blocks|key|4367583|text|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|data|entityMap^0^^$0|@$1|2|3|-4|4|5|6|B|7|@]|8|@]|9|$]]]|A|$]]

There is a widespread urban legend in the Windows community that Dave Cutler chose the name "Windows NT" (WNT) because if you subtract one from each letter you get VMS, which is the operating system that Dave Cutler worked on before he came to Microsoft.

However, that is not true. Neither did Cutler choose the name (it more or less emerged by accident) nor was the name WNT (it was, in fact, "NT OS/2", because at that time, the idea was still to build the next generation of OS/2 – Windows wasn't even in the picture). NT also doesn't stand for "New Technology".

Dave Cutler was hired by Microsoft to build a next-generation operating system for the PC. At that time, Microsoft's most modern OS was OS/2, built jointly by IBM and MS. And so, to MS, "next-generation" naturally meant a new version of OS/2. (Windows was just seen as a GUI for DOS, that would soon be replaced by a real OS.)

At DEC, Dave Cutler had worked on VMS. One of the problems with VMS was that a lot of it was written in assembly, and that it was fairly monolithic. Both meant that it was somewhat hard to port to other platforms. When he was tasked to write a successor to VMS, he changed all of that; while he liked the abstractions and style of VMS, he didn't like the implementation: he wanted to write it in a highly modular style, and he wanted to do it in C – basically a cleaned up and modernized re-implmentation of VMS. DEC soon lost interest in his project, and effectively mobbed him out of the company, which is how he ended up at Microsoft, where he was able to implement his ideas. (Which is why NT looks so similar to VMS: it's essentially the version of VMS Cutler always wanted to write but DEC didn't allow him to.)

So, Cutler was writing a new version of OS/2. At that time, it was not at all clear, what exactly a "PC" was and that the i386 would win out. Intel was experimenting with RISC processors, Microsoft was experimenting with MIPS processors, IBM was doing the PS/2 and later also the PowerPC, DEC's Alpha was around the corner. Building an operating system for only one of those platforms would have been a huge and dangerous gamble. So, the new OS/2 would have to be highly portable. In order to ensure maximum portability, Cutler tried to find the strangest, most PC-unlike architecture possible. And he found the Intel i860. The i860 was 64 Bit, the i386 32 Bit. The i860 had plenty of registers (32), the i386 only 8. The i860 is RISC, the i386 CISC. The i860 has a VLIW architecture. It had a SIMD unit on the chip (that would later become the inspiration for the MMX SIMD instructions on the Pentium MMX). It exposed its pipeline to the software, so that all the scheduling decisions that the i386 makes on the chip, would have to be made by the compiler (this was the inspiration for the EPIC architecture of the Itanium). And it had one of the strangest memory models ever.

In short, it was the perfect target for a highly portable OS: if you developed and tested on the i860, you could port it almost anywhere. So, that's what Cutler did.

There were two versions of the i860: a cheaper, simpler one called the XR and a faster one for SMP machines called the XP. Except MS was working with early prototypes and the marketing names hadn't been chosen yet, so they were simply known by their Intel codenames: N10 and N11.

The operating system that Cutler was working on, was codenamed Portasys, because of its portability. However, internally they didn't call it that: they were building it for the N10, and they were building a version of OS/2, so in conversations they simply called it "OS/2 for N-Ten" or "N-Ten OS/2", and because programmers are lazy, that quickly got shortened to "NT OS/2".

Then, two things happened: MS hadn't actually bothered to tell IBM that they were building their own version of OS/2. When IBM became aware of the fact that the new OS/2 was actually quite different from the old one, IBM and MS had a falling out and the joint development of OS/2 ended.

The second thing that happened was that Windows 3.0 took off beyond everybody's wildest dreams.

That's when MS changed directions 180°. And now the modular design of NT OS/2 came in quite handy.

In NT, there is a clear distinction between the kernel and what is called a "personality". Usually, the kernel's job is to abstract the hardware and present an abstraction to userland. In NT, these responsibilities are split: the kernel abstracts, and the personality presents the abstraction to the userland. Well, actually, the personality does not present the abstraction, it presents an abstraction; there can be multiple personalities.

At this point in our story, NT looked like this: there was the NT kernel, on top of the NT kernel was the OS/2 personality, and on top of that was the OS/2 Presentation Manager (GUI). The filesystem was HPFS. Because of the personality abstraction and the ability to run multiple personalities at the same time, it was now very easy to keep the system running while at the same time adding a Windows personality. Once the Windows personality was complete, Presentation Manager running on top of OS/2 was replaced with the Windows UI running on top of Windows. HPFS was renamed to NTFS and some tweaks were made.

And then some marketing guy somewhere decided that that "NT" moniker was actually kinda cool, but the "OS/2" thing had to be replaced with "Windows" and it sounds better the other way around ("Windows NT" instead of "NT Windows"). And when he was asking what NT stood for, they told him that it didn't actually make any sense because they weren't doing an i860 version any more, and so he retroactively created the backronym "New Technology".

That's how it became WNT. And, as you can see the letters "N" and "T" were chosen by chosen by Intel, the letter "W" was chosen by fate and the ordering of the three letters was chosen by some marketing guy, so there is simply no way that anyone could have consciously chosen them in relation to VMS.

And, by the way: Arthur C. Clarke has always said that he never thought about "IBM" either, when he came up with the name "HAL". In fact, he said that if he had recognized that relationship he would have changed HAL's name out of respect to IBM with which he had very good working relationship.

blocks|key|4367311|text|我个人没有任何故事，但我可以指出一些：|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|data|4367312|“古老的新事物”(雷蒙德·陈的博客)@+http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/|unordered-list-item|offset|length|entityMap|0|LINK|mutability|MUTABLE|url|http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/^0|0|K|Y|0^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|N|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|B|3|C|5|D|7|O|8|@]|9|@$E|P|F|Q|1|R]]|A|$]]]|G|$H|$5|I|J|K|A|$L|M]]]]

I don't have any stories personally, but I can point to some:

<ul>
<li>The Old New Thing (Raymond Chen's blog) @ <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/</a></li>
</ul>

blocks|key|4367721|text|我一直认为，您可以使用注册表更改将NT工作站3.51更改为NT+Server，这是非常酷的。并详细介绍了微软的市场细分策略。|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|offset|length|data|entityMap|0|LINK|mutability|MUTABLE|url|http://oreilly.com/news/differences_nt.html^0|B|5|0^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|K|8|@]|9|@$A|L|B|M|1|N]]|C|$]]]|D|$E|$5|F|G|H|C|$I|J]]]]

I always thought the fact that you could change NT Workstation 3.51 to NT Server with a <a href="http://oreilly.com/news/differences_nt.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">registry change</a> was pretty cool. And says everything about Microsoft's market segementation strategies.

blocks|key|630052|text|奥斯特曼在他的文章“为什么控制-Alt-删除安全注意序列(SAS)？”中对ctrl-alt-delete的解释如何？|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|offset|length|data|entityMap|0|LINK|mutability|MUTABLE|url|http://blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman/archive/2005/01/24/359850.aspx^0|A|O|0^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|K|8|@]|9|@$A|L|B|M|1|N]]|C|$]]]|D|$E|$5|F|G|H|C|$I|J]]]]

How about Osterman's explanation of ctrl-alt-delete in his post <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman/archive/2005/01/24/359850.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Why is Control-Alt-Delete the secure attention sequence (SAS)?</a>

blocks|key|4367517|text|Windows的遗产可以追溯到Windows到CP/M的第一个版本之前，包括：|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|data|4367518|8.3文件名|unordered-list-item|4367519|使用字母识别驱动器|4367520|程序过去是COMmand文件，而不是EXEcutables+(*)|4367521|(*)琐事:+DOS+COM文件在0x0100:0000+(段/偏移)加载到内存中；CP/M+COM文件在0x0100加载到内存中|4367522|更正7月9日:+CP/M文件被加载到绝对地址0x0100的内存中。DOS+COM文件在下一个可用段中以偏移量0x0100加载。(感谢欧米切利)。|offset|length|entityMap|0|LINK|mutability|MUTABLE|url|https://serverfault.com/users/819/euro-micelli^0|0|0|0|0|0|1U|4|0^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|V|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|B|3|C|5|D|7|W|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|E|3|F|5|D|7|X|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|G|3|H|5|D|7|Y|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|I|3|J|5|6|7|Z|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|K|3|L|5|6|7|10|8|@]|9|@$M|11|N|12|1|13]]|A|$]]]|O|$P|$5|Q|R|S|A|$T|U]]]]

Windows has a legacy that dates back to before the first versions of MS-DOS to CP/M, including:

<ul>
<li>8.3 filenames</li>
<li>Using letters to identify drives</li>
<li>Programs used to be COMmand files, not EXEcutables (*)</li>
</ul>

(*) Trivia: DOS COM files get loaded into memory at 0x0100:0000 (segment/offset); CP/M COM files got loaded into memory at 0x0100

Correction 9 July: CP/M COM files got loaded into memory at the absolute address 0x0100. DOS COM files get loaded at offset 0x0100 in the next available segment. (Thanks to <a href="https://serverfault.com/users/819/euro-micelli">Euro Micelli</a>).

blocks|key|4367400|text|Windows+95中著名的49.7天稳定性错误。在某些情况下，您可能希望每49天重新启动一次机器，以避免错误触发系统的某些部分。不，它没有强迫关闭什么的，它只是产生了奇怪的结果.|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|data|4367401|一些快速发现的链接..。|4367402|CNET：窗口可能在49.7天后崩溃|offset|length|4367403|MSDN：和系统.线程.虫后49.7天！|4367404|软件讨论小组：Windows+49.7天关机错误|entityMap|0|LINK|mutability|MUTABLE|url|http://news.cnet.com/Windows-may-crash-after-49.7-days/2100-1040_3-222391.html|1|http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/netfxbcl/thread/dbc398a9-74c0-422d-89ba-4e9f2499a6a3|2|http://discuss.techinterview.org/default.asp?joel.3.9430.16^0|0|0|5|D|0|0|5|F|1|0|7|H|2^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|W|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|B|3|C|5|6|7|X|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|D|3|E|5|6|7|Y|8|@]|9|@$F|Z|G|10|1|11]]|A|$]]|$1|H|3|I|5|6|7|12|8|@]|9|@$F|13|G|14|1|15]]|A|$]]|$1|J|3|K|5|6|7|16|8|@]|9|@$F|17|G|18|1|19]]|A|$]]]|L|$M|$5|N|O|P|A|$Q|R]]|S|$5|N|O|P|A|$Q|T]]|U|$5|N|O|P|A|$Q|V]]]]

The (In?)famous 49.7 day stability bug in Windows 95. Under certain circumstances, you'd want to reboot your machine every 49 days to avoid the bug from tripping up parts of your system. No, it didn't force a shutdown or anything like that, it just produced strange results...

Some quick links found...

CNET: <a href="http://news.cnet.com/Windows-may-crash-after-49.7-days/2100-1040_3-222391.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Windows may crash after 49.7 days</a>

MSDN: <a href="http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/netfxbcl/thread/dbc398a9-74c0-422d-89ba-4e9f2499a6a3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">System.Timers.Timer and System.Threading.Timer bug after 49.7 days!</a>

The Joel on Software Discussion Group: <a href="http://discuss.techinterview.org/default.asp?joel.3.9430.16" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Windows 49.7 days shutdown bug</a>

blocks|key|629941|text|一些琐事：|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|data|629942|Dave是DEC的VMS操作系统的设计者之一，也是微软Win+NT的首席架构师。正如HAL+(从2001年起:太空奥德赛)被认为是IBM之前的一个字母一样，WNT+()是VMS之后的一个字母。|unordered-list-item|629943|我们都知道NT代表什么，Windows+2000的启动屏幕上有一条恼人的线条，上面写着“用NT技术构建”，即使用新技术。|629944|这与Windows无关，但也与DEC相关。DLT和LTO磁带格式是从数字公司臭名昭著的TK-50磁带盒中继承而来的.臭名昭著，因为传统知识被广泛认为是“时间杀手”的代名词。后来的TK-70稍微好一点，但不是很多。|entityMap^0|0|0|0^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|J|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|B|3|C|5|D|7|K|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|E|3|F|5|D|7|L|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|G|3|H|5|D|7|M|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]]|I|$]]

A couple bits of trivia:

<ul>
<li>Dave Cutler was one of the designers of DEC's VMS operating system, and then the chief architect of Win NT at Microsoft. Just as HAL (from 2001: A Space Odyssey) was said to be one letter before IBM, WNT (Windows New Technology) is one letter after VMS.</li>
<li>We all know what NT stands for, and there was that annoying line on the startup screen of Windows 2000 that said "Built with NT Technology," i.e. with New Technology Technology.</li>
<li>This isn't so much Windows trivia, but it's also DEC-related. DLT and LTO tape formats are descended from Digital's infamous TK-50 tape cartridges. Infamous, because TK was widely said to stand for "Time Killer." The later TK-70s were a bit better, but not much.</li>
</ul>

blocks|key|629908|text|我记得一次与数字设备的斗争，在过去的日子里，试图让阿尔法NT链接工作，以连接Pro/工程师在NT+3.5。这个特定的Pro/E版本打破了32+of的可执行限制(哇，还记得那是件大事吗？)不用说，我今天告诉自己，DEC三个月拒绝解决这个问题导致了AlphaNT的最终消亡，因为我们已经发布了Intel和MIPS版本，而Pro/E是当时的NT应用程序。|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|data|629909|是的，我有妄想症，我承认，但那是美好的时光。32+1GB内存和1GB硬盘驱动器。|entityMap^0|0^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|E|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|B|3|C|5|6|7|F|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]]|D|$]]

I remember a fight with Digital Equipment way back in the day trying to get the Alpha NT linker to work to link Pro/Engineer on NT 3.5. This particular release of Pro/E broke the 32MB executable limit (wow, remember when that was a big deal)? Needless to say, I tell myself today that DEC's refusal to fix that problem for three months contributed to the ultimate demise of AlphaNT, since we'd already shipped Intel and MIPS versions, and Pro/E was THE NT app of the day. 

Yes, I'm delusional, I'll admit it, but those were good times. 32MB of RAM and 1GB hard drives.

blocks|key|4367623|text|除了关于NT开发的一些有趣的历史之外，我们都非常乐意抛弃我们所使用的任何版本的Windows，并将其完全从我们的记忆中清除出来:)|type|unstyled|depth|inlineStyleRanges|entityRanges|data|4367624|这一点，并且没有太多的传奇或神秘的Windows！|entityMap^0|0^^$0|@$1|2|3|4|5|6|7|E|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]|$1|B|3|C|5|6|7|F|8|@]|9|@]|A|$]]]|D|$]]

Seems like other than some interesting history on the development of NT, we're all pretty happy to dump whatever version of Windows we were using and purge it entirely from our memories :)

That, and there's not much legendary or esoteric about Windows!

Most obscure/upvoted answer will get the answer vote!

Most Unix and Unix-like systems have a "traditional history" that is passed down with each generation, so that newcomers can see and understand some of the more esoteric portions of the system. What can the long-time Windows admins out there contribute as to the "Legendry" of Windows, as far as esoteric knowledge that new admins should be exposed to?

Windows Legendry

翻译质量差，导致语言生硬或混乱。

没有提供实际的解决方法或示例。

解答不清晰，无法理解或解决问题。

页面排版不美观，阅读体验差。

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大多数模糊的/被否决的答案将得到答案的投票！大多数Unix和Unix类系统都有一个“传统历史”，每一代都会流传下来，这样新来的人就可以看到和理解系统中一些更深奥的部分。对于Windows的“传奇”，对于新管理员应该接触的深奥知识，长期的Windows管理员能做出什么贡献呢？

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