Programming Windows

Programming Windows and Inside Windows are the books you want. Programming Windows covers systems programming in C and in later editions, in C#. Inside Windows goes over the Window OS architecture in-depth. There’s not much programming in the book but you will come away with a deep understanding of the OS. Both books are published by Microsoft Press. You’ll of course want the latest editions but if you come across earlier editions, those are fine too. I’m partial to the earlier Petzold editions of Programming Windows. The technical docs at microsoft.com are also super helpful and up-to-date: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/docs/

This is the best answer. Windows Internals is a great book/reference for understanding how Windows work, but it won't teach you how to actually program Windows. The Fifth Edition of Petzold's book will actually take you through the Win32 API, which is still usable even on modern Windows platforms.

Just a warning, that the very latest edition of this book is a complete rewrite for WinRT and Windows 8. It’s still a great book, but you’ll probably want the previous edition to learn how to code traditional Win32 programs.

Programming Windows - Petzold

The reason you're not getting a good answer is because the ultimate answer is to just use Microsoft's Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/get-started/s... (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/get-started/start-here) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/ It covers near everything, is extremely exhaustive, and constantly updated. That being said, if you're more interested in how the Windows API is organized/works internally (why you have to give it handles/resources and what those mean, for instance), then Charles Petzold's series is generally considered the definitive resource: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JDMP71S/