Windows 10 (original release)


 *  This article is about the original release of Windows 10 from July 2015. See Windows 10 for the overall operating system series.

Windows 10 (codenamed Threshold, also referred to as Windows 9 or Windows TH) is the successor to Windows 8.1 released on 29 July 2015. It was believed to be called Windows 9, but this was revealed to be mistaken eventually, on 30 September 2014. Rumors have spread that "Windows 9" was skipped because the name triggered code for Windows 9x in some applications, most of the time leading to an error message on the application not supporting the Windows 9x line of operating systems. Windows 10 was intended to address some of the complaints that were made in response to the user interface in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

Windows 10 is a revolutionary release, being the first to fully use Windows Update to provide features and fixes to the masses much faster, while also providing a group that people who want to test its future releases can join (referred to as the "Windows Insider Program"). Windows 10 gained largely positive reviews and has easily exceeded the market share that Windows 8 gained in the same period.

Windows Update ESD listing

 *  See here for a list of Windows 10 ESD files that have been gathered from the Windows Update infrastructure.

Pre-Technical Preview
These are early development builds of Windows 10.

Technical Preview
The Technical Preview was the first phase of the Windows Insider program.

Insider Preview
As the sub-heading says, these are build that were released to Insiders.