CHAPTER 1

Windows Operating Systems Overview

The Windows operating system (OS) has evolved over several decades of development. To fully understand the way Windows functions today, you should know the roots of the current system. In this chapter, you will learn the history of Windows.

To troubleshoot problems on Windows systems, you must be familiar with the basic architecture of the OS. For this reason, this chapter will also explore the Windows architecture. The architecture defines how the OS functions, and understanding it is essential to grasping many of the topics discussed in later chapters.

Finally, this chapter will describe the interfaces used by administrators and users of the Windows operating systems. This discussion includes exploratory ...

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