Documentation of Operating Systems and Developers

Windows 10

Windows 10 has been developed under the project name "Threshold" as successor of Windows 8.1. During development, the operating system was called Windows 9 but dropped by Microsoft for no official reason. This is the last Windows version according to Microsoft. This means that the major version number 10 will be kept, independent from the number of updates in future.

Microsoft offers a free upgrade from Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 within the first year since the release. The upgrade is performed after confirmation of the user. All of the necessary files for the upgrade have been downloaded through the automatic update before. You can install the operating system later on the same computer and the license will be activated automatically. Otherwise you can activate Windows 10 during the setup with a valid Windows 7 or Windows 8 license code.

Microsoft is forcing the registration with an online Microsoft account but you can still use a local user account. Many features will be limited or not useable without online activation, for example Cortana, OneDrive, OneNote and the AppStore. The operating system transmits many telemetry data to Microsoft. The transfer of data can be configured in privacy settings in control panel but not deactivated completely.

The minimum requirements for the computer are moderat. A processor with 1 GHz, 1 GByte (32-bit) and 2 GByte (64-bit) main memory are sufficient. The free disk space on the hard disk should be at least 16 GByte (32-Bit) and 20 GByte (64-Bit). The graphic card should support DirectX 9 with WDDM 1.0 drivers at a resolution of at least 800 x 600 pixel. The driver model is the same and drivers for the most common hardware are included.

The operating system has been designed for various different computers. Windows 10 is suitable for server, desktop computer, notebooks, tablets and Windows-Phones. The development of Apps has been simplified for use on computers and mobile devices. Microsoft offers Windows versions for different fields of application:

- Windows 10 Home
- Windows 10 Pro
- Windows 10 Enterprise
- Windows 10 Education
- Windows 10 Mobile
- Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise
- Windows 10 IoT Core
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows 10 for XBOX One

Windows 10 updates are delivered continuously on availability. A fixed weekly patch day become dispensable therefore. The point of time for updates can be configured in different rings but not disabled completely. The available rings to configure the update behaviour depends on the Windows version.

- Ring 1, "Fast": Receive pre-releases of new functions
- Ring 2, "Slow": Receive pre-releases of new functions delayed
- Ring 3, "Standard": Receive new functions at final release
- Ring 4 and Ring 5: Receive new functions delayed (Pro-, Enterprise- und Education Version)
- Ring 6, "Long Term Servicing Branch": Receive only security updates automatically, new functions after release by the administrator (Windows 10 Enterprise only)



Windows Hello is able to identify the user by biometric characteristics. This can be done with the face, iris and fingerprint. The authentification data is stored on the local computer only according to microsoft. Requirement for Windows Hello is special hardware, for example a camera with infrared light for the face and iris identification.

The new browser Edge with the new HTML rendering-engine is the successor of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer 11 is still included for compatibility but the further development has been discontinued.

Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group, spoke on the Microsoft Ignite 2016 event, 26th September 2016 about the success of Windows 10. 18 months after the launch, the operating system is used on over 400 million active devices each month.

Windows 10 Technical Preview, Build 9926 (EN). Glance at the start menu and task bar with search form	Start menu including App tiles and live tiles sort by groups	Windows Explorer with standard view and settings of drive C:	Windows context menu and control panel - system informations
Classic control panel with large icons	Windows 10 is booting	Windows 10 Final, Build 10240 (EN). Windows 10 Setup - Select your language and further localized settings	Windows 10 Setup - Ready for installation
Windows 10 Setup - Type in of the activation code or skip for later activation	Windows 10 Setup - Select your Windows Edition, Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro	Windows 10 Setup - License agreement	Windows 10 Setup - New installation or upgrade of an existing Windows installation
Windows 10 Setup - Select the target drive for the installation	Windows 10 Setup - Progress of the installation	Windows 10 Setup - Enter your license or skip this step	Windows 10 Setup - Personalize your Windows setup or proceed with express settings
Windows 10 Setup - Configuration for your data privacy	Windows 10 Setup - More settings about data privacy	Windows 10 Setup - Updates are installed	Windows 10 Setup - Choose private or company use for your PC
Windows 10 Setup - Define your profile for your login to Windows 10	Windows 10 Setup - Define your user profile password	Windows 10 Setup - Finish the setup preparation of Windows 10	Windows 10 User login screen
Windows 10 Locked screen	Windows 10 Glance at the start menu and task bar with search form	Windows 10 Windows Explorer with standard view and settings of drive C:	Comparison of classic control panel sort by category and the modern control panel
Comparison of classic control panel sort by symbols and the modern control panel	New control panel of Windows 10	View system informations	Task bar with search form and Cortana assistance
Windows context menu with quick start of frequently used functions, Command prompt with Windows 10 version	Task manager of Windows 10	The new browser Microsoft Edge	Task view of running applications and virtual desktops
Start menu showing all applications	Windows 10 App Store	Control panel with data privacy settings for Windows 10	Define the behaviour of running Apps in the background
Windows Defender	Info center for notifications from Windows 10 and quick access to functions	Advancesd settings for Windows Update	Windows Defender settings
Add and remove Windows 10 features

• MS-DOS
• Windows
• Windows 1
• Windows 3.0
• Windows 3.11
• Windows 95
• Windows 98
• Windows CE
• Microsoft Auto
• Windows ME
• Windows NT 3.1
• Windows NT 4.0
• Windows NT Server 4.0
• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows 7
• Windows 8
• Windows 10
• Microsoft

• Glossary
• File systems
• Kernel definitions
• CPU architectures
• Basic knowledge
• References
• This Project
• Link collection
• Support Project