Operating Systems

2ND ASSIGNMENT FOR SEMESTER 1

Ak Abd Harith bin Pg Abd Rahim

HND in Communications and Computer Systems Engineering CCSE | Group 3 | Intake 29 (2013)

Function of the Operating System:

An operating system is a group of computer programs that coordinates all the activities among computer hardware devices. It is the first program loaded into the computer by a boot program and remains in memory at all times.

The basic functions of an operating system are: 1. Booting the computer 2. Performs basic computer tasks, e.g. managing the various peripheral devices, e.g. mouse, keyboard 3. Provides a user interface, e.g. command line, graphical user interface (GUI) 4. Handles system resources such as computer's memory and sharing of the central processing unit (CPU) time by various applications or peripheral devices 5. Provides file management which refers to the way that the operating system manipulates, stores, retrieves and saves data.

Some Operating Systems that can be used in a small computer:

Windows Ubuntu Linux OSX

PAGE 1

The difference between text based and graphic base OS:

Text User Interface (TUI) TUI take instruction by Keyboard using some Text Commands TUI has initial Text command for every operation. So, users have to memorize all command. No pull down menu No icon No multimedia On text Not possible to use mouse No internet/networking DOS, MS-DOS, UNIX etc. Graphic User Interface (GUI) GUI take instruction by Mouse using some menu command, graphical icon etc GUI has Graphical icons so users havent to memorize all command. Has graphical icons Have icon Have multimedia On graphical icons and menus Possible to use mouse Internet available Windows 98/ME/XP/VISTA/7/8 etc.

Some Internal and external commands:

Cls - The cls command clears the screen of all previously entered commands and other text. Dir - The dir command is used to display a list of files and folders contained inside the folder that you are currently working in. Fdisk - The fdisk command is used to create, manage, and delete hard drive partitions. Pause - The pause command is used within a batch or script file to pause the processing of the file.
PAGE 2

FDISK:
Fdisk (fixed disk) is used to delete and create partitions on the hard drive in earlier versions of MS-DOS and Windows.

Menu under Fdisk:

1. Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive 2. Set active partition 3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive 4. Display partition information 5. Change current fixed disk drive

File System:
In a computer, a file system is the way in which files are named and where they are placed logically for storage and retrieval. A file is placed in a directory (folder in Windows) or subdirectory.

Sometimes the term refers to the part of an operating system or an added-on program that supports a file system.

There are 2 kinds of file systems: NTFS and FAT.

PAGE 3

The difference between physical and logical drive:

Physical drive Can be handled Hard Drive Device (HDD) Has its own storage Bootable device Logival (Virtual) drive Cant be seen or handled Subdivision of a physical hard drive (created using a disk partitioning programme) Only be used for storage not bootable Can only be created on a physical hard drive not on a removable disk

Steps on how to install Windows 98 OS:

1. From the MS-DOS prompt, switch to the CD-ROM drive; commonly this is the D: drive. 2. Once in the CD-ROM drive, type cd win98 and press enter. 3. Once in the WIN98 directory, type setup and press enter. 4. Press Enter to start the check and this should start the Microsoft Windows 98 setup installation. Microsoft Windows 98 will start by checking the hard drive for any errors; once completed, press the Continue button to start the installation. 5. If you agree with the Microsoft Windows 98 license agreement, check I accept the Agreement and click the Next button. 6. If you are installing Windows 98 SE, Insert your Microsoft Windows 98 SE product key. 7. If you are using the Microsoft Windows 98 SE upgrade CD, you may be prompted to insert the original Windows 98 CD or point to the Windows 98 setup at this point. 8. Windows 98 will then prompt you to where you wish to install Windows 98. Unless you wish for a different directory, leave it at the default C:\Windows directory and click Next. 9. Choose the setup you wish to do; most users will wish to remain with the Typical setup. Once the setup has been selected, click

PAGE 4

the Next button. If you have chosen a setup other than Typical, the below steps may not all apply to your setup. 10. Choose Install the most common components (Recommended) and click Next. 11. Enter the computer's Identification, if you do not plan on connecting to the computer to a network you can leave the default data and click Next.This information can also be entered later. 12. Enter your location and click Next. 13. Click Next to create a startup disk. 14. If you do not wish to create a startup disk, Click Cancel, otherwise put a blank diskette in the computer and click Ok. 15. Click Ok when prompted to remove the disk. 16. Click Next to start copying files. 17. Once ready, click Ok to restart the computer. Make sure if any diskette is in the computer that it is removed from the computer. 18. If you are installing the original Windows 98, you may be prompted for the Product key after the computer restarts; insert your Windows 98 product key and click Next. 19. Continue through the remainder of the setup answering each of the questions.

The difference between basic and dynamic disk:

Basic disks and dynamic disks are two types of hard disk configurations in Windows. Most personal computers are configured as basic disks, which are the simplest to manage. Dynamic disks can make use of multiple hard disks within a computer to duplicate data for increased performance and reliability. A basic disk uses primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives to organize data. A formatted partition is also called a volume. In this version of Windows, basic disks can have either four primary partitions or three primary and one extended partition. The extended
PAGE 5

partition can contain an unlimited number of logical drives. The partitions on a basic disk cannot share or split data with other partitions. Each partition on a basic disk is a separate entity on the disk.

Dynamic disks can contain an unlimited number of dynamic volumes that function like the primary partitions used on basic disks. The main differences between basic disks and dynamic disks is that dynamic disks are able to split or share data among two or more dynamic hard disks on a computer. For example, a single dynamic volume may actually be made up of storage space on two separate hard disks. Also, dynamic disks can duplicate data among two or more hard disks to guard against the chance of a single disk failing. This capability requires more hard disks, but improves reliability.

PAGE 6