The Operating System consists of the most important set of programs running on a computer. Think of it as the life force of the computer. Without its lifeforce a computer is little more than a fancy door stop. But with it, a computer comes to life, fully capable of running software programs, recognizing and operating hardware. It is important to know what operating system your PC or Mac is running because many software programs will only run on certain operating systems.
Examples of common operating systems: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, Unix and Windows 2000 to name a few.
Many of the PCs at the College of William and Mary are running Windows 7 Enterprise. Finding out the operating system running on your machine is very easy.
Why is it important to know what operating system my computer is running?
Because not all software will run on all operating systems. So, before you buy and load that software, make sure that it will work on your operating system!