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An updated guide to common Microsoft software versions

Scott Lowe provides a major update to his list of dozens of versions of Windows, Exchange, and SQL Server and outlines the release date, version, and build number for each release.

By | in The Enterprise Cloud, January 13, 2010, 11:36 PM PST

In July 2009, I posted a table that outlined a number of Microsoft software versions. In this update, I provide additional information (including updates released since the original chart and details from astute TechRepublic members), and I make a downloadable version available (per reader request). Further, I've added SMS/SCCM history and all versions of Windows back to Windows 95 in the DOS line and Windows NT 3.1 in the NT line.

The table below is broken down into four columns:

  • Release date. This is the month and the year in which a particular release was made available. Bear in mind that there can be multiple release dates. For example, was Windows 7 released in August 2009 or October 2009? Well, it depends on how you look at it. The RTM bits were available starting August 6, 2009, but general availability didn't hit until October 22, 2009.
  • Software title/version. For example, Windows XP, Exchange Server 2003
  • Revision level. RTM, SP1, etc.
    • CU stands for Cumulative Update.
    • CH stands for Cumulative Hotfix.
    • UR stands for Update Rollup.
    • RTM stands for Release to Manufacturing. I use RTM to describe the initial release of a product. Technically, every release has an RTM period, but RTM is commonly used in the manner in which I've described.
  • Build number. The internal build number often causes confusion because it doesn't always match the product name. For example, Windows 7 RTM has a build number of 6.1.7600.16385, thereby "proving" to some that Windows 7 is a minor release. The build number is simply an interval versioning mechanism. If you know where I can find additional build information (especially older SMS build numbers), please let me know in the comments section. I only included release versions of products; no beta versions are included.
Note: Some date and build bits are missing simply because I could not find a resource that outlined that particular data point. If you know the information or you come across it, please post a comment so that I can include the information in the next version of the chart.

Release dateSoftware title/versionRevision levelBuild number
Windows   
Aug-95Windows 95RTM4.00.950
Feb-96Windows 95SP1/OSR 14.00.950A
Aug-96Windows 95OSR 24.00.950B
Aug-97Windows 95OSR 2.14.00.950B
Nov-97Windows 95OSR 2.54.00.950C
Jun-98Windows 98RTM4.10.1998
May-99Windows 98 Second EditionRTM4.10.2222A
Sep-00Windows MERTM4.90.3000
Jul-93Windows NT 3.1RTM3.10.511
 Windows NT 3.1SP13.10.511 Service Pack 1
 Windows NT 3.1SP23.10.511 Service Pack 2
Nov-94Windows NT 3.1SP33.10.528 Service Pack 3
Sep-94Windows NT 3.5RTM3.50.807
 Windows NT 3.5SP13.50.807 Service Pack 1
 Windows NT 3.5SP23.50.807 Service Pack 2
Jun-95Windows NT 3.5SP33.50.807 Service Pack 3
May-95Windows NT 3.51RTM3.51.1057
 Windows NT 3.51SP13.51.1057 Service Pack 1
Oct-95Windows NT 3.51SP23.51.1057 Service Pack 2
Dec-95Windows NT 3.51SP33.51.1057 Service Pack 3
Jul-96Windows NT 3.51SP43.51.1057 Service Pack 4
Sep-96Windows NT 3.51SP53.51.1057 Service Pack 5
Jul-96Windows NT 4.0RTM4.0.1381
Oct-96Windows NT 4.0SP14.0.1381 Service Pack 1
Dec-96Windows NT 4.0SP24.0.1381 Service Pack 2
May-97Windows NT 4.0SP34.0.1381 Service Pack 3
Oct-98Windows NT 4.0SP44.0.1381 Service Pack 4
May-99Windows NT 4.0SP54.0.1381 Service Pack 5
Nov-99Windows NT 4.0SP64.0.1381 Service Pack 6
Nov-99Windows NT 4.0SP6a4.0.1381 Service Pack 6
Feb-00Windows 2000RTM5.0.2195
Aug-00Windows 2000SP15.0.2195 Service Pack 1
May-01Windows 2000SP25.0.2195 Service Pack 2
Aug-02Windows 2000SP35.0.2195 Service Pack 3
Jun-03Windows 2000SP45.0.2195 Service Pack 4
Oct-01Windows XPRTM5.1.2600
Sep-02Windows XPSP15.1.2600.1106
Aug-04Windows XPSP25.1.2600.2180
Apr-08Windows XPSP35.1.2600.5512
Apr-03Windows Server 2003RTM5.2.3790
Mar-05Windows Server 2003SP15.2.3790.1180
Mar-07Windows Server 2003SP25.2.3790.3959
Dec-05Windows Server 2003 R2SP15.2.3790.1180
Jul-06Windows FundamentalsSP35.1.2600.5512
Nov-06Windows VistaRTM6.0.6000.16386
Feb-08Windows VistaSP16.0.6001.18000
Apr-09Windows VistaSP26.0.6002.18005
Jul-07Windows Home Server 5.2.4500
Feb-08Windows Server 2008RTM/SP16.0.6001.18000
Apr-09Windows Server 2008SP26.0.6002.18005
Oct-09Windows 7RTM6.1.7600.16385
Oct-09Windows Server 2008 R2RTM6.1.7600.16385
SQL Server   
 SQL Server 6.0RTM6.00.121
 SQL Server 6.0SP16.00.124
 SQL Server 6.0SP26.00.139
 SQL Server 6.0SP36.00.151
 SQL Server 6.5RTM6.50.201
 SQL Server 6.5SP16.50.213
Jun-97SQL Server 6.5SP26.50.240
Jul-97SQL Server 6.5SP36.50.258
Mar-98SQL Server 6.5SP46.50.281
Jan-99SQL Server 6.5SP56.50.415
 SQL Server 6.5SP5a6.50.416
 SQL Server 6.5Post SP56.50.479
Jan-99SQL Server 7.0RTM7.00.623
Jul-99SQL Server 7.0SP17.00.699
Mar-00SQL Server 7.0SP27.00.842
Dec-00SQL Server 7.0SP37.00.961
Apr-02SQL Server 7.0SP47.00.1063
Nov-00SQL Server 2000RTM8.00.194
Jun-01SQL Server 2000SP18.00.384
Nov-01SQL Server 2000SP28.00.534
Jan-03SQL Server 2000SP38.00.760
May-03SQL Server 2000SP3a8.00.760 (8.00.766)
Jun-05SQL Server 2000SP48.00.2039
Jan-06SQL Server 2005RTM9.00.1399
Apr-06SQL Server 2005SP19.00.2047
Feb-09SQL Server 2005SP29.00.3042
Mar-07SQL Server 2005SP2a9.00.3042.01
Mar-07SQL Server 2005SP2 CH9.00.3152
Apr-07SQL Server 2005SP2 CU19.00.3161
Jun-07SQL Server 2005SP2 CU29.00.3175
Aug-07SQL Server 2005SP2 CU39.00.3186
Oct-07SQL Server 2005SP2 CU49.00.3200
Dec-07SQL Server 2005SP2 CU59.00.3215
Feb-08SQL Server 2005SP2 CU69.00.3228
Apr-08SQL Server 2005SP2 CU79.00.3239
Jun-08SQL Server 2005SP2 CU89.00.3257
Aug-08SQL Server 2005SP2 CU99.00.3282
Oct-08SQL Server 2005SP2 CU109.00.3294
Dec-08SQL Server 2005SP2 CU119.00.3301
Feb-09SQL Server 2005SP2 CU129.00.3315
Apr-09SQL Server 2005SP2 CU139.00.3225
Jun-09SQL Server 2005SP2 CU149.00.3328
Aug-09SQL Server 2005SP2 CU159.00.3330
Oct-09SQL Server 2005SP2 CU169.00.3355
Dec-09SQL Server 2005SP2 CU179.00.3356
Dec-08SQL Server 2005SP39.00.4035
Dec-08SQL Server 2005SP3 CU19.00.4207
Feb-09SQL Server 2005SP3 CU29.00.4211
Apr-09SQL Server 2005SP3 CU39.00.4220
Jun-09SQL Server 2005SP3 CU49.00.4226
Aug-09SQL Server 2005SP3 CU59.00.4230
Oct-09SQL Server 2005SP3 CU69.00.4266
Dec-09SQL Server 2005SP3 CU79.00.4273
Aug-08SQL Server 2008RTM10.00.1600
Sep-08SQL Server 2008RTM CU110.00.1763
Nov-08SQL Server 2008RTM CU210.00.1779
Jan-09SQL Server 2008RTM CU310.00.1787
Mar-09SQL Server 2008RTM CU410.00.1798
May-09SQL Server 2008RTM CU510.00.1806
Jul-09SQL Server 2008RTM CU610.00.1812
Sep-09SQL Server 2008RTM CU710.00.1818
Nov-09SQL Server 2008RTM CU810.00.1823
Apr-09SQL Server 2008SP110.00.2531
Apr-09SQL Server 2008SP1 CU110.00.2710
May-09SQL Server 2008SP1 CU210.00.2714
Jul-09SQL Server 2008SP1 CU310.00.2723
Sep-09SQL Server 2008SP1 CU410.00.2728
Nov-09SQL Server 2008SP1 CU510.00.2746
Exchange Server   
Apr-96Exchange Server 4.0RTM4.0.837
May-96Exchange Server 4.0SP14.0.838
Aug-96Exchange Server 4.0SP24.0.993
Nov-96Exchange Server 4.0SP34.0.994
Apr-97Exchange Server 4.0SP44.0.995
May-98Exchange Server 4.0SP54.0.996
Mar-97Exchange Server 5.0RTM5.0.1457
Jun-97Exchange Server 5.0SP15.0.1458
Feb-98Exchange Server 5.0SP25.0.1460
Nov-97Exchange Server 5.5RTM5.5.1960
Jul-98Exchange Server 5.5SP15.5.2232
Dec-98Exchange Server 5.5SP25.5.2448
Sep-99Exchange Server 5.5SP35.5.2650
Nov-00Exchange Server 5.5SP45.5.2653
Oct-00Exchange 2000 ServerRTM6.0.4417
Jul-01Exchange 2000 ServerSP16.0.4712
Dec-01Exchange 2000 ServerSP26.0.5762
Aug-02Exchange 2000 ServerSP36.0.6249
Sep-03Exchange 2000 ServerPost SP3 update6.0.6487
Apr-04Exchange 2000 ServerPost SP3 update6.0.6556
Aug-04Exchange 2000 ServerPost SP3 update6.0.6603
Oct-03Exchange Server 2003RTM6.5.6944
May-04Exchange Server 2003SP16.5.7226
Oct-05Exchange Server 2003SP26.5.7638
Dec-06Exchange Server 2007RTM8.0.685.24 or 8.0.685.25
Apr-07Exchange Server 2007RTM UR18.0.708.3
May-07Exchange Server 2007RTM UR28.0.711.2
Jun-07Exchange Server 2007RTM UR38.0.730.1
Aug-07Exchange Server 2007RTM UR48.0.744.0
Oct-07Exchange Server 2007RTM UR58.0.754.0
Feb-08Exchange Server 2007RTM UR68.0.783.2
Jul-08Exchange Server 2007RTM UR78.0.813.0
Nov-07Exchange Server 2007SP18.1.0240.006
Feb-08Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR18.1.263.1
May-08Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR28.1.278.2
Jul-08Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR38.1.291.2
Oct-08Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR48.1.311.3
Nov-08Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR58.1.336.1
Feb-09Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR68.1.340.1
Mar-09Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR78.1.359.2
May-09Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR88.1.375.2
Jul-09Exchange Server 2007SP1 UR98.1.293.1
Aug-09Exchange Server 2007SP28.2.0176.002
Nov-09Exchange Server 2007SP2 UR18.2.217.3
Oct-09Exchange Server 2010RTM14.00.0639.021
Dec-09Exchange Server 2010RTM UR114.0.682.1
SMS/SCCM   
Jan-94SMS 1.0RTM 
Nov-95SMS 1.1RTM 
Jul-96SMS 1.2RTM 
Nov-96SMS 1.2SP1 
May-97SMS 1.2SP2 
Dec-97SMS 1.2SP3 
Sep-98SMS 1.2SP4 
Jan-99SMS 2.0RTM 
 SMS 2.0SP1 
Jul-99SMS 2.0SP2 
 SMS 2.0SP3 
 SMS 2.0SP4 
 SMS 2.0SP5 
Oct-03SMS 2003RTM2.50.2726.0020
 SMS 2003SP12.50.3174.1018
Aug-05SMS 2003SP22.50.4160.2000
Apr-07SMS 2003SP32.50.4253.3000
Aug-07SCCM 2007RTM4.00.5931.0000
May-08SCCM 2007SP14.00.6221.1000
Sep-08SCCM 2007R24.00.6221.1000
Oct-09SCCM 2007SP24.00.6487.2000
TBDSCCM 2007R3Under development

Remember that we also provide this table in a downloadable format.

I culled version information from various resources in an effort to help readers more quickly and easily identify the exact versions of software that you may be running. It was an extraordinary undertaking to locate and verify this information; I searched through dozens of sites to piece together the information in the table. If you have additional information that could be useful, please leave a comment in the discussion.

I really enjoyed putting this chart together, and I learned a lot about the history of a number of products in Microsoft's portfolio. I hope you find the chart useful.

Want to keep up with Scott Lowe's posts on TechRepublic?

Scott Lowe

About

Since 1994, Scott Lowe has been providing technology solutions to a variety of organizations. After spending 10 years in multiple CIO roles, Scott is now an independent consultant, blogger, author, owner of The 1610 Group, and a Senior IT Executive w...

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