GetVersionEx

The GetVersionEx function obtains extended information about the version of the operating system that is currently running.

BOOL GetVersionEx(
  LPOSVERSIONINFO lpVersionInformation   // pointer to version 
                                         // information structure
);
 

Parameters

lpVersionInformation

Pointer to an OSVERSIONINFO data structure that the function fills with operating system version information.

Before calling the GetVersionEx function, set the dwOSVersionInfoSize member of the OSVERSIONINFO data structure to sizeof(OSVERSIONINFO).

Windows NT 5.0 and later: This member can be a pointer to an OSVERSIONINFOEX structure. Set the dwOSVersionInfoSize member to sizeof(OSVERSIONINFOEX) to identify the type of structure.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.

If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError. The function fails if you specify an invalid value for the dwOSVersionInfoSize member of the OSVERSIONINFO or OSVERSIONINFOEX structure.

Remarks

When using the GetVersionEx function to determine whether your application is running on a particular version of the operating system, check for version numbers that are greater than or equal to the desired version numbers. This ensures that the test succeeds for later versions of the operating system. For example, if your application requires Windows 98, use the following test:

GetVersionEx (&osvi);
bIsWindows98orLater = 
   (osvi.dwPlatformId == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS) &&
   ( (osvi.dwMajorVersion > 4) ||
   ( (osvi.dwMajorVersion == 4) && (osvi.dwMinorVersion > 0) ) );
 

Identifying the current operating system is usually not the best way to determine whether a particular operating system feature is present. This is because the operating system may have had new features added in a redistributable DLL. Rather than using GetVersionEx to determine the operating system platform or version number, test for the presence of the feature itself.

To determine the best way to test for a feature, refer to the documentation for the feature of interest. The following list discusses some common techniques for feature detection:

• You can test for the presence of the functions associated with a feature. To test for the presence of a function in a system DLL, call the LoadLibrary function to load the DLL. Then call the GetProcAddress function to determine whether the function of interest is present in the DLL. Use the pointer returned by GetProcAddress to call the function. Note that even if the function is present, it may be a stub that just returns an error code such as ERROR_CALL_NOT_IMPLEMENTED.
• You can determine the presence of some features by using the GetSystemMetrics function. For example, you can detect multiple display monitors by calling GetSystemMetrics(SM_CMONITORS).
• There are several versions of the redistributable DLLs that implement shell and common control features. For information about determining which versions are present on the system your application is running on, see the topic Shell Versions.

Windows CE: The value of the dwPlatformID member of the OSVERSIONINFO structure will be VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_CE.

QuickInfo

  Windows NT: Requires version 3.5 or later.
  Windows: Requires Windows 95 or later.
  Windows CE: Requires version 1.0 or later.
  Header: Declared in winbase.h.
  Import Library: Use kernel32.lib.
  Unicode: Implemented as Unicode and ANSI versions on Windows NT.

See Also

System Information Overview, System Information Functions, OSVERSIONINFO, OSVERSIONINFOEX