How to Determine your Operating System Version

 

 

So if you are new to computers and the way that things inside them work, then one of the things you may be curious about is what operating system your computer uses. There are many ways to find that out, but first, what is an operating system? It is basically a software package that allows for the presence of a user interface (graphical, binary or text) and helps the user establish basic functions with the computer, such as scheduling various tasks, controlling peripheral hardware and installed software management. Common operating systems today include the Windows 7 and Windows 8 platforms that have been launched by Microsoft. Macintosh computer users will be familiar with MAC OS X versions that have come out recently and other users of some of the unconventional operating systems such as Linux or Unix will know them better.

The only thing is, how do you know what version of the operating system you have running on your computer? Here are some simple steps to help you find out which operating system your computer is currently running. There are many different ways to do this.

1) Windows:
To determine which version of windows you have, you can
a) Simply right click 'My Computer' and go to the properties tab. It will show you on the upper right which version your Operating system is.
b) Open the control panel and double click on the system icon. This will also bring about the same window as above, which will detail your operating system version
c) Go to the run dialog box, usually located in your start menu. Type in 'msinfo32' in the dialog box and say ok. The first two lines in the following dialog box should show you which version of windows you are running. The best part about this method is, that it does not matter which windows OS you are running and will show the same dialog box for windows 7, 8, XP or even 98.
d) If you are running windows 7 or vista, go to the windows button and in the search bar type in 'winver'. Your search results should show a program by the same name. Double click the program and then another dialog box should come up which has a more detailed view of your operating system version.

2) Macintosh:
a) Close any active windows and make finder active. Click the apple menu and click 'about this computer'. The window that opens will show the operating system version near the MAC OS icon. 

3) Other Operating Systems:
If you are working on another operating system, then the best way to check the version is to google how to do so. Linux, Unix and other GUI based interfaces will give you step by step instructions on how to determine your operating system, much like this article has.
So that is that. We hope this article has helped you identify your operating system and has helped you become slightly more knowledgeable about your personal computer or macintosh.

How to Boot your Computer in Safe Mode

The first thing that you need to do is to take a physical note or a printout of this article. It will most definitely not be available once you restart your computer. The instructions to boot your computer in safe mode are quite simple and you do not even need to note them down if you have a good enough memory.

First, shut down your computer or tell it to restart. When it has finished shutting down and is in the process of starting up, tap the key F8 repeatedly as soon as it comes back to life. You should then see a familiar window that pops up when you have not shut your computer down properly. The dialog box has several options which you can use to start up your computer, however, one of the options there should be 'start windows in safe mode'. There should also be an additional option where you can 'start windows in safe mode with networking'. Depending on your reasons for restarting the computer in safe mode, pick the appropriate option and continue. You should be all set.
However, there are some people who have multiple boot systems, where they can choose to boot into any one of multiple operating systems that they have installed. This is not really a problem, because once you are prompted for which system to boot into, you can press F8 and get the same dialog box as mentioned above. Simply use your arrow keys to select the option and press enter to continue. Works like a charm every time.
Let us also bring about the scenario where you went to get a cup of coffee when your computer did being restarting. If this is the case, then your computer has most probably started up and is not in safe mode. There is no choice here but to restart your system again and keep a vigilant finger on the F8 key.
Safe mode helps you in many ways while running your pc. You will only have access to basic files and drivers in this mode and it is very useful for anyone to run diagnostics on his or her machine. There is a recovery console that is set up in safe mode in case your windows files have gotten corrupted for some reason as well. This is a very effective tool against computers that seem to be a little stubborn with the way they operate. If you cannot seem to boot into regular windows or cannot run a troubleshooting software because of windows interference in regular mode, then safe mode can be a safe way to get what you need to fix your computer's problems.
So safe mode can be useful when it comes to performing system diagnostics. Make sure that you keep the F8 key in mind so that even if you do not have access to this article, starting the computer in safe mode will not be a problem for you. Good luck!