user. It is rather problematic to describe all the possibilities of modern operating systems, since it will take more than one page. But we can say with confidence that the development of the family of these operating systems does not stand still, and in the future we can expect a fairly large number of innovations.
