4/28/22, 9:29 AM List of Microsoft Windows components - Wikipedia

List of Microsoft Windows components

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Microsoft_Windows_components

Configuration and maintenance

Component Description Introduced

Settings Windows 7

Control Panel

Control Allows users to view and change basic system settings and controls, Windows
Panel such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user 1.0
accounts, and changing accessibility options

Device Allows the user to display and control the hardware attached to the com- Windows
Manager puter, and control what device drivers are used 95

Windows Centralizes the most relevant information related to mobile computing Windows
Mobility Vista
Center

Security and Centralizes and reports on the status of anti-virus, Automatic Updates, Windows
Maintenance Windows Firewall, and other security-related components of the operat- XP SP2
ing system

Administrative Tools

Microsoft Provides system administrators and advanced users with a flexible inter- Windows
Management face through which they may configure and monitor the system NT 4.0
Console Option
Pack

Windows Built-in benchmarking tool that analyzes the different subsystems (graph- Windows
System ics, memory, etc.), and uses the results to allow for comparison to other Vista
Assessment Windows Vista systems, and for software optimizations. It rates the
Tool computer's performance using the Windows Experience Index.

System Allows for the rolling back of system files, registry keys, installed apps, Windows
Restore etc., to a previous state in the event of a system failure Me

Windows Helps diagnose and recover from serious errors which may prevent Windows
Recovery Windows from booting successfully, or restore the computer to a previous Vista
Environment state using System Restore or a backup image

Microsoft Rearranges files stored on a hard disk to occupy contiguous storage lo- Windows
Drive cations in order to optimize computer performance 95,
Optimizer Windows
2000

Event Lets administrators and users view the event logs on a local or remote Windows
Viewer machine NT 3.1

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Resource Lets administrators view current system reliability and performance Windows
Monitor trends over time Vista
(previously

Reliability and
Performance
Monitor)

Logical Disk Logical volume manager developed by Microsoft in conjunction with Windows
Manager Veritas Software NT 4.0
(Separate
Tool),
Windows
2000

Registry Allows users to browse and edit the Windows registry Windows
Editor 3.1

Task Allows users to script tasks for running during scheduled intervals Microsoft
Scheduler Plus! for
Windows
95

Software installation and deployment

Windows An online service providing updates such as service packs, critical up- Windows
Update dates and device drivers. A variation called Microsoft Update also pro- 98
vides software updates for other Microsoft products.

Windows An engine for the management of software installation. Includes a GUI Windows
Installer framework, automatic generation of the uninstallation sequence and de- 2000
ployment capabilities for corporate networks.

ClickOnce Technology for deploying .NET Framework-based software via web .NET
pages, with automatic update capabilities. Intended for per-user only Framework
applications. 2.0

User interface

Component Description Introduced

View notifications sent from apps and change common settings Windows
Action 10 Version
Center 1507

Windows Command-line shell and scripting framework. Windows

PowerShell XP

Windows The most visible and recognizable aspect of Microsoft Windows. The shell Windows
Shell provides the container inside of which the entire graphical user interface is 95
presented, including the taskbar, the desktop, Windows Explorer, as well
as many of the dialog boxes and interface controls. In Windows Vista, a
new compositing glass-like user interface called Windows Aero has been
shown.

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File Provides an interface for accessing the file systems, launching applica- Windows
Explorer tions, and performing common tasks such as viewing and printing pictures 95
(previously

Windows
Explorer)

Windows Starting with Windows Vista, search is a tightly shell-integrated component Windows
Search of Windows. A downloadable Windows Desktop Search software is avail- Vista,
able for Windows XP and older versions. download-
able for
older
versions

Search Virtual folders that retrieve items based on queries rather than hierarchical Windows
Folders folder trees on disk. Vista

Special Folders which are presented to the user through an interface as an ab- Windows
Folders stract concept, instead of an absolute path. This makes it possible for an 95
application to locate where certain kinds of files can be found, regardless
of what version or language of operating system is being used. See also
Windows Shell namespace.

Start menu Serves as the central launching point for applications. It provides a cus- Windows
tomizable, nested list of apps for the user to launch, as well as a list of 95
most recently opened documents, a way to find files and get help, and ac-
cess to the system settings. By default, the Start Button is visible at all
times in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.

Taskbar The application desktop bar which is used to launch and monitor Windows
applications 95

Displays all open windows and activities (via timeline) at a glance and Windows
switch between virtual desktops, starting in version 2004, users can now 10 Version
rename desktops 1507

Task View

File associ- Used to open a file with the appropriate app. Users can assign file associa- Windows
ations tions uniquely to specific actions, known as verbs. 1.0

Applications and utilities

Component Description Introduced

Easy Used to transfer many files at once from one computer to another Windows
Transfer Vista

Contacts Keeps a single list of contacts that can be shared by multiple apps Windows
Vista

Camera Windows 8

Calculator Calculation application Windows 1.0

Calendar Calendaring application Windows

Vista

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Character Utility to view and search characters in a font, copy them to the clipboard Windows 3.1
Map and view their Windows Alt keycodes and Unicode names

Cortana Digital personal assistant Windows 10

Version
1507

Edge Web browser Windows 10

Version
1507

Feedback Platform for exchanging communication with Windows Insiders and Windows 10
Hub developers Version
1607

Groove Digital media player and media library application that is used for playing Windows 8
Music audio. In addition to being a media player, Groove includes the ability to

(previously copy music to compact discs, synchronize content with a digital audio
Xbox Music)
player (MP3 player) or other mobile devices, and let users purchase or
rent music from the Windows Store.

Movies & Digital media player and media library application that is used for playing Windows 8
TV video. In addition to being a media player, Movies & TV lets users pur-

(previously chase or rent movies and TV episodes from the Windows Store.
Xbox Video)

OneDrive Freemium cloud storage folder and sync service Windows 8

(previously

SkyDrive)

OneNote Integrated note-taking app, based on the Microsoft Office product of the Windows 8
same name

On-Screen Virtual keyboard

Keyboard
(osk.exe)

Paint 3D Simple graphics painting app Windows 10

Version
1703

Photos Simple image viewer Windows 8

Steps Utility that allows the user to capture steps they took to reproduce a Windows 7
Recorder problem

(called Problem
Steps Recorder
in Windows 7)

Windows Utility to create bootable versions of Windows 8 and above Windows 8

To Go

Notepad Simple text editor Windows 1.0

Narrator Screen reader utility that reads dialog boxes and window controls in a Windows
number of the more basic applications for Windows 2000

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Sound Simple audio recording app that can record from a microphone or head- Windows 3.0
Recorder set, and save the results in WAVE format and Windows Media Audio for- Multimedia
mat in some Windows versions Extensions

Skype Messaging and calling service Windows

8.1, down-
loadable for
previous
versions

Sticky Tool for jotting notes on the desktop Windows XP

Notes Tablet PC
Edition

Command Text-based shell (command line interpreter) that provides a command Windows NT
Prompt line interface to the operating system 3.1

WordPad Simple word processor that is more advanced than Notepad. It has facili- Windows 95
ties to format and print text, but lacks intermediate features such as a
spell checker and thesaurus.

Private Utility to create private use characters as defined under Unicode and var- Windows 3.1
Character ious East Asian encoding schemes East Asian
Editor editions

Remote Client implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol; allows a user to Windows
Desktop securely connect to a computer running Terminal Services (Remote XP, down-
Connection Desktop on Windows XP and Server 2003) and interact with a full desk- loadable for
top environment on that machine, including support for remoting of print- previous
ers, audio, and drives. Windows
versions

Remote Allows a user to temporarily take over a remote computer over a network Windows XP
Assistance or the internet to offer help with and resolve issues

Mobility Allows a user to adjust settings related to mobile computing Windows

Center Vista

Speech Allows a user to input voice commands Windows

Recognition Vista

IExpress Allows users to create self-extracting, self-installing INF installation- Internet

based packages Explorer 6

Xbox Account manager for Xbox Live user accounts and a screen recording Windows 8
Console tool
Companion
(previously

Xbox and Xbox

Games)

Windows 10
May 2019
Update
Xbox Game (Version
Bar 1903)[1]

Magnifier Screen enlargement app Windows 98

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Fax and Integrated faxing and image scanning application Windows

Scan Vista, older
faxing and
scanning ap-
plications
were present
in previous
Windows
versions

Photo Simple image viewer that can play a simple slideshow Windows 7
Viewer

Mail Email aggregator Windows 8

Maps Map viewer that allows users to look for locations, plan routes, and store Windows 8
offline maps

Media Designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub, to be viewed from a Windows XP

Center distance up to 3 meters (~10 feet) and controlled by specially designed Media
remote controls. Lets users browse and view pictures, videos, and music Center
from local hard drives, optical drives, and network locations, along with Edition
viewing, recording and deferred-playing live TV. Features an interactive
TV guide with scheduled recording capabilities. Can also be used for vi-
sualization of other information (like sports scores) within the interface.

Task Provides information about computer performance and displays details Windows 3.0
Manager about running applications, processes, network activity, logged-in users,
and system services

Disk Utility for compacting rarely used files and removing files that are no Windows 98
Cleanup longer required

Snipping Screen-capture tool that allows for taking screenshots (called snips) Experience
Tool Pack for
Windows XP
Tablet PC
Edition 2005

Initially known as Windows Store, it started as an app store for Windows Windows 8
8. In Windows 10, it expanded into a broad digital distribution platform for
Microsoft
apps, games, music, digital video and e-books. In 2017, it was renamed
Store

(previously Microsoft Store and started offering hardware in United States, Canada
Windows Store) and United Kingdom.

MSN apps Provide information from MSN web services Windows 8

Alarms & App that allows Windows users to set alarms, stopwatches, timers, and Windows 8
Clock(pre view a world clock
Alarms)

Windows Windows 10
Security Version
(previously
1703
Windows
Defender
Security Center)

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Solitaire Set of solitaire card games Windows 10

Collection Version
1507, down-
loadable for
Windows 8.x

Windows Server components

Supported
Component Description by

Active A set of technologies introduced with Windows 2000 that allows administra- Windows
Directory tors to assign enterprise-wide policies, deploy apps to many computers, 2000 and
and apply critical updates to an entire organization. Active Directory stores later server
information and settings relating to an organization in a central, organized, versions
accessible database. Networks can vary from a small installation with a few
objects, to global-scale directories with millions of objects.
   Related topics: Domain controller, Flexible single master
operation

Group Provides centralized management of user and computer settings in an Windows

Policy Active Directory environment. Group policy can control a target object's 2000 and
registry, NTFS security, audit and security policy, software installation, lo- later
gon/logoff scripts, folder redirection, and Internet Explorer settings. Policy
settings are stored in Group Policy Objects (GPOs), and may be linked to
one or more sites, domains or organizational units.
   Related topics: Administrative Templates

Internet Web server Windows

Information NT family
Services

File systems

Component Description Supported by

FAT12, The original file systems used with MS-DOS. The standard file sys- All versions
FAT16 tems used with Windows 1.0 through Windows 95.

FAT32 Extensions to FAT supporting larger disk sizes. The standard file sys- Windows 95
tem for Windows 98 and Me. OSR2 and later
versions

NTFS Standard file system of Windows NT; supports security via access Windows NT (all
control lists, as well as file system journaling and file-system meta- versions)
data. Windows 2000 added support for reparse points (making NTFS
junction points and Single instance storage possible), Hard links, file
compression, and Sparse files. Encryption of data is provided by
Encrypting File System. Symbolic links and transactioning of file oper-
ations via Transactional NTFS are features new to Windows Vista.
Although Windows 9x operating systems cannot read or write NTFS
formatted disks, they can access the data over a network if it is
shared by a computer running Windows NT.

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ISO 9660 The predominant file system for CD-ROM and DVD-ROM media. MS-DOS and
(CDFS) Windows includes support for Joliet extensions and the ISO Windows 9x via
9660:1999 standard. ISO 9660:1999 is supported since Windows XP. extensions,
such as
MSCDEX.EXE
(Microsoft
CDROM
Extension), na-
tively in
Windows NT

Universal A file system for storing files on optical media. It is an implementation Windows 98,
Disk of the ISO/IEC 13346 standard (also known as ECMA-167). It is con- Windows 2000,
Format sidered to be a replacement of ISO 9660. Successive versions of Windows XP,
(UDF) Windows have supported newer versions of UDF. Windows Server
2003, Windows
Vista

HPFS High-Performance File system, used on OS/2 computers. Read and Windows 95
write capability in Windows 95 (where it also listed network computer (Read/write),
NTFS-formatted drives as "HPFS", even though it had no direct NTFS Windows 98,
capabilities). HPFS write support was dropped in Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT
and Windows 98, and dropped altogether shortly before the release (read), 3.1/3.51
of Windows 2000. (read/write/boot)

ReFS A newer file system, based on NTFS. This system adds built-in integ- Windows Server
rity checking and removes the need for chkdsk, among other fea- 2012, Windows
tures. The maximum partition size is 1 YB. 8.1

Core components

Component Acronym Description

Windows kernel (Windows NT)

Main article: Architecture of the Windows NT operating system line

Ntoskrnl.exe The Windows kernel image. Provides the kernel and executive layers of
the kernel architecture, and is responsible for services such as hardware
virtualization, process and memory management, etc.

hal.dll HAL Provides and handles the interaction between software and hardware via
the Hardware Abstraction Layer.

kernel32.dll This application provides kernel operations to apps in the Win32 mode, like
memory management, I/Os, process creation, etc.

Core processes (Windows NT)

System idle SIP A counter which measures how much idle capacity the CPU has at any
process given time. The process runs in the background and monitors processing
bandwidth, occupied memory and the Windows virtual paging file.

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Session SMSS Performs several critical boot-time operations, such as the creation of envi-
Manager ronment variables, starting CSRSS, and performing file-copy operations
Subsystem that were queued up from before the system was booted (pending file re-
name operations). During system operation, it handles Windows File
Protection and the creation of logon sessions via Winlogon.

Client/Server CSRSS User-mode side of the Win32 subsystem. Provides the capability for appli-
Runtime cations to use the Windows API.
Subsystem

Local LSASS Responsible for enforcing the security policy on the system. Verifies users
Security logging on to the computer and creates security tokens.
Authority
Subsystem
Service

Winlogon Responsible for handling the secure attention key, loading the user profile
on logon, and optionally locking the computer when a screensaver is run-
ning. On Windows NT systems prior to Windows Vista, Winlogon is also
responsible for loading GINA libraries which are responsible collecting lo-
gon credentials from the user.

Svchost.exe A generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link li-
braries (DLLs). Several Svchost processes are typically present on a
Windows machine, each running in a different security context, depending
on what privileges the contained services require.

Windows on WoW An abstraction layer that allows legacy code to operate on more modern
Windows versions of Windows; typically this means running 16-bit Windows applica-
and WOW64 tions on 32-bit Windows, and 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows.

Virtual DOS NTVDM Allows MS-DOS apps to run on Intel 80386 or higher computers when
machine there is already another operating system running and controlling the hard-
ware. Introduced in Windows 2.1; not available in any 64-bit edition of
Windows.

System startup (Windows NT)

Main articles: Windows NT Startup Process and Windows Vista Startup Process

NTLDR, The boot loader; performs basic system initialization options such as load-
IA64ldr, ing the hardware abstraction layer and boot-time device drivers, prior to
Winload passing control to the Windows kernel. In versions prior to Vista, NTLDR
and IA64ldr also display menus to the user if multiple operating systems
are defined in boot.ini, or if F8 is pressed.

Recovery Provides the means for administrators to perform a limited range of tasks
Console using a command line interface, primarily to aid in recovering from situa-
tions where Windows does not boot successfully.

ntdetect.com Used during the boot process to detect basic hardware components that
may be required during the boot process

Windows In Windows Vista and later operating systems, displays boot menus to the
Boot user if multiple operating systems are configured in the system's Boot
Manager Configuration Data.

Graphical subsystem

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Desktop DWM The compositing manager introduced in Windows Vista that handles com-
Window positing and manages special effects on screen objects in a graphical user
Manager interface

Graphics GDI/GDI+ The kernel graphics component for representing graphical objects and
Device transmitting them to output devices such as monitors and printers
Interface

Windows The Windows USER component provides core user interface, messaging
USER and visual elements

Services
Further information: Windows service
This list is not all-inclusive.

Service key
Display name name Description Introduced

Active NTDS Network Authentication Management Windows

Directory 2000
Service Server

Alerter service Alerter Sends administrative alerts over the network to client Windows
computers, administrators and users NT

Application ALG Provides support for plugins that allow network proto- Windows
Layer cols to pass through Windows Firewall and work be- 2000

ser-
Gateway hind Internet Connection Sharing
vice

Application Processes application compatibility cache requests

Experience for applications as they launch[2]
service

Application AppMgmt Processes requests to enumerate, install, and remove Windows

Management applications that are installed on the computer or de- 2000
ployed through an organization's network

Background BITS Transfers files between machines using idle network Windows
Intelligent bandwidth. Used by Windows Update, Windows XP
Transfer
Server Update Services, and Systems Management
Service Server to deliver software updates to clients, as well
as by Windows Messenger.

Computer Browser Crawls neighboring computers on the network and lo- Windows
Browser cates shared resources. One of the computers acts for
as the Master Browser and supplies this information Workgroups
to other computers designated as browsers.[3]

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Delivery DoSvc A peer-to-peer distribution service that downloads Windows

Optimization Windows updates and Microsoft Store apps from the 10
local network or Internet peers, and redistributes them Anniversary
to others. Can be configured using either the Settings Update[4]
app or Group Policy. The Settings app can turn it on
or off, and specify whether the service operates on
the local network only, downloads from and uploads to
the Internet peers as well. Group Policy allows finer
control.[4][5] Delivery Optimization relies on a central-
ized web service that does not index contents under
10 MB. Computers without Internet access cannot
use Delivery Optimization.[6]

Distributed TrkWks, Used to track links to files on NTFS volumes. Windows

Link Tracking TrkSrv Windows uses these services to find linked files if 2000
they are renamed or moved (locally or to another ma-
chine).[7]

Distributed MSDTC Allows transactional components to be configured Windows

Transaction through COM+ by coordinating transactions that are 2000 and
Coordinator
distributed across multiple computers and/or resource later NT-
managers, such as databases, message queues, file based
systems, and other transaction–based resource man-
agers.[8]

DNS Client DNSCache Resolves and caches domain names (e.g. Windows
“en.wikipedia.org”) to IP addresses 2000

Event Log EventLog Stores and retrieves events that can be viewed in the Windows
event viewer. Part of services.exe.[9] NT

Extensible EAPHost Provides EAP authentication to connecting clients Windows

Authentication 2000
Protocol

Indexing CISVC Indexes contents and properties of files on local and Windows
Service remote computers; provides rapid access to files 2000 and
through flexible querying language.[10] later NT-
based

Interactive UI0Detect For compatibility; when a service-displayed user inter- Windows

Services face is detected, it gives the user an option to switch Vista
Detection to Session0 to see it

Internet SharedAccess When enabled, it allows other computers on the local Windows
Connection network to access an internet connection that is avail- 2000;[11]
Sharing (ICS) able to the host computer Windows
Vista on-
ward[12]

Network NLA Manages network configurations and information, and Windows

Location notifies applications of changes XP
Awareness

Network Store NSIS Collects routing information of active network inter- Windows
Interface faces, shares this with other services and notifies ap- XP
Service plications of changes

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NTLM Security NTLMSSP Uses the NTLM MS-CHAP protocol to encapsulate Windows
Support and negotiate options in order to provide signed and NT
Provider sealed communication. Deprecated now in favor of
Kerberos authentication.

Peer Name PNRPSvc Resolves domain names using Peer Name Resolution Windows
Resolution Protocol XP
Protocol

Plug and Play PlugPlay Enables autodetection and configuration of hardware Windows
2000

Windows Print Spooler Manages printer devices and moves files into memory Windows
spooler for printing 95,
Windows
NT

Remote RpcSs Provides Remote Procedure Call features via re- Windows
Procedure motely accessible Named Pipes NT family
Call (RPC)

Routing and RRAS API and server software that enables applications to Windows
Remote administer the routing and remote-access service ca- 2000
Access pabilities of the operating system, to function as a net-
Service work router.

Secondary SecLogon Allows users to run apps with a different account than
Logon the one they logged in with. Allows non-administrative
accounts to perform administrative tasks.[13]

Security SamSs Manages user account security information Windows

Accounts NT family
Manager

System Event SENS Monitors system events, such as network, power, lo- Windows
Notification gon, logoff, terminal services session connection and 2000
Service disconnection, and delivers these to applications and
other system components.[14]

Superfetch SysMain Monitors file usage patterns and boosts system speed Windows
by caching frequently accessed files to RAM[15] Vista

Task Schedule Lets users setup and schedule automated tasks Microsoft
Scheduler Plus! for
Windows
95

TCP/IP LmHosts Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) Windows
NetBIOS service and NetBIOS name resolution NT family
Helper

Volume VSS Creates multiple versions of files that change. The Windows
Shadow Copy ability to store persistent snapshots was added in XP
Windows Server 2003.[16]

Windows AudioSrv Manages audio devices for Windows-based apps. Windows

Audio Controls all audio functions. XP

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Windows WERSvc Generates error logs and reports errors. On Windows Windows
Error Vista and later, it notifies of solutions. XP
Reporting

Windows MpsSvc Blocks unauthorized network connections to and from Windows

Firewall the computer Vista

Windows SharedAccess Provides a simple firewall feature which was intro- Windows
Firewall(née duced in Windows XP. It also shares the internet on XP only[18]
[19]
Internet Connection the local network, if the internet connection sharing
Sharing)
feature is turned on.[17]

Windows STISvc Handles scanner and camera inputs Windows

Image Me
Acquisition
(WIA)

Windows Time W32Time Synchronizes the system time with external time Windows
servers. From Windows Server 2003 forward, full and 2000
compliant NTP support is provided.[20]

Windows WUAUServ Provides updates for the operating system and its in- Windows
Update stalled components XP

Wireless Zero WZCSvc (XP), Configures and manages 802.11 wireless adapters Windows
Configuration WLANSvc XP, Server
2003 only

Windows Messenger Allows users to send pop-up messages to other com- Windows
Messenger puters over the network NT family
service

WebClient[21] Enables Windows-based apps to create and interact Windows

with Internet-based files XP

Security

Component Description Introduced

AppLocker Policy-based component that enables or disables execution of soft- Windows 7

ware based on rules such as location, properties and digital signature Professional,
Enterprise and
Ultimate editions
Windows Server

2008 R2

BitLocker Disk encryption software, designed to protect data by providing en- Windows Vista
Drive cryption for entire volumes Enterprise and
Encryption Ultimate edi-
tions,

Windows Server
2008

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Credential Virtualization-based isolation of stored credentials to prevent theft and Windows 10

Guard pass-the-hash attacks. Enterprise,
Education, IoT
Enterprise, or ,
Windows Server

2016

Data Security feature that is intended to prevent an application or service Windows XP

Execution from executing code from a non-executable memory region Service Pack 2
Prevention

Encrypting File system driver that provides file system-level encryption Windows 2000
File System

Security Database stored as a registry file Windows NT 3.1

Account
Manager

SYSKEY Utility that encrypts the hashed password information in a SAM data- Windows NT 4.0
base using a 128-bit encryption key Service Pack 3

User Technology and security infrastructure utility that aims to improve the Windows Vista,
Account security of Microsoft Windows by limiting application software to stan- Windows Server

Control dard user privileges until an administrator authorizes an increase 2008

Windows Utility designed to block unauthorized access while permitting autho- Windows XP
Firewall rized communications. An earlier edition known as Internet Service Pack 2
Connection Firewall that was disabled by default was included with
the original Windows XP release.

Windows Security utility to prevent, remove and quarantine malware (viruses, Downloadable
Defender Trojan horses, etc.) for Windows XP
and Windows
Server 2003

Windows Protects Registry keys and folders in addition to critical system files Windows Vista
Resource
Protection

Deprecated components and apps

Component Description Category Introduced Last OS Superseded

included by

3D Pinball Pinball game Game Plus! 95 for Windows N/A

Windows 95 XP

ActiveMovie Streaming media API Windows 95 Windows DirectShow

technology Me

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Component Description Category Introduced Last OS Superseded

included by

Cardfile Personal informa- Personal organizer Windows 1.0 Windows Outlook

tion manager Me Express,
Windows
Mail, or
Windows
Live Mail

Chess Titans Chess game Game Windows Windows Microsoft

Vista 7 Chess

DriveSpace Disk compression Data compression MS-DOS Windows N/A

utility Me

Windows DVD DVD authoring Video Windows Windows N/A

Maker software Vista 7

File Manager File manager app File manager Windows 3.0 Windows Windows
Me Explorer

FreeCell FreeCell game Game Win32s Windows Microsoft

7 Solitaire
Collection

Hearts Version of the Game Windows for Windows Microsoft

Hearts game using Workgroups 7 Hearts
Black Lady scoring 3.11

Windows 10 Windows Feedback

Version 1507 10 Hub
Version
Insider Hub 1511

Windows Help Online and offline Utility Windows Me Windows Tips app or
and Support reference manual 8.1 Get Started
for troubleshooting.

HyperTerminal Communication Communication Windows 95 Windows N/A

utility based on a XP
low end version of
HyperACCESS

Hold 'Em Version of the Game Windows Windows N/A

Texas hold 'em Vista Vista
game

Hover! Video game in a Game Windows 95 Windows N/A

combination of 95
bumper cars and
capture the flag

InkBall Game where the Game Windows XP Windows N/A

user tries to get Tablet PC Vista
colored balls into Edition
the correct holes

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Component Description Category Introduced Last OS Superseded

included by

Internet Web browser Web browser and Microsoft Windows Microsoft

Explorer FTP client. See Plus! for 10 Edge
also: Internet Windows 95
Explorer versions,
Features, History,
Removal, Browser
Helper Objects

Mahjong Version of the Game Windows Windows Microsoft

Titans Mahjong solitaire Vista 7 Mahjong
game

Windows Mail E-mail client E-mail Windows Windows Mail

Vista Vista (Windows)

Internet Mail E-mail and news E-mail Windows 95 Windows Outlook

and News client 95 Express,
Windows
Mail, or
Windows
Live Mail

Minesweeper Version of the Game Microsoft Windows Microsoft

minesweeper Entertainment 7 Minesweeper
game Pack,
Windows 3.1

Media Control An app that can API Windows 3.0 Windows N/A
Interface play media files Me
and record sound
by passing com-
mands as strings.

Windows Digital media Media player Windows 3.0 Windows Windows

Media Player player app Multimedia 10 Media
Extensions Player,
Movies & TV,
or Groove
Music

Microsoft Calendaring app Personal organizer Windows 1.0 Windows Windows

Calendar 3.1 Calendar,
Windows
Live Mail, or
the Calendar
app for
Windows

Microsoft Tool that provides Diagnostics MS-DOS Plus! 95 Microsoft

Diagnostics detailed technical for System
information about Windows Information
user's software and 95
hardware

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4/28/22, 9:29 AM List of Microsoft Windows components - Wikipedia

Component Description Category Introduced Last OS Superseded

included by

Microsoft Fax Faxing app Fax Windows 95 Windows Windows Fax

XP and Scan

Windows Help Documentation Online help Windows 3.0 Windows Microsoft

browser that used XP Help
a proprietary
format

Windows 10 Windows Feedback

Version 1507 10 Hub
Windows Version
Feedback 1511

NTBackup Built-in backup app Backup Downloadable Windows Backup and

for Windows XP, Restore,
NT 4.0 Windows Windows
Server Server
2003 Backup

Outlook E-mail client E-mail Internet Windows Windows

Express Explorer 4 XP Mail or
Windows
Live Mail

Paint Simple graphics Application Windows 1.0 N/A N/A

painting app

Program Shell composed of GUI Windows 3.0 Windows Windows

Manager a task-oriented XP Explorer
graphical user in-
terface, consisting
of icons (shortcuts
for apps) arranged
into app groups.

Purble Place Educational game Game Windows Windows N/A

for children, teach- Vista 7
ing pattern recogni-
tion, shapes, and
colors

Reader e-book reader e-book reader Windows 8 Windows Microsoft

10 Edge (PDF),
Creators XPS Viewer
Update (XPS),
Photos
(TIFF)[22]

Reversi Version of Reversi. Game Windows 1.0 Windows Internet

3.0 Reversi only
on Windows
Me and
Windows XP

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4/28/22, 9:29 AM List of Microsoft Windows components - Wikipedia

Component Description Category Introduced Last OS Superseded

included by

Solitaire Klondike Solitaire Game Windows 3.0 Windows Microsoft

game 7 Solitaire
Collection

Spider Spider Solitaire Game Microsoft Windows Microsoft

Solitaire game Plus! 98 7 Solitaire
Collection

System File Utility that allows Security Windows 98 Windows Windows

Checker users to scan for Server Resource
and restore corrup- 2003 Protection
tions in Windows
system files

Tinker Puzzle game in Game Windows Windows N/A

which the player Vista Vista
controls a robot
through various
mazes and obsta-
cle courses

Video for Multimedia API Windows 3.1 Windows DirectShow

Windows framework 95

Windows List of contacts that Contact manager Internet Windows Windows

Address Book can be shared by Explorer 3 XP Contacts,
multiple apps People, or
Windows
Live Mail

Windows Widget engine for User interface Windows Windows Live tiles
Desktop Microsoft Gadgets Vista 7
Gadgets

Windows File Sub-system in the Security Windows Me Windows Windows

Protection operating system, as System XP Resource
aims to prevent File Protection
apps from replac- Protection
ing critical
Windows system
files.

Windows Notetaking applica- Accessories Windows XP Windows General im-

Journal tion that allows for Tablet PC 10 provements
the creation of Edition Threshold in Ink API
handwritten notes 2

Windows E-mail client E-mail Windows 95 Windows Internet Mail

Messaging 95 and News,
Windows
Mail, or
Windows
Live Mail

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4/28/22, 9:29 AM List of Microsoft Windows components - Wikipedia

Component Description Category Introduced Last OS Superseded

included by

Instant messaging Internet Windows XP Windows Windows

client messaging XP, Live
Windows Messenger
Windows Server or Skype
Messenger 2003

Non-linear video Video Windows Me Windows Windows

editing software Vista Live Movie
Maker or
Windows Microsoft
Movie Maker Photos

Video conferencing Web conference Windows 95 Windows Windows

Windows client OSR2 XP Meeting
NetMeeting Space

Image organizer Photo Windows Windows Windows

Vista Vista Live Photo
Gallery or
Windows Microsoft
Photo Gallery Photos

Image viewer Photo Windows XP Windows Windows

XP Photo
Gallery,
Windows Fax
and Scan,
Windows
Live Photo
Gallery,
Windows
Photo
Windows Viewer, or
Picture and Microsoft
Fax Viewer Photos

Windows Simple word pro- Word processor Windows 1.0 Windows WordPad
Write cessor NT 3.51

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