How to Find Which Windows Service Pack or Update You Have Installed

You should always be running the latest version

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Tim Fisher
General Manager, VP, Lifewire.com
Tim Fisher has 30+ years' professional technology support experience. He writes troubleshooting content and is the General Manager of Lifewire.
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Tim Fisher
Updated on November 18, 2019

Windows service packs and other updates improve the stability and sometimes the functionality of Windows. Making sure you have the latest updates installed ensures that Windows and the software you run on Windows is working well and is secure from malicious attacks.

You can see which service pack or major update you have installed in most versions of Windows through the Control Panel. However, the specific way you go about viewing this information depends on which operating system you have.

Start by determining your version of Windows so you know which set of steps to follow along with below. If you're using Windows 10 or Windows 8, you'll notice that you don't have a service pack installed. This is because, with these versions of Windows, Microsoft releases updates on a continual basis in smaller chunks instead of infrequent, large packs as was the case with earlier Windows versions.

You can always install the latest Windows service pack or update automatically via Windows Update. Or, if you're needing a service pack for Windows 7 or earlier versions of Windows, you can do so manually by following the links to the latest Microsoft Windows service packs and updates.

Windows 10

You can find basic Windows 10 information in the System section of Control Panel, but the specific version number of Windows 10 is found in Settings:

Windows 10 About screen

  1. Open Settings in Windows 10 by pressing the Windows Key+I key combination.

    That's an uppercase "i" not an "L".

  2. Select System when the Windows Settings screen opens.

  3. Choose About from the left pane at the bottom.

  4. The Windows 10 major update you have installed is shown on the Version line.

A faster way to find the Windows 10 version number is by typing the winver command at the command prompt or in the Run dialog box.

Windows 10 updates can be easily installed through Windows Update.

Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP

The System area of Control Panel is where you can find information for Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Windows 8 edition information

  1. Open Control Panel. The fastest way to open Control Panel in Windows 8 is to select it through the Power User Menu (Windows Key+X). For other versions of Windows, open the Start menu and select Control Panel.

  2. Select System and Security (8 and 7), System and Maintenance (Vista), or Performance and Maintenance (XP).

    You won't see this option if you're viewing Control Panel in the large icons, small icons, or classic views. Instead, select System and then skip down to Step 4.

  3. Choose System.

  4. At the top of the System window, under the Windows edition section, is the Windows major update version or service pack level. On Windows XP, from the General tab, look for the service pack details at the top, under System.

Things to Remember

If you're still running Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, it's recommended to update to the latest Windows 8 version via Windows Update. If you don't want the most up-to-date Windows 8 version to be installed automatically, you can instead download the Windows 8.1 update manually.

The same is true for Windows 7, Vista, and XP: Windows 7 SP1, Vista SP2, and XP SP3 are the latest major updates for those operating systems, so you should update to them if you're not already.

If you don't have the latest update installed, or don't have a service pack installed at all, then you should do so as soon as you can. You can install these updates automatically from Windows Update or manually by downloading and installing them.