Find windows OS version from command line

Windows has command line utilities that show us the version of the Windows OS running on the computer, including the service pack number. There are multiple CMD commands that help with finding this, you can pick the one that suits your need. Ver command can show you the OS version whereas Systeminfo command can additionally give you service pack, OS edition and build number etc.

Find OS Version and Service Pack number from CMD

As you can see above, ver command shows only OS version but not the service pack number. We can find service pack number as well with Systeminfo command. Systeminfo dumps lot of other information too, which we can filter out using findstr command.

This command works on XP, Vista and Windows 7 and on Server editions also. Find below example for Win7.

In case of Windows 7 SP1, the output would be slightly different as below.

If you want to print more details, then you can use just ‘OS’ in the findstr search pattern. See example below for Server 2008.

Check Windows version using WMIC command

Run the below WMIC command to get OS version and the service pack number.

Example on Windows 7:

If you want to find just the OS version, you can use ver command. Open command window and execute ver command. But note that this does not show service pack version.

This command does not show version on a Windows 7 system.

Which version of Windows operating system am I running?

Find operating system info in Windows 10

To find out which version of Windows your device is running, press the Windows logo key + R, type winver in the Open box, and then select OK.

Here’s how to learn more:

Select the Start button > Settings > System > About .

Under Device specifications > System type, see if you’re running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows.

Under Windows specifications, check which edition and version of Windows your device is running.

Related links

If you’re having a problem with activation, see Activate in Windows 10.

If you forgot the password you use to sign in to Windows devices or email, see How to reset your Microsoft password.

For info about updating Windows, see Windows Update: FAQ.

Find operating system info in Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1

To find out which version of Windows your device is running, press the Windows logo key + R, type winver in the Open box, and then select OK.

If your device is running Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, here’s how to learn more:

If you’re using a touch device, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings. Continue to step 3.

If you’re using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.

Select PC and devices > PC info.

Under Windows you’ll see which edition and version of Windows your device is running.

Under PC > System type you’ll see if you’re running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows.

Related links

If you’re having a problem with activation, see Activate Windows 7 or Windows 8.1

If you forgot the password you use to sign in to Windows devices or email, see How to reset your Microsoft password.

For info about updating Windows, see Windows Update: FAQ.

Find operating system info in Windows 7

Select the Start button, type Computer in the search box, right-click on Computer, and then select Properties.

Under Windows edition, you’ll see the version and edition of Windows that your device is running.

Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020

We recommend you move to a Windows 10 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft.

Related links

If you’re having a problem with activation, see Activate Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

If you forgot the password you use to sign in to Windows devices or email, see How to reset your Microsoft password.

For info about updating Windows, see Windows Update: FAQ.

How to Find Your Windows 10 Build Number, Version, Edition and Bitness

The Build Number, Version, “Bit”ness (32-bit or 64-bit) of your Windows installation can be determined using many ways, and here are some of the methods listed. Screenshots are from a Windows 10 PC, but most of the information applies to all versions of Windows.

Find Windows 10 Build Number, Version, Edition and Bitness

System Settings App

In Windows 10, use the System Settings app to find the OS information. Click Start, type About your PC. Click About your PC from the results.

System – Control Panel

Press Winkey + Pause-break keys. This opens the Control Panel → All Control Panel Items → System. Alternately, you can run sysdm.cpl directly.

Note: Since the Windows 10 v20H2 update, the following interface is hidden. Pressing the Winkey + Pause-break would take you to the modern Settings page instead. Microsoft is gradually porting items from the classic Control Panel to the Settings user interface. However, you can access the classic System panel by running this shell command from the Run dialog.

Using the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

Using WMIC (WMI command-line tool)

Open a Command Prompt window and type:

The WMIC command-line (mentioning “OSArchitecture”) tells you the bitness of your Windows. You can get as many details as you need using WMIC OS Get command, such as:

Note: Here is a complete list of fields you can retrieve using WMIC OS Get (which uses the Win32_OperatingSystem class)

In addition to all of the above methods, you can check the Help → About page any Windows desktop application like Notepad, Wordpad, Internet Explorer or others, for the Windows version & build information.

Note: The following methods don’t tell you whether you have an x64 version of Windows installed or not. They only show the OS installed and the System or Processor type (x86 or x64). System Type x64 means the processor is 64-bit. But that does not necessarily mean you have Windows x64. It could be Windows x86 OS running on an x64 CPU based machine.

System Information Utility

The System Information utility (MSInfo32.exe) has the details you need.

Scroll down and check the Hardware Abstraction Layer field. It also shows the full build number, including the minor build number.

About Windows (WinVer)

Alternately, in Command Prompt, run the ver.exe command to know the OS build number.

Watermark on the Desktop

If you’ve added the PaintDesktopVersion or the DisplayVersion registry values as in article Display Build Info, Version and WinDir Path in the Desktop, you’ll see the Windows Edition, Build Information and WinDir path in the desktop shown as a watermark. For evaluation versions of Windows, the watermark displays by default.

Using SystemInfo.exe Command-line tool

Open a Command Prompt window and type in:

The SystemInfo command outputs more information than you need. To get the OS Name and OS Version fields from the output, type this in the Command Prompt window:

The findstr command will parse the output and display only the two lines (OS name and version.)

Windows 10 Build/Version Upgrade History

Did you know that Windows 10 keeps track of your every build/feature upgrade in the registry? Redditor u/sizzlr has found an interesting registry location and wrote a PowerShell script to unscramble the Windows 10 build installation dates from the registry.

Every time you install a feature update, Windows 10 creates a new subkey named “Source OS (Updated on )” and a bunch of values in the right pane. The registry key is located at:

Additionally, there are two values, namely InstallTime and InstallDate, which store the install date and time. The following PowerShell script gathers all the details for you and presents in a table:

Do you know any other methods to find the Windows build, OS version and bitness? Let’s know in the Comments section below.

How to get Windows version from command prompt or from PowerShell

But is there a way to get the exact version string using command line output similar to the one mentioned in the image?

The attached is the output of «winver» command from run. PS: I am looking for a batch or PowerShell command.

There are some alternates available to get the Windows version like this PowerShell command:

6 Answers 6

The following commands are is going to help you with that. If you need more information, just type in systeminfo:

The ver command shows something like this:

But in PowerShell (or Git Bash) you have to call it through the cmd command:

I found it somewhere, PowerShell:

To add to @Bonifacio ‘s answer:

Would be even better, because it returns only the ReleaseId value, which you could then pipe to a file. Especially useful if you have several hosts to deal with.

With system information you can only get the build with that value and go to Google to get the respective version.

However, one simple way is by searching the registry on the command line:

The reg query way suggested all output a little garbage.

Using a for loop with tokens will output clean information.

The tokens=3 refers to the third word from the original output.

You will need to double the % if running inside a bat file.

You can set the output as a variable by replacing echo %i with set build=%i

Also remember to escape ^ any special characters.

Lastly look at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion for the string that has the required value. You may need to adjust the token count.

How to check which version of Windows your computer is running

• If you need to check your version of Windows, you can find out by typing «winver» in the Start menu search box.
• Depending upon which version of Windows you have, you might also be able to open a window that displays additional information.
• This information is important if you have Windows 7, because support for that operating system ends in January 2020.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Do you know which version of Windows you’re running? Most of the time, there’s little reason to care. But sometimes you need to know. Some programs and computer hardware will only work with a specific version of Windows, for example.

You might also need to know if it’s time to upgrade. Microsoft generally supports each version of its operating system for about ten years, and «extended support» for Windows 7 ends on January 14, 2020 .

That means Microsoft won’t offer any updates or technical support after that date. If you have Windows 8, you have a little more time – support ends for that operating system on January 10, 2023.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Windows 10 Home (From $139 at Best Buy)

How to check which version of Windows you’re running

1. Click the Start button.

2. Type «winver» in the search box and press Enter.

3. You should see the About Windows box with your Windows version information.

If you want to know more than simply the version of the operating system, you can display a dialog box with additional information, but the process varies depending upon which version of the OS you are running.

How to get additional information about Windows 10

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click the Settings icon (which looks like a gear and is above the power icon).

3. Click «System.»

4. In the left pane, click «About.»

How to get additional information about Windows 8

1. Move the mouse to the lower-right corner of the screen and swipe it up to display the sidebar.

2. Click «Settings» and then click «Change PC settings.»

3. Click «PC and devices,» and then click «PC info.»