Here’s how to check the Windows installation dates on all major Windows versions.
Table of Contents
Windows Installation Dates Across Major Versions
Windows 8
1. Go to Search charm, usually right side of screen
2. Search for cmd
3. Select Command Prompt
4. Type systeminfo
and hit enter
Related: If you need to reinstall Windows 8, here’s a quick Windows 8.1 checklist.
Windows 7/Vista
1. Click Start
2. Click inside the search box
3. Type systeminfo
and hit enter
Note: On older builds you may have to use the word “original” or “install date” – systeminfo | find /i “original”
.
Related: Here’s a step-by-step guide on installing Windows 7.
Windows XP Pro and Home
1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type systeminfo
and hit enter (hcp://system/sysinfo/sysinfomain.htm for XP Home edition, then view the status of my system hardware and software under System Software. The OS is listed with the install date under Date Created)
Other Fun Methods of Finding this Info
I got most of these other solutions listed below from the folks that contributed to this post about finding the Windows install time at Stack Overflow.
Registry Key
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\InstallDate
The value is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970. If you want a super easy way to convert this number into something usable, paste this decimal value in the UNIX TimeStamp field at this Unix Time Conversion tool.
PowerShell
In Windows a PowerShell prompt type the following:
PS > $os = get-wmiobject win32_operatingsystem
PS > $os.ConvertToDateTime($os.InstallDate) -f "MM/dd/yyyy"
WMI
You can also use WMI, or Windows Management Instrumentation by using this command:
wmic os get installdate
If you don’t use this, you can read the registry value and then convert the information. Type this into a PowerShell prompt:
PS > $path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion'
PS > $id = get-itemproperty -path $path -name InstallDate
PS > $d = get-date -year 1970 -month 1 -day 1 -hour 0 -minute 0 -second 0
## add to hours (GMT offset)
## to get the timezone offset programatically:
## get-date -f zz
PS > ($d.AddSeconds($id.InstallDate)).ToLocalTime().AddHours((get-date -f zz)) -f "MM/dd/yyyy"
There you have it. Multiple ways to check Windows installation dates. Which one is your favorite?