Windows 7

Windows 7 is an operating system developed by Microsoft. It is intended to fix many of the issues users perceived with Vista. Windows 7 has NT kernel version 6.1, making it a minor update to Windows Vista. Windows 7 improved performance on older hardware, while also improving many areas of the Aero user interface. It is one of Microsoft's most popular operating systems, running on 39.06% percent of desktop and laptop computers as of July 2018, and prior to December 2017, more than Windows 10.

It replaces Windows Vista and was replaced by Windows 8. Mainstream ended on 2015-01-13, and support of service packs will end on 2020-01-14.

A pre-RTM build, 7600.16384, was speculated to be the final version of the product but had a flaw in Internet Explorer 8 which prevented it from shipping.

Features
Windows 7 includes few major new features but does include mountains of enhancements over previous Windows releases.

Features added in Windows 7

 * Windows 7 added a Show Desktop button to the far right of the Taskbar (note: this feature was first introduced in early builds of Memphis (Windows 98) and NT 5.0 (Windows 2000), but was removed during development in both cases).
 * Windows 7 introduced Aero Peek, which allows you to "peek" at your desktop without actually minimizing your applications.
 * Windows 7 introduced the Superbar, an evolution of the Taskbar.
 * Windows 7 added the ribbon to many of its stock applications, although not to Windows Explorer itself.
 * Windows 7 includes Internet Explorer 8 and Windows Media Player 12 by default.
 * Some pre-RTM builds of Windows 7 included an "E" SKU, that removed Internet Explorer. This edition was dropped in the RTM.
 * The sidebar was removed, in favor of being able to add gadgets all over the desktop.

Features degraded or removed in Windows 7

 * Windows 7 introduced a simplified version of Windows Explorer, which cut underused features from the operating system. Needless to say, many of those features were sorely missed by those who did use them.
 * The Quick Launch bar was disabled by default in Windows 7 since the Superbar provides that functionality. It can be re-enabled by manually creating a "Quick Launch" toolbar.
 * The classic style start menu was completely removed; the reason for this is unknown.
 * The Sidebar was dropped in favor of desktop gadgets.

Editions
The editions for Windows 7 are the same as Vista, but Business was changed back to Professional.

Pre-RTM
{{BLItem Unconfirmed|Windows 7 build 7140|7140.fbl_multimedia{bld4act).090528-1604}}