Overview
- Windows marked 40 years on Nov. 20, 2025, following its first shipment on Nov. 20, 1985.
- Windows 1.0 launched as a graphical layer for MS-DOS with modest needs of a graphics card and 256KB of RAM.
- Windows 3.0 and 3.1 brought a major interface leap and bundled games like Solitaire and Minesweeper that became cultural icons.
- Windows 95 introduced the Start menu and taskbar and sold more than seven million copies in its first weeks.
- Later releases saw XP and 7 praised, Vista and 8 criticized, Windows 10 adopt a service-style update cadence, and Windows 11 push new design, hardware requirements, and AI-focused PCs.