UNIT - 2 PC MAINTAINENCE OBJECTIVES STRUCTURE

2.0 2.1 2.2 Introduction Objectives Configuration and optimization 2.2.1 System booting 2.2.2 CONFI .S!S 2.2." #$%O&'&C.(#% 2.2.) *evice drivers 2.2.+ ,emory management 2.2.- *is. partitioning 2.2./ *is. cac0es 2.2.1 Configuration prob2ems 2." 2.) Summary 3uestions

2.0 INTRODUCTION
&very user 4ants 0is or 0er 5C to run faster. Incorrect setup or configuration is a common cause of poor performance and une6p2ained system cras0es. %0is unit e6amines 0o4 to setup and optimize 5Cs to get t0e best possib2e performance. So7 t0e main motive be0ind system maintenance is to tune up t0e system 4e22 for good performance.

2.1

OBJECTIVES

#t t0e end of t0is unit 7 you 4i22 be ab2e to $nderstand 0o4 most 5C configuration options are determined at startup See t0e contents of CONFI .S!S and #$%O&'&C.(#% t0at 2arge2y determine t0e system8s optimum setup *efine a device driver and state t0e common drivers used $nderstand t0e factors t0at effect t0e system performance 2i.e memory management7 dis. partitioning7 dis. cac0es See some common2y encountered configuration prob2ems

2.2

CONFIGURATION AND OPTIMIZATION

,ost 5C configuration options are determined at startup or at booting time. So7 it is re9uired to understand 40at 0appens 40en a mac0ine is s4itc0ed on. %0e first step in optimizing 5C configuration is to define t0e CONFI .S!S and #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2es. %0ey contro2 0o4 *OS is setup7 and specify t0e uti2ities you 4ant to 2oad. Ot0er performance factors invo2ve memory and dis. usage.

2.2.1 SYSTEM BOOTING

:0en t0e 5C starts up7 it e6ecutes an initia2ization procedure stored in t0e (IOS ;O,. It first does t0e 5OS% <5o4er On Se2f %est=7 to find out 40at is in t0e system> 0o4 muc0 memory7 40at 0ard4are is attac0ed etc. it 2oo.s for a dis.ette in drive # on successfu2 comp2etion of 5OS% it c0ec.s for 0ard dis. C7 if dis.ette is not in drive # If dis. neit0er e6ist in drive # nor C t0en7 an I(, 5C jumps into ;O, (#SIC and disp2ay a message re9uesting a system dis.. #ssuming it finds a system dis.7 t0e system 2oads t0e boot re or! into t0e memory and e6ecutes it. If t0e dis.ette is not formatted as a system dis.7 t0e

sector contains a code and disp2ays t0e message non?system dis. or dis. error. #ssuming it contains a bootab2e copy of *OS7 t0e sector causes t0e system to searc0 t0e dis.8s root directory for t4o fi2es > I(,(IO.CO, <IO.S!S for generic ,S@*OS= and I(,*OS.CO, <,S*OS.CO,= on finding t0ese fi2es7 t0e computer 2oads I(,(IO.CO, into t0e memory7 transfers contro2 to it 7 t0en it 2oads I(,*OS.CO,7 sets up various system tab2es7 determines 40at devices are present in t0e system and initia2izes t0em. It searc0es t0e root directory for t0e fi2e CONFI .S!S7 t0e contents of it determine various settings7 buffers7 and device drivers etc. %0e system uses defau2t va2ues in absence of t0is fi2e. It t0en 2oads and runs t0e startup batc0 fi2e #$%O&'&C.(#%7 40ic0 in turn7 sets environment strings and runs necessary uti2ities.

2.2.2

CONFIG.SYS

It is a te6t fi2e7 0idden from t0e user. %0e ,S?*OS setup creates t0is fi2e and stores it in t0e root directory of your startup dis.. It contains commands t0at configure your computer8s 0ard4are components <memory7 .eyboard7 mouse7 printer7 and so on= so ,S?*OS and your app2ication can use t0em. :0en ,S? *OS starts7 it carries out t0e commands in t0is fi2e first. Aere7 4e 4i22 see a samp2e CONFI .S!S fi2e 4it0 some commands. Ao4ever7 ot0er commands can be obtained from t0e *OS manua2. E"#$%&e 1> CONFI .S!S fi2e from a 10"1- computer 4it0 t4o or more megabytes of e6tended memory. deviceBc>CdosCsetver.e6e deviceBc>CdosC0imem.sys deviceBc>CdosCemm"1-.e6e ram device0ig0Bc>CmouseCmouse.sys buffersB20 fi2esB)0 brea.Bon

dosB0ig07umb In t0is e6amp2e7 %0e !e'( e commands 2oad t0e S&%D&;.&'&7 AI,&,.S!S and &,,"1-.&'& device drivers. %0e S&%D&;.&'& *;ID&; manages t0e ,S? *OS version tab2e. %0e AI,&,.S!S driver manages e6tended memory. t0e ram s4itc0 directs t0e &,,"1-.&'& driver to provide access to upper memory and simu2ate e6panded memory. %0e !e'( e)(*) command 2oads t0e ,O$S&.S!S device driver7 40ic0 provides access to t0e mouse7 into upper memory. %0e b+,,er- command reserves 20 buffers for transferring information to and from dis.s. %0e ,(&e- command gives ,S?*OS access to )0 fi2es at one time. %0e bre#. command c0ec.s fre9uent2y for t0e C%;EFC or C%;EF(;&#G .ey combinations. %0e !o-/)(*)0+$b command runs ,S?*OS in t0e 0ig0 memory area and gives program access to upper memory area.

If you use a net4or. and your computer 0as 1021- processor and e6panded memory7 t0en CONFI &.S!S fi2e mig0t 2oo. different. See e6amp2e 2 be2o4> E"#$%&e 2 1 deviceBc>Cemsdrv.sys deviceBc>CmouseCmouse.sys deviceBc>CnetCnet4or..sys deviceBc>CdosCramdrive.sys 2+- Ha 2astdriveBz buffersB20 fi2esB"0 brea.Bon In t0is e6amp2e7 %0e first t0ree !e'( e commands 2oad device drivers for an e6panded memory board7 a mouse7 and a net4or..

%0e !e'( e command for ;#,*;ID&.S!S starts ;#,*rive and creates a 2+- G( ;#, driveI t0e Ha s4itc0 instructs ;#,*rive to create t0e ;#, drive in e6panded memory.

%0e &#-t!r('e command reserves space for 2- 2ogica2 drives7 2abe2ed # t0ro J.

It is possib2e to edit t0e CONFI .S!S fi2e to add and c0ange commands t0at configure your system. # te6t editor 2i.e ,S?*OS editor7 can be used to edit t0is fi2e. On ma.ing any c0anges to t0e CONFI .S!S fi2e7 t0e computer must be restarted. Fo&&o2 t)e-e -te%- to $#.e )#3*e- to 4o+r CONFIG.SYS ,(&e 1. create a startup dis. by inserting an unformatted f2oppy dis. in drive #7 and t0en type t0e fo22o4ing at t0e command prompt > fo22o4ing at t0e command prompt > o%4 ,or$#t #1 52. copy your CONFI .S!S fi2e to t0e startup dis. you just created by typing t0e 16 o3,(*.-4- #1 ". open your CONFI .S!S on your 0ard dis. by using a te6t editor. ). add or c0ange CONFI .S!S commands as necessary. &ac0 command must begin on a separate 2ine. +. 40en you finis0 editing7 save c0anges and t0en 9uit t0e te6t editor. -. remove t0e dis. from F**7 and t0en restart your computer. Note 1 It is very important to fo22o4 t0e order of t0e device and device0ig0

commands. Ao4ever7 some commands 2i.e dos7 fi2es7 and buffers can be used any40ere in t0e fi2e.

2.2.7

AUTOE8EC.BAT

%0is is a batc0 program t0at ,S?*OS runs immediate2y after carrying out t0e commands in t0e CONFI .S!S fi2e. %0is fi2e is 2ocated in t0e root directory of t0e startup dis.. %0is fi2e can contain any commands t0at can be carried out 40en

t0e system starts up. %0e commands in t0is fi2e set t0e c0aracteristics of t0e device being used7 customize t0e information t0at ,S?*OS disp2ays7 and start memory?resident programs and ot0er app2ications. Aere7 4e 4i22 see a samp2e #$%O&'&C.(#% E"#$%&e 1 pat0 c>C I c> CdosI c>Cuti2ityIc> Cbatc0 prompt KtK@KpKg set tempBc>Ctemp dos.ey smartdrv In t0is e6amp2e> %0e %#t) command directs ,S?*OS to searc0 for program fi2es in t0e current directory and t0en in t0e fo22o4ing directories> t0e root directory of drive C and t0e C>C*OS7 C>C$%IEI%!7 and C>C(#%CA directories. # semico2on separates t0e names in t0e directories. %0e %ro$%t command sets t0e command prompt so t0at it s0o4s t0e current time7 drive7 and directory fo22o4ed by a greater?t0an sign %0e -et te$% command creates an environment variab2e named %&,5 and sets it e9ua2 to t0e directory C>C%&,5. %0is temporary fi2es. %0e !o-.e4 command 2oads t0e *OS.ey program into t0e memory. %0e -$#rt!r' command 2oads t0e S,#;%*rive program into t0e memory variab2e is used for storing fi2e 4it0 some commands.

Ao4ever7 ot0er commands can be obtained from t0e *OS manua2.

It is possib2e to edit your #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2e. In?order to do it7 use a te6t editor t0at saves fi2es as unformatted <#SCII= te6t. %o ma.e c0anges to #$%O&'&C.(#% fo22o4ing steps need to be fo22o4ed> 1. create a startup dis. by inserting an unformatted f2oppy dis. an drive # and t0en type t0e fo22o4ing at t0e command prompt > ,or$#t #1 5-

2. copy your #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2e to t0e startup dis. you just created by using t0e command at t0e command prompt > o%4 16#+toe"e .b#t #1 ". open t0e #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2e on your 0ard dis. by using a te6t editor ). add or c0ange #$%O&'&C.(#% commands as re9uired. &ac0 command must begin on a separate 2ine. +. #fter editing t0e fi2e7 save c0anges and t0en 9uit t0e te6t editor. -. ;emove t0e dis. from t0e F**7 and t0en restart t0e computer.

2.2.9

DEVICE DRIVERS

# device driver is a specia2 program 2oaded at boot time t0at forms an integra2 part of t0e operating system. It can be 2oaded by using t0e fo22o4ing command in CONFI .S!S fi2e > !e'( e/!16%#t)6!e'!r'r.-4- :%#r#$eter-; 40ere7 parameters are optiona2. Some common2y used device drivers are as fo22o4s > ANSI.SYS L is a standard device driver t0at ma.es t0e 5C screen and .eyboard emu2ate an #NSI termina2. RAMDRIVE.SYS L is a driver7 provided 4it0 *OS. It e6tended or e6panded memory as a ;#, dis.. DRIVER.SYS L its main function is to inform *OS of t0e c0aracteristics of additiona2 <more t0an t4o= or non?standard f2oppy drive. On a sing2e?f2oppy 5C7 it a22o4s you to refer eit0er t0e drive as # or ( t0us a22o4ing you to copy from one dis.ette to anot0er. 2ets you use some

2.2.<

MEMORY MANAGEMENT

,anaging t0e memory is a significant and difficu2t tas. 40i2e setting up 5Cs. %0is is because7 memory depends on t0e mac0ine and t0e type of app2ication t0at run on it . Since t0e user is going after more and more app2ications7 it is re9uired to ma.e more memory avai2ab2e to 0im. T)ere #re -e'er#& 2#4- to $#.e $ore $e$or4 #'#(&#b&e1

1. Insta22 additiona2 p0ysica2 memory. %ypica22y7 t0is invo2ves p2ugging a memory board into a s2ot inside t0e computer or adding more memory to an e6isting memory board. 2. $ti2ize t0e e6isting memory of your computer to t0e ma6imum e6tent. One 4ay to do t0is is to run t0e ,em,a.er memory?optimization program7 40ic0 adjusts t0e 4ay 7 t0e device drivers and programs use memory. ". ,a.e more memory avai2ab2e in :indo4s by using a s4ap fi2e To ,(3! o+t #bo+t 4o+r o$%+ter=- $e$or4 o3,(*+r#t(o3 > 1. if 4indo4s is running7 9uit :indo4s. 2. #t t0e command prompt7 type $e$ and press t0e &N%&; .ey ,S?*OS disp2ays t0e type and amount of memory your computer 0as. %0e memory types being > $e$or4. o3'e3t(o3#& $e$or47 U%%er $e$or4 #re#7 E"te3!e! $e$or47 >(*) $e$or4 #re#7 V(rt+#& $e$or47 and E"%#3!e!

FREEING CONVENTIONA? MEMORY

,ost programs re9uire conventiona2 memory to run. If a program fai2s to run because of insufficient memory7 t0e prob2em is most often because t0ere is insufficient conventiona2 memory. It is possib2e to ma.e more conventiona2 memory avai2ab2e for app2ications by minimizing t0e amount of conventiona2 memory used by ,S?*OS7 insta22ab2e device drivers7 and ot0er memory resident programs <or often ca22ed as terminate and stay programs or %S;s=. %0e conventiona2 memory can be made free in one of t0e fo22o4ing 4ays > If you 0ave an 10"1- and above processor 4it0 e6tended memory7 you can run t0e ,em,a.er program. %0is program moves t0e device drivers and ot0er memory resident programs from conventiona2 memory to t0e upper memory area.

!ou can stream2ine your CONFI .S!S and #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2es so t0at t0ey don8t start unnecessary memory?resident programs. If your computer 0as e6tended memory7 you can run ,S?*OS in t0e Aig0 memory area instead of conventiona2 memory.

OPTIMIZING MEMORY USING Me$M#.er

,em,a.er frees conventiona2 memory by 2oading some of t0e device drivers and programs into t0e upper memory area. %0e upper memory area is t0e range of memory addresses t0at is norma22y set aside for use by 0ard4are e6pansion cards. %0e ,em,a.er can be run eit0er using E"%re-- -et+% or C+-to$ -et+%. E"%re-- -et+% identifies t0e system 0ard4are7 soft4are7 configures :indo4s to run 4it0 t0e system7 and updates necessary fi2es. C+-to$ -et+% is for t0e e6perienced computer users 40o 4ant to a2ter t0e standard :indo4s configuration. In genera27 one can successfu22y optimize t0e system8s memory by c0oosing &6press setup. Ao4ever7 sometimes ,em,a.er can free more conventiona2 memory if one goes for Custom setup 4it0 some c0anges in system settings. T)e ,o&&o2(3* -te%- #re ,o&&o2e! to r+3 Me$M#.er +-(3* E"%re-- Set+%1 1. 3uit :indo4s 2. %ype t0e fo22o4ing at t0e command prompt > ,em,a.er disp2ays t0e :e2come screen ". C0oose t0e Continue option by pressing &N%&;7 and t0en se2ect &6press setup optionI ,em,a.er disp2ays a screen t0at prompts you to specify 40et0er you use any programs t0at re9uire e6panded memory ). if your program does not re9uire e6panded memory7 or if you are not sure of it7 c0oose No by pressing &N%&;. $e$$#.er

If your program re9uires e6panded memory7 se2ect !es by pressing spacebar7 and t0en press &N%&;. ,em,a.er disp2ays a screen stating t0at it is ready to restart your computer. +. %o restart your computer7 press &N%&;. #s eac0 device driver and memory?resident programs starts7 ,em,a.er determines t0e program8s memory re9uirements by monitoring 0o4 it a22ocates memory. In genera27 one can successfu22y optimize t0e system8s memory by c0oosing &6press setup. Ao4ever7 sometimes ,em,a.er can free more conventiona2 memory if one goes for Custom setup 4it0 some c0anges in system settings. #fter your computer is restarted7 ,em,a.er uses t0e information gat0ered to determine t0e optimum memory configuration of your computer. It fits t0e device drivers and memory?resident programs into avai2ab2e $pper memory b2oc.s as efficient2y as possib2e. It t0en ma.es t0e necessary c0anges to your CONFI .S!S and #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2es and t0en states t0at it is ready to restart t0e computer 4it0 t0e ne4 configuration. -. 3uit ,em,a.er

Note > it is possib2e to fine tune your memory configuration to free additiona2
memory7 by using t0e fo22o4ing tec0ni9ues> run ,em,a.er again and c0ange some memory configuration options c0ange t0e order of device drivers and programs in t0e CONFI .S!S and #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2es remove unnecessary device drivers and memory?resident programs from CONFI .S!S and #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2es

2.2.@ DISA PARTITIONING

# 0ard dis.8s performance depends on 0o4 it is partitioned and t0e directories structured. Some ear2ier versions of *OS used drive C as one 2arge partition of dis.. %0is met0od is not appropriate7 as 2arge partitions 4aste space. *OS a22ocates dis. space to individua2 fi2es in units of c2usters. %0e size of t0e c2uster varies 7 depending on t0e partition size and *OS version. %ypica22y7 it is )G( for partitions 2ess t0an 1-,(7 2G( for 1- to "2,(7 and )717 or 1-G( above t0at. From dis. uti2ization point of vie47 bet4een 1- and "2,( is t0e optimum size of partition. #not0er dra4bac. 4it0 2arge partitions is t0at t0ey increase dis. access time. %o overcome t0is7 and to decrease t0e average access time7 0ard dis. need to be structured L .eeping a22 t0e re2ated fi2es toget0er. #nd t0e tec0ni9ue ca22ed DEFRAGMENTATION is used to speed up t0e dis. accesses.

2.2.B DISA CAC>ES

#not0er 4ay to improve drive performance is to insta22 a dis. cac0e. *is. cac0e is a 2arge memory buffer t0at 0o2ds copies of t0e most recent2y used dis. b2oc.s t0ey may inc2ude directories7 programs7 and data fi2es. %0is resu2t in many reads t0at 4i22 refer to ones a2ready in memory. So7 t0e computer 0ave to read t0e dis. itse2f. %0e percentage of reads t0at are for b2oc.s a2ready in t0e cac0e is ca22ed t0e )(t r#te. ;eads satisfied from t0e cac0e are a2most instantaneous7 so t0e one 4it0 a 0ig0 0it rate can improve t0e performance substantia22y. :0en it comes to 4riting to dis.7 cac0e programs fa22 into t4o categories > 1. :rite t0roug0 L t0e data 4ritten to t0e cac0e is 4ritten to t0e 0ard dis. a2so7 and contro2 does not return to t0e app2ication unti2 t0e dis. 4rite finis0es. 2. *e2ayed 4rite L as soon as cac0e is updated7 t0e contro2 return bac.s to t0e app2ication. %0e user need not 0ave to 4ait for t0e data to be 4ritten to t0e dis.. So7 t0is type of 4rites can ma.e t0e 5C run faster but7 4it0 some amount of ris. invo2ved.

2.2.C CONFIGURATION PROB?EMS

%0ere are many 4ays to configure a 5C. so a2so t0e prob2ems associated 4it0 t0em. Eet us see some of t0em 0ere > S4-te$ !(-%&#4- I3'#&(! COMMAND.COM > *OS cannot 2oad or re2oad t0e command interpreter. C0ec. t0e CO,S5&C environment variab2e. &it0er t0ere is no CO,,#N*.CO, on t0e specified pat0 or it is from a different version of *OS t0an t0e one from 40ic0 t0e system 4as booted. S4-te$ !(-%&#4- o+t o, e3'(ro3$e3t -%# e 1 %0e number and 2engt0 of strings used in S&% commands e6ceeds t0e space a22ocated. Specify a 2arger va2ue in t0e SA&EEB parameter in CONFI .S!S. S4-te$ )#&t- 2(t) F#t#& -t# . error > $se t0e S%#CGS command in CONFI .S!S to increase t0e number or size of stac.s provided Pro*r#$ %r(3t- -D+#re br# .et-0 #rro2- #3! ot)er )#r# ter- (3-te#! o, $e#3(3*,+& te"t o3 t)e - ree3E - ree3 &#4o+t (- F+$b&e!E 5rogram re9uires t0e #NSI.S!S device driver to be 2oaded A%%&( #t(o3- or !e'( e !r('er- reD+(r(3* e"%#3!e! $e$or4 #33ot +-e (t 1 ,emory manager <eg. &,,.S!S= is not insta22ed before t0e app2ication or device driver is 2oaded. D(-. ,(&e # e-- (- -&o2 1 %oo fe4 buffers specified Fi2es are fragmented. ;un a defragmenter. %oo many fi2es in t0e directories. Organize t0em into subdirectories Incorrect dis. inter2eave 5ossib2e 0ard dis. contro22er fau2ts.

2.7 SUMMARY
%0is unit 0as discussed 0o4 to tune a 5C for its best performance. %0e optimum setup of a system is 2arge2y determined by t0e contents of CONFI .S!S and

#$%O&'&C.(#%. ,emory s0ou2d not be 4asted by 2oading unnecessary device drivers or programs. %0oug0 memory management is a difficu2t tas.7 4it0 care one can effective2y manage and use it. Aard dis. performance can be improved by using sma22er partitions and ensuring t0at fi2es do not become fragmented. Simi2ar2y dis. cac0ing can a2so add up to t0e better performance of t0e system.

2.9 GUESTIONS
1. :0at is system configuration and optimizationM 2. *efine (ooting. :0at 0appens 40en a system is booted M ". :0at is t0e need of CONFI .S!S and #$%O&'&C.(#% fi2esM ). Say 40at t0ese commands do> a= deviceBc>CnetCnet4or..sys b= 2astdriveBz c= buffersB20 d= fi2esB"0 e= brea.Bon f= promptBKpKg g= dos.ey +. :0at are device driversM Name a fe4 common2y used ones. -. Ao4 can more memory be made avai2ab2e to t0e users on re9uestM /. :0at is ,em,am.erM (rief2y give t0e importance of it. 1. Ao4 can dis. partitioning and dis. cac0ing improve t0e performance of a systemM