Do you need to know when you installed Windows on your computer? You may require this information for work or you may want it just to brag about how stable your operating system is after all these years of abuse. Or perhaps you just don’t want your Windows to run for more than six months without reinstalling it. Whatever the reason, here’s how to check the Windows installation date:
Running the systeminfo command
If you want this command to display only the operating system’s (OS) installation date, use the following variation of it:
How to check the Original Install Date
Also, an equivalent command is:
The install date is not easily readable with this command
If you compare the screenshot above with the one prior to it, you can make out the same installation date. Because of this formatting issue, I don’t recommend this command, and I avoid using it.
Checking the Windows 10 installation date
You can even press the Copy button and have this information stored in the clipboard to paste it elsewhere.
In Windows 11 Settings, go to System > About
Look for the Windows specifications section on the right side of the Settings window. There, you find the information you need, next to Installed on.
Checking the Windows 11 installation date
Here too, you can press the Copy button next to Windows specifications and have the information stored in the clipboard.
Right-click on the Windows folder and choose Properties
In the General tab of the Windows Properties window, look for the Created entry. It shows when the Windows folder was created on your computer or device - when you first installed Windows.
See the Created field
IMPORTANT: The problem with this method is that it can display a very different date than the other methods shared in this guide. This happens when you install Windows, but your computer is not connected to the internet. In this situation, your Windows installation doesn’t know the exact date and time when it is installed until you finish the installation and connect the PC to the internet. However, after the operating system logs this date, it doesn’t modify the Windows folder’s Created field with the correct date.
Check the Windows installation date in PowerShell
After a few seconds, you will see the installation date in a readable format, just like in the previous screenshot.
Check the Windows installation date in Registry Editor
A simpler way of reading the Windows installation date from the Registry is to open PowerShell or start Windows Terminal, copy and paste the command below, and press Enter:
A better alternative is to use PowerShell
So, while the InstallDate you want is stored in the Windows Registry, you have to use PowerShell or Windows Terminal to display the OS installation date in a readable format. It’s much easier than navigating through the Registry Editor, right?
See when all Windows builds were installed
In the screenshot above, you can see that I first installed Windows 10 on the 20th of May, 2021. Then, on the 3rd of December, 2021, it received a major update. If you have a similar situation, read this guides to match your build numbers with the actual Windows versions you have installed:
Things to keep in mind when checking the Windows installation date
Before I show you how to find the installation date of your Windows, there are a couple of things you should be aware of:- While the screenshots in this tutorial are made in Windows 11 and Windows 10, the commands shared in this guide work for all modern Windows versions, including Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.
- If you made a clean Windows install, from scratch, without applying any major updates, all the methods in this tutorial work and deliver good results.
- When you install Windows 10 or Windows 11, the operating system retains its correct installation date. However, when you install a major update like Windows 10 version 22H2 or Windows 11 version 22H2, the build number changes, and the installation date is changed to the date when the latest major update/build was installed. The same change to the installation date happens when you upgrade your old version of Windows to a newer one, like installing Windows 11 as an update to your old Windows 10. Because of this, most of the methods in this guide give you the installation date of your current version. To find out when the first Windows installation was made, skip to the BONUS section at the end of this article.
1. How to check the Windows installation date from CMD, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal
Many similar guides on the internet recommend you to open Command Prompt, type this command, and press Enter:systeminfo
You can also use PowerShell or Windows Terminal to run this command, not just CMD. Unfortunately, it returns tons of data, and finding the Original Install Date field is tricky. However, it is there, alongside other information like the Windows version you’re using, registered owner, or processor used.
systeminfo | find "Install Date"
After you press Enter, it displays only the Original Install Date field, showing you the exact date and time when Windows was installed or upgraded on your computer.
wmic OS get InstallDate
However, the way it displays the Windows installation date is not helpful. It first displays the year, then the month, then the day, followed by the exact time when it was installed, all one after the other, without any spaces.
2. How to check the Windows installation date in the Settings app
Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 display their installation date in their Settings app. Here’s how to find this information, first in Windows 10, and then in Windows 11:2.1. When did I install Windows 10? Where to check in the Settings app
The OS installation date can be checked by opening Settings (Windows + I). Go to System > About. On the right side of the Settings window, you should see a section named Windows specifications. There, look for the line that says “Installed on,” followed by the installation date.2.2. When did I install Windows 11? Where to check in the Settings app
In Windows 11, the process is similar: start by opening the Settings app (Windows + I). In the left sidebar, choose System. On the right, scroll down to About and click or tap on it.3. How to check the Windows install date in File Explorer
If you use Windows 10 or Windows 11, open File Explorer. Even if the File Explorer app looks different in Windows 10 compared to Windows 11, the process for checking the OS installation date is the same. Click or tap This PC in the navigation pane on the left, open the C: drive (where Windows is installed), and right-click (or press and hold) the Windows folder. In the contextual menu, choose Properties.4. How to find the Windows installation date using PowerShell or Windows Terminal
This method involves opening PowerShell or starting Windows Terminal. In either of these command-line apps, copy and paste the command below and press Enter:([WMI]'').ConvertToDateTime((Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem).InstallDate)
5. How to find the Windows installation date from the Registry
This method is a bit more complicated and it starts with opening the Registry Editor and navigating to this path:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
Then, on the right side of the Registry Editor, look for the InstallDate registry key. If you double-click on it, the value you see is the Windows installation date. Unfortunately, it’s shown in hexadecimal format, which is not helpful for most users, unless you convert it using a tool like Hexadecimal to Decimal Converter.
[timezone]::CurrentTimeZone.ToLocalTime(([datetime]'1/1/1970').AddSeconds($(get-itemproperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion').InstallDate))
BONUS: What is the original install date? How do I determine when Windows 10 or Windows 11 was installed/upgraded?
Microsoft released several major updates for both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Except for the method that involves File Explorer, all the others will show you the most recent “installation date,” meaning when the latest major update or Windows build was installed. But what if you want to know when Windows was installed for the first time on your computer? You can have a PC with Windows 11 now, but maybe it was running Windows 10 initially. Or, as is the case in my example below, while I installed the 19043 build of Windows 10 initially, later on it received an update to build 19045. If you want to know the original installation date for Windows, open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and first run this command:$OS=@(Get-ChildItem -Path HKLM:\System\Setup\Source* | ForEach-Object {Get-ItemProperty -Path Registry::$_}; Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion')
After you press Enter, copy/paste this second command and execute it:
$OS | Select-Object ProductName, ReleaseID, CurrentBuild, @{Name='InstallDate'; Expression={[timezone]::CurrentTimeZone.ToLocalTime(([datetime]'1/1/1970').AddSeconds($_.InstallDate))}} | Sort-Object "InstallDate"
Now you finally see when each version of Windows was installed on your computer.
- What is the latest version of Windows 10? Check the version you have
- How to check the Windows 11 version and edition
Discussion (15)
I have a Windows 11 machine upgraded from Win10 several months ago, original OS install was from 5 years ago. All the methods listed here tell me the OS was installed this year.
Isn’t this information? After all, you installed Windows 11, the version you’re using, sometime earlier this year?
Also, did you read the guide until the end, and tried all methods? The last one might provide you with different information.
Della,
1. Click the Start Button in the lower left corner of your screen (looks like a window tilted diagonally a little bit)
2. Type the words “high contrast” (without quotes).
3. Select the option at the top that says “Turn high contrast on or off”
4. Under the heading at the top that says “Use High Contrast”, check to see if the area that says “Turn on high contrast” is set to “On”.
If it’s set to “On” click that button that says “on”, and that should turn it off, which should return the color configuration back to normal.
I hope this helps! Merry Christmas!
my computer has negative color problem. How to get the correction or return to default?
Or reinstall the window 10 ? how to re install?
As a 78 yrs old senior and English is my 2nd language, all these information are helpful but I can not remember them.
Please show your method by using technical writing rule with each step identified in numbers in a seperate paragraph.
If you use CCleaner and click on Uninstall it shows you a list of programs, including the install dates. Sort these dates and the oldest one is probably also the one that you installed Windows 10. The other methods are not always proven because Windows 10 upgrades its ‘core’ also, like in my case right now, I have 1903, which was installed in January 2020, but my oldest program in CCleaner was installed in April 2016. So CCleaner can give you a good indication.
The Windows folder created date may not be an accurate indication as to when Windows was installed. I installed Windows 10 on a laptop, on 8/18/2020, using the iso upgrade disc created from a Microsoft download. However, the Windows folder shows a created date of 12/7/2019. I assume that is the date that Microsoft created the folder for their iso file.
Another way is to look at the list of installed programs. Especially a device driver or device software that was likely to be installed when windows was installed.
on my system the creation date of system.ini and win.ini files was the date when Windows was installed initially
What about the original install date? These methods will only report when the latest large update was installed, in my case 03/10/2018
I would like to re-install Office 2016
And what is stopping you from doing that?
Hi,
From last 2 weeks i was using windows 8 laptop.
I would like to change my old microsoft account to new microsoft account, if i do this is every thing same as old or not, any lost of applications or anything, plz le tme know ASAP..
Thanks
Anju
systeminfo | find “Original Install Date”
Command Prompt error message:
‘systeminfo’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
WinXP SP3
very useful, thank you!
I’m glad you found this article useful. 😀