Windows is an operating system that provides the basis for computer functions such as memory management, program execution and supervisor mode. It also includes a variety of software applications.
The most recent version of the Windows system is Windows 11. This edition includes a new Start menu and support for virtual desktops. It was released in 2021.
Hardware Resources
System resources are hardware components that must be assigned by an operating system to allow programs and hardware devices to work together as designed. They include I/O ports, interrupt vectors, and blocks of bus-relative memory addresses. Generally, these are not shared by multiple devices.
When a program is using too many system resources, the operating system may notify the user by displaying an alert box or by shutting down the program. Some operating systems also place a limit on the number of background services that can run at once.
The Kernel-Mode Driver Framework (KMDF) and the User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF) both use a device manager to negotiate hardware resource requirements with devices. They both record additional configurations that the device can operate in, and the PnP manager selects from these resources to assign to the device. ISA IRQs, for example, are typically assigned to only one device at a time. However, a device can require multiple IRQs and share them with different devices.
Components
Windows is a graphical operating system that manages computer hardware and provides common services for computer programs. It consists of three main components: the Kernel, Shell and User Interface. Windows operating systems are used by many businesses and personal computers worldwide.
A window is a rectangular region on the screen that displays data for an application program. It typically includes a title bar, a menu bar, a sizing border, a client area and horizontal and vertical scroll bars. Some windows also contain controls. A control is a button that you click on with a pointing device to perform an action.
Microsoft continues to tweak Windows 11 with its Canary build, adding a new System Components section in Settings that groups together some of the built-in tools and apps you may not have noticed before. This feature is hidden for now, but it can be enabled using third-party tools like ViVeTool or even the Microsoft Staging Tool.
Software Environment
The software environment of windows system includes the user interface and tools computer programmers use to test programs. These include a task manager, an antivirus program, security features and other protections.
Microsoft offers different editions of Windows to meet a variety of needs. These include the Current Branch for Business, which gives IT four months to preview the latest update before it’s applied and eight months to apply a previous version of an OS or lose Microsoft support. There’s also the Long Term Servicing Branch, which is geared toward systems that can’t afford downtime for updates like emergency room devices and automated teller machines.
Users can configure the environment to their liking using settings like application execution aliases and path variables. One of the more important path variables is env:Path, which contains a list of directories that contain executable files. There are several ways to set up and tweak these settings, but some methods are easier than others.
System Summary
Depending on the version of Windows installed, there are several different ways to get system information. The most popular way to get detailed hardware specifications is using the Windows 10 system information app. The Windows 10 app provides detailed technical specifications for the main components of your computer, such as the motherboard brand and model, UEFI (or legacy BIOS) version and more.
Another way to find details is by using a free tool such as PC Wizard, which allows you to save or copy a report detailing the hardware specs for all of your components. The tool is available for both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows, including Windows 10, 7, 8, and Vista. There are also other free tools such as HWiNFO that display a variety of system information, including detailed graphics card information. These tools are useful for troubleshooting or for creating configuration data sets that you can use to compare past and present configurations.