Every user who uses Windows on his computer, at least sometimes, wondered what kind of OS he has installed. How to find out the computer operating system and the version or assembly of the installed OS, read on. In most cases, you can get by with your own Windows tools without resorting to additional utilities or special services on the Internet. However, to get a complete picture regarding all possible techniques, we consider everything that can be used to obtain such information.
How to determine the operating system of a computer: the simplest method
So, probably, everyone noticed that when you turn on your computer or laptop at the very beginning of loading the operating system, the Windows logo appears on the screen corresponding to the installed OS. It looks different for each system, so it is very difficult to confuse the same XP modification with the “seven” or “ten”. In addition, on the logo itself there is a designation in the form of a number, which, however, is absent in the eighth and tenth versions.
In the same way, you can simply look at the interface of an already loaded OS in order to figure out which modification is installed on a computer device. However, a quick glance at the monitor screen will not be enough just because a visual inspection does not allow you to determine the capacity of the system.
How to determine the computer operating system: 32 or 64 bits?
Another simple way to determine the modification of a system (as well as its bit depth) is to call the computer properties section. The My Computer icon is present directly on the Desktop in all versions of Windows up to the eighth. In the eighth and tenth it can be found in the "Explorer" (and when setting up the displayed icons, you can also return it to its rightful place). But how on Windows 10 to learn the operating system of a computer? 32 or 64 bits - what architecture does the system have?
Through RMB, on the computer icon, you need to go to the properties item, after which an information window will appear, and in the “System” block brief information about the installed OS, type of processor and RAM will be presented, not counting other information related to the product key, computer name etc.
System Information Information
Now let's see how to find out the computer operating system on Windows 8 (32 or 64 bits) and get basic information about it using a special tool called the system information section. The easiest way to call it is from the Run console (Win + R), in which you need to register the abbreviation msinfo32. There is more information here.
In the main unit there will be present not only the name of the OS itself, but also its version with the assembly (the assembly is usually updated when installing updates). In addition to the basic information, here you can find a lot of interesting things about hardware, BIOS firmware, and installed software, including device drivers.
How to find out the exact assembly: an additional tool
How to find out the computer operating system on Windows of the latest generations is a little clear. But when using the system information section, the user is given too many often unnecessary information to him. To get information related only to the assembly and version, you can use another tool.
In the applet launch field of the Run menu, enter the winver abbreviation, formed from the phrase Windows Version, and then press the enter key. The result will be the appearance of a small window in which the information you are interested in will be shown without any frills.
Using DirectX Tools
Now let's figure out how to determine the computer’s operating system using the DirectX platform tools for this, which many ordinary users either forget or don’t know at all. As in previous cases, the dialog from the Run console is called, only dxdiag is entered in the field of the executable applet.
After starting, right on the main tab, along with the rest of the information, information will be shown regarding Windows itself, its number, and the installed assembly, only the assembly in this case will be designated as “building”, only the information related to the main one will be shown in its number release (and not in expanded form, as it could be observed when using the winver applet).
Command line
Another powerful Windows tool is the command line, which ordinary users often dislike or ignore due to their lack of knowledge of the commands, operators and attributes used. Somewhat distracting from the topic, it is worth noting that with its help you can access some undocumented features of Windows, as well as fix many errors and failures in the operation of system components. But it is, information for consideration.
But how to find out the computer operating system through the command line? In principle, you can use the same winver command, which works in this console exactly the same as in the Run menu.
However, to get more detailed information, it is better to use the system info command, after which the necessary information will be displayed on the screen, not only the OS itself, but also its hardware and software components, computer or laptop model, updates, and much more.
Note: even without executing commands, when you start the console, the version and build of Windows will be displayed at the top.
Getting information in the registry
Now a few words about how to determine the operating system of a computer using the registry. It must be said right away that the method is far from the most convenient, but since all available methods are considered, it also needs to be mentioned.
So, call the appropriate editor (regedit), and then through the HKLM branch and the SOFTWARE section, get to the Windows NT directory, in which there is a subfolder CurrentVresion.
On the right side of the window there are several keys, among which CurrentBuild corresponds to the current build number, and ProductName gives information about the main version of Windows (number and modification).
Help from Microsoft
If you constantly work with the Internet, you can even use the official website of Microsoft Corporation.
After clicking on the link shown in the image above in the browser, the field with questions and answers will immediately display a field with an automatically determined OS installed on the computer from which the resource is logged in.
Third-Party Information Utilities and Online Services
However, many other sites work in a similar way, which may not necessarily be intended solely to determine the version and build of your OS. Quite often, your operating system can be determined by the sites from which some software is downloaded. After all, many noticed that when choosing a file for downloading, recommendations often appear, for example, on downloading a 64-bit installer. In addition, the OS itself is also detected automatically, since you are not recommended to download the application for Mac OS or Linux, but are immediately sent to the download link specifically for Windows.
Finally, it remains to be said about how to determine the computer operating system using information applications from third-party developers.
In principle, any program like AIDA64, CPU / GPU-Z, Speecy, and similar applications give complete information not only about the hardware and its operating modes (for which, in fact, in most cases they are used), but also about OS
You can also download the Volume Activation Management Tool from the Microsoft website and determine the version of the current OS by the number of the product key registered in the system.
Summary
As you can see, for an ordinary user to get information on the installed OS, you can restrict yourself to only the simplest tools of the Windows systems themselves, without resorting to the help of third-party software products or online resources. The information content of each of the described tools is different, and you need to use one or another tool solely for reasons of what kind of information you need. If we are only talking about the version, build, or bit depth of Windows, the simplest methods will suffice. But in the case when there are problems in the system (both software and hardware), it is advisable to use third-party utilities. They are especially useful in identifying potential problems and eliminating all kinds of crashes or conflicts.