Perhaps the one thing that has struck many as the most odd is the fact that Windows 7 shows a version of 6.1. Subsequently, many of those people are under the false pretense that the recent leak of 6519 content is nothing more than a fake. The rest of said people are just left scratching their noggins. The explanation is quite simple and one that merits an informative breakdown so that the beta community doesn’t go through this whole version rigmarole once more.
The screenshot displaying the issue at hand is the following:
You will notice it says, “Version 6.1 (Build 6519.1.x86fre.winmain.071220-1525)”.
According to “JayDog,” who wrote a review on his opinion of Windows 7 after having installed it, Windows 7 Ultimate is not a stand-alone install. It needs to be installed over a Windows Vista SP1 system.Regardless, The Windows kernel in Vista SP1 is version 6.1, which also happens to be Windows Server 2008’s! With that being said, Windows 7 currently runs in Windows’ latest kernel revision of 6.1. Apparently, Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 still reflect version 6.0 in their About Windows boxes as can be seen in the following screenshots (courtesy of Paul Thurrott):
Regardless, in knowing the Windows 7 shots are real, "ynotm" has offered up an alternate understanding that may be more fitting for the occasion: Microsoft compiled Windows 7 with version 6.1 simply to differentiate it from Windows Vista, which makes perfect sense. Why they went with 6.1 instead of 7 is up to speculation to everyone outside of Microsoft's walls but regardless, the underlying theme here is the shots are real and 6.1 is there for a reason instead of 7 (whatever the reason may be).
Enter MinWin.
MinWin is going to be the kernel overhaul for Windows 7 and once implemented, you will probably no longer see 6.1. I realize it may be a little confusing to some of you as to why Windows 7 doesn’t contain everything that will be Windows 7 but quite simply, as with many products, development and testing begins by integrating new code into the latest stable code. Until MinWin is implemented, you can basically consider Windows 7 to be an extension and evolution of Windows Vista SP1.
Not to confuse you further but different products within Windows will have their own version numbers, such as IE 7. IE 7 has a version number of 7.0 just as IE 8 will have a version of 8.0. If someone such as myself were to get a hold of the M1 build of Windows 7, I’m sure I could find core OS files with a version of 7.x but until the kernel is shifted from SP1’s kernel to MinWin, expect many of the screenshots from here on out to reflect a version of 6.1. Then again, I’m not wholly certain anymore which file they pull the Windows version from when you bring up “About Windows.” Depending on which file that is, we may start seeing a version 7.0 much earlier than the implementation of MinWin, so… I’m just throwing that out there.
Above all, it’s important to realize that there are processes within Microsoft that take place which won’t make much sense to outside viewers. Just because something doesn’t add up doesn’t mean it’s fake. It’s alright to take part in speculation and question things but bear in mind that not all things spilling out of Microsoft in the form of leaks will make immediate sense.
Hopefully, the aforementioned will clear up the confusion a little. Please feel free to leave more questions in the form of comments and if I can’t accurately answer your question, I will certainly try my best to get a hold of someone who can.
-Stephen
The screenshot displaying the issue at hand is the following:
You will notice it says, “Version 6.1 (Build 6519.1.x86fre.winmain.071220-1525)”.
According to “JayDog,” who wrote a review on his opinion of Windows 7 after having installed it, Windows 7 Ultimate is not a stand-alone install. It needs to be installed over a Windows Vista SP1 system.
Regardless, in knowing the Windows 7 shots are real, "ynotm" has offered up an alternate understanding that may be more fitting for the occasion: Microsoft compiled Windows 7 with version 6.1 simply to differentiate it from Windows Vista, which makes perfect sense. Why they went with 6.1 instead of 7 is up to speculation to everyone outside of Microsoft's walls but regardless, the underlying theme here is the shots are real and 6.1 is there for a reason instead of 7 (whatever the reason may be).
Enter MinWin.
MinWin is going to be the kernel overhaul for Windows 7 and once implemented, you will probably no longer see 6.1. I realize it may be a little confusing to some of you as to why Windows 7 doesn’t contain everything that will be Windows 7 but quite simply, as with many products, development and testing begins by integrating new code into the latest stable code. Until MinWin is implemented, you can basically consider Windows 7 to be an extension and evolution of Windows Vista SP1.
Not to confuse you further but different products within Windows will have their own version numbers, such as IE 7. IE 7 has a version number of 7.0 just as IE 8 will have a version of 8.0. If someone such as myself were to get a hold of the M1 build of Windows 7, I’m sure I could find core OS files with a version of 7.x but until the kernel is shifted from SP1’s kernel to MinWin, expect many of the screenshots from here on out to reflect a version of 6.1. Then again, I’m not wholly certain anymore which file they pull the Windows version from when you bring up “About Windows.” Depending on which file that is, we may start seeing a version 7.0 much earlier than the implementation of MinWin, so… I’m just throwing that out there.
Above all, it’s important to realize that there are processes within Microsoft that take place which won’t make much sense to outside viewers. Just because something doesn’t add up doesn’t mean it’s fake. It’s alright to take part in speculation and question things but bear in mind that not all things spilling out of Microsoft in the form of leaks will make immediate sense.
Hopefully, the aforementioned will clear up the confusion a little. Please feel free to leave more questions in the form of comments and if I can’t accurately answer your question, I will certainly try my best to get a hold of someone who can.
-Stephen
