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Windows 7 to also be version 7 of the Windows kernel?

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Almost anyone who has been following the development of Windows 7 knows that it's currently kernel version 6.1. But all that could be set to change, at least if an obscure MSDN page is to be believed.

In a page describing device installation with the Windows Driver Kit, the documentation shows "Msft.NT.7.0" being used as a label to specify drivers only for use with Windows 7.

Previously, Neowin reported that Mike Nash, Corporate VP of Windows Product Management, posted on on the Windows Vista Team Blog with the official explanation that Windows 7 would be kernel version 6.1.

"So we decided to ship the Windows 7 code as Windows 6.1 - which is what you will see in the actual version of the product in cmd.exe or computer properties. There's been some fodder about whether using 6.1 in the code is an indicator of the relevance of Windows 7. It is not. Windows 7 is a significant and evolutionary advancement of the client operating system. It is in every way a major effort in design, engineering, and innovation. The only thing to read into the code versioning is that we are absolutely committed to making sure application compatibility is optimized for our customers."

Has this changed? Is "Msft.NT.7.0" just a way of expressing Windows 7 and not kernel version 7, if not, why not just say NT.6.1 in the INF? Or is the documentation incorrect? It remains to be seen.

Windows 7 RC is expected to go public on May 5, so hopefully that will reflect this change.

Screenshot as of April 20, 11:30AM GMT-6

(Thanks to Neowin member jamesVault who pointed out this page in our forums.)

Comments (71)

Glendi - 20 April 2009 - 16:37

Erm, that would defeat the purpose about that project of OEMs making drivers to work for 6.1! Or am I wrong?
+Smigit - 21 April 2009 - 02:33

I can't imagine it breaking things that much unless they are doing some very specific things. That said, I can't see them changing it.
Kevin. - 20 April 2009 - 16:39

I have my doubt the kernel will be bumped up from 6.1 to 7.0. Not only would this affect compatibility, nothing has been confirmed from Microsoft yet.
+/- Razorfold - 20 April 2009 - 16:43

Kevin. said,
I have my doubt the kernel will be bumped up from 6.1 to 7.0. Not only would this affect compatibility, nothing has been confirmed from Microsoft yet.

The kernel version number is always bumped up isn't it?

Xp was 5.0
Vista was 6.0
7 is 7.0 or should be anyways

Unless of course I'm wrong
Phemo - 20 April 2009 - 16:48

Well yes, but your numbers are wrong:
2000 was 5.0, XP was 5.1, Vista was 6.0 and Windows 7 is 6.1.
Every MAJOR release gets a major revision number, all the MINOR releases get a minor revision number. XP was a refinement of 2000, so only got a .1 increase and Windows 7 is a refinement of Vista, so also has only got a .1 increase.
I'd be very surprised if MS bumped the revision from 6.1 to 7.0 at this stage, personally.
gt2437 - 20 April 2009 - 16:56

/- Razorfold said,
The kernel version number is always bumped up isn't it?
Xp was 5.0
Vista was 6.0
7 is 7.0 or should be anyways
Unless of course I'm wrong
2000 = 5.0
XP = 5.1
Server 2003 = 5.2
Vista/2008 = 6.0
7 Beta/2008 R2 Beta = 6.1
+Brandon Live - 20 April 2009 - 18:27

Kevin. said,
I have my doubt the kernel will be bumped up from 6.1 to 7.0. Not only would this affect compatibility, nothing has been confirmed from Microsoft yet.

Bumped?

Windows 7 is Windows 7.0. It has always been "kernel 7.0" if that even means anything. The 6.1 version number, as has been explained many many times, is returned by the versioning APIs for compatibility purposes.
Hungarian Salami - 20 April 2009 - 18:37

It does mean A LOT Brandon. Windows 7 was supposed to be Windows 6.1 and 7 was just a marketing trick. Typically when MS changes the kernel a lot they select higher number for the major version part. In the most common case that means different driver acrhitecture which is not the case with Windows 7. Windows 5 (Windows 2000) was complete overhaul over the previous generation for example.
+Brandon Live - 20 April 2009 - 18:42

Philip Hristov said,
It does mean A LOT Brandon. Windows 7 was supposed to be Windows 6.1 and 7 was just a marketing trick. Typically when MS changes the kernel a lot they select higher number for the major version part. In the most common case that means different driver acrhitecture which is not the case with Windows 7. Windows 5 (Windows 2000) was complete overhaul over the previous generation for example.

What?!?

We named it Windows 7 from the beginning, it wasn't even marketing that originally chose that brand, it was our internal "code name." The builds were versioned at 7.0. It broke compatibility for too many apps/drivers, so we changed the versioning APIs to report 6.1 to reflect the level of compatibility that should be expected by pre-existing software.

I thought we'd been over this. Windows 7 is Windows 7.0. There are far more important things than driver architecture that change (and hell, there are driver architecture changes in Win7).

So no, there is no "Windows 6.1 kernel" and never was. There's just the Windows 7 kernel. This is how it's always been, this article is just silly.
Kevin. - 20 April 2009 - 19:40

Brandon Live said,
Bumped?
Windows 7 is Windows 7.0. It has always been "kernel 7.0" if that even means anything. The 6.1 version number, as has been explained many many times, is returned by the versioning APIs for compatibility purposes.

Well that explains it. Thank you for clearing things up.
krustylicious - 20 April 2009 - 20:36

I can understand why it was left at 6.1 - so that existing vista based installers will install under win7...
But
"The following example shows an INF Manufacturer section with various INF Models sections that will prevent Setup from installing a device on x86-based systems not running Windows Vista.
[Manufacturer]
%Msft% = Msft, NTx86.6.0, NT.7.0
;For Windows Vista only
[Msft.NTx86.6.0]
%NetVMini.DeviceDesc% = NetVMini.ndi, rootNetVMini ; Root enumerated
%NetVMini.DeviceDesc% = NetVMini.ndi, {b85b7c50-6a01-11d2-b841-00c04fad5171}NetVMini ; Toaster Bus enumerated
;For Windows 7 and later
[Msft.NT.7.0]"
Doesn't that thus allow different xp,vista, and windows 7 installs ? so if win 7 sees "Msft.NT.7.0" it will install that branch instead of the 6.0 branch?
crazlunatic - 20 April 2009 - 21:01

Philip Hristov said,
It does mean A LOT Brandon. Windows 7 was supposed to be Windows 6.1 and 7 was just a marketing trick. Typically when MS changes the kernel a lot they select higher number for the major version part. In the most common case that means different driver acrhitecture which is not the case with Windows 7. Windows 5 (Windows 2000) was complete overhaul over the previous generation for example.
For the record, you're talking to an MS employee
krustylicious - 20 April 2009 - 21:13

crazlunatic said,
For the record, you're talking to an MS employee
lol I think he didn't gather that some how..
sphbecker - 20 April 2009 - 22:54

Regardless of when the number 7 was decided I think we can be sure that it was chosen for marketing reasons. When you look at the history of the NT product line you see that any other of this level of would have been a point release; the 2000 to XP is a perfect example. Also, Windows Server 2008 is based on the same code base as Vista. Windows Server 2008 R2 is based on the Windows 7 code base. You can't tell me that an "R2" upgrade represents a major upgrade to the product line yet is the same code that on the client side they claim is a major upgrade. Regardless of what it actually is, the kernel version number should be 6.1, dispite what any 24 year old MS employee may tell you.
Owen Williams - 20 April 2009 - 22:55

Brandon Live said,
What?!?
We named it Windows 7 from the beginning, it wasn't even marketing that originally chose that brand, it was our internal "code name." The builds were versioned at 7.0. It broke compatibility for too many apps/drivers, so we changed the versioning APIs to report 6.1 to reflect the level of compatibility that should be expected by pre-existing software.
I thought we'd been over this. Windows 7 is Windows 7.0. There are far more important things than driver architecture that change (and hell, there are driver architecture changes in Win7).
So no, there is no "Windows 6.1 kernel" and never was. There's just the Windows 7 kernel. This is how it's always been, this article is just silly.

Yeah, I would listen to Brandon Live. He's right, you know.
Steven77 - 20 April 2009 - 22:58

Isn't at this point in 2009 a way to just write windows to make it say 6.1 if the app HAS to have it and 7.0 by default? This is coming from someone who knows very little about writing code.
dodgetigger - 21 April 2009 - 08:06

crazlunatic said,
For the record, you're talking to an MS employee

That doesn't necessarily mean much. Microsoft is so big, one hand doesn't know what the other does (This is something I have been told by a Microsoft employee, btw ;)) (not want to question Brandon's credibility, I don't know him, just want to comment on the being MS employee part)
Shouldn't compatibility mode take care of apps that need to see something like version 6.1 to run fine on Windows 7? Programs that rely on such version checks seem to be badly designed anyway. This argument seems to me more like marketing talk.
GreyWolf - 20 April 2009 - 16:42

I highly doubt they'll bump the kernel version of their new OS right before it hits release candidate. That would send OEMS that are busy building PCs for Windows 7 scurrying for months making sure the software and drivers they've probably already staged work properly. I think that article is old.
+StealMySoda - 20 April 2009 - 16:50

From what I read. 7.0 is used for drivers SOLELY for windows 7. It doesn't mean that it wont be using 6.1 to improve compatibility.
winkento - 20 April 2009 - 17:07

Look at the "parent" page "Combining Platform Extensions with Operating System Versions" :
OSMajorVersion
A number that represents the major version number for the operating system. The following table defines the major version for the Windows operating systems.Windows version Major version
Windows 7 6
Windows Server 2008 6
Windows Vista 6
Windows Server 2003 5
Windows XP 5
OSMinorVersion
A number that represents the minor version number for the operating system. The following table defines the minor version for the Windows operating systems.Windows version Minor version
Windows 7 1
Windows Server 2008 1
Windows Vista 0
Windows Server 2003 2
Windows XP 1