Operating System Major Version FingerPrint Flag

SoftwareShield System Feature Guide > FingerPrinting / Machine Locking > FingerPrint Option Flags > Operating System Major Version FingerPrint Flag

## Operating System Major Version FingerPrint Flag

When this FingerPrint option flag is set, the operating system on the host machine is queried for its major version number. This value is stored in software. The version of Windows is comprised of three numbers: major version, minor version, and build number. Of all the version strings, this one is the least likely to change as the user upgrades their operating system. It only changes when the user upgrades between major versions. For example it changes from 4 to 5 when the user upgrades the OS from Windows NT to Windows XP. However there is no change between Windows 2000 and XP for example.

### Typical Internal Values

There are only three possible values.

- "3" (corresponds to Win NT 3.51)

- "4" (corresponds to Win 95, 98, ME)

- "5" (corresponds to Win 2000, XP, Server 2003 family)

### Operating System and Security

This flag will be able to successfully query the operating systems major version number on all versions of Windows. No special user permissions are required.