Q131371: Determining System Version from a Windows-Based Application

Article: Q131371
Product(s): Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit
Version(s): WINDOWS:3.1
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kb16bitonly
Last Modified: 04-NOV-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) 3.1 
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SUMMARY
=======

To create a Windows-based application that takes advantage of the features of
each platform, it is necessary to determine what operating system the
application is currently running with.

The GetVersion() function can be used to determine what operating system and
version is currently being used. A 16-bit Windows-based application might be
running with Microsoft MS-DOS/Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows NT
Workstation, Microsoft Windows NT Server, or Microsoft Windows Windows on Win32
(WOW) is the term given for the operating environment when running a 16-bit
Windows-based application with Microsoft Windows NT Workstation or Microsoft
Windows NT Server.

MORE INFORMATION
================

According to the documentation, the return value of the GetVersion() function is
a DWORD that specifies the major and minor version numbers. The following table
shows the return values from the GetVersion() function when used with various
operating environments:

  Environment   LOWORD                 HIWORD
  -------------------------------------------------------
  Windows 3.x   Windows version        MS-DOS version
  WFW           Windows version 3.1    MS-DOS version
  WOW           Windows version 3.1    MS-DOS version 5.0
  Windows 95    Windows version 3.95   MS-DOS version 7.0

Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1 and WOW can return the same
results. Therefore, 16-bit Windows-based applications may want to use the
GetWinFlags() function to determine whether the application is being run with
Microsoft Windows or WOW. The GetWinFlags() function returns a WF_WINNT flag if
the application is running with WOW.

GetWinFlags() is an existing function that has been modified to detect other
platforms. To test for Microsoft Windows NT, add the following flag to your
header file and use it to perform the test:

     #define WF_WINNT         0x4000

The following sample code can be used to test the values returned by the
GetVersion() function.

Sample Code
-----------

  #include <windows.h>

  void main()
  {

     DWORD dwVersion;
     char szVersion[80];

     dwVersion = GetVersion();

     wsprintf (szVersion, "Microsoft Windows %u.%u - MS-DOS %u.%u",
              (LOBYTE(LOWORD(dwVersion))),
              (HIBYTE(LOWORD(dwVersion))),
              (HIBYTE(HIWORD(dwVersion))),
              (LOBYTE(HIWORD(dwVersion))));

     MessageBox( NULL, szVersion, "Version Check", MB_OK );
  }

If you want to be able to distinguish between Windows and Windows for Workgroups,
use the following test.

Sample Code
-----------

     #define WNNC_NET_MultiNet           0x8000
     #define WNNC_SUBNET_WinWorkgroups   0x0004
     #define WNNC_NET_TYPE               0x0002

     HINSTANCE hModInst      = NULL;
     FARPROC   lpWNetGetCaps = NULL;
     WORD      wNetType;

     hModInst = LoadLibrary( "USER.EXE" );
     if( !(lpWNetGetCaps = GetProcAddress( hModInst, (LPSTR)"WNetGetCaps")) )
        MessageBox (hWnd, "WNetGetCaps Not Found", NULL, MB_OK);
     else
     {
     // Get the network type
        wNetType = (*lpWNetGetCaps) (WNNC_NET_TYPE);
        if( wNetType & WNNC_NET_MultiNet )
        {
        // a multinet driver is installed
           if( LOBYTE(wNetType) & WNNC_SUBNET_WinWorkgroups )
           // It is WFW
              MessageBox( hWnd, "Windows for Workgroups", NULL, MB_OK);
           else
           // It is not WFW
              MessageBox( hWnd, "Not Windows for Workgroups", NULL, MB_OK);
        }
     }

     // Clean up the module instance
     if( hModInst )
        FreeLibrary( hModInst );

Additional query words: 3.10 detect

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Keywords          : kb16bitonly 
Technology        : kbAudDeveloper kbWin3xSearch kbSDKSearch kbWinSDKSearch kbWinSDK310
Version           : WINDOWS:3.1

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