Windows NT - Revision history

Jnc: /* See also */ +Windows NT 3.5 HCL

2024-01-13T18:47:50Z

‎See also: +Windows NT 3.5 HCL

Jnc: /* POSIX */ avoid redir

2022-05-02T12:08:48Z

‎POSIX: avoid redir

Malxau: Updates to NT 3.1 memory support, NT 3.x multiprocessor support, IDE CDROMs, FAT long file names, NT 4 TSE client support, etc.

2020-05-29T18:45:50Z

Updates to NT 3.1 memory support, NT 3.x multiprocessor support, IDE CDROMs, FAT long file names, NT 4 TSE client support, etc.

Jnc: new cat

2018-12-15T20:24:29Z

new cat

Malxau: Add service pack comments and minor cleanups

2017-07-25T07:37:14Z

Add service pack comments and minor cleanups

Neozeed: add in a link to october 1991

2012-09-10T14:42:47Z

add in a link to october 1991

Neozeed: /* Windows NT 3.1 */

2011-09-15T14:55:06Z

‎Windows NT 3.1

Neozeed: /* Windows NT 3.1 */

2011-04-28T21:26:39Z

‎Windows NT 3.1

Neozeed: /* Windows NT 3.5 */

2011-03-30T03:20:04Z

‎Windows NT 3.5

Neozeed: /* Background */

2011-02-28T22:20:43Z

‎Background

@@ Line 130: / Line 130: @@
 There never was a servicepack 6a, just 6 so .net will NOT install.  This product was quickly replaced by the Windows 2000 Terminal Services, which honestly did a better job.
 {{Nav Windows}}
 [[Category: Microsoft Operating Systems]]

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 === POSIX ===
-Posix compatibility was a 'hot topic' for US Government workstations.  The POSIX subsystem was thrown together to achieve a 'checkbox' on GSA contracts.  This subsystem was heavily crippled by not having a mechanism to call the Win32 API.  As such it provided an environment akin to [[32v|Unix 32v]].  With no ability to either run, display X11, or connect via TCP/IP it was largely ignored, except by a few who used it's [[vi]] tool that was included in the resource kit.
+Posix compatibility was a 'hot topic' for US Government workstations.  The POSIX subsystem was thrown together to achieve a 'checkbox' on GSA contracts.  This subsystem was heavily crippled by not having a mechanism to call the Win32 API.  As such it provided an environment akin to [[Unix/32V]]. With no ability to either run, display X11, or connect via TCP/IP it was largely ignored, except by a few who used its [[vi]] tool that was included in the resource kit.
 == Versions ==

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 *POSIX
-The native API is largely undocumented, and noted by the prefix RTL.  The Win32 api is considered it's primary API as the system services, security & console are all win32 applications.
+The native API is largely undocumented, and noted by the prefixes Rtl, Zw, and Nt.  The Win32 API is considered it's primary API as the system services, security & console are all win32 applications.
 === Win32 ===
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 [[Image:WindowsNT 3.1 retail.jpg|100px|thumb|right|Windows NT 3.1]]
-This was the first public release of Windows NT, and the Win32 API.  NT 3.1 was released on July 27th 1993.  The build number is 528.  NT 3.1 supported the i386 cpu, and the MIPS R4000.  Inside some boxes was a coupon for the Dec Alpha version.  NT 3.1 was apparently already ported to the Dec Alpha, however none of the ARC capable machines were 'production grade' so they couldn't certify for certain that it'd work.  Later copies of NT 3.1 have an ALPHA directory.
+This was the first public release of Windows NT, and the Win32 API.  NT 3.1 was released on July 27th 1993.  The build number of the initial release is 511, but later service packs increased the build number to 528.  NT 3.1 supported the i386 cpu, and the MIPS R4000.  Inside some boxes was a coupon for the Dec Alpha version.  NT 3.1 was apparently already ported to the Dec Alpha, however none of the ARC capable machines were 'production grade' so they couldn't certify for certain that it'd work.  Later copies of NT 3.1 have an ALPHA directory.
 Windows NT 3.1 does NOT support PCI buses.  It is limited to ISA/EISA/MCA only.  However some PCI peripherals can be driven by ISA drivers for things that map to ISA space... Like Video cards.  To get a scope of the limited support, check out the [[Windows NT 3.1 HCL]].
-On the i386 the maximum memory supported is 64MB (which was common limitation of ISA machines back then).
+On the i386, the more modern INT 15h/E820h interface for querying the system memory map was not yet standardized and supported.  This meant that typically the most memory that would be recognized by NTLDR is 64Mb.  Since newer versions of NTLDR can boot older systems, installing NT 3.5 or above can overcome this limit in NT 3.1, even if the installation is to a different partition and later removed.
 Windows NT 3.1 also only allows for a SINGLE WOW session.
@@ Line 66: / Line 70: @@
 There were several [[Windows NT 3.1 Betas|beta and pre-release]] versions of Windows NT 3.1.
-Windows NT 3.1 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server]], and [[Windows NT 3.1]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 3.
+Windows NT 3.1 shipped in two versions, Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server, and Windows NT 3.1.  The most recent service pack available is service pack 3.
 === Windows NT 3.5 ===
 [[Image:Windows NT 3.5.jpg|100px|thumb|right|Windows NT 3.5]]
-Codenamed Daytona, this release added several optimizations, and notably added support for the PCI bus, and the Dec Alpha CPU's shipped on the CD.  It was released on September 21st, 1994.  The build number was 807.
+Codenamed Daytona, this release added several optimizations, and notably added support for the PCI bus, IDE CDROMs, memory above 64Mb, MPS 1.1 multiprocessor support, and the Dec Alpha CPU's shipped on the CD.  It was released on September 21st, 1994.  The build number was 807.
 The Windows NT 3.5 SDK included the Dec Alpha CLI tools.  This version also brought a software only port of OpenGL from SGI to make Windows NT more 'workstation like'.
@@ Line 81: / Line 85: @@
 From a programming level NT 3.5 also finished out many of the API's that were left to be finished by the time NT 3.1 had shipped... I suspect it had more to do with spec drift then anything.
-NT 3.5 was released in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.5 Server]] and [[Windows NT 3.5 Workstation]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 3.
+In preparation for the Windows 95 release, NT 3.5 included support for long file names in FAT, and attempts to run Win32 programs that require version 4.0.  It is not entirely successful, because it is missing a lot of APIs that would be included in Windows 95.  Perhaps due to a lack of planning, it does not attempt to run Win32 programs that require 3.51.
 === Windows NT 3.51 ===
@@ Line 88: / Line 94: @@
 This release added the PowerPC CPU support that was done by IBM.  I've heard that NT 3.51 was actually 'done' 9 months prior to it's release but Microsoft had to wait for IBM to finish the PowerPC port.  Meanwhile Microsoft did a LOT of bug fixing making this a very popular release for corporations.  While it retained the look & feel of Windows 3.1 the newshell beta was available towards the end of the products lifespan, giving NT 3.51 a Windows 95 feel.  It was released on May 30th, 1995 and it's build number was 1057.
-NT 3.51 was to sync a lot of user mode components from Windows 95. For developers, this included the Windows 95 common control library including the rich edit control, as well as the Windows 95 help system.  Although it may not 'look' or feel like Windows 95 in the slightest.  This was the last version of Windows NT to incorporate the Program Manager as the primary interface.  Windows NT 3.51 could also run [[Microsoft Office 95]] the first 32bit version of the popular office suite (3.1/3.5 could NOT).
+NT 3.51 was to sync a lot of user mode components from Windows 95. For developers, this included the Windows 95 common control library including the rich edit control, as well as the Windows 95 help system.  Although it may not 'look' or feel like Windows 95 in the slightest.  This was the last version of Windows NT to incorporate the Program Manager as the primary interface.  Unlike NT 3.1/3.5, Windows NT 3.51 could also run Microsoft Office 95, being the first widely available 32bit version of the popular office suite.  This support was retained in Office 97, and dropped in Office 2000.
-Windows NT 3.51 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.51 Server]] and [[Windows NT 3.51 Workstation]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 5.
+Although initially 32 bit Internet Explorer supported NT 3.51, this was quickly dropped and users were encouraged to use the 16 bit version.  Curiously though the HTTP stack from Internet Explorer 3 (wininet.dll) was available as a redistributable for NT 3.51.
 === Windows NT 4.0 ===
@@ Line 108: / Line 116: @@
 The downfall at the time was the numerous hotfixes for Windows NT, and how to apply them.  While waiting for the servicepacks was one thing, running NT 4.0 on the internet became a challenge as installing anything could undo a hotfix, and you had to be extra diligent about finding and verifying their installation.  Eventually Microsoft released the windows update function through Internet Explorer, alleviating most of this.
-Windows NT 4.0 shipped in three versions, [[Windows NT 4.0 Server]], [[Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise]] and [[Windows NT 4.0 Workstation]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 6a.
+Windows NT 4.0 shipped in three versions, Windows NT 4.0 Server, Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise and Windows NT 4.0 Workstation.  The most recent service pack available is service pack 6a.
 === Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server ===
@@ Line 118: / Line 126: @@
 It included 10 connection licenses, but any connection from NT 4 or a newer version of Windows did not require a license, so over time this came to mean limited by available memory.  Since this was a 32 bit release only, memory could be exhausted within 20-50 sessions depending on the intensity of load.
 There never was a servicepack 6a, just 6 so .net will NOT install.  This product was quickly replaced by the Windows 2000 Terminal Services, which honestly did a better job.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:24, 15 December 2018
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	{{Nav Windows}}		{{Nav Windows}}
−	[[~~category~~:Operating Systems]]	+
		+	[[Category: Microsoft Operating Systems]]

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 === OS/2 ===
-The OS/2 subsystem was to support the transition away from 16bit OS/2 applications.  Out of the box it only supported running text mode OS/2 applications.  There was a seperatly sold addon for the Presentation Manager graphical applications, although it was hard to come by as Microsoft strongly discouraged it's use.  An interesting note about the 16bit OS/2 subsystem is that Microsoft had provided a callback facility to allow OS/2 programs to call the Win32 API.
+The OS/2 subsystem was to support the transition away from 16bit OS/2 applications.  Out of the box it only supported running text mode OS/2 applications.  There was a separately sold addon for the Presentation Manager graphical applications, although it was hard to come by as Microsoft strongly discouraged it's use.  An interesting note about the 16bit OS/2 subsystem is that Microsoft had provided a callback facility to allow OS/2 programs to call the Win32 API.
 === POSIX ===
@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 There were several [[Windows NT 3.1 Betas|beta and pre-release]] versions of Windows NT 3.1.
-Windows NT 3.1 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server]], and [[Windows NT 3.1]].
+Windows NT 3.1 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server]], and [[Windows NT 3.1]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 3.
 === Windows NT 3.5 ===
@@ Line 81: / Line 81: @@
 From a programming level NT 3.5 also finished out many of the API's that were left to be finished by the time NT 3.1 had shipped... I suspect it had more to do with spec drift then anything.
-NT 3.5 was released in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.5 Server]] and [[Windows NT 3.5 Workstation]].
+NT 3.5 was released in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.5 Server]] and [[Windows NT 3.5 Workstation]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 3.
 === Windows NT 3.51 ===
@@ Line 88: / Line 88: @@
 This release added the PowerPC CPU support that was done by IBM.  I've heard that NT 3.51 was actually 'done' 9 months prior to it's release but Microsoft had to wait for IBM to finish the PowerPC port.  Meanwhile Microsoft did a LOT of bug fixing making this a very popular release for corporations.  While it retained the look & feel of Windows 3.1 the newshell beta was available towards the end of the products lifespan, giving NT 3.51 a Windows 95 feel.  It was released on May 30th, 1995 and it's build number was 1057.
-NT 3.51 was to sync a lot of user mode components from Windows 95. Key among them was the Windows 95 help system.  Although it may not 'look' or feel like Windows 95 in the slightest.  This was the last version of Windows NT to incorporate the Progam Manager as the primary interface.  Windows NT 3.51 could also run [[Microsoft Office 95]] the first 32bit version of the popular office suite (3.1/3.5 could NOT).
+NT 3.51 was to sync a lot of user mode components from Windows 95. For developers, this included the Windows 95 common control library including the rich edit control, as well as the Windows 95 help system.  Although it may not 'look' or feel like Windows 95 in the slightest.  This was the last version of Windows NT to incorporate the Program Manager as the primary interface.  Windows NT 3.51 could also run [[Microsoft Office 95]] the first 32bit version of the popular office suite (3.1/3.5 could NOT).
-Windows NT 3.51 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.51 Server]] and [[Windows NT 3.51 Workstation]].
+Windows NT 3.51 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.51 Server]] and [[Windows NT 3.51 Workstation]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 5.
 === Windows NT 4.0 ===
@@ Line 108: / Line 108: @@
 The downfall at the time was the numerous hotfixes for Windows NT, and how to apply them.  While waiting for the servicepacks was one thing, running NT 4.0 on the internet became a challenge as installing anything could undo a hotfix, and you had to be extra diligent about finding and verifying their installation.  Eventually Microsoft released the windows update function through Internet Explorer, alleviating most of this.
-Windows NT 4.0 shipped in three versions, [[Windows NT 4.0 Server]], [[Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise]] and [[Windows NT 4.0 Workstation]].
+Windows NT 4.0 shipped in three versions, [[Windows NT 4.0 Server]], [[Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise]] and [[Windows NT 4.0 Workstation]].  The most recent service pack available is service pack 6a.
 === Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server ===
@@ Line 115: / Line 115: @@
 This was the first Microsoft multiuser version of Windows, with technology given back from Citrix.  I recall Microsoft strong armed the Citrix people into this 'deal'...  Anyways it had Service pack 3 built into it, and thus only supported the Alpha & i386 CPUs.  It was released around June of 1998.
-This was more of a public alpha then a finished product.  There were LOTS of quarks with running applications in multiuser environments, and NT 4.0 terminal server was the first one to really try to pull it off.  You HAD to use it's install & configure utilities to tweak each application to not freak out when more then one copy was running.
+This was more of a public alpha then a finished product.  Because applications had not been written with multiple concurrent instances running under different sessions from different users in mind, quirks were common.  It included installation and configuration utilities to tweak common applications to not freak out when more then one copy was running.
 There never was a servicepack 6a, just 6 so .net will NOT install.  This product was quickly replaced by the Windows 2000 Terminal Services, which honestly did a better job.
 {{Nav Windows}}
 [[category:Operating Systems]]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 However after the 1990 release of [[Windows 3.0]], Microsoft started to shift the primary API of NT OS/2 to the Windows API.  The 16 bit emulation for [[OS/2]] applications remained, however the Graphical Interface for OS/2 programs became a separate product.  This started the rift that would end the Microsoft IBM collaboration.
-With NT OS/2 renamed to Windows NT, the first public demonstration was the October 1991 Comdex developers pre-release, followed up by a December 1991 pre-release. Betas were then released in July of 1992, at the Professional Developers Conference in San Francisco, followed up with another beta in October 11th, of 1992.
+With NT OS/2 renamed to Windows NT, the first public demonstration was the [[Windows_NT_3.1_October_1991_beta|October 1991 Comdex developers pre-release]], followed up by the [[Windows_NT_3.1_December_1991_beta|December 1991 pre-release]]. Betas were then released in July of 1992, at the Professional Developers Conference in San Francisco, followed up with another beta in October 11th, of 1992.
 == Architecture ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:26, 28 April 2011
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	NT 3.1 also includes a [[Microsoft Mail]] client, and the ability to setup & serve workgroup postoffices.		NT 3.1 also includes a [[Microsoft Mail]] client, and the ability to setup & serve workgroup postoffices.
		+
		+	There were several [[Windows NT 3.1 Betas\|beta and pre-release]] versions of Windows NT 3.1.

	Windows NT 3.1 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server]], and [[Windows NT 3.1]].		Windows NT 3.1 shipped in two versions, [[Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server]], and [[Windows NT 3.1]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:20, 30 March 2011
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	=== Windows NT 3.5 ===		=== Windows NT 3.5 ===
		+	[[Image:Windows NT 3.5.jpg\|100px\|thumb\|right\|Windows NT 3.5]]

	Codenamed Daytona, this release added several optimizations, and notably added support for the PCI bus, and the Dec Alpha CPU's shipped on the CD. It was released on September 21st, 1994. The build number was 807.		Codenamed Daytona, this release added several optimizations, and notably added support for the PCI bus, and the Dec Alpha CPU's shipped on the CD. It was released on September 21st, 1994. The build number was 807.