ACC: Using Visual Basic to Determine Windows 95 or NT Version

MORE INFORMATION

Although the GetVersion() function is still supported under Win32, it has been superseded by GetVersionEx(), which identifies Windows 95, returns more accurate information about the build of Windows, and no longer returns the version of MS-DOS.

The following example function demonstrates how to use the GetVersionEx() Windows API function:

1. Create a module and type the following code in the Declarations section:

         '====================================
         ' Global Declarations
         '====================================
         Option Explicit
   
         Type OSVERSIONINFO
            dwOSVersionInfoSize As Long
            dwMajorVersion As Long
            dwMinorVersion As Long
            dwBuildNumber As Long
            dwPlatformId As Long
            szCSDVersion As String * 128   ' Maintenance string for PSS usage.
         End Type
   
         Public Const VER_PLATFORM_WIN32s = 0
         Public Const VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS = 1
         Public Const VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT = 2
   
         Declare Function GetVersionEx Lib "kernel32" Alias "GetVersionExA" _
           (lpVersionInformation As OSVERSIONINFO) As Long

2. Type the following procedure:

         Function SysVersions32 ()
            Dim v As OSVERSIONINFO, retval As Long
            Dim WindowsVersion As String, BuildVersion As String
            Dim PlatformName As String
   
            v.dwOSVersionInfoSize = Len(v)
            retval = GetVersionEx(v)
   
            WindowsVersion = v.dwMajorVersion & "." & v.dwMinorVersion
            BuildVersion = v.dwBuildNumber And &HFFFF&
   
            Select Case v.dwPlatformId
            Case VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS
               PlatformName = "Windows 95"
            Case VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT
               PlatformName = "Windows NT"
            End Select
   
            MsgBox "Platform: " & PlatformName & vbCrLf & _
               "Version: " & WindowsVersion & vbCrLf & _
               "Build: " & BuildVersion
         End Function

3. To test this function, type the following line in the Debug window, and then press ENTER.

   ?SysVersions32()

   Note that the message box displays the operating system's name, version, and build number.

The GetVersionEx() function fills the OSVERSIONINFO structure, which contains elements for the operating system platform, version, and build information. Note that the element dwPlatformId could be any of the VER_PLATFORM_ constants listed at the top of the example.