Compares a set of operating system version requirements to the corresponding values for the currently running version of the system.

Syntax

BOOL WINAPI VerifyVersionInfo(
  __in  LPOSVERSIONINFOEX lpVersionInfo,
  __in  DWORD dwTypeMask,
  __in  DWORDLONG dwlConditionMask
);

Parameters

lpVersionInfo [in]

A pointer to an OSVERSIONINFOEX structure containing the operating system version requirements to compare. The dwTypeMask parameter indicates the members of this structure that contain information to compare.

You must set the dwOSVersionInfoSize member of this structure to sizeof(OSVERSIONINFOEX). You must also specify valid data for the members indicated by dwTypeMask. The function ignores structure members for which the corresponding dwTypeMask bit is not set.

dwTypeMask [in]

A mask that indicates the members of the OSVERSIONINFOEX structure to be tested. This parameter can be one or more of the following values.

Value	Meaning
VER_BUILDNUMBER 0x0000004	dwBuildNumber
VER_MAJORVERSION 0x0000002	dwMajorVersion If you are testing the major version, you must also test the minor version and the service pack major and minor versions.
VER_MINORVERSION 0x0000001	dwMinorVersion
VER_PLATFORMID 0x0000008	dwPlatformId
VER_SERVICEPACKMAJOR 0x0000020	wServicePackMajor
VER_SERVICEPACKMINOR 0x0000010	wServicePackMinor
VER_SUITENAME 0x0000040	wSuiteMask
VER_PRODUCT_TYPE 0x0000080	wProductType

 

dwlConditionMask [in]

The type of comparison to be used for each lpVersionInfo member being compared. To build this value, call the VerSetConditionMask function or the VER_SET_CONDITION macro once for each OSVERSIONINFOEX member being compared.

Return Value

If the currently running operating system satisfies the specified requirements, the return value is a nonzero value.

If the current system does not satisfy the requirements, the return value is zero and GetLastError returns ERROR_OLD_WIN_VERSION.

If the function fails, the return value is zero and GetLastError returns an error code other than ERROR_OLD_WIN_VERSION.

Remarks

The VerifyVersionInfo function retrieves version information about the currently running operating system and compares it to the valid members of the lpVersionInfo structure. This enables you to easily determine the presence of a required set of operating system version conditions. It is preferable to use VerifyVersionInfo rather than calling the GetVersionEx function to perform your own comparisons.

Typically, VerifyVersionInfo returns a nonzero value only if all specified tests succeed. However, major, minor, and service pack versions are tested in a hierarchical manner because the operating system version is a combination of these values. If a condition exists for the major version, it supersedes the conditions specified for minor version and service pack version. (You cannot test for major version greater than 5 and minor version less than or equal to 1. If you specify such a test, the function will change the request to test for a minor version greater than 1 because it is performing a greater than operation on the major version.)

The function tests these values in this order: major version, minor version, and service pack version. The function continues testing values while they are equal, and stops when one of the values does not meet the specified condition. For example, if you test for a system greater than or equal to version 5.1 service pack 1, the test succeeds if the current version is 6.0. (The major version is greater than the specified version, so the testing stops.) In the same way, if you test for a system greater than or equal to version 5.1 service pack 1, the test succeeds if the current version is 5.2. (The minor version is greater than the specified versions, so the testing stops.) However, if you test for a system greater than or equal to version 5.1 service pack 1, the test fails if the current version is 5.0 service pack 2. (The minor version is not greater than the specified version, so the testing stops.)

To verify a range of system versions, you must call VerifyVersionInfo twice. For example, to verify that the system version is greater than 5.0 but less than or equal to 5.1, first call VerifyVersionInfo to test that the major version is 5 and the minor version is greater than 0, then call VerifyVersionInfo again to test that the major version is 5 and the minor version is less than or equal to 1.

Identifying the current operating system is usually not the best way to determine whether a particular operating system feature is present. This is because the operating system may have had new features added in a redistributable DLL. Rather than using GetVersionEx to determine the operating system platform or version number, test for the presence of the feature itself. For more information, see Operating System Version.

To verify whether the current operating system is either the Media Center or Tablet PC version of Windows, call GetSystemMetrics.

Examples

For an example, see Verifying the System Version.

Requirements

See Also

GetVersionEx

Operating System Version

OSVERSIONINFOEX

System Information Functions

VER_SET_CONDITION

VerSetConditionMask

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Build date: 2/4/2010