Ver (command)
| Company type | Command-line utility |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computing / Software |
| Products | Display OS and shell version information |
In the realm of computing, the ver command—an abbreviation for version—is utilized within multiple command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, and 4DOS/4NT. Its primary function is to present the operating system’s name and version, the shell version, or occasionally details about other commands. This command serves a similar purpose to the Unix utility uname.
Implementations
This command is incorporated into a variety of operating systems including FLEX, HDOS, DOS, FlexOS, SpartaDOS X, 4690 OS, OS/2, Windows, and ReactOS. Additionally, it is accessible in the open-source MS-DOS emulator DOSBox, the shell of KolibriOS, as well as within EFI shell environments.
TSC FLEX
Within TSC's FLEX operating system, the VER command outputs the version number associated with a utility or application. Certain releases refer to this command as VERSION.
DOS
The ver command has been part of MS-DOS starting from version 2 onwards. Versions of MS-DOS up to 6.22 determine the DOS version by querying the kernel, which can differ from the start-up banner. Using the "/r" parameter reveals extended information, such as whether DOS is executing within the high memory area (HMA).
In PC DOS, the version displayed typically originates from an internal string embedded in command.com; for instance, PC DOS 6.1’s command.com reports version 6.10 despite the kernel being 6.00.
DR DOS 6.0 provides its own implementation of ver, which returns the value stored in the environment variable OSVER.
The ver command in PTS-DOS allows users not only to display but also to alter and restore the reported DOS version number.
IBM OS/2
On OS/2, invoking command.com's ver presents an internal string indicative of the OS/2 version. Although the kernel is labeled as version 5.00, it is modified to output x0.xx corresponding with each specific OS/2 release.
Microsoft Windows
For Windows 9x systems, command.com displays the build version string. In contrast, on Windows NT, it either shows a 32-bit processor identifier or occasionally reports MS-DOS 5.00.500. The kernel version fluctuates between 5.00 and 5.50 depending on interrupt handling. Notably, MS-DOS 5.00 commands run unchanged on NT platforms.
Windows provides a graphical counterpart named winver, which reveals both the installed Service Pack or Windows Update status alongside the version number. Before Windows for Workgroups 3.11, executing winver from DOS extracted an embedded string within winver.exe.
Additionally, Windows offers a utility called setver, enabling configuration of the DOS version number that MS-DOS subsystem (NTVDM) presents to DOS applications. This tool is not supported on Windows XP 64-Bit Edition.
DOSBox
Within DOSBox, this command is used to display and modify the reported DOS version and also shows the current DOSBox release number. The command syntax is:
VER SET <MAJOR> [MINOR]
Here, MAJOR and optional MINOR denote the major and minor components of the version number before and after the decimal point, respectively, with values ranging from 0.0 up to 255.255. Values exceeding 255 cycle back (for example, 256 resets to 0).
Additional Systems
The AmigaDOS operating system includes a version command that reveals the active Kickstart and Workbench editions. Similarly, the DEC OS/8 environment utilizes the ver command within its Concise Command Language (CCL) to present version details for both the OS/8 Keyboard Monitor and CCL itself.
Command Syntax
<syntaxhighlight lang="doscon"> C:\WINDOWS\system32>ver
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10586]
</syntaxhighlight>
Certain MS-DOS iterations feature an undocumented /r parameter, which outputs both version and revision information.
Compilation of Versions
The following table provides a concise overview of version identifiers corresponding to multiple Microsoft operating system releases:
| Official | Operating System | Version Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 1.0 | 1.04 | |
| Windows 2.0 | 2.11 | |
| Windows 3.0 | 3 | |
| Windows NT 3.1 | 3.10.528 | |
| Windows for Workgroups 3.11 | 3.11 | |
| Windows NT 3.5 | 3.50.807 | |
| Windows NT 3.51 | 3.51.1057 | |
| Windows 95 | 4.00.950 | |
| Windows 95 OSR2 | 4.00.1111 | |
| Windows 95 OSR2.1 | 4.03.1212-1214 | |
| Windows 95 OSR2.5 | 4.03.1214-1216 | |
| Windows NT 4.0 | 4.00.1381 | |
| Windows 98 | 4.10.1998 | |
| Windows 98 SE | 4.10.2222 | |
| - | Windows ME Beta | 4.90.2380.2 |
| - | Windows ME Beta 2 | 4.90.2419 |
| Windows ME | 4.90.3000 | |
| - | Windows NT 5.0 Beta | 5.00.1515 |
| - | Windows 2000 Beta 3 | 5.00.2031 |
| - | Windows 2000 RC2 | 5.00.2128 |
| - | Windows 2000 RC3 | 5.00.2183 |
| X | Windows 2000 / Professional | 5.00/5.0.2195 |
| - | Windows XP RC1 | 5.1.2505 |
| Windows XP with Service Packs (1-3) | ~5.1.2600 | |
| Interim and Release Candidates of Windows .NET Server | ~5.2.xxxx | |
| Variants of Windows Server 2003 | ~5.2.xxxx | |
| Predecessor Longhorn (Vista) and Vista Betas | ~6.xxxx | |
| Released versions and Service Packs of Windows Vista | ~6.xxxx | |
| Server editions (2008, R2) and Home Server | ~6.xxxx to ~6.xxxx | |
| - | Developer Previews for Server and Client (2012,8) | ~6.xxxx to ~6.xxxx |
| Releases of Windows 8 and corresponding Server versions | ~6.xxxx to ~6.xxxx | |
| Release of Windows Phone 8 | ~6.xxxx | |
| Updates for Windows 8.x and Server editions | ~6.xxxx to ~6.xxxx | |
| - | Early Technical Previews of Windows 10 | ~6.xxxx to ~10.xxxx |
| X | Official releases of various Windows 10 builds (Threshold, Redstone updates) | Versions ranging from 10.0.10240 through latest (~10.xxxx) |
| Windows editions from May 2020 through November 2021 (20H1 to 21H2) |10.xxxxx (19041-19044) | ||
| Windows distributions from October 2022 to projected releases in October 2024 (22H2 onward) |10.xxxxx (19045-26100) |