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System Software: IntroSystem software is a catch-all term for the programs that handle the running of your computer's hardware. The two main categories are:
Operating Systems
Not much!! Let's look at what happens when you turn on your computer, before the operating system is involved.
An older BIOS might not understand your newest, spiffiest piece of hardware. In this case you would have to get a new motherboard or an updated BIOS. A newer motherboard will have a BIOS that can be updated using software. (This is a task only for the brave and those wiling to follow directions exactly. You can ruin a motherboard very easily!) After the BIOS has gone through its morning wake-up routine, it will start its POST (Power On Self Test). This is a set of tests of the internal hardware. If, for example, your keyboard is not plugged in or is broken, you will see a message about "Keyboard failure" and the computer will stop where it is in the POST. There are tests included for the hard drives, memory, and the buses, too. This is only a quick check-up though - is it there? is it awake? The POST test does not guarantee that everything is perfect. It does not check for external devices like a printer or scanner or external hard drive. That's it for what the computer can do without an operating system. It can wake up and twitch a little, but it can't move or talk yet. Its nervous system is not working. Next the computer looks for some kind of operating system. It will often be set up to look on a removable drive first and then on the hard drive. This way if your hard drive fails, you have a way to get the system working enough to diagnose the problem. Enough of the operating system to get started will fit on a 3½" floppy disk. This part of the operating system has various names. Kernel, master program, supervisor, control program are a few. In PCs using DOS or Windows the term kernel is used. So we see that without the operating system, the computer is paralyzed. Let's look now at the types and functions of operating systems. System Software: Functions All operating systems must handle the same basic tasks. These functions can be divided into three groups:
Allocating System Resources The operating system directs the traffic inside the computer, deciding what resources will be used and for how long.
Monitoring System Activities
Keeping track of what files are where is a major job. If you can't find a file, it doesn't help to know that it is safe and secure somewhere. So an operating system comes with basic file management commands. A user needs to be able to create directories for storing files. (Dumping everything in one pile soon becomes the needle-in-the-haystack story.) A user needs to copy, move, delete, and rename files. This is the category of operating system functions that the user actually sees the most. A more technical task is that of disk management. Under some operating systems your hard disk can be divided up, or partitioned into several virtual disks. The operating system treats each virtual disk as though it were a physically separate disk. Managing several physical and/or virtual disks can get pretty complex, especially if some of the disks are set up with different operating systems. (Some folks are never satisfied with just one of anything!) Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1537
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