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Microsoft Windows is the world's most widely used desktop operating system, built on the NT kernel and designed for use on desktops, laptops, and workstations. Windows 11 features a familiar interface including the Start menu, taskbar, and a structured file system organized around the C drive.

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About this video

Microsoft Windows is the dominant operating system for desktops, laptops, and workstations worldwide, with its core functionality powered by the NT (New Technology) kernel. Despite the name, the NT kernel is far from new, having been introduced over 30 years ago, though it has received continuous updates and improvements throughout its lifespan. This kernel operates behind the scenes, managing hardware resources and providing the foundation on which the entire Windows environment runs. The Windows 11 interface reflects decades of refinement and presents users with a familiar set of tools including the desktop, Recycle Bin, Start menu, and taskbar. The taskbar, positioned at the bottom of the screen, provides quick access to open applications and pinned programs, while the system tray on the right displays connectivity status, audio controls, and other system indicators. Microsoft Edge comes bundled as the default web browser, and a curated selection of applications is included out of the box. Under the hood, the Windows file system is structured around the C drive, which serves as the primary storage location for all system and user data. Key directories include the Windows folder, which houses the operating system itself, the Users folder, which stores documents and settings for each account on the machine, and the Program Files folder, which contains software installed on the system. This directory structure is consistent across Windows installations and provides a predictable environment for both end users and IT professionals managing enterprise workstations.

What you'll learn

What's covered

Microsoft Windows Overview

Aligned to

CompTIA Tech+
3.2 Compare and contrast components of an operating system.
CompTIA A+ Core 2
1.1 Identify basic features of Microsoft Windows editions.
1.3 Given a scenario, use features and tools of the Microsoft Windows 10/11 operating system (OS).
Cisco CCST IT
4.1 Assist users in resolving Windows OS issues

Key terms

NT Kernel
The core of the Microsoft Windows operating system, responsible for managing hardware and system resources; NT originally stood for 'New Technology.'
Desktop Environment
The graphical user interface layer of an operating system that provides visual elements such as the desktop, taskbar, start menu, and icons for user interaction.
File System Directory Structure
The hierarchical organization of folders on a storage drive; in Windows, key top-level directories include Windows, Users, and Program Files on the C drive.
Server
A computer or program that provides services or resources to other devices, known as clients, over a network.

Topics

Operating Systems Windows Nt Kernel Windows 11 File System Desktop Environment

Transcript

Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system when it comes to desktops and laptops, so you're probably at least somewhat familiar with what Microsoft Windows is. I'm not going to take an in-depth look into it, just a glance at Microsoft Windows and what it looks like.

The kernel of a Windows operating system is called the NT operating system kernel, or n rnl. So that's what is behind the scenes, that's what's running. I always find this a little bit funny because NT stands for new technology, and it's not new anymore. This has been around for a long time. Of course it's received updates and stuff, but this came out originally 30 years ago, so it's nothing but new at this point in time.

A Look at a Windows 11 Machine

This is an example of a Windows 11 machine. As we see here, we have a recycling bin and the desktop right here. We have the start button that we can click and see our programs. Looks like we've got some games that we can play on here, like Solitaire. We've got the task bar down here on the bottom, and over here on the very right side of the taskbar is a way to see our network connection and the speakers and a few things there. It also comes with Microsoft Edge, which is the browser on it.

Let's go ahead and open up an Explorer window here. If we open up our C drive and take a look at our C drive here, we can see that this is the structure for it. We've got Windows, which is all the operating system that's in there; the user, which is all the documents associated with different users; and program files, so we've got the program files that we have installed on this computer. It comes with some programs by default, but not a whole lot, and then we could install other programs.

So this is a Windows 11 machine right here, and this is what we would have installed on a desktop or laptop or some sort of workstation.

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