OS name microsoft windows 7 ultimate. What is the difference between different editions of Windows?

The Windows 7 operating system is becoming increasingly popular among users. But this OS was released in several versions at once, and many users do not know which version to give preference to. What are the main differences between versions of Windows 7?

The Windows 7 operating system was released in six versions (editions). Of course, the first difference between the versions of Windows 7 that immediately catches the user's eye is the price. But the difference in price is due to different functionality. Let's take a closer look at each version of the operating system, and then look at the differences between the versions of Windows 7.

Description of Windows 7 versions

Windows 7 Starter. This version only ships with new computers. The initial edition is as “stripped down” as possible; for example, it lacks the functionality for playing media files with AAC, H.264 and MPEG-2.

Windows 7 Home Basic. This version of the OS is intended for sale in emerging markets (including CIS countries). In this version, only the basic Windows Aero interface theme is available; a number of functions are not available, such as Shake, Peek, Internet connection sharing, taskbar preview, etc. Playback restrictions in this version are the same as in the Starter version.

Windows 7 Home Premium. This version includes all the features of the Home Basic System, plus Multitouch support, Windows Media Center and additional gaming programs. Also available in this version is the ability to improve handwriting recognition.

Windows 7 Professional. This version differs from Home Enhanced in its ability to use Remote Desktop as the host computer. It is equipped with EFS encryption system. It contains a number of additional processes and AppLocker. The professional version can be downgraded to Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Windows 7 Enterprise. This version is intended primarily for IT professionals to provide them with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the OS within an organization. This edition is distributed exclusively under a corporate license and has a 90-day free trial period.

Windows 7 Ultimate. As the name implies, this version includes all the available features of the Windows 7 operating system.

What are the main differences between the versions of Windows 7 besides those that have already been described in the brief description of each edition? Let's start with differences between Windows 7 Starter and more “advanced” versions operating system. This edition does not have a 64-bit version, it does not support the Windows Aero interface, the ability to quickly switch between users, the desktop manager, the Windows Mobility Center, or the ability to change the desktop background.

All these functions are already present in the Home Basic version, which, however, is devoid of a number of other functions. The differences between Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic versions from other OS editions are as follows:: Inability to create a homegroup (you can only join), lack of support for multiple monitors, lack of Multitouch and improved handwriting recognition, lack of Windows Media Center, additional games, the ability to act as a Remote Desktop host, support for multiple physical processors. These features are present in the following editions of Windows 7.

Also Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic and Home Premium do not have a Windows XP emulator, EFS data encryption system, location-based printing, or the ability to connect to a Windows NT domain. These versions cannot be downgraded to Windows XP or Vista. And only the Corporate and Maximum versions support a multilingual user environment.

The differences between Windows 7 versions also include support end date and maximum RAM size for 64-bit versions. Support for all versions except Professional and Enterprise ends on January 13, 2015; Professional and Enterprise versions are supported for 5 years longer. Regarding amount of RAM, The Starter edition supports up to 2 GB, Home Basic - up to 8 GB, Home Premium - up to 16 GB, and Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate - up to 192 GB (all figures are for 64-bit versions, because the 32-bit version any OS supports no more than 3.25 GB of RAM).

Here is a summary of all the main differences between the versions of Windows 7. Version selection depends on the configuration of your computer, the minimum functionality you need and, of course, the amount of money you are willing to pay for the operating system.

More and more often on the Internet (usually on forums or on social networks) I come across an approach to choosing an edition of Windows 7 that I do not understand. As many surveys and discussions show, the vast majority of users use the Windows 7 Ultimate edition.

When asked why this is so, the answers are very different, both adequate and not so adequate. For example “I want ALL the features of Windows 7” , “Ultimate is faster” etc. Many people don’t even know why they created this edition. Some probably think that if they install the Professional or Maximum edition, they automatically become professionals... The worst thing is that even when users are interested in the prices of “7-ku”, they look straight at... Maximum! And then “in shock” they write: “ I'm not a complete idiot, throwing out 12 pieces on Windows”…

Therefore, I decided to write the differences between some editions of this OS and show that for home use there is no need to install the Windows 7 Ultimate edition, in most cases there is no need to even install the Professional edition.

So, let’s briefly describe the functionality of each edition, the differences between them, and examples of the need to use one or another edition.

Windows 7 Home Basic

Windows 7 Home Basic edition is the entry-level edition that is aimed at customers with low-cost computers. It has all the benefits of Windows 7 (security, reliability, speed, active thumbnails, advanced networking support, etc.)

But compared to Home Premium, it does not have a number of the following features:

• Improved navigation and window customization with enhancements to the Microsoft Aero desktop;
• the ability to create a homegroup to facilitate file sharing among networked computers and devices;
• the ability to watch Internet TV and record TV shows on your computer using Windows Media Center;
• remote media streaming and improved support for various media formats.

In what cases is it worth buying this edition? If you do not have a new computer and the video card does not support Aero. In all other cases, I would recommend purchasing the Home Extended.

Windows 7 Home Premium

Windows 7 Home Premium is the best edition for home users. Easily connect to other computers and devices in an interface that's packed with visuals to make your daily tasks easier and more fun. This release of the OS supports the creation of a HomeGroup, which allows you to share various content with other networked Windows 7 computers, such as your favorite photos, videos, or music files. And thanks to the ability to easily connect to Internet TV with Windows Media Center, you can watch TV shows from anywhere.

Compared to Professional, it does not have the following features:

• joining a domain;
• advanced backup and recovery;
• encrypted file system for data protection;
• Windows XP mode for running legacy business applications in Windows XP;
• local group policy editor;
• Network Location Aware Printing, which helps you set different default printers on your network;
• ability to connect to a computer using Remote Desktop Connection.

This edition has all the necessary features for full use at home. The same features that are not presented in it are overwhelmingly not needed by users. Indeed, do many people have a domain structure deployed at home? Do they need the ability to connect to a domain? I think not. Backup is performed to external media or to a network folder. Will most home users use this? I doubt. Encrypted FS? Not either. Maybe Windows XP mode is needed? Tell me at least one application that is necessary on a home computer, and which does not run under 7.

I'm not saying that there are absolutely no users who find the features of this release insufficient. There are some, but they are clearly not the overwhelming majority. As a rule, these are people who use a computer as a work tool, and therefore they can afford to pay more for a Professional edition.

Windows 7 Professional

Windows 7 Professional combines all the business features you need with the entertainment features of Windows 7 Home Premium. You'll be able to run a variety of Windows XP productivity programs directly from Windows 7 or using Windows XP mode, and easily restore data with automatic backup capabilities on your home or work network. Connecting to company networks has become easier and safer.

There is a group of users who lack the capabilities provided by the Windows 7 Home Premium edition. Some people need Remote Desktop Connection features, some deploy a domain structure at home, some work at home with older software that requires the Windows XP environment. In these cases, it makes sense to purchase this edition.

Compared to Ultimate, it does not have the following features:

• Microsoft BitLocker™ and BitLocker To Go™ drive encryption and data protection on internal and external drives and storage devices;
• DirectAccess technology for a more secure connection to the corporate network via the Internet;
• Microsoft BranchCache technology, which provides accelerated access to content from remote branch file and web servers;
• Microsoft AppLocker™ technology, which prevents unauthorized software from running on employee computers;
• Enterprise search scopes that make it easier to discover and search content on intranet portals;
• Multilingual user interface packages that provide operation in any of 35 languages.

Windows 7 Ultimate

Windows 7 Ultimate is the most feature-rich and powerful edition designed to meet the needs of enterprise customers and consumers who need the full Windows 7 experience. This edition lets you work productively anywhere, improves security and control, and optimizes PC management. It also provides a flexible interface with support for various languages.

The functionality of this edition that is not in the Professional edition is described a little higher. And now name me at least one of them that can be at least somehow useful at home use! None of this for home users no need! Moreover, often these features are not needed even by corporate users, provided, of course, that the organization’s network infrastructure is not built on the basis of 2008 R2.

So why do more than 70% of our home users use this particular edition? Why?!!

Windows 7 comes in six different versions. Today we will answer the burning question for many PC users, what is the difference between all these versions of Windows 7?

*At the end of the article there is a detailed comparison table between versions of Windows 7 Starter, Home, Professional, Ultimate and Enterpise.

First of all, it should be noted that Starter is an OEM version, so it comes pre-installed. Additionally, there is no 64-bit version of Windows 7 Starter, no DVD playback, and no multi-monitor support. Basically, Microsoft Windows 7 Starter is a stripped-down version for netbooks because it is graphically inferior. At the same time, this is a major misconception for many users since Windows 7 Starter still comes with all the important non-graphical programs such as: Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player 12, a new version of the Calculator, Paint and WordPad with the controversial ribbon interface, an updated Windows Defender, Firewall, and Action Center. Windows 7 Starter still has a new and improved taskbar with pinned apps and Jump Lists with an enhanced SuperFetch that makes opening and switching between apps surprisingly fast. Perhaps most importantly, Windows 7 Starter allows you to run more than three applications at once, something that wasn't available during beta testing.

Windows 7 Home Premium

Windows 7 Home Premium is the cheapest version of Windows 7 and is available at retail. (There's also a Windows 7 Home Basic Edition, which is essentially the same as the Starter version.) Along with the Aero graphical user interface, Home Premium offers more visual features—including new Windows 7 themes with background slideshows— which are missing in the beginner version. There's also fast user switching, multi-monitor video, and touch support. The main difference between Starter and Home Premium - besides the Aero interface - is the presence of a full Windows Media Center package, with which you can stream from one Windows Media Player to another over the network, DVD playback, DVD authoring, and all the media processing of the previous ones versions. In Home Premium you can create a shared home group, while in Windows 7 Starter you can only join a PC. A HomeGroup is a local local network that is great for managing access to shared files over a local network. This is ideal for anyone who lives in a dorm, for example, or who has children or roommates and wants to share certain music, files or images over a shared network.

Windows 7 Professional

There are good additional add-ons in Windows 7 Professional such as: local offline file cache, restore point backup for network resources, it can act as a remote desktop server. But the two main advantages are Windows Server support for domains and XP Mode. By the way, Windows 7 Professional is the cheapest edition, which has an XP Mode emulator and to which you can attach a Windows Server domain.

Windows 7 Ultimate/Enterpise (Ultimate/Enterprise)

Two major additions to Windows 7 Ultimate are BitLocker data encryption and the ability to create AppLockers, which can block prohibited programs. It's unlikely that the average user will need to encrypt local files or create "secure" app lists (although I know a few tech-savvy users who might strongly disagree with me). Ultimate also has translators and solutions for network printers, but again these are mostly for businesses and not for everyday users. Windows 7 Ultimate supports some UNIX applications, but this feature is mainly aimed at "server farms". The only difference between Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterpise is that Enterpise is available under Volume Licensing, with some included Windows Software Assurance.

CONCLUSION

Most users will choose between Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional, the determining factor will be the network. If you want to join a Windows domain, you need Windows 7 Professional or higher. If you don't need this, then Windows 7 Home Premium is ideal for you. Windows 7 Starter should be considered as a netbook operating system, and Enterprise/Ultimate products for security and hyper-conscious users.

For each version of its operating system, Microsoft creates several distributions (editions) that differ in price and functionality. They differ in the set of tools and capabilities that users receive. The simplest releases have various restrictions on the use of large amounts of RAM. This article discusses what versions of Windows 7 there are (professional, basic home, and so on) and what differences they have.

There are different versions of Windows 7, 6 in total. Each of them has limitations on processor power and the amount of installed RAM, and its own arsenal of capabilities. This review will look at the differences between versions of Windows 7, except for the two most expensive ones, since Maximum and Enterprise are rarely used and only by specialists who are already well versed in this.

General information

This list describes which distributions you can purchase or download from the Internet. Brief comparison of Windows 7 versions:

The last 2 versions of Windows 7 are not considered in this review.

Initial

As written above, Basic is the cheapest version. If you are downloading a pirated version of the operating system, it is recommended that you choose anything other than this.

Firstly, unlike all subsequent versions, this distribution practically does not allow you to customize the OS to suit your needs. Secondly, there are huge restrictions on the configuration of a personal computer. You cannot install the 64-bit version, so the features of the powerful process will not be available. Windows will not see more than 2 gigabytes of RAM.

In addition to this, you will not be able to change the default desktop image. In addition, all windows will be opaque, like in Windows XP. This is a good solution for owners of very old and weak computers. However, do not forget that by purchasing a more advanced release, you can disable all its bells and whistles at any time, essentially turning it into Basic.

Home basic

If you use your personal computer only for office work or entertainment and do not intend to do any fine-tuning, Home is an excellent choice. Users get the opportunity to install the 64-bit version. Such a system already supports a fairly significant amount of RAM (8 gigabytes for 64-bit and 4 GB for 32-bit).

Support has also been added, but there is still no ability to configure anything here, so the interface will look somewhat outdated. Unlike Initial, useful functions have been added here, such as:

• Fast user switching – allows several people to work comfortably on one PC at once.
• Multiple monitor support is a very handy feature if you have a second monitor.
• Desktop Manager.
• Ability to change your desktop background.

However, it is also not the best choice for the modern user. Quite limited functionality, lack of applications for playing media content, small amount of physical memory are a huge minus. These two versions of Windows 7 are rarely used.

Home Extended

Home Premium is the ideal choice for the vast majority of users. The amount of RAM is limited to 16 gigabytes, which is enough for even the most modern games and demanding applications. The distribution also has all the functions that are present in the above-described editions.

In this version of Windows 7, in addition to them, the following useful things have been added:

Professional

If you have a modern and powerful personal computer and you are thinking about which version to download, pay attention to Professional. There are practically no restrictions on the amount of RAM used (128 gigabytes is enough for anyone). Starting with this release, Windows can work with multiple processors simultaneously (not to be confused with multi-core).

Also added here is a huge number of useful tools that may be useful to advanced users, as well as those who like to delve into the settings of their operating system. It is now possible to create a backup copy of the OS on a local network and start Windows recovery remotely.

Microsoft followed the traditional path: the new OS will be released in two versions - for home and corporate use. As with Vista, versions of Windows 7 vary in price in proportion to their features and options. Let us remember that this scheme initially deprived users of the Enterprise version of some useful applications, such as a media center, while it was included in the Home Premium version. But this time the developers decided to use a different scheme, reminiscent of a nesting doll: minimal features are offered in the Starter version, a little more in Home Basic. And what is in Professional will also be in Enreprise, but there will be fewer games.

Version comparison table

Brief information

Windows Aero— Desktop design Aero is a combination of lightweight translucent windows with powerful graphics capabilities. Aero lets you not only enjoy stunning visuals, but also benefit from easier access to programs. Desktop Manager(English Desktop Window Manager, DWM), formerly Desktop Compositing Engine, DCE - a graphical desktop interface system in Windows Vista and Windows 7, which is used in the Windows Aero graphical interface.

Windows Mobility Center- Mobility Center contains several of the most commonly used laptop settings, including brightness, speaker volume, battery status, and wireless network connection. Depending on the system configuration, it displays several partitions, and several more may be added by the laptop manufacturer

Multi-touch(eng. multitouch or multi-touch) is a technology by which a touch screen or touchpad simultaneously tracks several touch points. For example, by bringing your fingers closer together, you can reduce the image on the display, and by moving your fingers apart, you can enlarge it. In addition, multi-touch screens allow multiple users to operate the device simultaneously.

Windows Media Center- Using all the features of Media Center allows you to turn your computer into a full-featured home entertainment center. For example, to get the most out of Media Center, you can connect your computer to your HDTV and control all features using the Media Center remote from the comfort of your couch. .

Encrypting File System (EFS)— The Encrypting File System (EFS) is a Windows component that allows you to store information on your hard drive in an encrypted format. Encryption is the strongest protection Windows provides to protect your data.

Windows Domain— A domain is a collection of computers on a network, which are managed as a single whole using common rules and actions. Each domain has a unique name. Typically, domains are used to create networks in the workplace. To join a computer to a domain, you must know the domain name and have a valid domain account.

AppLocker- to provide IT specialists with control over the applications running by users.

BitLocker and BitLocker To Go- BitLocker Drive Encryption is used to protect all files stored on the Windows OS drive (operating system drive) and on fixed drives (such as internal hard drives). BitLocker To Go encryption is used to protect all files stored on removable drives (such as external hard drives or USB flash drives).

BranchCache- for faster access to files

DirectAccess— to support communication with mobile users on the go

Multilingual User Environment (MUI)- Windows 7 MUI packs contain a translated version of most user interface elements. MUI packages require a license and are only available for Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise. If you are using Windows 7 Enterprise, contact your system administrator for information about installing additional languages

gpedit.msc- Local Group Policy Editor is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that provides a single interface for managing all Local Group Policy object settings.

lusrmgr.msc— The Local Users and Groups snap-in allows you to create and manage users and groups stored locally on your computer