Exploring the Windows Real-Time Operating System Windows is a general purpose operating system ideal for a wide range of activities. However, to ensure that every service, application, task, thread and message is executed promptly and consistently, a Windows real-time operating system is required. Multitasking and multithreading are core concepts in general purpose operating systems, but they are handled differently in an RTOS. An RTOS allows programmers to control programmatic elements, how they enjoy queuing supremacy, and how the systems behave when busy. The result is rigorous response and processing of data.