Figuring Out When Windows Was Installed on Your PC
This was one of those things where I kept hitting dead ends trying to find out exactly when Windows was first installed. You’d think it’s straightforward, but nope — sometimes it’s buried in obscure menus, or the system info page doesn’t show the full story. Anyway, after a lot of digging and some trial-and-error, here’s what actually worked for me (and might help you too).
Using the System Information Tool (msinfo32)
This was the first method I tried because it’s built into Windows and pretty reliable once you get the hang of it. Basically, hit Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, then type msinfo32 and press Enter. The System Information window pops up. Scroll down a bit until you find “Original Install Date.” This is usually in a long timestamp format, sometimes a bit confusing, but it’s a timestamp that you can convert into a normal date.
This method is nice because it doesn’t involve any scripting or registry edits—just straightforward Windows tools. BUT, a caveat: if your machine has gone through multiple upgrades or a clean reinstallation, this date could be the original install date, not the latest. It’s kind of a rough indicator, but still pretty useful. Sometimes, the date stored here doesn’t update after an upgrade, so keep that in mind.
Checking the Windows Folder Properties
I tried another quick-and-dirty way by checking the properties of the Windows folder itself. Head over to This PC or My Computer, right-click the C: drive (or whatever your Windows partition is), and select Properties. Right at the top, there’s a Created date—this often points to when Windows was first installed, or at least when the folder got created during setup.
If you want to get a little more precise, open an elevated PowerShell (right-click the PowerShell icon and choose “Run as administrator”) and run:
dir C:\Windows | Select-Object CreationTimeThis shows the creation timestamp of the Windows directory directly. But again—it’s not perfect. If your PC has been upgraded or the Windows folder was moved or re-created, the date might be skewed. Still, in most cases, it gives a decent ballpark.
Digging Into the Registry
This is where I got a little more into the weeds. The install date is stored inside the registry, specifically under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion. Look for an entry called InstallDate. It’s stored as Unix time, which is seconds since Jan 1, 1970.
To access it quickly, run PowerShell as admin and type:
Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" | Select-Object InstallDateThis gives you a big number, which is Unix time. To convert it to a normal date, use:
[DateTime]::UnixEpoch.AddSeconds((Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion").InstallDate)Note: Be cautious messing around in the registry. I’d recommend backing up before making any changes, but simply viewing this data is safe. Usually, this date is reliable for telling you the initial install time, but sometimes the value can be zero or missing if it’s been cleaned out or reset.
Using PowerShell for a Quick Check
If scripting is more your style, and you’re comfortable with PowerShell, you can check the install date with a concise command:
(Get-CIMInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem).InstallDateThis outputs a timestamp like 2023-07-23T08:23:45.000000-04:00. It’s pretty accurate and quick once you run PowerShell as an administrator. If you don’t see a date or it’s blank, then you might need to try the other methods.
Just a heads-up: on some systems, especially if they’re heavily customized or upgraded often, the dates can be a little off or reset. But generally, this method gives you a pretty reliable answer.
Honestly, figuring out when Windows was installed isn’t always obvious, but with these methods, you’re covered. Each one has its quirks—sometimes the date seems wrong because of upgrades, clean installs, or registry cleaning—but it’s usually close enough for troubleshooting, licensing, or just satisfying curiosity. Just double-check the date makes sense: if it’s way older or way newer than expected, maybe your system’s had a bit of a rewrite.
Hope this helps — it took me way too long to track down the exact info, and I wish I’d known these tricks earlier. Anyway, good luck, and hopefully, this saves someone else a weekend of frustration!