How to Find Which Version of Microsoft Windows You Have

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By 17of26
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Windows Vista logo

Sometimes it is necessary to figure out which version of Microsoft Windows

your computer is running. Even if you know that your computer is running Vista, you might not remember which of the four editions of Vista you have. You also might need to find out which Service Pack you have in order to figure out if you can use an application that requires a particular Service Pack to be installed. Fortunately, Microsoft supplies a tool that will allow you to find which version of Microsoft Windows you have.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Microsoft Windows

Step 1

Run dialog box" alt="Start->Run dialog box" src="http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5058733/emptystartrun_Thumb.jpg">

Start->Run dialog box

Bring up the "Run" dialog box by clicking on Start, then Run. Alternatively, you can bring up the dialog box using a keyboard shortcut by holding down the Window key and pressing R.
Step 2

Running winver

In the edit box next to "Open:" type "winver" without the quotes and then hit enter.
Step 3

About Windows

Read the information in the dialog box that comes up. At the very top of the dialog box is which specific edition of Windows you have. For example, the image for this step shows "Windows Vista Ultimate". Below that is a version number. In the sample image you can see "Version 6.0". It's worth noting that this doesn't mean Version 6.0 of Vista, it's actually Version 6.0 of Microsoft Windows. Vista is just the name that's used to refer to Version 6 (Windows XP was Microsoft Windows Version 5.1). Next to the version number is a build number, which you almost never need to know. Finally there is the Service Pack number which can be important from time to time. Service Pack numbers are inclusive, so if you have Service Pack 3 that means you also have the Service Packs that were released before it.