Difference in Control Panel in Various Popular versions of Microsoft Windows (8, 7, XP and Vista)

What is Control Panel in Microsoft Windows
Control Panel in MS Windows is a powerful tool to customize your Windows Computer. It is the place to go to install new hardware, add and remove programs, change the look of your screen etc. Control Panel is a group of icons which when selected invoke applications which allow you to change the settings of various devices attached with the computer. Let us talk about the some options available in the control panel.

Control Panel Icons in different Versions of Windows


Control Panel in Different Versions of Windows

In Windows 8 and 7, the available options to view the control panel is almost same i.e.
(i) Category: It presents the control panel window in classic windows style.
(ii) Large icons:  It presents the control panel window in classic large icon windows style
(iii) Small icons:  It presents the control panel window in classic small icon windows style

In Windows XP, the available options to view the control panel is
(i) Classic View: It presents the control panel window in classic windows style.
(ii) Category View: The category view groups the options under various different categories.

In Windows Vista, the available options to view the control panel is
(i) Control Panel Home: It works as that of the Category view works on the Windows XP
(ii) Classic View: It works as that of the Classic view on the Windows XP